Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
It is winter in New England. Snow and slush and icy patches everywhere, making it hard to drive without fish-tailing and hard to walk without a frequent sharp intake of breath that precedes a near-fall.
Tonight I am at Gordon's Wine for a complimentary tasting of wines by Dom. P. Leclerc and Dom. Chezeaux. I am sitting next to .sasha, under whose auspices I obtained this desirable seat in the first place. (Thank you, Dr. K.) (And, also, a big Thank You to Gordon's for hosting a great event.)
While waiting for the event to begin I chat with Ian and some of the other nice folks who run the place. I also admire the extra-zippy Ponsot tech that is also used on the Dom. Chezeaux bottles: the Ponsot name in raised letters in the punt and a fancy cork that involves at least three different kinds of plastic. (See pictures at the end.) I also chat with some of the French visitors about vineyards, vines, phylloxera, and so forth.
The event begins. Philippe Leclerc is here in person, his first visit to the US in 20 years. He is inexplicably dressed as a pirate: black leather pants, black square-toed boots, black billow-sleeved lace-up shirt, and a dark thrusting pointy beard.
He announces big stylistic changes at the estate. One can feel a quiver go through the room... are we about to be subjected to m'oxed/r'osmosed/etc wine when we came for tannic ultra-traditional wine? Indeed, not: he is doing the same vineyard work but allowing the wines less time in barrel, hence they are softer and more accessible earlier.
Specifically, the village wines dropped from 2 years in 50-75% new oak barrels down to 18 months in 33% new, 33% one journey, and 33% two journey barrels. The 1er cru wines still rest in 100% new oak but for several months less than before. The full changeover happened in 2010 but experiments had been done since 2008.
A humorous anecdote is offered at this point about how Philippe was motivated to make these changes because the distributor said she'd like to pay Philippe for the new vintage in 10 years' time when she can actually taste the wine. (One has to wonder whether that transpired with a bit less ha-ha at the time?)
A little more on Dom. Leclerc:
- Yes, his brother also makes wine but we're not here to talk about him. (Take that!)
- He leaves the grapes on the vine until fully ripe, even at the risk of hail, rain, rot, and so on.
- The vines are old, perhaps as much as 25% of them planted following the end of WWI.
- I don't think any other protocol was discussed (e.g., canopy mgmt, use of stems, yeasts, sulfur).
With regard to Dom. Chezeaux, there is no representative of the house so much less is said. Everybody knows Ponsot and his glamor is sufficient. I guess.
Anyway, let the wines begin:
Flight - Odd Men Out
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Bourgogne "Bons Batons" - lightweight, very red cherry, very accessible, more pinot noir than Burgundy but still a good value at its price point; Philippe says that Bon Baton is a vineyard located near the Chambolle line that only 3 makers share (but the room can only name Barthod)
Dom. Chezeaux 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Charmes" - a fuller presence than the Bons Baton (more tannins, more 'face powder' aromatics) but kinda skimpy fruit and maybe even a touch of green
Dom. Chezeaux 2006 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Charmes" - softer than the 2011, not skimpy but shy (maybe a bit closed); .sasha observes that the Dom. Chezeaux wines have nice structure and nice fruit but they are in separate planes and not well-integrated, hence they give him the appearance of being crafted rather than natural.
Flight - Leclerc 2010
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin "En Champs" - fuller and richer than the Bons Batons, good balance, also very open and accessible
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Champeaux" - there is a roasted note in the nose (toast or terroir?) that lends the whole a sort of Nuits-St-George character, good potential but still tight, I like this one
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Cazetiers" - some complexity in the flavors here, maybe a note of apricot? but this wine is even more restrained and reticent so its hard to know what it will be like
Flight - Leclerc Combe aux Moines Vertical
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe aux Moines" - well, the 100% new oak is very prominent on this one! stinging tannins in the mouth conceal everything but the long, pure finish; .sasha thinks the wine is shut down hence the prominence of the wood
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe aux Moines" - fragrant flowers over a smear of dark jam, not profound and still quite oaky but at least there is something starting to show
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe aux Moines" - finally, a wine that is starting to show the masculine Gevrey funk, beef blood, stewed meat, strawberry jam; yum; Leclerc says to wait 10 more years on this one
Flight - Chezeau Griottes Vertical
Dom. Chezeaux 2011 Chambertin - candied, and cheap sugary candy at that; awful, really (and disappointing)
Dom. Chezeaux 2011 Griottes-Chambertin - also candied but a little less aggressively so, also sour
Dom. Chezeaux 2007 Griottes-Chambertin - sharp acidity, spicy, but still pretty closed
Dom. Chezeaux 1998 Griottes-Chambertin - finally here's a good one, very fresh and full, starting to show the bitter cherry flavor for which the vineyard was named
And here is that cork (click to embiggen):
Tonight I am at Gordon's Wine for a complimentary tasting of wines by Dom. P. Leclerc and Dom. Chezeaux. I am sitting next to .sasha, under whose auspices I obtained this desirable seat in the first place. (Thank you, Dr. K.) (And, also, a big Thank You to Gordon's for hosting a great event.)
While waiting for the event to begin I chat with Ian and some of the other nice folks who run the place. I also admire the extra-zippy Ponsot tech that is also used on the Dom. Chezeaux bottles: the Ponsot name in raised letters in the punt and a fancy cork that involves at least three different kinds of plastic. (See pictures at the end.) I also chat with some of the French visitors about vineyards, vines, phylloxera, and so forth.
The event begins. Philippe Leclerc is here in person, his first visit to the US in 20 years. He is inexplicably dressed as a pirate: black leather pants, black square-toed boots, black billow-sleeved lace-up shirt, and a dark thrusting pointy beard.
He announces big stylistic changes at the estate. One can feel a quiver go through the room... are we about to be subjected to m'oxed/r'osmosed/etc wine when we came for tannic ultra-traditional wine? Indeed, not: he is doing the same vineyard work but allowing the wines less time in barrel, hence they are softer and more accessible earlier.
Specifically, the village wines dropped from 2 years in 50-75% new oak barrels down to 18 months in 33% new, 33% one journey, and 33% two journey barrels. The 1er cru wines still rest in 100% new oak but for several months less than before. The full changeover happened in 2010 but experiments had been done since 2008.
A humorous anecdote is offered at this point about how Philippe was motivated to make these changes because the distributor said she'd like to pay Philippe for the new vintage in 10 years' time when she can actually taste the wine. (One has to wonder whether that transpired with a bit less ha-ha at the time?)
A little more on Dom. Leclerc:
- Yes, his brother also makes wine but we're not here to talk about him. (Take that!)
- He leaves the grapes on the vine until fully ripe, even at the risk of hail, rain, rot, and so on.
- The vines are old, perhaps as much as 25% of them planted following the end of WWI.
- I don't think any other protocol was discussed (e.g., canopy mgmt, use of stems, yeasts, sulfur).
With regard to Dom. Chezeaux, there is no representative of the house so much less is said. Everybody knows Ponsot and his glamor is sufficient. I guess.
Anyway, let the wines begin:
Flight - Odd Men Out
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Bourgogne "Bons Batons" - lightweight, very red cherry, very accessible, more pinot noir than Burgundy but still a good value at its price point; Philippe says that Bon Baton is a vineyard located near the Chambolle line that only 3 makers share (but the room can only name Barthod)
Dom. Chezeaux 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Charmes" - a fuller presence than the Bons Baton (more tannins, more 'face powder' aromatics) but kinda skimpy fruit and maybe even a touch of green
Dom. Chezeaux 2006 Chambolle-Musigny 1er "Charmes" - softer than the 2011, not skimpy but shy (maybe a bit closed); .sasha observes that the Dom. Chezeaux wines have nice structure and nice fruit but they are in separate planes and not well-integrated, hence they give him the appearance of being crafted rather than natural.
Flight - Leclerc 2010
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin "En Champs" - fuller and richer than the Bons Batons, good balance, also very open and accessible
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Champeaux" - there is a roasted note in the nose (toast or terroir?) that lends the whole a sort of Nuits-St-George character, good potential but still tight, I like this one
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Cazetiers" - some complexity in the flavors here, maybe a note of apricot? but this wine is even more restrained and reticent so its hard to know what it will be like
Flight - Leclerc Combe aux Moines Vertical
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe aux Moines" - well, the 100% new oak is very prominent on this one! stinging tannins in the mouth conceal everything but the long, pure finish; .sasha thinks the wine is shut down hence the prominence of the wood
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe aux Moines" - fragrant flowers over a smear of dark jam, not profound and still quite oaky but at least there is something starting to show
Dom. Philippe Leclerc 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combe aux Moines" - finally, a wine that is starting to show the masculine Gevrey funk, beef blood, stewed meat, strawberry jam; yum; Leclerc says to wait 10 more years on this one
Flight - Chezeau Griottes Vertical
Dom. Chezeaux 2011 Chambertin - candied, and cheap sugary candy at that; awful, really (and disappointing)
Dom. Chezeaux 2011 Griottes-Chambertin - also candied but a little less aggressively so, also sour
Dom. Chezeaux 2007 Griottes-Chambertin - sharp acidity, spicy, but still pretty closed
Dom. Chezeaux 1998 Griottes-Chambertin - finally here's a good one, very fresh and full, starting to show the bitter cherry flavor for which the vineyard was named
And here is that cork (click to embiggen):
