TN 03 Christoffel UW SL, 04 Roty Bourgogne, 06 Boison-Vadot AD, 07 De Moor St. Bris

I

Ian Fitzsimmons

Ian Fitzsimmons
2003 JJ Christoffel Urziger Wuerzgarten Spaetlese

With a full day decant, perfectly pleasant as an aperitif or with starters. Not at the elegant end of the MSR spectrum, a bit heavy on the brown sugar notes, but perfectly good, refined, well-made Mosel Riesling. $10, I think, from those slippery guys at PC.

2004 Roty Bourgogne Pressonnier

Out of the bottle, this wine is malicious: creepily green, aggressive, angry, off-putting. Not dumb; rather, highly articulate, with an imaginative vocabulary of expletives. With a full day decant or overnight in the fridge, it alchemizes bizarrely into a medium-bodied, slightly rich, versatile Bourgogne, with a fair dollop of enjoyable rustic dirt. $8 a bottle from those notoriously shady folks at PC. Ive never run across anything like it.

2006 Auxey Duresses 1er Cru Boisson-Vadot

Decanted a full day: modest cherry-leather aroma. Surprisingly rich, dense texture for an AD, some rustic tannins and fruit rather hidden. Nice in a way, but is there more fruit in there? Not of a piece somehow: seems a bit over the top. Ill stick with Lafouge.

2007 De Moor St. Bris

From magnum, a dead ringer for a 1er Chablis, though drier. Crystally rocks, prickly acids, sappy viscosity, and long legs on the glass. A ghost of gooseberry in the deep background, but nothing typically varietal here. Still young, refines with air time. At $40/magnum, cheering value. Thanks Alice and Olivier, Joe and Denyse, David and Jamie.

We've also been drinking some 06 Coudert Roilette recently, which opens nicely after (guess!) A full day's decant.
 
2006 Auxey Duresses 1er Cru Boisson-Vadot Decanted a full day: modest cherry-leather aroma. Surprisingly rich, dense texture for an AD, some rustic tannins and fruit rather hidden. Nice in a way, but is there more fruit in there? Not of a piece somehow: seems a bit over the top. Ill stick with Lafouge..
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How is it rich and dense but still no fruit?

Do I assume you've also had bottles of this on the first day? And they didn't show any better?

After a full day's decant (and does that mean sitting in a decanter from morning until the evening or opened on one night and drunk 24 hours later?) I can imagine it would show awkward, without fruit, and not of a piece.
 
Skeptical Rahsaan, I wrote 'rich texture,' to hint, deftly, that the texture was rich. To me, this sense is of a cushiony thickness or viscosity on the tongue. I suspect this quality has to do with extraction and skin contact. There's no implication in re: fruit.

Next point, this is the second bottle of the Boisson-Vadot AD we've opened, and I decanted it all day (morning to night, as opposed to 'overnight,' which would indicate overnight) on the basis of our experience with the first, which (wait for it) ... showed little fruit. Also, when I open or decant a bottle well before drinking time, I take small tastes over the airing period: this wine was not 'all of a piece' at any point during the day.

I hope I passed the exam!
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Skeptical Rahsaan, I wrote 'rich texture,' to hint, deftly, that the texture was rich. To me, this sense is of a cushiony thickness or viscosity on the tongue. I suspect this quality has to do with extraction and skin contact. There's no implication in re: fruit.
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I always thought extraction or skin contact were felt as fruit/body and tannin. Doesn't sound like you are describing tannin, or alcohol, which would be the other components besides fruit that might add 'richness'. But then again I'm no chemist.
 
I'm no wine-maker, but my conjecture is that there is material in the skin and under-skin that may contribute to the viscosity of the derived juice and wine. I think I've heard glycerin or a compound of glycerin mentioned in this connection. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will chime in and straighten us both out on this detail.

What made this wine, to me, 'not all of a piece,' was precisely the contrast between richness of texture and miserliness of the fruit flavors. It created an odd impression, like a room with a hidden compartment behind one wall.

What do you mean by fruit/body?
 
You mean if I weigh a 750 of full-bodied wine it will be heavier than one of vino verde? Just kidding.

I can't keep up with your reasoning, though. Sorry.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
What do you mean by fruit/body?
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Weight.

Fruit flavors are something different. Wines are less aromatic when they are shut down, no?
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Sometimes, a wine is aromatic but mute on the palate. I usually consider that shut down as well. Given the role smell plays in taste, I don't know how it happens, but it happens, at least to me, with some frequency.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Sometimes, a wine is aromatic but mute on the palate. I usually consider that shut down as well. Given the role smell plays in taste, I don't know how it happens, but it happens, at least to me, with some frequency.
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Lacking in inner-mouth perfume, eh?
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
You mean if I weigh a 750 of full-bodied wine it will be heavier than one of vino verde? Just kidding.
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Yes, given that the former often come in heavier bottles.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
You mean if I weigh a 750 of full-bodied wine it will be heavier than one of vino verde? Just kidding.

I can't keep up with your reasoning, though. Sorry.
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I'd be curious. How accurate are your scales?

Of course, we'd have to adjust for differential bottle weights.
 
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