By: AJ McClellan
A few months ago member and friend, Ivan the Fiver, and I had a discussion about the quality of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay out of California and how it rivals the great wines of Burgundy. We agreed to have a tasting of California’s best vs equivalent Burgundian wines in a grand tasting at Graileys. We agreed that the best of the best when it comes to Californian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is undoubtedly Marcassin. Their wines, especially the chardonnay, have always been some of my favorites and I don’t know of anyone that would argue for any other bottles to compete against them. The picking of the Burgundies was a much more difficult task but one I was happy to undertake.
We served all the wines blind and allowed our participants to pick their favorites before revealing the wines…. It was a massacre. The Marcassins killed everything in the tasting, taking first, second, and third in the whites and taking first and third in the reds while tying for second with the DRC Echezeaux. I was incredibly surprised by the results but after tasting the wines I cannot argue with the outcome.
We started with the 2003 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet La Cabotte which was showing some signs of premox with a honeyed nose and a distinct apple cider palate. The wine was still palatable and was not showing poorly but was no match for the Marcassin bottles. Next up was the 2006 Marcassin Vineyard Chardonnay which was showing typical white pepper and crispy butter. This bottle brougth of the rear of the three Marcassins coming in third place. Then we came up to a bottle that I thought would be showing very well but ended up being to austere for the palate of our tasters, the 2010 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles. The wine was a big ball of acidity topped with under ripe bananas and fresh lilies. I liked the wine but you could tell it was in no way ready to be drunk.
Now came the cloudy 100 pointer, the 2008 Marcassin Vineyard Chardonnay. This bottle received first place for the whites and it deserved every bit of it. Superb toastyness followed with quince, pear, white spice, and a pleasant richness that added to the body and finish of the wine. The 2001 Vincent Girardin Le Montrachet that showed fifth was very disappointing for the prestigious vineyard. When I opened the bottle is was beautiful with ripe fruit aromas and a long mineral finish, but by the time of the tasting the wine had gone flat with little fruit and a finish that had jumped off a cliff a long time ago… Last but not least was our second place winner, the 2007 Marcassin Vineyard Chardonnay. I thought the 07 was the most unique among the Marcassin wines showing a more linier palate and more minerality while losing some of the richness of the 08 and 06.
We took a break for dinner then dove right into the reds… Starting with the 2006 Marcassin Vineyard Pinot Noir. The 06 got 3rd place among the reds showing great purple and red fruits and finishing with a almost Burgundian forest floor. Matching up with the 06 was the 1999 Jadot Estournelles st Jacques which was interesting because of the vintage difference but they had similar fruit and if the 06 had another seven years of age it might adopt the familiar earthiness of this fun little burg. Winning first place among the reds was the 2007 Marcassin Vineyard Pinot Noir which was, in my opinion, still showing very young in the glass. Boisterous fruits coming out of the glass with huge floral notes and a blackberry jam that added some sweetness to the finish.
Next up was the tying wine for second place, the 2008 DRC Echezeaux. This wine was amazing in my opinion and if it has another decade to age it would have been the wine of the night. Wonderful floral notes followed by a crystallized minerality and beautiful floral notes. The wine was not quite in balance but that would be rectified with time in the bottle. The DRC was followed by the tying second place wine in the 1999 Marcassin Vineyard Pinot Noir. I thought the 99 was showing very advanced for its age and I have doubts about its ability to go much further without losing that charming fruit balance that makes it so delicious. Very cloudy and throwing a lot of sediment I was very impressed with this wine and its perfect balance after fourteen years in the bottle. Lastly we tasted the 2006 Dujac Clos st Denis which was somewhat of a disappointment for me. I decanted this wine almost six hours before the event and served it last to make sure it would have plenty of time to open up. The wine fell on its face showing absolutely nothing on the nose and weak fruit on the palate. After the tasting was over and I was revisiting the wines the Dujac finally opened up with a masculine fruit nose and muscled earthy palate. I feel like the wine opened up at the end just to tease me…
The best part of the tasting was at the end, while Ivan was gloating at the end of the table, everyone around the table started bartering between each other for glasses of unfinished wine… Ill trade you 07 Marcassin for DRC! Or some Leflaive for the 06 Chard? All in all the tasting was priceless and a great learning experience. Next time we must try doing the event with a minimum of 10 years of age on the bottles… That would be a real treat!