2002 red Burgundies, Côtes de Nuits. Tasted at San Francisco 27 July 2004,
double-blind.

This was a "supplemental," not part of a regular tasting-group series,
because of the volume of products now coming to market. 11 tasters, mixed
trade and Burgundy enthusiasts, one wine writer. (5-40 years blind tasting
experience. A group of younger tasters around 30 years old, congregating at
a separate table, banteringly dubbed the children's table, and needing
indeed to be hushed once or twice, nevertheless again belied such factors
through sharp observations and accurate blind identifications.)

Wine names were filled in after the tasting. We took notes blind, then
ranked by personal preference (1 = favorite), combined these scores to give
points counts (the less popular wines getting more points), sorted these
points counts into group rankings., then revealed the wines. I am not a
professional wine critic so these are personal rather than professional
notes, with language to match. Letter "T" stands for "Taste" in contrast to
smell, and its first appearance marks start of tasting in contrast to
smelling. Also, my final "rating" for wines for some decades has been
(Yes) -- I could see spending some of my wine budget on it -- or (No) -- I
could not.

8 wines, 11 tasters, so a wine everyone ranked last (8th place) would have
88 total points.

The 2002 vintage in this region overall was extremely ripe, remarked two
professionals who had visited and tasted widely in barrel. Producers
reported inconsistent preferences between their 01 and 02. One thing
consistent among those two years is high prices. Also, the close reader of
these notes will spot a poor correlation between group preference and price.


2002 Richebourg, Domaine Anne Gros. Lot L R 02. $280.
(Preferences: Mine 8 Group 8 [last place] Points 74) Lighter in color
than most. Moldy hint, possibly not TCA but some defect. Strong cloves,
much like the Gros Vougeot. Mint, volatile wood. T again cloves; sage;
these components almost cloyingly strong. Young raw imbalance, heavy wood,
fruit, acid. Young! [Several people ranked this wine last, almost all
noted the moldy nose defect and also that this might not be TCA. The defect
was an issue, otherwise it was an impressive, though young and disjointed,
wine. There is some history of corked 2001s from Anne Gros by the way, I
posted another note on a Web site some months ago] (No.)


2002 Clos Vougeot "Le Grand Maupertui," Domaine Anne Gros. Lot L CV 02.
$120.
(Preferences: Mine 1 Group 3 Points 42) Sharp, sage-like herb; sharp
clove beneath it. Dental topical anesthetic (DTA), that's the only way I
can put it -- like Oil of Cloves. Pinot rubber. Burnt. T: sassafras,
clove, intense. Hard, concentrated, beautiful structure, generous fruit. I
rank it over my #2 because T is so concentrated here. (Yes!)


2002 Bonnes-Mares, Robert Groffier Père & Fils. Lot L7. $150.
(Preferences: Mine 3 Group 2 Points 46?) Gentle. Meaty, fruit is hidden
beneath. Bit of sulfur, SO2 type. Vanilla, coffee, mint. T the coffee and
mint in the smell hinted at what is a very classy assembly in the taste.
Very. Fine subtle dark fruits, appealing rather than closed. (Yes.)


2002 Chambolle-Musigny "Les Amoureuses," Robert Groffier Père & Fils. Lot
L6. $105.
(Preferences: Mine 4 Group 7 Points 58) Vegetal note, maybe transient.
Meaty. Bit of Mercaptan. Oak toast. Coffee grounds. T pleasant
coffeeishness and dark fruit. Aroma citrus peel. More of a smooth balance
than a hard one. (Yes.)


2002 Chambolle-Musigny "Les Sentiers," Robert Groffier Père & Fils. Lot L5.
$65.
(Preferences: Mine 5 Group 1 Points 36) Young fruit acid, licorice. Oak
toast. Pickle juice (or very strong fruit acid?). T strong
coffee-chocolate-cappuccino flavors, I like it, more toast than fruit but
still melon, licorice. (Yes)


2002 Chambolle-Musigny "Les Hauts-Doix," Robert Groffier Père & Fils. Lot
L4. $65.
(Preferences: Mine 6 Group 6 Points 54) Fruit-acid, otherwise reserved,
closed. Opening later, vanilla, classic pinot, orange. T harder, more
tannic than the others, ripe fruit-acid finish, pleasant herbality, floral,
nicely made, should age. (No.)


2002 Chambolle-Musigny "Les Beaux Bruns," Domaine Denis Mortet. Lot L12.
$92.
(Preferences: Mine 2 Group 4 Points 44) Toast, toast. Explosion of
encouraging Nuits smells -- reserved truffles. Varnish, Sage. Orange peel.
Port-salut. T intensely concentrated, rich fruit core, young sap-like
tannin. (Yes.) [Others, one respected taster especially, decried excess of
both oak and manipulation and instantly identified it blind as Mortet.]


2002 Gevrey-Chambertin "Les Champeaux," Domaine Denis Mortet. Lot L10.
$92.
(Preferences: Mine 7 Group 5 Points 48) Darker than most. Spice, cherry
fruit, port-salut. Carbonic acid. T alcoholic, almost "wood alcohol,"
almost madeirized note that may just be oak. Very hard wood. Bright red
berry fruit. Nothing wrong, but awkward (No.)


Prices quoted were retail paid. Co-operative tasting groups are a way for
people to share the expense as well as the enjoyment of trying such wines.

-- Max Hauser