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| Burn down the disco! |
Another "what have I done to deserve this evening", a Mimonua party with a couple dozen delirious wine geeks. And not just any delirious wine geeks - wild-eyed Bourgogne freaks!
A. Margaine, Special Club, 2008
Fuck, fuck, fuck - now I have to once again re-adjust my buying list. This has fantastic aromas that at first made me turn around to check whether I was standing near a steaming buffet, so intense were the mushroom and chicken broth aromas. And then there's the precise focus on the palate that has turned me into a Champagne addict,
Jean Lallament, Reserve, n.v.
I'm never going to be able to choose between a great Blanc de Blancs (such as Margaine) and a great Pinot based Champagne. And why should I? I very much like this and it just grows and grows on me. But then, I'm a sucker for Lallement in the first place, who always seems to nail the quintessential funkiness of Pinot-based Champagnes - which for me is mushrooms and chicken broth. Except that I just used those terms for the Margaine, which had no Pinot at all. So let me just be self referential and say that if you've ever tasted the regular Jean Lallement non-vintage bottling - this is more of the same with warmer bass notes.
Pegau, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Reserve, 2003
Great jumping behemoth, this sure is a surprise! A great nose, with leather and other good stuff, the palate much more restrained that I'd ever imagine a 2003 Chateauneuf would be. Do they even make CdP's like this any more? (Analytically, my guess is that in a hot vintage like 2003, the other grapes in the blend had an easier time to catch up with the Grenache, so the overall affect is, counter-intuitively, more balanced).
Because of the characters involved in this annual event, there were plenty of Bourgognes, so let's travel up the Burgundy Food Chain, shall we?
Serafin, Bourgogne, 2008
Good, complex nose for a supposedly lowly wine. Forest floor, hide, minerals. Very nice presence.
Leflaive, Bourgogne, 2011
Great acidity, minerals. Terrific Bourgogne! RIP, Anne-Claude.
Domaine Confuron-Cotedidot, Vosne-Romanee, 2011
Forest floor, a touch of spices, very young. Savory tannins.
Comte de Vogue, Chambolle-Musigny, 2009
This, of course, isn't a bona fide Village, as it contains a great deal of Premier Cru juice. This is very young, with an intense nose, redolent of raw meat and a great deal of breed. I've heard comparisons to Hermitage and that's all wrong. What it reminds me of is Cote-Rotie, which is fine by me; mature, old school Cote-Rotie reminds me of Burgundy.
Domaine d'Arlot, Nuits-St.-Georges Premier Cru, Clos Des Forets Saint Georges, 2008
I love the smell of forest floor in Bourgognes, but this is the first time I've even run across over-extracted forest floor! Looks like great terroir done wrong, which sucks because I have a few bottles of d'Arlot 2009's, back from when the hype suckered me in, which I assume would be even riper than this.
Domaine Bernard Moreau, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru, La Maltroie, 2012
Another wow, an adroitly painted nose of minerals and apples, and a long, savory finish. Very, very good.
Olivier Guyot, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru, 2007
From a double magnum. Fresh, young fruit, laced with minerals. Vivid is the keyword here, with Grand Cru poise, depth and length, although, at this stage only middling complexity - understandably, given the large container. Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am!
Just Desserts:
Willi Schaefer, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Graacher Domprobstת Riesling Auslese #14, 2006
Petrol, minerals and great delineation of smokey apples and lime on the nose, but the great fun is what happens on the palate, where the delicious, succulent purity digs deep. In short, the vivid electricity will get you for sure. And if it don't, better make an appointment with your cardiologist.
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