Palate presence revisited

FIVE months... It's been that long since the last time I updated this blog. That was when preparing for my birthday bash at the end of March.

Many changes had taken place since then. Quite obviously I was not burgging as often as I would have liked. My Saturdays are quite filled with my boy's activity, and since late June, my second baby arrived.

I still drink, however. Just more on the non-burg stuff at home. For some reason, it's hard to fork out dough for pinot noirs or burgs for personal consumption. Having said that, now that I look back, these non-pinot bottles had been quite unsatisfying in general, although some merit some mentioned.

At Jason's I picked up some bin end bottles. Fleurie, Chenas, Morgon from Duboeuf circa 1997 vintage were quite interesting. The Chenas was drying up and the Fleurie, although supple and quite perfumed, didn't quite hold up long enough in the glass. The Morgon however, was quite impressive. It's burlier and sturdier. At this stage, it's giving off secondary aromatics, becoming quite nutty and leathery, not dissimilar to aged Crozes-Hermitage. Nice table companions (they're all half-bottles, costing $11).

Also at Jason's I picked up Bourgueil and Chinon 1997 too (an F. Miginiac, I think...) The Bourgueil, which I tried first, was impressive upon uncorking. Already bricked, it gave off an exotic, stemmy, cedary, tobaccoey aroma -- not quite unlike some lighter-bodied Graves. I was quite impressed. However, again, it didn't last long in the glass. And the same bottle tasted the next day had already become flacid. Still I thought it was interesting and was a nice substitute for an aged cheap-o Bordeaux (where can you find one for $30?) I was quite set to buy another. And so I did. But this time I wanted to try the Chinon as well. Although someone on the web said that Bourgueil possessed more depth and longevity than Chinon, my tasting of the Chinon sample proved otherwise. Although showing pretty much the same nose as the Bourgueil, albeit smokier, it's evidently blacker-fruited, more even-bodied, and held more stably in the glass and across the next few days. My retasting of the second bottle of the Bourgueil confirmed that the Chinon was the better wine...

To be fair, my dinner table wasn't quite as Pinot-less as I had just portrayed. I encountered what I dare say is the best Bourgogne bottle I've ever had -- Domaine Arnoux's Bourgogne "Pinot Fin" 2002. Terrifically scented, with cherry and raspberry nose, it was light, lively yet dense in the mid-palate. Blind this to a Burgophile and I'd be most interested what he/she would say.

I had also been experimenting with lesser appellations such as Marsannay and Fixin. Bruno Clair's Marsannay "Les Grasses Tetes" 2002, Philippe Roty's Marsannay "Les Quartiers" 2002 as well as the plain Meo-Camuzet Marsannay 2002 were all delicious. These wines showcase just how good the 2002s can be. Instead of producing skinny, acid-driven wines, the northerly Marsannay turned out luscious, elegantly scented, red-fruited juice worthy of not just for the dinner table, but for more serious tasting as well. No real preference amongst these three. Suffice to say, they are all different and good enough for different occassions.

Gelin's Fixin "les Arvelets" and "Clos Napoleon" both 2002 were tried too. Here is a Fixin specialist and both wines are impressive. The Arvelets is deeply fruited, layered and full of earthy funk. The 'dirt' factor is certainly present here. With some two hours of aeration, this wine gave what my dear friend called the scent of skunk. My preference has to go to the "Clos Napoleon" though. This is a monopole of Gelin's family. Sporting a much lower alcohol level than the Arvelets (in spite of coming from the same Domaine and from the same vintage), this wine is pure silk in the mouth. If Fixin has to show some rustic edginess, I certainly could not find it here. Blind me and I'd have thought this might have been some Gevrey 1er. It's delicate, minerally and transparently red-fruited. Very sleek and worth more than twice the price it asked for.

It's getting late. I would post more of my recollection in coming catch-up posts, as well as the 'state of my palate'.