Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
It's a Goldilocks tale of the Bourgogne that was just right.
2005 Marquis d'Angerville Bourgogne blanc - this one's too unassertive. Weird for a 2005, which I mercilessly associate with flab, and a Marquis d'A., whom I associate with a slightly more ambitious oak program. (I will of course be pilloried for clamoring for more oak, but I'll risk it.) This has great poise, but is unassertive. It lives up to its lowly appellation, which, here, is not praise. Placeless white Burgundy: next!
2004 Guillot-Broux Mcon-Grvilly Blanc "Les Genievrires" - this one's got a clump of hemp in the middle. I was a little wary when I tasted it, as the waitress brought it out already open in an ice bucket, with a DropStop shoved in its end. Its slightly vente attack was worrisome. But there was also a closedness to it, evidenced by a fibery, green thing in the midpalate. The finish was saline. I had had better memories of this bottle. With air, the weedy mid-thing went away, but the finish seemed all the more thin and disappointing.
2004 Pierre Morey Bourgogne blanc - Just right! Mm, so right. Classic white Burgundy that could almost, in a pinch, seem like a minor-key version of a Puligny village wine. Hazelnut and mineral, a whiff of lemon but none too much; well-honed and fairly persistent on the palate. Super.
Oh, and hell, while we're at it, I'll throw in a big, bad wolf.
2005 Chteau de Ngly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape "La Falaise" - Big but not fat; kirschy hot stuff, with alcohol spicily pouring over the sides. My fellow diner assured me the 2004 of same was a far more balanced affair, but this one was disjointed and thick, with a sweet finish. Purports to be 14.5% alcohol. Yeah, and it was just trying to help me get to Grandma's, too.
2005 Marquis d'Angerville Bourgogne blanc - this one's too unassertive. Weird for a 2005, which I mercilessly associate with flab, and a Marquis d'A., whom I associate with a slightly more ambitious oak program. (I will of course be pilloried for clamoring for more oak, but I'll risk it.) This has great poise, but is unassertive. It lives up to its lowly appellation, which, here, is not praise. Placeless white Burgundy: next!
2004 Guillot-Broux Mcon-Grvilly Blanc "Les Genievrires" - this one's got a clump of hemp in the middle. I was a little wary when I tasted it, as the waitress brought it out already open in an ice bucket, with a DropStop shoved in its end. Its slightly vente attack was worrisome. But there was also a closedness to it, evidenced by a fibery, green thing in the midpalate. The finish was saline. I had had better memories of this bottle. With air, the weedy mid-thing went away, but the finish seemed all the more thin and disappointing.
2004 Pierre Morey Bourgogne blanc - Just right! Mm, so right. Classic white Burgundy that could almost, in a pinch, seem like a minor-key version of a Puligny village wine. Hazelnut and mineral, a whiff of lemon but none too much; well-honed and fairly persistent on the palate. Super.
Oh, and hell, while we're at it, I'll throw in a big, bad wolf.
2005 Chteau de Ngly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape "La Falaise" - Big but not fat; kirschy hot stuff, with alcohol spicily pouring over the sides. My fellow diner assured me the 2004 of same was a far more balanced affair, but this one was disjointed and thick, with a sweet finish. Purports to be 14.5% alcohol. Yeah, and it was just trying to help me get to Grandma's, too.
