Claude Kolm/The Fine Wine Review

Jonathan, Ah, but now you are talking premier cru, (which should be) a notable step up from most village wines. How did you find the wine? Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Cabrales -- The Fine Wine Review is a small, independent wine review that I publish. It has existed since 1986, with six issues appearing each year. The primary focus is on Burgundies, Northern Rhones, and German wines which are covered in great depth, but other areas are covered as time, space, and my interests permit. I publish the newsletter as a labor of love on nights and weekends, as I work as an attorney during the day (but I do manage two trips a year to Europe to taste, including three weeks each fall in Burgundy). My purpose in producing The Fine Wine Review is to present a more classic (or traditional or European) approach to wine than that taken by other American publications. As a result, I am greatly concerned with balance, elegance, and finesse in wine and a wine's fidelity to what the French call terroir. I generally do not like wines that are packed with oak, alcohol, jammy fruit, that are low in acidity, and/or that have residual sugar (unless there is the proper acidity to balance the residual sugar, as in the great German wines and wines that are intended as dessert wines). In addition to The Fine Wine Review, I have done some other writing on wine, most recently in several issues of the now-defunct Williams-Sonoma Taste Magazine. I've not been to Ledoyen so I cannot comment on what altertnatives the sommelier could have suggested. But I am disappointed to see a Jules Belin Puligny-Montrachet on the list of a restaurant with the prestige of Ledoyen. A restaurant with that much renown can obtain wine from any Puligny producer it wants, and there are plenty that could provide good and excellent village Puligny: Domaine Leflaive, Carillon, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Jadot, Jean-Marc Boillot, Faiveley, Paul Pernot, etc., etc. In their place, Ledoyen has chosen Jules Belin. Belin once was was a well-known negociant house in Burgundy with very significant holdings. (Much of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti's La Tache once belonged to Belin, but Belin got in trouble with the wine authorities and had to sell the property off. Belin also once owned the Domaine de l'Arlot in Premeaux, which includes the Clos de l'Arlot and the Clos des Forets-St-Georges, the latter being one of the finest vineyards in the Nuits-St-Georges.) Today, Belin is just a marque owned by one of the large negociant operations not known for serious wine (as opposed to the afore-mentioned Drouhin, Faively, Jadot -- and also Bouchard Pere et Fils, and some new generation negociants such as Nicholas Potel -- which are negociants (and also property owners) producing wines of top tier quality). Seeing Belin on the wine list at a place such as Ledoyen is depressing, but not surprising. The great majority of restaurants in France (and especially Paris) either have very poor wine selections and/or grossly overpriced wines. Those who love wine as well as food keep mental lists of where one can get quality food and wine at the same time and rarely depart from the restaurants on those lists. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Lizzie -- I am not surprised at the sommmelier's trying to steer you away from those wines. They should not be on a good no-star restaurant's wine list, much less a three-star restaurant's -- I am shocked and awed to hear that they were there. The mistake was not trying to steer you away from them, but not trying to find you compatible wines in the same price range. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Cabrales --- I'm not Craig, but I seem to recall the leather-bound wine list from last October, although I do not recall the unsual first page that you mention. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

I had lunch at Astrance last October and would second the recommendation. I was truly wowed. Very innovative food and wonderful lightness, and you didn't feel stuffed at the end of the meal. The wine list is long and has lots of excellent choices -- but although the selections of Burgundies and clarets are tempting, I would stay away from them. The type of food here demands Loire or Languedoc wines that can handle the unusual flavor combinations (we went with a 1993 Huet Vouvray demi-sec that was the perfect match). Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Marty -- One would certainly guess that there is something about Jacques Seysses's vinifications at Domaine Dujac that make the wines less prone to prolonged shutdowns than other wines. However, over the years, there is very little that has remained constant there, and in the 35 years or so that the domaine has been in existence, one can identify as many as five or six styles that the wines have gone through. What is constant, I think, is that Jacques Seysses (and now his son Jeremy) prefers wines that are subtle and elegant and he understands the difference between concentration and extraction. As a result, I would say that he seeks a balance in his wine that permits his wines to drink early -- they are more approachable when young that the wines at many other estates. One therefore would think that Dujac wines can't age because they are so delicious when young, but time after time, experience has shown that Dujac wines age magnificently. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

1988 is a year that has had some controversy from the beginning. One or two influential critics panned the wines as overly tannic. But that was not the case – these critics confused acidity with tannin. Acidity is a key to red Burgundy – and the reason why those critical of the vintage have not appreciated it or most great red Burgundy. In 1988, we are still early in the reconstruction of Burgundy that began only a few years before, so the better producers’ improvements in the vineyards, such as eliminating herbicides and chemical fertilizers, and improved techniques in the cellars, largely had yet to be implemented. Where such changes were being taking place in the vineyards, there had not been a long enough gestation to reap the full effects. As a result, while this is an extremely good vintage from top producers, it would be even better, perhaps spectacular, if repeated. In particular, there is a slight rusticity to these wines that would not be found today from the top producers. Vintage size was moderate. The issues at harvest were rain the week of 18 September. Producers who harvested shortly thereafter risked wines from grapes that were not sufficiently mature and also some dilution. Those who harvested later generally had more successful wines. In barrel the wines were marked by dark blue and purple colors, a sign of their high acidity, and liveliness and purity of fruit due to the underlying acidity. But there also was great experimentation in the cellar at the time, not all for the better. This was the beginning of the brief heyday for Guy Accad, the controversial consultant. But Accad’s influence was limited to 15-20 producers. More significant was the appreciation that certain American journalists and importers favored very oaky wines. For this and the next few vintages, one often came across wines that had been exposed to too much new oak. As a result, while there are some very great wines from this vintage, the number of producers who were able to achieve that level is relatively small. The acidity has made the wines slow to come around. The wines on the Côte de Beaune generally have been ready to drink for several years now, and at their best they are superb – Lafarge (Volnay-Clos des Chênes, always his slowest-developing, still needs more time), de Montille, Pousse d’Or, Pothier-Rieusset, and Comte Armand all made Volnays and Pommards that are ravishing today, as did Jacques Germain with his Beaunes. The present state of the Côte de Nuits wines is more mixed. Dujac wines have been delicious for some time (but Dujac wines rarely suffer prolonged shutdowns that may afflict other wines), and a DRC Grands-Echézeaux a few years ago was magnificent. This is an extremely successful vintage for Ponsot, that most idiosyncratic and inconsistent producer, and the wines are superb now. Drouhin's wines, made by the talented Laurence Jobard, were long stern and unyielding, but recently have begun to blossom spectacularly. However, for many other top producers, such as Roumier, Rousseau, and Maume, the wines will continue to benefit from additional aging. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Re Alsaco, I repeat my post from the thread entitled "Paris 4th bistros:" Steve Plotnicki and I had a discussion about Alsaco on another board a few years ago. The situation described below bothers me and has kept me from going to Alsaco, as much as I love the food and wine there, but it apparently does not prevent Steve from going there. I post this in case the news is something that would make you want to avoid the restaurant. A few years ago, neo-Nazis in Paris chose Alsaco as the location to celebrate Hitler's birthday (April 20). The event made news because anti-Nazi graffiti was painted on the outside of the restaurant the night before the event exposing it to the neighborhood, and there may have been some other damage. Other inquiries in Paris apparently confirmed the truth of the story and the views of Alsaco's owner. Web searches also revealed that the owner is a big Le Pen backer (including monetary donations). Patricia Wells recommends Alsaco. I e-mailed her with the news about Alsaco and asked what she knew about it, but she never replied. She continues to recommend the restaurant. Friends in Paris tell me that Chez Jenny, another Alsatian brasserie (Alsaco is really a wijnstub and not a brasserie) in Paris, also is notorious for the views of much of its clientele. These days I'm inclined to go to Boffinger or to search out other new places when I'm in Paris and want Alsatian food. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

This is a vintage that for a long time provided no great wine, but plenty of excellent wine for drinking. However, the wines are now in decline and should be drunk as soon as possible. There was little good weather in this year, but the first three weeks of September did provide fine weather – and an old Burgundian proverb says that September makes the wine. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold, and there was rain in the last part of September, during the harvest. However, the rain was at night, and winds from the north prevented the formation of botrytis. The resulting wines, at their best, were not powerful or extremely concentrated, but were nervy and balanced and showed fidelity to their respective terroirs. Unusually, the 1997s never went through a dumb period and were delicious to drink throughout their lives. But not all of the top producers made the best wines. From Lafarge and Dujac especially, and also Pousse d’Or and Mugneret-Gibourg and Michel Esomonin (father of Sylvie Esmonin), in particular, there were very good wines. On the other hand, Roumier's wines were nothing special, and DRC's also did not stand out. However, as I stated above, the wines are all in decline now and should be drunk up now – notwithstanding an extraordinary Clos la Roche from Dujac I had a little more than a year ago. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Larry's comments inspired me to open a bottle of 1985 Pommard-Epenots from Pothier-Rieusset. Although my view of blind tastings is that they are useful only as an occasional reality check, FWIW, I can report that over the years, this wine and Pothier's 1985 Pommard-Rugiens consistently came out at or near the top in tastings matching them against some of the top grands crus of the vintage. Last night's wine was no disappointment, either - pure Pommard with the overall rusticity of the village and also the refinement of the Epenots vineyard, and great depth complexity to the earthy, smoky dark fruit. The wine was right where I have found my other 1985s -- not likely to get any better, but still on its plateau. For those who are unfamiliar with the estate, Virgile Pothier, who was in his late 60s when he made this wine, looked like the stereotypical French vigneron -- short and round, always with a beret on his head and a cigarette dangling from his lip. He made fantastic wines for the same reason that he could not sell them -- he simply was not a commercial type and did not change to meet current fashions. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Interesting observations, Larry. Your experience with Rousseau's Chambertin, of course, is the opposite of what Steve reports above. Jayer is a top producer, and de Vogue, if not a top producer at that time (the last year of the regime prior to the current one) at least is a very great terroir. Tollot-Beaut was a god, but not a top, producer at the time IMO (and may not be now, but that's for another discussion). Your experience with Roumier is different from what I've seen reported elsewhere - I may have to open a bottle soon to find out. Don't know what to say about the Mugneret -- my only bottle was corked when I opened it 4 years ago, but for what one could tell, it was still vital. Moine-Hudelot was not a top producer. Mugnier had only recently come back and I don't think his 1985 Musigny ever was that great. The Leroy Nuits-Richemone had to come from either Michelot or Pernin-Rossin, the only two owners of the vineyard. And Leroy did not make the wine, but rather bought it in barrel. I consider neither Michelot or P-R top notch (although Pernin certainly had his supporters). So the bottom line is: I'm not sure that your experience is contrary to what I reported in my original post. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Hi, Steve, First, correct me if I am wrong, but all your 1985s have been bought on the secondary market, so you cannot verify their provenance, is that not correct? That being said, some of the wines are getting old enough that there is considerable bottle variation. For example, a 1985 Dujac Clos la Roche served to me at the estate last November was beginning to slide downhill -- much to my surprise because a bottle (my last) from my own cellar that I had opened within the prceding year was much fresher and at its peak. This difference even though Burgundies almost always taste better in Europe than in the US. A Drouhin Chambolle-Amoureuses that I opened last summer was astonishing and at its peak, although a Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin, while still good had probably passed its peak. I'm down to about 1-1/2 cases of 1985 and will drink them over the next couple of years because, as I stated in my original post, they won't be getting any better. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Hi, Craig, As always with Burgundy, one must only speak of the cream of the crop -- but there is a lot more cream than there used to be. Yes, if one is not careful, one can still find lots of poor Burgundy, but someone who is informed will have no trouble finding plenty of outstanding wine -- both because of the increased number of quality producers and because of the number of good to great vintages that we have experienced since 1985. Even at the Bourgogne level from quality producers such as Lafarge and Barthod, the wines can be outstanding -- and not expensive. I haven't run into Mr. Levy (probably doesn't distribute in the Bay Area). Of the properties he has, I am familiar with Garaudet (although not the last few vintages) and have heard of Maraslavac-Leger and Sigaut, but have not had their wines. I visited Taupenot-Merme last fall for the first time in 12 years. I found the people there extremely nice, and the properties they own are great, but the wines didn't do it for me. They heat the wine to 40 degrees Celsius at the end of the fermentation and I suspect that is what causes the wines to be other than what I am looking for. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Hi, Marty, I haven't had Roumier's 1986s in quite a while, but they were spectacular when young. I've recently seen good reports on some Dujac and de Vougue wines, and as I said, Mugnier's Musigny is a gem. Serafin (this is pre-Bobby Kacher and all new wood) was very good (under the Pacific Wine Company label, he is not identified as the producer there), and so was Philippe Naddef, but I haven't had those wines in a very long time. OTOH, despite the general rule for northern Cote de Nuits, Ponsot's wines should be avoided (in fact, he eventually recalled them). Keep in mind, also, that there were many fewer top flight producers back then than there are now. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

The enormously successful 1985 vintage was not repeated in 1986. It was a vintage of large yields and many problems caused by rain at harvest, especially rot. Most wines were not worth buying and most wines have long been over the hill. But a secret that few know is that it was actually a very good vintage on the northern part of the Cote de Nuits: Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-St-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Fixin and the then-newly created appellation of Marsannay. I don't come across 1986s very often any more, but a bottle of Musigny from Jacques-Frederic Mugnier drunk last summer was absolutely delicious and seemingly still had plenty of life ahead of it. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Another thread discussing the state of red Burgundies has inspired me to give my insights on the current state of the vintages from 1985 on. I spend three weeks in Burgundy each fall tasting at 75-85 domaines and thorughout the rest of the year, I drink Burgundy at least several times a week: to me it is the most exciting and versatile red wine in the world (with apologies to runners-up from the Northern Rhone and Piedmont), a place that Riesling occupies for white wines. But Burgundy is a minefield and often expensive, so not everyone has developed the experience base to sort out the good from the bad. This was the vintage that kicked off the Renaissance of red Burgundy, although the stage was already being set by the vanguard in earlier vintages. Burgundy was coming off a miserable period: 1984 had been a terrible vintage; 1983 had turned out to be a disappointment because of widespread problems with rot and tannin; from the relatively few conscientious producers, 1982 had produced good wines, but they were not to be long-lasting; 1981 was another very difficult vintage; 1980 was highly mixed, and the 1970s had been largely a dismal decade, both because of weather and because of the prevailing poor practices in the vineyards and the cellars. 1985 did not start out auspiciously, either. There was a very severe freeze early in the year that killed many vines and helped assure that yields would be low. But in the end, 1985 turned out to be a vintage of delicious wines across the board: from the southernmost to the northernmost appellations, and for an astonishing range of producers. Many normally-poor producers made the best wines of their lives. I think the success of 1985 showed producers and the public what could be done, and inspired both to seek out more of that special magic that red Burgundy can convey. In particular, a generation of then-young producers and a few of the oldtimers who had kept the flame burning during the lowpoint (qualitatively) of Burgundy in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s began to question and ultimately reject many of the practices that had led to the disgraceful state of Burgundy. The leadership of older producers such as Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Henri Jayer, Michel Lafarge, Hubert de Montille, Jacques Seyesses of Domaine Dujac, and Gerard Potel of Domaine de la Pousse d'Or, and the new efforts of younger producers such as Christophe Roumier, Dominique Lafon and Etienne Grivot led the way to renewal. Today, in my opinion, no region in the world is as exciting and vital in the wines it produces as Burgundy. The wines went through a closed period in the early 1990s, but have been drinking well for some time. I keep hearing stories of how the wines are now over the hill. My experience has been entirely different. I suppose it all depends on what producers one chooses: less conscientious producers made wines that probably did not have the stuff to last, but better producers’ wines are still going strong. Nevertheless, the wines are now fully mature and it is difficult to imagine that they will get any better, and so it is safest to drink up remaining bottles in the next few years. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Reivew

Steve and I had a discussion about this on another board a few years ago. It bothers me and has kept me from going to Alsaco, as much as I love the food and wine there, but it apparently does not prevent Steve from going there. I post this in case the news is something that would make you want to avoid the restaurant. A few years ago, neo-Nazis in Paris chose Alsaco as the location to celebrate Hitler's birthday (April 20). The event made news because anti-Nazi graffiti was painted on the outside of the restaurant the night before the event exposing it to the neighborhood, and there may have been some other damage. Other inquiries in Paris apparently confirmed the truth of the story and the views of Alsaco's owner. Web searches also revealed that the owner is a big Le Pen backer (including monetary donations). Patricia Wells recommends Alsaco. I e-mailed her with the news about Alsaco and asked what she knew about it, but she never replied. She continues to recommend the restaurant. Friends in Paris tell me that Chez Jenny, another Alsatian brasserie (Alsaco is really a wijnstub and not a brasserie) in Paris, also is notorious for the views of much of its clientele. These days I'm inclined to go to Boffinger or to search out other new places when I'm in Paris and want Alsatian food. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

I've liked the Rogers and Gray River Cafe Cookbook in addition to many of the others mentioned above.

Steve -- I've had plenty of 1988s that are ready. Lots on the Cote de Beaune have been drinking well for some time, e.g., Pousse d'Ors, de Montilles, Lafarges, Pothier-Rieussets. I've also had plenty of lovely Cote de Nuits, too, e.g., Dujac Clos la Roche, DRC Grands-Echezeaux. I probably would wait a few years for the very heaviest hitters, but otherwise, I think it is a vintage that is now beginning to come around and fulfill the promise that was evident at the beginning. Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review

Jim -- While lots of 1995s are shut down and I generally have not been dipping into them, I have found some notable exceptions during the past year: Groffier Chambolle-Amoureuses and Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin being two that come to mind right away. I'm toying with opening a 1995 Rouget Cros Parantoux for a friend's birthday in a few weeks -- the last time I had it, which must have been nearly two years ago, it was open and spectacular, unlike the Meo Cros Parantoux next to it. (OTOH, Jayer's village Vosne was tight as nails last summer.) Best regards, Claude Kolm The Fine Wine Review