Went to a fantastic tasting organized by an importer of a lot of wines, among which these fine Burgundies. Notes are kind of brief due to the amount of wines tasted. Domaine Hubert de Montille Pommard 1er cru Les Rugiens 2000 – very smooth and fine, a bit simple, good Volnay 1er cru Les Taillepieds 2000 – more complex than the Pommard, well balanced, good Volnay 1er cru Les Mitans 1999 – very typical Burgundy nose of fruit and earth, very nice mouthfill, long and balanced, fine tannins, very good Volnay 1er cru Les Champans 1995 – so fresh and lively you could say 1999, a bit less rich than the Mitans but a delight to drink, very good Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Caillerets 2000 – too young, fresh and rich, needs time to balance, good Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Caillerets 1999 – richer and more fat than the 2000, fresh and long, very good Very good traditional producer, he was also presenting three wines of the Chateau de Puligny Montrachet, which he’s managing, good and fresh examples of simpler white Burgundies. Domaine Antonin Guyon Meursault-Charmes 1er cru Les Charmes Dessus 2000 – fine and crispy, long finish, good Aloxe-Corton 1er cru Les Fournieres 2000 – nice and balanced, fine tannins, not very long, quite good Corton Bressandes grand cru 1999 – rich and smooth, good complexity, very good Another traditional producer of very fine wines. Clos de Tart Clos de Tart grand cru 2001 – this is an awesome wine! Full body, rich and complex, everything is there and in the right place, still very young, but so fine and balanced, it will be great in 5 years, WOW, WOW Clos de Tart grand cru 2000 – Slightly less striking than the 2001, more tannic and backward, with a lot of fruit hidden in an austere structure, excellent Clos de Tart grand cru 1996 – Close to the 2000 in structure, more mature and complex, excellent What can I say, I wish I had a cellar full of those wines! Leroy Domaine D’Auvenay Auxey Duresses Les Boutonniers 2001 – rich and smooth, flowers and spice, fat and long with good acidity to balance, very good Leroy SA Bourgogne blanc 1997 – very nice light weight Leroy SA Meursault 1er cru 2001 – medium body, wide aromatic spectrum, good Leroy SA Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Morgeots 2000 – rich and long, a bit buttery/oaky but well balanced with fruit and acidità, good Leroy SA Meursault 1er cry Les Charmes 1997 – deep nose of fruit and grass, just a touch of smoky notes, long and opulent mouth, very good Domaine Leroy Corton Charlemagne grand cru 2001 – what a waste of a great young wine! This is another awesome wine, so opulent, wide, deep, fresh, long, complex, it’s just so tight that you need time and a lot of concentration to sort this wine out in a tasting now, WOW (WOW in 10 years at least) Domaine Leroy Savigny les Beaune 1er cru Les Narbantons 2001 – very tight and austere both nose and mouth, but tannins are fine and the wine is well balanced, very good Domaine Leroy Vosne Romanee 1er cru Aux Beaux Monts 2000 – round and supple wine, smoothness and finesse in a texture of complex nuances, excellent Domaine Leroy Clos de la Roche grand cru 1999 – great complexity of fruit, spice, earth in a smooth and fine texture and full body, excellent (almost WOW) There was Madame Lalou serving the wines, it was an emotional moment, even the two words that I was able to share, she agreed that the Narbantons is a bit tight now (I was flattered ) Domaine Meo-Camuzet Marsannay 2001 – nice easy wine, fresh and juicy, sweet fruit and lots of elegance, short finish, as expected, good Nuits-St-Georges 2001 – medium bodied very well crafted and elegant, balanced and long, good Vosne Romanee 1er cru Les Chaumes 2001 – very young and tight but rich, wide and balanced, full of red currants and flowers, complex wine, excellent Clos de Vougeot grand cru 2001 – very soft and sweet, richer than the Chaumes but less tight, a beauty of wine “tout en finesse”, excellent This was my first experience with Meo, and I was struck by the elegance and finesse of the wines, much less focused on sheer power than I thought. A pity they did not bring Aux Brulees or Cros Parantoux Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne grand cru 2000 – very young (too young) and fresh, rich and powerful, needs time to balance and to develop body and length, excellent Corton Charlemagne grand cru 1994 – seems even younger than the 2000, perhaps in a shut down period, but very long and mouthfilling, excellent Corton Charlemagne grand cru 1990 – elegance and balance in full maturity, this was singing as an almost perfect expression of Chardonnay, a tad less powerful and concentrated than the Leroy Corton Charlie but in this moment a real delight to drink, WOW Corton grand cru 2000 – perfect brother to the whites above, this is a very elegant, balanced, fresh wine, excellent I love this Domaine, great wines and people, if they only were cheaper!!! Domaine Tollot-Beau Chorey-les-Beaune 2001 – very typical light Burgundy, soft and fresh, sweet tannins, good Savigny-les-Beaune Champ Chevrey 1er cru 2001 – more powerful brother of the Villages, long and fine, very good Aloxe-Corton 1er cru Les Vercots 2001 – creamy texture (ok it’s not a cab but this is what came to my mind), wide and complex but very typical notes of earth and flowers, excellent Corton-Bressandes grand cru 2001 – round and rich, just a touch of oak, but it will integrate soon, very long, excellent Another good and affordable traditional producer. Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne blanc 1997 – strange nose of tropical fruit and yogurt, not particularly pleasant, better in the mouth, mature and smooth, nice Puligny Montrachet 1997 – notes of smoke and citrus, medium bodied with strong acidity, very refreshing, good Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Clavoillon 1997 – this is getting more serious, rich and complex, strong acidity and good length, very good Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Pucelles 1997 – thick and buttery, almost Californian but with a fresher tone, very good Overall I was expecting much more from this Domaine, for me almost a disappointment, especially at the prices Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Chambolle Musigny 2000 – is this a Villages? This is a heck of a wine! Fruity and meaty, lots of nuances in a medium body, very good Chambolle Musigny 1er cru 2000 – this comes from younger vines in the Musigny vineyard and it’s an amazing wine, so rich, creamy, sweet and balanced, excellent Bonnes Mares grand cru 2000 – strong and austere, rich and opulent, so wide, long and juicy, you can taste it for minutes, WOW Musigny Vielles Vignes grand cru 2000 – if I ever happen to drink one of these fully mature and of a great vintage I’ll be close to wine heaven, this is almost perfect, everything is in place so sweet, round and long, in perfect balance, WOW, WOW, WOW Great producer, very kind person, he was smiling at everybody, pouring generous pours even of the Musigny (I took it thrice!!! ) Chateau des Rontets Pouilly Fuissé Clos Varambon 2001 – fresh and fruity, nice Pouilly Fuissé Pierrefolle 2000 – similar to the above, richer but with a bitter note, nice Pouilly Fuissé Les Birbettes 2000 – nice mineral note with the white fruit, a touch of oak, rich and long, good Pouilly Fuissé Les Birbettes 1999 – not perfectly balanced, oaky and diluted, nice Nice wines, of a lesser class than the rest of the tasting room Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays grand cru 2000 – dark and austere, very rich and very tight, complex and long, needs time to be really great, but I liked it so much that, WOW Clos des Lambrays grand cru 2001 – completely different style than both 2000 and 1999, very refined, soft fruit, full of different scents of red currants, flowers, light spices, earth, so fine and sweet in the mouth! WOW, WOW Clos des Lambrays grand cru 1999 – dark, austere, powerful and concentrated, one step further in everything than the 2000, great wine, WOW, WOW I just love these wines, so far I only had the 1998 and was fantastic, these are possibly even better. Domaine Trapet Pere et Fils Latricieres-Chambertin grand cru 2000 – rich and deep, long and complex, excellent Chambertin grand cru 2000 – similar to the Latricieres but a bit less full, perhaps just tight, very good Very consistent producer, still affordable, had the ’99 Chambertin last year and it was excellent. Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Clos St Jacques 2000 – a bit oaky but very complex and rich, long finish and fine tannins, very good Charmes-Chambertin grand cru 2001 – complex and rich, very fine tannins, oak almost fully integrated, very long and deep wine, excellent Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes grand cru 2001 – very deep and rich, still very young but full of fruit and flavours, balanced and complex, drinking great even so young, WOW Chambertin grand cru 2000 – another deep complex and rich wine, just a bit too oaky now, needs time, excellent This producer has an heavier hand with oak, but the fruit is so rich and deep, that you can survive I think I’ve never seen such an amazing line up of great wines all together, I was walking at one foot from the ground
