What did you drink tonight?

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Last night a solitary bottle of 1995 Drouhin Clos de Vougeot seemed wizened, somewhat the worse for wear, leaving us drinkers none the wiser. Like an old timer who doesn't exercise, it doddered across the finish line, more balsam than balm. Perhaps disappointment was all the stars had ever planned, since Drouhin's plot sits smack on the N74.
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Drouhin has two plots in CdV. They are vinified separately, and in most vintages, the plot by the nationale is sold off to other negociants. I'd give pretty good odds that in 1995 they sold the wine from the plot by the nationale off rather than incorporating it into the CdV.

What was the provenance of this particular bottle?
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
Is that how you tell?
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Isn't it obvious? Farmers have dirt under their nails and that inevitably finds its way into the bottles. Aristocrats go for manipedis and can afford to be anal, so they filter everything.
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How romantic. How false.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
1998 Angerville Volnay was a bit tannic (stems?) and astringent last night. Food softened it, but it still came off as brawny and built to be a premier cru. Mercifully without salient alcohol or wood, but there wasn't much pleasure to be had. As befits an aristocrat's wine, no sediment at all, unlike a 98 Chamonard Morgon Clos de Lys the night before, that had tons, as befits a farmer's wine.
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Ah, so sad, O. I've opened one from my stash (same lot as yours IIRC) with similar results. Will time wound all heels, or will it never offer up much in the way of pleasure? And will I live long enough to find out? So many questions, so little wine.

Mark Lipton
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There have been reports from a reputable DC source that in general 1998 Burgundies have shut down again. And d'Angerville tends to need a lot of time anyway.

I'm holding all my 1998 and 1995 red Burgs at the moment. On the other hand many 1993s and 1996s are finally awakening from their long slumber.
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Agree with you that 1998s are shutting back down again (but not all), that d'Angervilles need LOTS of time, and that 1993s and 1996s are now drinking well (although Tom Blach finds the 1993s shut down at the moment).

Where I disagree is 1995, where I've not had any bad experiences with the wines I've opened in the last few years. The promise that was there at the beginning (I remember Denis Mortet telling me that anyone who didn't make really good wine in 1995 was incompetent) is now beginning to show.
 
originally posted by :
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Last night a solitary bottle of 1995 Drouhin Clos de Vougeot seemed wizened, somewhat the worse for wear, leaving us drinkers none the wiser. Like an old timer who doesn't exercise, it doddered across the finish line, more balsam than balm. Perhaps disappointment was all the stars had ever planned, since Drouhin's plot sits smack on the N74.
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in a bored spirit of channeling yixin, why blame drouhin for a child someone else abused?

the nicest and most surprising wine in the trough at tonight's fatfest was an 86 village fixin from berthaut. again, somehow appropriately channeling yixin, it had lain most of its life underground, in belgium.

from a shelf in hoboken, ymmv.

shit is hard, i know, but you has to channel teh feelings to beat teh trollz.

obkfb.
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The big secret about 1986 is that it actually was good at the northern end of the Côte de Nuits (say, Chambolle and north). And truth be told, I've had some surprisingly good reds from the Côte de Beaune, where the vintage was much more difficult. But it was a large vintage (for its time), so you ought to choose conscientious producers.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Last night a solitary bottle of 1995 Drouhin Clos de Vougeot seemed wizened, somewhat the worse for wear, leaving us drinkers none the wiser. Like an old timer who doesn't exercise, it doddered across the finish line, more balsam than balm. Perhaps disappointment was all the stars had ever planned, since Drouhin's plot sits smack on the N74.
Click to expand...
Drouhin has two plots in CdV. They are vinified separately, and in most vintages, the plot by the nationale is sold off to other negociants. I'd give pretty good odds that in 1995 they sold the wine from the plot by the nationale off rather than incorporating it into the CdV.

What was the provenance of this particular bottle?
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Came from the refrigerated cellar of a friend's wealthy father, but I don't know how he came to have it.

My info comes from this map, which shows indeed two Joseph Drouhin plots (268 and 269), but both face the N74 in the bottom left hand corner. Perhaps you mean that they only vinify under their own name the parts of 268 that are a little further in. But it's still pretty close, in the bottom third.

Vougeot.jpg
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
Is that how you tell?
Click to expand...

Isn't it obvious? Farmers have dirt under their nails and that inevitably finds its way into the bottles. Aristocrats go for manipedis and can afford to be anal, so they filter everything.
Click to expand...

How romantic. How false.
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Thanks for letting me know.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
2014 Christian Ducroux Prologue 10.5% was a light & luvly nouveau Bojo with active perfumery and a hint of seriousness.
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and the 2013 still delightful, as of last night

more red fruit than 2014
 
A pair from the same vineyard and vintage to contrast producers (and vineyard name spellings). Both decanted three hours; the Drouhin underwent several passes through the useless Vinturi aerator (I still lack the gumption to try a blender).

2005 Jacques Prieur Beaune Champs-Pimont 1er Cru 13.0%
Vanilla, toast, licorice and an unexpected citric note. Listful acidity, but a little detached from the rest, and buffered, if not smothered, by the antacid effect of wood. Good weight and balance, but did not go well with food. Prefers its own sweet lonesome. Too bad these guys use so much wood, because the other structural elements seemed to be well tempered.

2005 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Champimonts 1er Cru 13.0%
Shut down when opened, still shut down nearly four hours later, after several pours between decanters in vain hopes of arousal. Vague aroma of red berries. Good acidity, weight and balance, with a slightly unpleasant bitter finish that disappeared with food. Very light oak, almost imperceptible. Went down beautifully as a winey beverage, but too reminiscent of drinking with a head cold. Needs another five years, at least. Bummer.

Especially interesting was the contrast between the open* and closed states, given the similarities. I imagine that both wineries use not too dissimilar amounts of SO2, and the degree of grape maturity, extraction and alcohol all seemed similar. The amount of new wood appeared to be the biggest difference; as ve all know, a benefit of new wood, perhaps the only one, is the micro oxygenation that it allows during élevage. Maybe that's it, but there must be more at play here, particularly since Drouhin is the less modern (though much larger) producer.

* this was my first 05 Drouhin Champimonts, but I’ve tasted many 05 Prieur Champs Pimonts over the last six years and they have ALL been strangely open, in contrast to most shut down 05 Burgs.
 
Wow, looks like you went through the appropriate amount of effort to coax pleasure from these wines.

The other night I had a 2005 Chandon de Briailles Ile des Vergelesses with the Missing Man Blackwood and we were in a restaurant so we couldn't give it that much love or attention. I was surprised that he brought the wine, but he assured me that it was drinking remarkably well recently.

Unfortunately for us, our bottle did not show as well as his last. Nothing structural was shut down, but the flavors were closed in and almost oxidized-like. We only gave it maybe 2+ hours of decanting and it started to show more, but then we were done.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Wow, looks like you went through the appropriate amount of effort to coax pleasure from these wines.

The other night I had a 2005 Chandon de Briailles Ile des Vergelesses with the Missing Man Blackwood and we were in a restaurant so we couldn't give it that much love or attention. I was surprised that he brought the wine, but he assured me that it was drinking remarkably well recently.

Unfortunately for us, our bottle did not show as well as his last. Nothing structural was shut down, but the flavors were closed in and almost oxidized-like. We only gave it maybe 2+ hours of decanting and it started to show more, but then we were done.
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We drank the 2007 version this week, it was open and lovely, great aromas, tannins were there but underneath and supporting the fruit.

How is JB doing?
 
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