Last night, 6 drinkers of Burgundy descended upon Blue Hill at Stone Barns, to go where very few others had gone before...a vertical of the very rare and very sought after Bienvenue Batard Montrachet from Domaine Louis Carillon. Six vintages would be tasted before we moved onto a very impressive array of Pinot Noir from "Mecca," also known as Bourgogne, or Burgundy!
Before we get into the wine, let's talk about Blue Hill for a moment. Personally, I dined there numerous times when they first opened, but after a few hiccups and a couple of large private wine dinners that went awry, I have stayed away the last few years. Well, they may have brought me back with what they served last night. We opted for the "Farmer's Feast" at $135 per person, but we practically had to stop them from bringing more food. All of the the little starters were great, including the zucchini flowers, chicken pate surrounded by chocolate, corn soup with verina (sp?)as well as the charcuterie (Lanzo? was extraordinary, I would like to purchase that by the pound at my local deli). They even served pig face bacon!!! The "savory dishes were even better...Lobster with local veggies melted in your mouth, and the Berkshire pig was delicious. It came with an almond and bean side that really worked. Finally, they forced us to the ER with two delicious lamb chops, and lamb NECK, which was a lot like Pork Belly but with better texture. Something better than Pork Belly? Who would have thunk it?
Thomas Carter, and staff, treated us like royalty (well, shit, Laurent Drouhin practically is royalty, so that explains it)!
Onto the wines...first Carillon...Peter provided all except...
1984: I brought this pristine looking btl and, of course, it was corked. Thomas came to us and said it was very slight...but the "corkiness" only picked up steam over time and rendered the wine undrinkable. Before that happened, the wine, to me, showed amazing youthfulness. There was good fruit under there somewhere. The color was lighter than the 1998 and the 1996. A good show, despite the cork problem. Anyways, only corked one of the night.
1998: This was right in my wheelhouse when they poured it. Very rich, fat fruit (not in the CA way, though), this is the second time I have enjoyed this wine over the past 6 months. Over time, the wine did lose a lot of its character, but that took a solid 45 minutes to an hour of it in the glass. Impressive and delicious.
1999: There was much debate as to the order we should pour these wines in and, inevitably, I lost. I thought the 1999 ought to be in the next flight and the 1997 here. Well, the 1999 was put here and stole the show for most of us. An absolute baby, this took about 30 minutes in the glass for it to really come out of its shell. Someone used the word, precise, to describe this one and that appeared to be very accurate. At 10 years old, this one clearly has more life ahead of it, but on this night, it was still outstanding!
1997: I think others liked this more than me, I thought this was a good wine, but would have expected more. I found the finish to be a little short, and a little nuttiness to the wine (possibly some oxidation?). Over time, the wine did actually get better in the glass. It took on more weight, but it just never got there for me.
2005: Why not, right? This had 2005 written all over it. Upon pouring, I noted the distinct tropical fruit flavors in the wine. It was sewet, rich, and fat. There should have been a sign on my glass that read "do not drink for 2 hours!" Upon revisiting the wine much later in the evening, the nose had turned to a coconut smell, and the wine lived. Good show.
1996: Well, when drinking white Burgs from the late 1990s, you are bound to get an oxidized one, and the 1996 was it for us. Deep yellow. light orange color...the wine was very simple and monolithic. I took two sips...that was enough for me.
Onto the reds...
1990 Drouhin Bonnes Mares: DQ'ed (maderized)
1985 Pierre Amiot Clos de la Roche: This was not a favorite of mine. I found it a little old and uninteresting. A very short finish...drink 'em if you got 'em! Paul brought this one!
1993 Drouhin Bonnes Mares: Man, these 1993s are delicious. Who was the wine critic that pancaked them? Oh, yes, RP. Laurent had a good laugh about that as we all enjoyed this sexy wine. Big, rich fruit, this wine is still in its infantile stages...got to find more 1993s...thanks Laurent for this btl!
1990 Jean Grivot Clos Vougeot: I brought this one. I am never a huge fan of Grivot. His wines tend to be a little rough around the edges for me, and upon opening, this one was no exception. Closed, muted nose. Then, after about 30 minutes in the glass, this wine shined...for about 20 minutes, with a nice sweet long finish...but then I found it declined again...a roller coaster never seen by a wine critic that spends just 45 seconds with each wine!
1962 Potinet Ampeau Volnay Clos des Chenes: Even brought this one. He purchased it from a prominent retailer. He guessed about 8 years ago. The label was gleaming white (obviously a new label). The fill was up to the top (obviously topped off)...and the color was an amazingly bright red...and the wine was tasty...very tasty. We all just sat there in disbelief. I kept questioning the color on this wine as I sipped it. Finally, Laurent put his hands in the air, and said, "I have something to say...there is no way this is 1962 Volnay!" He sounded frustrated. The wine was good, but clearly noy 47 years old. The cork was saturated as if it had been recorked when it was topped off, about 10 years ago. Of course, no branding on the cork. There is not one indication that this wine came from 1962, except the sparkling white label. Even says that he purchased 1959s, 1966s, and 1971s as well. He says that the 1966s have been very bad. He is sure he has more 1962 in the cellar. Who would fake such a wine? Not sure...stay tuned...Robert Parker will investigate...
1982 Clair Dau Chambertin Clos de Beze: Many of us know the history by now. Jadot bought Clair Dau's holdings in the mid 1980s and Jadot became a star in Bonnes Mares, Musigny, etc. This Beze is from a very underwhelming year, and I found the wine fairly underwhelming. At first sip, the wine was tasty, but the wine quickly fell off the cliff for me. In the end, it was a harsh, rustic wine, that could have used more fruit. But, alas, the fruit just was not there. Peter shared this one.
1985 Pierre Bouree Chambolle Musigny les Amoureuses: Paul brought a very nice surprise for all of us...this wine kept getting better in the glass. It started off a little tight, but you could sense that this wine was going to be good. Not a flashy wine, but just a very solid wine that was a pleasure to drink! I need to find more Pierre Bouree like this!
It was a great night, with some great people!
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2 comments:
Dan:
Great line up. Is it me or is 1996 the year where seemingly every bottle of white burgundy is premox? When you were here, the Bonneau de Martray was also '96 I believe. Tough year, and a shame since many of the wines were so good early on.
Had 83 Clair Dau recently (also Chambertin Clos de Beze). I had a case at one point and had sort of given up hope after the last one maybe two years prior. But, the one we opened most recently just sang. Clearly a little past prime but still very solid and reasonably fresh. I have a few more and I'm re-energized about this wine. I'm also really pumped up for this same raw material in Jadot's grand crus now especially for 05.
93 Drouhin Grand Crus are drinking fabulously now, aren't they? I've had several in the last six months and each one has been exceptional. In the most recent View From the Cellar, Gilman points out the relative out performance in his mind (and palette!) of Drouhin's wines. He was speaking more driectly about Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc but I'm beginning to believe that these wines are far better than certain members of the wine press ever gave them credit for.
It's funny you mention 90 Grivot. it was the first Grand Cru Burgundy I ever tasted from the barrel in a cave. In the fall of 92 we traveled to Burgundy for the first time and had an appointment with Etienne to taste. At the last moment, he had to go to England for a meeting, but his father was kind enough to take us into their cave to taste the 90's just prior to bottling. Etienne's fatehr spoke no English, and our French was non-existent but he was a gracious wonderful host nonetheless. I guess it has led to a soft spot for what should be a better wine than it turned out to be. When you look at the Grivot family plots and locations close in to DRC, etc. you always wonder why it isn't better. Sort of a shame.
Anyway, I'm not surprised about the fake. Lots of fakes coming out now although the problem is worse in Bdx than Burgundy. One needs to be careful.
Regards,
Adam
I thought that the Bonneau du Martray was 2000, but it may have been 1996. Bonneau du Martray has lots of problems with oxidation!
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