Chambolles, the Villages (a.k.a. Roumier vertical plus a few others)

The gang congregated tonight at Hachi, a Japanese joint. Within the unpretentious setting of a tatami room, the tasting began, semi-blind. The original intent was to explore the wine of Domaine Georges Roumier, a well-known Chambolle-Musigny based house, whose grand crus are among the most prized and especially for its Musigny is among the hardest to find (and afford) red Burgundies out there. The crowd here are shamelessly enamoured by the Chambolle region, no less thanks to the stellar examples we have had from domaines like Comte Georges de Vogue and J.F. Mugnier plus other no-less-inspiring showing from the other non-Chambolle-based makers.

When I suggested to Andy that we should do this tasting, it was primarily motivated by a few things. Firstly, most of us are not well exposed to Roumier's wines. Secondly, most domaines tend to accord less wood treatment to its 'lowly' villages wines hence it would be fair to expect a certain degree of transparency for us to reflect the vintage and terroir characteristics. Thirdly, villages wines generally tend to be quite drinkable even right after release, so we could expect nicely drinking bottles regardless of vintages (we did not go older than 1996). Lastly, after the many superb grand crus and premier crus we tend to preoccupy ourselves with, it would be good to baseline how these villages perform vis-a-vis its grander siblings and vice versa -- to reestablish the overall perspective as we move from cru-to-cru, if you will.

The Chambolle AOC wines featured are: Roumier ('96, '99, '01, '02, '03), Mugnier ('02, '03), Comte de Vogue ('03) and Hubert Lignier ('01).

#1 - Pale ruby. Traces of burgundy dirt on the nose, prior to the whack of quintessential Chambolle nose. Some charred oil and peanut skins too. Gentle wine, light-bodied and dominantly red-fruited. I guessed it was a Roumier '01, but this turned out to be Mugnier '02. And I must say this is so different from the same wine had not too long ago. The previous one was so much more powerful and dense. Even the colour was different, I dare say. What happened? Hmmm...

#2 - Very ripe nose turning toward blueberries. On the palate, black fruited, almost jammy and a definite lack of spine. Quite dense but warm. After the previous wine, this was almost tasteless. Dilute in the middle. I guessed Mugnier '03. Correct.

#3 - Intriguing nose. Smoky, flinty and in fact almost jammy. Ripe fruits, nicely stemmy and finished off with a dusty texture. Vitamins and meats galore, turning tea like later. Exotic and intriguing. I guessed Roumier '03, but it was in fact Roumier '01. A strange '01 I must say, but interesting nonetheless.

#4 - Vitamins on the nose atop of crushed red fruits. Rich and generous, with a generous but well-handled oak treatment. A very ripe Chambolle but still fresh and bright. I thought this was the Mugnier '02, but it turned out to be Lignier '01. Quite impressive.

#5 - Very ripe Chambolle nose. No, wait, in fact, not merely Chambolle, but a quintessential de Vogue Chambolle nose (creamy raspberries). Slightly warmish but generous and poised. Decidedly '03 yet possesses an uncharacteristic purity. Lots of black raspberries and very opulent. A joy juice. de Vogue '03? Spot on.

#6 - The most aged wine so far. Stemmy, ripe nose of very bright red fruits. The acid spine is amazing. Mouthwateringly sappy and flavoursome. Plenty of crushed fruits but with an incisive cut. An edgy and thrilling Chambolle villages. Very 1996 I thought. And so it is: Roumier '96.

#7 - Stalky nose, with complicating vitamins amidst a nice mixture of red and black fruits. Ripe yet very bright. Very 2002 in my opinion. Very rich and full yet light and balanced. Quite flavoursome. Roumier '02.

#8 - Almost blue fruits scented. Rather berry scented (cold maceration?), candied, yet cool and cleansing on the palate. Generously sweet with an exotic nuance of rose syrup. Delicious and quite complete. Many people liked this. I thought this was the Lignier, but it was Roumier '03. A very impressive showing for the vintage.

#9 - This, to me, was the most complete wine, and so I had to score this the highest, although I prefer #6 for sheer deliciousness. Very meaty and oily nose, with dense yet bright red fruits. Finished with an uplifting acid bite a la the 1996, but this is definitely more dense, dark and serious. Almost roasted flavours but balanced out unexpectedly with a tangy finish. All these attributed point to only one vintage, 1999. Most tannic and un-ready wine for the evening. Very chewy and ripe tannins. Indeed it was: Roumier 1999. A killer villages.

This tasting proved to me that the whole Burgundy cru-classification thing is true. After tasting the wines tonight there is no doubt that the premier crus and grand crus are heads and shoulders above these wines in terms of midpalate density, and intensity. The materials are just undeniably heftier, if not classier in the upper crus. But these villages, humble and un-powerful as they might be, are typical of the commune. There was no wine tonight that wasn't Chambolle-Musigny in flavour -- no doubt this is also a function of the producers' conscienciousness. These villages are lovely wines, and save for one, drinking beautifully, especially at the dinner table. Put this against new world pinot noirs and there is no comparison -- the new worlds would be so characterless compared to these, not to mention less flavoursome.

And oh yes, by the way, Roumier's Chambolle wines are truly good. This is a very high-quality domaine who understand Chambolle-Musigny. RESPECT!