48th Street Breakdown

For myriad reasons, the crew has had a bit of trouble getting to gether for the regular tastings. Last night made up for the lull, in spades. Theme: Burgundy at $40 or better wholesale. The idea was not to be snooty, but to draw a line in the sand. Here's how it went down.

Maison Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet A.C 1999

While everyone else brought reds, I thought it would be only fitting to start of with a couple of whites. Straight-away, the color was very interesting. A very pale yellow-green. The aromatics gave off a only a hint of oak. Other components Were a very slight cream and very strong minerality. On the palate, the most impressive thing was the acidity. At 6 years old, this wine was still flexing some muscle. I suppose the argument could be made that this wine is in it's 'prime' but I got the impression that it had the legs to go for many years to come. After about 20 minutes in the glass, the wine fleshed out considerably. The oak seemed to come out a bit more (but by no means overbearing)and the creaminess was augmented but not overstated. A fellow taster much more experienced with older Burgundy thought this to be typical of Puligny. Very nice.

Domaine Jean Chartron '1er Cru Clos du Cailleret' Puligny-Montrachet 1999

This was a requested bottle and said request was the reason for the Latour - compare and contrast - from the same vintage. This was one of two bottles that I had left over from my former life in the restaurant industry. At that time, it saw less-than-ideal storage conditions and that may have had an effect on the wines performance. Initially, the wine was extremely tight. Zero aromatics and the palate was nearly mute. What was immediately obvious was the color. Side by side with the Latour the color difference was quite striking. The Chartron was a much deeper yellow, not quite gold but not the light yellow of the first wine. This may very well be because of the storage early in life. After 20 minutes and much swirling of the glass the wine began to open up. The focus of the winemaker was obviously drawn to one thing: Minerality. Good fruit and a touch of oak but these things paled in comparison to the minerals in the glass. The acidity was very much in effect and I suspect the wine could easily go for another 5-8 years. With all of this said, I beleive that the bottle was showing only a bit of what it could really be. I still have another bottle, so maybe we'll see.

Mommessin '1er Cru La Forge' Morey-St-Denis 1996

Quite possibly the ringer of the night. Pull out a map of Morey-St-Denis and start looking around for a vineyard called 'La Forge'. You won't find it. Not because it doesn't exist, but because it now has a different name. I say now, but it actually changed somewhere around 1141. It is now known as 'Clos de Tart' and is entirely owned by the house of Mommessin or as the French say, the vineyard is a 'monopole'. The wine that is 'La Forge' is effectively de-classified 'Clos de Tart'. To steal a line from Cheech & Chong, this wine 'has a B.A., and is a B.M.F. besides'. If this is the stuff that didn't make the qualitative cut for Clos de Tart, I can only imagine how good the primary label really is. This (in one monkey's opinion) is what real Pinot Noir is supposed to be: An exercise in nuance and subtlety. Aromatics of earth, dark but faint fruit and (for lack of a better term) the tinny-ness that is synonymous with any proper Burgundy. Absolutely stunning. At 9 years on, this wine was on point. The duck and sautéed mushrooms that accompanied this wine did nothing but augment the complexity the wine possessed. Good luck finding it in the States as I understand that Mommessin no longer exports it to the U.S. In the event that you do find it (and don't buy it all for yourself), drop me line and I pick up the rest.

Domaine Trapet Père & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 2002

Admittedly, drinking this wine now is to commit infanticide. The power of the vintage that was 2002 is a real force to be reckoned with. But the word was Burgundy, so Burgundy was brought. For a Pinot Noir, this wine was huge. Not totally blown out a la 'New World', but not that far off the mark. With that said, I found the wine very well made. The color was extremely dark, possibly because of vintage, possibly because of desire on the winemaker's part. I say this because one cannot ignore the trend of darker and darker Pinots that are emerging from Burgundy. Again, one monkey's opinion, but Pinot Noir doesn't have to be black. The aromatics were predictably very tight. The palate had good fruit, the tinny-ness aforementioned, and the tannin was well represented. Not necessarily my favorite of the night, but not a bad wine. It would be interesting to see it 5-8 years on.

Sine Qua Non 'A*'Capella' Pinot Noir 2000

What can I say about this house that hasn't been said a hundred times over? This is arguably one of the most sought after producers in California today. Curious, because from what I understand SQN owns not a single vine. I would like to think this would change people's opinion of the dreaded négociant in France, as the Krankl's are doing the very same thing. The fruit for this wine was (as the back label says) 'LOVINGLY grown grapes at Shea Vineyard' in Oregon. I have (and will) often taken exception to New World Pinot as I find it has more in common with Syrah than it does with real Pinot. The argument could be made with this wine as well. However, many have pointed out that Burgundy is not indicative of Pinot, Burgundy is indicative of Burgundy. Fair enough. Where the other wines of the night focused (more or less) on subtlety and finesse, the SQN was more about force. And it definitely had it. Alcohol: 14.3%. To put that into context, here's the rest of the night:

Latour: 13.5
Chartron: 13.5
Mommessin:13
Trapet:12.5

I know 0.8% doesn't sound like alot but it it. This is Pinot made in a New World style but without ignoring the Old. I must admit that I enjoyed the wine to be honest, coming off the Mommessin and the Trapet (a jump of 1.8% in alcohol), the chips were stacked against it. However, it brought a curious compare/contrast element, and for that, I am thankful.

You may be wondering why the SQN got in on a 'Burgundy' tasting. A regular reader of this thing blog had inquired if we were taking any new members to the group. It just so happened that the first tasting he came to, we were focusing on a region that is not represented in his cellar. Hopefully, this will change.

Just kidding, Bob.