Copain, 2002 Burgundies and Misc. Pinots at Cru

J

Jay Miller

Jay Miller
Fascinating dinner at Cru last Tuesday. The idea was a blind tasting with each flight consisting of one 2006 Copain pinot, one "other" CA pinot, and 2 2002 Burgundies. Going into it I was interested though skeptical as to how the 2002 Burgs would show, expecting most of them to be shut down (2006 would have been a better comparison IMO). But since I haven't opened one for years now this would be a welcome check in. And the ripeness of the vintage will make it harder to pick out.

During the preliminary mingling they poured MV Krug. As many people know I don't "get" Krug and this was no exception. Harsh, dull and heavy. I was one of the few people refusing refills.

My notes are all from before the wines were revealed.

Flight One

2002 Mugnier 'Amoureuses' - Rich complex, much riper than I was expecting from the nose. With air becomes heavier but very nice and balanced. Copain or Burgundy? B

2006 Copain Kiser 'Bas' Pinot Noir - not much on the nose, very ripe on palate. copain? C+/B-

2005 Aubert Reuling Pinot Noir - hot on nose, heavy and harsh on palate. Definitely other CA. D
Amazingly half the room has this as their favorite of the flight, I find it disgusting and undrinkable.

2002 Roumier Chambolle Musigny 'Cras' - leaner, opens up getting better and better with air, beautiful! Definitely Burgundy. A-

Flight Two

2002 de Montille Volnay 'Mitans' - nose is bright and fresh with a hint of spice but much riper on palate. Copain? B-/B

2002 Marcassin Marcassin Pinot Noir - spicer nose, ripe and rich, very hot on finish. Other California. D+

2006 Copain Wentzel Pinot Noir - harder more angular. young. minty herbal note on nose. Showing riper with air. Copain? Burg? B-

2002 Lafarge Volnay 'Clos des Chenes' - hard ungiving closed. needs 10 years. Definitely a shut down Burgundy. C+

Flight Three

2006 Copain Monument Tree - Interesting nose, california ripe fruit but spicy and balanced. very nice. Copain. B/B+

2002 Rousseau Clos St. Jacques - Stunningly good, the reason you buy Burgundy. A/A+

2002 Bachelet GC 'Corbeaux' - Nice, acidic a bit closed. Burgundy. B/B+

2005 Peter Michael Moulin Rouge Pinot Noir - big, alcoholic, I concur with the people who think a shot of Bourbon was slipped into the bottle. Other CA. D+/C-

Flight Four - my most embarassing flight. After dissing Kosta Browne leading up to this I have to admit it wasn't nearly as bad as the other "others". My only excuse is that I was thrown off by the bad bottle of Engel.

2002 Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot Noir - beets, cola, nice red fruit. Copain. B-

2006 Copain Kiser 'En Haut' - Nice, rich ripe, opens with air into a very nice wine. Burgundy. B+

2002 Cathiard VR 'Malconsorts' lovely nose. rich but not overdone, lush. Burgundy. A-

2002 Rene Engel VR 'Brulee' - sewage, rotting plant life, this obviously has some nasty bacteriological contamination going on. Other pinot. D-
Later in the evening they pour us another bottle of this which is much better. I didn't jot down any notes by then but I must have liked it since I wrote B.

Fascinating tasting. Some of the Copains (which I think might be from the cooler sites?) are very much in my sweet spot while others are still too ripe for me, though not for others in the room. For my palate the clear class of their lineup this night was the beautiful Kiser 'En Haut' but I'd happily drink the Monument Tree any day. The Wentzel and 'En Bas' were still too California ripe for me.
 
Sounds like a nice format and even if you were pleasantly surprised by the Copains it looks like you didn't have any real embarassing mistaken calls. At least according to these notes.
 
Rousseau's top wines at their frequent best deliver exactly what many look for when they buy Burgundy. Not me though!
 
originally posted by Tom Blach:
Rousseau's top wines at their frequent best deliver exactly what many look for when they buy Burgundy. Not me though!
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What does this mean?

You don't like Rousseau?

Why not?
 
I like them very much, but to me they are gentle middle of the road wines which have the advantage of being generally accessible at most stages of their evolution rather than anything particularly exciting. In this I am rather a minority and probably entirely wrong.
 
originally posted by Tom Blach:
I like them very much, but to me they are gentle middle of the road wines which have the advantage of being generally accessible at most stages of their evolution rather than anything particularly exciting. In this I am rather a minority and probably entirely wrong.
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I really like Rousseau. A lot. I've been drinking my 2004 Clos de la Marechale from Rousseau lately. But I am hardly a Rousseau expert (and I do give Claude Kolm credit for converting me to the cult of Rousseau several years ago).

And I do admire you're willingness to stand out from the crowd here. But I do have to admit I have next to no experience on older Rousseau wines. Short and mid-term for me.
 
originally posted by maureen:
originally posted by Bwood:2004 Clos de la Marechale from Rousseau
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?????? Is this some inside joke?
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Sorry, Maureen, it was. Long story.

(I've actually been drinking both the '04 Rousseau Lavaux St. Jacques and '04 Mugnier Clos de la Marchale and enjoying them both.)
 
originally posted by Arjun Mendiratta:
Tom,

That does seem like a minority viewpoint. So where do you go for excitement?
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Not far-I am very excitable indeed on the subject. Burgundies that have excited me in the last three weeks would have to include Fourrier CSJ 93, which shouldn't have been good but was, Jadot Chapelle 93, Ponnelle Chambertin 64, Clavelier Vosne Beaumonts 93, Maume Gevrey En Pallud 98, Grivot Nuits Boudots 93, Burguet Gevrey VV 88, Geoffroy Fixin 04 and Faiveley Mercurey Clos Du Roi 92. To be fair my excitement is not unconnected with the fact that the most expensive of these was far less than a tenth as expensive as the current price of a sought after vintage of Rousseau Chambertin or Beze.
 
Tom you're such a tease. Pierre Ponnelle '64? Wow. And have the '98s from Maume opened up? I had a very disappointing Charmes recently.

See you in May?
 
I've not had the Maume 98 Charmes-I don't seek it out-but I have had Bourgogne, village, En Pallud and LSJ and they are all thrilling if you like crunch in your burgundy. The Ponnelle was a curiosity in magnum, I'll happily save one for you. I thought it was just a lovely generic old burgundy with intense savour though without any particular thrills but it was received with absolute rapture by a table of people who like drinking wine but do not make too much effort, and I'm always moved when people enjoy such things so much.
I hope indeed to see you in May.
 
Opened the 2002 Bachelet GC ac. recently...the thing that stood out on that wine was the ripeness of the fruit - it was slightly candied and that put me off a bit...the wine did take an hour to open up. It was decent, but not as good as I'd hope for my hero Denis.

Thanks for the heads up on 2002 Chenes and Cras.

Nice lineup Jay.
 
Jay,
Did you spit all?
I wonder only because the KB was in the last flight - had I drunk, even a little, up until then, I might not be as discerning. Actually, for me, even if I spit.
Blind tastings are almost always lost on me if there are more than three wines.
Best, Jim
 
I had the '99 Rousseau Clos des Ruchottes recently. I thought it was just spectacular -- very approachable now even if hardly at its peak. I understand Tom's comments above, but I really love Rousseau wines and their approachability. i really wish I had bought more Rousseau wines in the '90s.

Lafarge, on the other hand, increasingly strikes me as a producer who makes the same wines regardless of vintage and makes wines that take too long for me. The Lafarge Bourgognes are just too hard for my taste, although I will finish off the '07s I just bought and will not, I suppose, just pour them down the sink.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Jay,
Did you spit all?
I wonder only because the KB was in the last flight - had I drunk, even a little, up until then, I might not be as discerning. Actually, for me, even if I spit.
Blind tastings are almost always lost on me if there are more than three wines.
Best, Jim
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Not that I recall though I might done so involuntarily after drinking the Aubert.
 
originally posted by Bwood:


Lafarge, on the other hand, increasingly strikes me as a producer who makes the same wines regardless of vintage and makes wines that take too long for me. The Lafarge Bourgognes are just too hard for my taste, although I will finish off the '07s I just bought and will not, I suppose, just pour them down the sink.
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Whereas my experience has shown high variation. They hit 1993 the way Roumier hit 1995 whereas those few 2000s I've tried have been disappointing for that usually friendly vintage.
 
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