Sunday I spent most of the day running a meeting; as I arrived home Betsy
informed me she had invited friends for dinner. As our friend Alex had done
fondue for 40 night before, she thought they deserved a meal. So Alex, Hilary,
and their three children came to share our capon. We had appetizers of salmon
roe on sour cream and cucumber; then sat down to a first course of a spicy
butternut squash soup with apple and crème friche. The first wine was the 2002
Guy Roulot Bourgogne Blanc. I've liked the Roulot Bourgogne in past vintages,
and frankly expected to be wowwed by the 2002. This was my second bottle, and
it didn't happen. Very thin upon opening, after a bit it filled out. But while
it got better, it never got past a very simple nose and palate. I preferred the
'99 & '00 (I can't remember trying '01). B-

Main course was roasted capon with a cognac-mushroom sauce, accompanied by
sauteed potatoes as well as red cabbage. We enjoyed some 3 day old Brunello, as
well as the 2000 JF Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny. This isn't one of the light thin
2000s, there's good concentration in the bright red fruit, and a nice earthy
note. Deep raspberry fruit, just a hint of vanilla/oak, long mineral finish.
Drinking well now, but no hurry. A-

Salad and then some cheeses, then some cake for the dessert-eaters. For my
dessert (well, I shared), a 375 of the 1980 Suduiraut. Pretty good year for
Sauternes from what I understand, and the bottle seemed in good shape. Light
color for mature Sauternes. My initial impression was youth- this didn't seem
old at all. Blind I would have guessed no more than 12 years old or so. That's
the good news. The bad news is that it also didn't have the complexity I would
have expected in a 25 year old Sauternes from a good house in a good vintage.
Sweetness predominated, there's decent apricot fruit, ok acidity, but not much
in the way of secondary aromas and flavors. Still, this was something like $12
on closeout, hard to complain. B


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

Dale Williams wrote:
>
> Main course was roasted capon with a cognac-mushroom sauce,
accompanied by
> sauteed potatoes as well as red cabbage. We enjoyed some 3 day old
Brunello, as
> well as the 2000 JF Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny. This isn't one of the
light thin
> 2000s, there's good concentration in the bright red fruit, and a nice
earthy
> note. Deep raspberry fruit, just a hint of vanilla/oak, long mineral
finish.
> Drinking well now, but no hurry. A-

Thanks for the notes. I always look forward to reading them because
they're entertaining and, at least from reading them, my palate seems
to be pretty much in tune with yours.

Chambolle is one of my favorite appellations and I like Mugnier's
delightfully transparent style. I've heard good things about but
haven't tried the Ann Gros village Chambolle, but I can't think of
anyone else who approaches Mugnier for the price. If they're out
there, someone please let me know!

Years ago, I picked up a half case of the '90 village Chambolle at the
domaine on a tasting trip. It was that trip (and wine) that got me
hooked on Chambolle.

I recently had his '98 Moose, which is nowhere near ready, but shows in
the nose and the finish that he made a great wine in a difficult
vintage. Your note on a 2000 reminds me how good he can be in less
than heralded vintages.

I've just come across some of his '01 village Chmabolle at a reasonable
price (for Tokyo at least). Any experience with any of his '01s?

Same source also has Bruno Clair's '02 lieu-dit Les Veroilles at a not
too painful price. I really like his (very expensive) Savigny and his
Marsannays, but have no experience with this Chambolle. Any
experience?

Thanks for letting me tap your brain.

Jim

Dale Williams wrote:
>
> Main course was roasted capon with a cognac-mushroom sauce,
accompanied by
> sauteed potatoes as well as red cabbage. We enjoyed some 3 day old
Brunello, as
> well as the 2000 JF Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny. This isn't one of the
light thin
> 2000s, there's good concentration in the bright red fruit, and a nice
earthy
> note. Deep raspberry fruit, just a hint of vanilla/oak, long mineral
finish.
> Drinking well now, but no hurry. A-

Thanks for the notes. I always look forward to reading them because
they're entertaining and, at least from reading them, my palate seems
to be pretty much in tune with yours.

Chambolle is one of my favorite appellations and I like Mugnier's
delightfully transparent style. I've heard good things about but
haven't tried the Ann Gros village Chambolle, but I can't think of
anyone else who approaches Mugnier for the price. If they're out
there, someone please let me know!

Years ago, I picked up a half case of the '90 village Chambolle at the
domaine on a tasting trip. It was that trip (and wine) that got me
hooked on Chambolle.

I recently had his '98 Moose, which is nowhere near ready, but shows in
the nose and the finish that he made a great wine in a difficult
vintage. Your note on a 2000 reminds me how good he can be in less
than heralded vintages.

I've just come across some of his '01 village Chmabolle at a reasonable
price (for Tokyo at least). Any experience with any of his '01s?

Same source also has Bruno Clair's '02 lieu-dit Les Veroilles at a not
too painful price. I really like his (very expensive) Savigny and his
Marsannays, but have no experience with this Chambolle. Any
experience?

Thanks for letting me tap your brain.

Jim

DaleW wrote:
> Jim,
>
> well, the one village Chambolle I'd put consistently (slightly) ahead
> of Mugnier is Roumier. I own the '01 Mugnier, and feel good about
doing
> so, though it came in dead last in the "It Takes a Village" 2001
> Chambolle-Musigny horizontal we did in 2004- I think it was just at a
> rough spot. At that tasting, Roumier swept the gold, though the big
> surprise of the night was the Drouhin coming in second.
>
> I can't afford the Moose, though I did recently get a couple of
> Mugnier's '98 Bonne Mares at a good price.
>
> best,
> Dale

Thanks Dale.

Here in Tokyo, I don't see the Roumier village. Based on the cost of
his Moose and Bonnes Mares, I had always assumed the village would be
stratospheric. Just looked on winesearcher and it looks to be no more
than about 10% above the Mugnier. I'll have to try even harder to find
it here.

For what it's worth, I can't really afford the Moose either. The one I
had recently was my cousin's bottle.

I'll probably pull the trigger on the Mugnier and Clair wines mentioned
above. However, if anyone has experience with the Clair, I'd love to
hear it.

Jim

DaleW wrote:
> Jim,
>
> well, the one village Chambolle I'd put consistently (slightly) ahead
> of Mugnier is Roumier. I own the '01 Mugnier, and feel good about
doing
> so, though it came in dead last in the "It Takes a Village" 2001
> Chambolle-Musigny horizontal we did in 2004- I think it was just at a
> rough spot. At that tasting, Roumier swept the gold, though the big
> surprise of the night was the Drouhin coming in second.
>
> I can't afford the Moose, though I did recently get a couple of
> Mugnier's '98 Bonne Mares at a good price.
>
> best,
> Dale

Thanks Dale.

Here in Tokyo, I don't see the Roumier village. Based on the cost of
his Moose and Bonnes Mares, I had always assumed the village would be
stratospheric. Just looked on winesearcher and it looks to be no more
than about 10% above the Mugnier. I'll have to try even harder to find
it here.

For what it's worth, I can't really afford the Moose either. The one I
had recently was my cousin's bottle.

I'll probably pull the trigger on the Mugnier and Clair wines mentioned
above. However, if anyone has experience with the Clair, I'd love to
hear it.

Jim