BurgFest 2005 Vol.II -- Le Clos Vougeot

Tasting at Ember restaurant, Sept-9 2005. Wonderful people, wonderful food, great wine lineup! Here are my ramblings of the tasting...

The lineup is:
2002 Louis Jadot, Puligny-Montrachet,“ Clos de la Garenne” Domaine du Duc de Magenta
1999 Colin-Deleger, Puligny-Montrachet “ Les Demoiselles”
2002 Gros Frère et Soeur, Clos de Vougeot “Musigni”
2002 Méo-Camuzet, Clos de Vougeot
2002 Lucien le Moine, Clos de Vougeot
2001 René Engel, Clos-Vougeot
2000 Hudelot-Noëllat, Clos de Vougeot
1999 Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot
1998 Anne Gros, Clos Vougeot “Le Grand Maupertui”
1997 Faiveley, Clos de Vougeot
1995 Robert Arnoux, Clos de Vougeot
1991 Leroy, Clos de Vougeot
1990 Louis Jadot, Clos Vougeot
Ringers -- Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir Oregon 1998 and Bannockburn Serre Pinot Noir Geelong 1999

Evening began with Jadot's Domaine du Duc de Magenta 2002. This wine reminded me once more why I love white burgundies. Discreet oak aromas (like pencil shavings), butter and green apples on the nose. Fruits of steel with lots of purity and slight nutty tinge. Although it's closed, the wine is textured and long, with very bright penetrating cut on the finish so typical of the vintage. Still, it came across as round and generous. Excellent.

Red #1 looked aged - with medium red and moderate bricking. Meaty aromas and black cherries. On the palate it is delicate, and showing some stemminess. Frankly this was rather warm in the mouth and carried the warmth through the back. Finishes with sour-cherries and rather hollow. Lacks true sweetness. With aeration, it put on a medicinal hint. I honestly thought this was one of the ringers (prematurely aged with alcohol to boot). Wrong. Faiveley 1987. Sometimes the most obvious answers are the right ones...

Red #2 is a different animal altogether. Sporting a much darker red hue, it had a very striking minerally, earthy and horsey stink -- almost Gevrey-like, except that it's not as high-pitched? Compared to #1, this was a lot more structured with gripping tannic and acid spine. Black cherries turning curranty on the palate and it got sweeter with air. Still, it was all closed up and many years await this wine to unfold its best. Robust wine. Louis Jadot 1990. Very good.

We broke for white. Colin-Deleger PM Les Demoiselles 1999 had a oxidative, madeira-tinged nose. On the palate, it was lush and round, but lacked definition and cut. Came across rather flabby thought the fruits are still alive with interesting hints of ginko nuts.

Red #3 had a nose I always find special - bacon fat. Dark cherries predominate, and the wine was steely and quite minerally. The fruits are all dark. Sweet and sappy, it gave a slight stemmy back notes. Quite extracted with generous amount of creamy oak, applied skillfully not to throw the wine off-balance, this is quite impressive on the midpalate as the sweetness builds persistently. Domaine Drouhin (Oregon) 1998. Quite impressive.

Red #4's nose was distinctive -- wet earth, beetroot and very stemmy. It was at once sweet and spicy on the entry, with rather stew-like texture in the mouth. Quite soupy but delicious nonetheless, interestingly it held out very cool in the mouth without pronounced alcohol. Delicious but outclassed. All of the table guessed it right -- Bannockburn Serre 1999. (I maintain that all should try the 2000 version, which in my opinion has more class and cut on the palate.)

Red #5 is a brooding monster. Right from the colour, which was deep crimson with purplish tinge, to the nose which was reductive at first but blew off to give a meaty curranty profile. On the palate, it was again very unyielding, with plenty of materials completely imploded unto itself. It could only be a 1999, I thought. With coaxing, the reticent flavours gave off a spicy edge with slight mint aftertaste. Very steely, very huge, very impenetratable and quite impressive. I was right - Jean Grivot 1999.

Red #6 had a euphoric confectionery nose with plenty of black cherries. The palate was consistent too with a black cherry liqueur hint but was exceptionally fresh and delineated. On the finish hints of creme brulees emerged but the impression of crunchy fruits remained. It had a Vosne-like aspect to it and I thought it had to be a Meo. Indeed -- Meo-Camuzet 2002. Very delicious, impressive, if atypical (for a Clos Vougeot, that is...)

Red #7 was full of redcurrants and quite spicy. It was quite pure with fruity yet minerally flavours. It had a good mix of both red and black fruits and the texture was quite delicate. Despite gentle tannins, the wine was still quite structured. Also delicious, if not a tad shy of attention. Hudelot-Noellat 2000.

Red #8 gave off classy oak scents with rich generous flavous of cherries and redcurrants. Plush and sweet, it also had a slightly oily mouthfeel to it. Finished with caramelly hints, and again, if this was not a Clos Vougeot tasting, I would have picked it as a Vosne. Still has plenty of life ahead of it as the midpalate was still quite unyielding. Quite classy. Robert Arnoux 1995.

A nice mix of caramel and fresh raspberries on the nose, red #9, is again slightly atypical for the appellation. It was quite delicate and richly red-fruited on the palate, with a generous, plush mouthfeel. Still very youthful, again this has a vibrancy that can only be 2002. It was soft and round, and with extended aeration showed its un-shy oakiness. Can only be GF&S I thought... Right this time - Gros Frere et Soeur 2002.

After a string of plush wines, red #10 struck a totally different note. This wine is almost severe in its structure. Impressively built, this wine is stuffed to the brim with black cherries and raspberries, which turned curranty later. At once structured but entered and persisted in the midpalate with plenty of fresh sweetness. Velvety tannins hinted at the texture of dark chocolates. It's closed and steely today, but there is no doubt the sheer raw materials and balance will transform it into something more profound later. Excellent. Rene Engel 2001.

Red #11 is deeply coloured with an oily decidedly oaky aromas. Some steely elements can be detected. The wine is massive at the mouth and is quite tight-fisted. Sadly, it was all bells and whistles so far -- there was no sweetness in the midpalate. This wine is about apparent size, not depth. Quite disappointing. Lucien le Moine 2002.

Red #12 is sadly corked. I wanted quite badly to see how this wine would perform today. Anne Gros 1998.

Red #13 has a slightly evolved colour. Aromas of meats and aged beef, it was quite packed with spices, mint, stemmy aromas and meatstock. It was sweet, generous but the midpalate is still quite closed. Some tea leaves hint gave off toward the back. Leroy 1991.