Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Bruce + Tammy + Liam (first event!), Jeff, Adam, Nesle, Ed, Georg, Len, Michael, Tse Wei + Diana, ...and 2 more
Here we are at the main event: a blind tasting of 2011 Burgundies... with a substantial number of ringers. Will they stand out?
Why 2011, we ask? Tse Wei explains that he is intrigued by the lack of consensus concerning the vintage. His own pulls from that year have been up and down, so, perhaps, it's time to try a few more.
Folks arrive more or less on time. A few bring more food and some last-minute bottles; it's the usual chaos with a houseful of people. The dogs, Ayler and Schnapps, have entirely different outlooks towards the house full of guests: Schnapps is 11 years old and has seen it all before, while Ayler is 6 years old and finds the whole thing just! very! exciting! (Ayler is a german shepherd so that's a lot of furry-nosey excitement.)
Some of the dishes:
- Georg's "Franconia double-baked" bread (75% rye, the rest spelt) (maybe like this?)
- pate-croute: Tse Wei is going to enter the annual competition so we're eating a practice run... pork belly, duck breast, rillettes, forcemeat, aspic
- roasted fennel with arrack
- roasted carrots with harissa, cumin, yogurt, and mint
- asparagus, shiitake, and goat cheese tart
- blanquette of lamb with morels
- a very slow roasted leg of lamb
- for dessert... a plump jelly roll with bitter orange marmalade and plenty of whipped cream
We will do the wines in one hour-long block up front, take a vote, have the reveal, and the rest of the evening can be fooding and schmoozing at leisure.
A few starters, to get us revved, all pop-and-pour:
Mouzon-Leroux MV Champagne Brut Reserve "l'Atavique" - 12%, 80% vintage 2011 and 20% vintages 2009/2010, cepage 60% pn/40% chard, 20% raised in barrel, disg. Oct. 2014, lovely, leesy, low fizz, precise, juicy, little citrus fruits, really very pretty
In the cuffed sock - a clean tube sock, you naughty reader; practically water-clear, a little sulfur on the nose and a little butter way into the finish, floral on the nose and on entry, not much mid-palate but good finish, and no idea whatsoever what this is!
In the uncuffed sock - also clean, also nearly clear, this has more texture than the first, richer texture, resinous in the finish, very long in the finish, maybe rousanne?
Now that we are all warmed up, the next hour is spent scrimmaging with the brown-bagged bottles (and a little bread and butter to keep us from floating away). The reds were opened at 10a for the 6p event.
#1 - slight magenta at the rim (others think this color is actually orange so a sign of slight aging), fine and few tannins, red fruit learning towards cranberry, very attractive, Chambolle?, opens up as it sits
#2 - now this is a slight orange color all the way through, has a musty cellar smell, lovely on entry but fades fast, this is not Burg, Nesle calls it 'herbal' and Adam thinks there are storage issues
#3 - very dark, very assertive, if this is a Burg then it has been aggressively oaked, tastes as much of the barrels (or something) as it does of grapes
#4 - transparent red, lightweight and bright acids, maybe some lemon peel, definitely limestone, kinda closed or maybe just not a substantial provenance, likable
#5 - transparent red, suave and fruity though not red-fruity (more fruit cup or yellow fruits, unusual compare to the rest of the wines so far), rather grippy, good stuffing
#6 - nose is also a little musty, palate is spicy! very full and rich in the mouth, I could sit and pay attention to this for a while, not sure whether it's Burg though (if it is, Morey?)
#7 - a little orangey, a touch of brett, not Burgundy, several people call it out as Foillard
#8 - transparent red, great nose! also a little butter way at the end, opinion is very divided on this one (meaning love it or hate it, seems like Burg) but I like it
#9 - root vegetables soar from the glass (carrot skin, parsnip, white radish), earthy, very fine tannin, definitely Burgundy, delicious
#10 - certainly pinot noir, seems light so maybe one of the New World ringers?
#11 - another earthy nose "Mushroom-y-ness" -Tammy, definitely Burg, straight-up and textbook, given the advanced flavors, Villages?
#12 - I find this one very ordinary, no doubt it's wine but meh, whereas Adam says "Very complete but shut down", who knows what this is
#13 - dark, bretty, grippy, weird and maybe manipulated, the only wine I actively dislike
#14 - light and lightweight, probably Burg
Diana leads the plebiscite -- "Hands up for number 1!" -- we are allowed to vote our three favorites. #10 was the clear winner of the popular vote, with #5 and #6 as runners-up. (I voted for #1, #6, and #9. My fourth vote would have gone to #5.)
---
Now the eating can proceed so we need a little more wine:
Firstly, the bottles from yesterday's Chandon de Briailles event are here! I take a quick slurp at the 2020 Marechaudes, which is still very pretty and has lots more to come, while the 2017 Bressandes now smells corked! (I wondered why it made such a blah showing yesterday.)
Georg promised some kabinetts:
Falkenstein 2016 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken - 01 17, recognizable Falk, good varietal flavor but, for me, the finish lacks the snap I seek
Falkenstein 2016 Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett "Alte Reben" - 08 17, this is more like it, juicy, snappy, with a finish distinct from the mid-palate
J.J. Prum 2016 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - corked, very
Sweeter wines:
Vereinigte Hospete 2015 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - 3 561 104 21 06, corked!
Haag 2012 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese - two bottles of this (last night's and a fresh one), still gently sweet, delicate flavor, weightier than it should be, good with the jelly roll
.
.
.
.
.
Oh, you want to know what was what? So demanding.
cuffed: Fevre 2011 Chablis "Valmur"
uncuffed: Dauvissat 2011 Chablis "La Foret"
# 1: Onward Wines 2011 Pinot Noir, Cerise Vineyard
# 2: Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2012 Pinot Noir
# 3: Dom. Saint-Nicolas (Thierry Michon) 2012 Fiefs Vendeens "Plante Gate"
# 4: Chandon de Briailles 2011 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er "Ile des Vergelesses"
# 5: Lignier-Michelot 2011 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er "Aux Chezeaux"
# 6: Amiot-Servelles 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Les Amoureuses"
# 7: Foillard 2011 Morgon, Cote du Py
# 8: Onward Wines 2011 Pinot Noir, Hawkeye Ranch
# 9: Bachelet 2011 Cotes de Nuits Villages
#10: B. Moreau 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet VV
#11: Bertheau 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Les Charmes"
#12: Bize 2011 Savigny-les-Beaune "Les Bourgeots"
#13: G. Rinaldi 2011 Freisa
#14: Roty 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin "Cuvee de la Brunelle"
How did I do at The Judgment of Tse Wei?
b = I guessed Burgundy, x = I guessed not burgundy, ? = I did not guess
My guess: b x ? b b ? x b b x b ? x b
Reality!: x x x b b b x x b b b b x b
I called b seven times, right five of them.
I called x four times, right three of them.
I made no call three times, missed two Burgs.
No Oracle at Delphi but not bad.
Did we learn anything?
First thing is to recognize the unusual conditions: almost as many ringers as theme wines, theme wines are three CdBeaune and five CdNuit, no GC and half/half 1er and Villages.
Other than the Onward Wines wines, the ringers were pretty awful. I thought my ringer, the Freisa, was the worst wine on the table.
There's some slight evidence that the CdNuit 1er wines showed greater aromatic complexity and greater density than any other category. The CdBeaune wines have a trickier game to play as they must show greatness without resorting to a show of force.
It was a totally fun evening and these notes are but a pale reflection of how much I enjoyed the tasting, and everyone's company, especially re-connecting with Georg after several years' absence, and Tse Wei and Diana's wonderful cooking.
Here we are at the main event: a blind tasting of 2011 Burgundies... with a substantial number of ringers. Will they stand out?
Why 2011, we ask? Tse Wei explains that he is intrigued by the lack of consensus concerning the vintage. His own pulls from that year have been up and down, so, perhaps, it's time to try a few more.
Folks arrive more or less on time. A few bring more food and some last-minute bottles; it's the usual chaos with a houseful of people. The dogs, Ayler and Schnapps, have entirely different outlooks towards the house full of guests: Schnapps is 11 years old and has seen it all before, while Ayler is 6 years old and finds the whole thing just! very! exciting! (Ayler is a german shepherd so that's a lot of furry-nosey excitement.)
Some of the dishes:
- Georg's "Franconia double-baked" bread (75% rye, the rest spelt) (maybe like this?)
- pate-croute: Tse Wei is going to enter the annual competition so we're eating a practice run... pork belly, duck breast, rillettes, forcemeat, aspic
- roasted fennel with arrack
- roasted carrots with harissa, cumin, yogurt, and mint
- asparagus, shiitake, and goat cheese tart
- blanquette of lamb with morels
- a very slow roasted leg of lamb
- for dessert... a plump jelly roll with bitter orange marmalade and plenty of whipped cream
We will do the wines in one hour-long block up front, take a vote, have the reveal, and the rest of the evening can be fooding and schmoozing at leisure.
A few starters, to get us revved, all pop-and-pour:
Mouzon-Leroux MV Champagne Brut Reserve "l'Atavique" - 12%, 80% vintage 2011 and 20% vintages 2009/2010, cepage 60% pn/40% chard, 20% raised in barrel, disg. Oct. 2014, lovely, leesy, low fizz, precise, juicy, little citrus fruits, really very pretty
In the cuffed sock - a clean tube sock, you naughty reader; practically water-clear, a little sulfur on the nose and a little butter way into the finish, floral on the nose and on entry, not much mid-palate but good finish, and no idea whatsoever what this is!
In the uncuffed sock - also clean, also nearly clear, this has more texture than the first, richer texture, resinous in the finish, very long in the finish, maybe rousanne?
Now that we are all warmed up, the next hour is spent scrimmaging with the brown-bagged bottles (and a little bread and butter to keep us from floating away). The reds were opened at 10a for the 6p event.
#1 - slight magenta at the rim (others think this color is actually orange so a sign of slight aging), fine and few tannins, red fruit learning towards cranberry, very attractive, Chambolle?, opens up as it sits
#2 - now this is a slight orange color all the way through, has a musty cellar smell, lovely on entry but fades fast, this is not Burg, Nesle calls it 'herbal' and Adam thinks there are storage issues
#3 - very dark, very assertive, if this is a Burg then it has been aggressively oaked, tastes as much of the barrels (or something) as it does of grapes
#4 - transparent red, lightweight and bright acids, maybe some lemon peel, definitely limestone, kinda closed or maybe just not a substantial provenance, likable
#5 - transparent red, suave and fruity though not red-fruity (more fruit cup or yellow fruits, unusual compare to the rest of the wines so far), rather grippy, good stuffing
#6 - nose is also a little musty, palate is spicy! very full and rich in the mouth, I could sit and pay attention to this for a while, not sure whether it's Burg though (if it is, Morey?)
#7 - a little orangey, a touch of brett, not Burgundy, several people call it out as Foillard
#8 - transparent red, great nose! also a little butter way at the end, opinion is very divided on this one (meaning love it or hate it, seems like Burg) but I like it
#9 - root vegetables soar from the glass (carrot skin, parsnip, white radish), earthy, very fine tannin, definitely Burgundy, delicious
#10 - certainly pinot noir, seems light so maybe one of the New World ringers?
#11 - another earthy nose "Mushroom-y-ness" -Tammy, definitely Burg, straight-up and textbook, given the advanced flavors, Villages?
#12 - I find this one very ordinary, no doubt it's wine but meh, whereas Adam says "Very complete but shut down", who knows what this is
#13 - dark, bretty, grippy, weird and maybe manipulated, the only wine I actively dislike
#14 - light and lightweight, probably Burg
Diana leads the plebiscite -- "Hands up for number 1!" -- we are allowed to vote our three favorites. #10 was the clear winner of the popular vote, with #5 and #6 as runners-up. (I voted for #1, #6, and #9. My fourth vote would have gone to #5.)
---
Now the eating can proceed so we need a little more wine:
Firstly, the bottles from yesterday's Chandon de Briailles event are here! I take a quick slurp at the 2020 Marechaudes, which is still very pretty and has lots more to come, while the 2017 Bressandes now smells corked! (I wondered why it made such a blah showing yesterday.)
Georg promised some kabinetts:
Falkenstein 2016 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken - 01 17, recognizable Falk, good varietal flavor but, for me, the finish lacks the snap I seek
Falkenstein 2016 Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett "Alte Reben" - 08 17, this is more like it, juicy, snappy, with a finish distinct from the mid-palate
J.J. Prum 2016 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - corked, very
Sweeter wines:
Vereinigte Hospete 2015 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - 3 561 104 21 06, corked!
Haag 2012 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese - two bottles of this (last night's and a fresh one), still gently sweet, delicate flavor, weightier than it should be, good with the jelly roll
.
.
.
.
.
Oh, you want to know what was what? So demanding.
cuffed: Fevre 2011 Chablis "Valmur"
uncuffed: Dauvissat 2011 Chablis "La Foret"
# 1: Onward Wines 2011 Pinot Noir, Cerise Vineyard
# 2: Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2012 Pinot Noir
# 3: Dom. Saint-Nicolas (Thierry Michon) 2012 Fiefs Vendeens "Plante Gate"
# 4: Chandon de Briailles 2011 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er "Ile des Vergelesses"
# 5: Lignier-Michelot 2011 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er "Aux Chezeaux"
# 6: Amiot-Servelles 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Les Amoureuses"
# 7: Foillard 2011 Morgon, Cote du Py
# 8: Onward Wines 2011 Pinot Noir, Hawkeye Ranch
# 9: Bachelet 2011 Cotes de Nuits Villages
#10: B. Moreau 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet VV
#11: Bertheau 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Les Charmes"
#12: Bize 2011 Savigny-les-Beaune "Les Bourgeots"
#13: G. Rinaldi 2011 Freisa
#14: Roty 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin "Cuvee de la Brunelle"
How did I do at The Judgment of Tse Wei?
b = I guessed Burgundy, x = I guessed not burgundy, ? = I did not guess
My guess: b x ? b b ? x b b x b ? x b
Reality!: x x x b b b x x b b b b x b
I called b seven times, right five of them.
I called x four times, right three of them.
I made no call three times, missed two Burgs.
No Oracle at Delphi but not bad.
Did we learn anything?
First thing is to recognize the unusual conditions: almost as many ringers as theme wines, theme wines are three CdBeaune and five CdNuit, no GC and half/half 1er and Villages.
Other than the Onward Wines wines, the ringers were pretty awful. I thought my ringer, the Freisa, was the worst wine on the table.
There's some slight evidence that the CdNuit 1er wines showed greater aromatic complexity and greater density than any other category. The CdBeaune wines have a trickier game to play as they must show greatness without resorting to a show of force.
It was a totally fun evening and these notes are but a pale reflection of how much I enjoyed the tasting, and everyone's company, especially re-connecting with Georg after several years' absence, and Tse Wei and Diana's wonderful cooking.