SOME OLDER BURGS - La Fève (3/3/2006)

A friend of a friend has opened a new wine bar, so a few of us headed
over there with Burgs in hand to do a little drinking. I didn't get a
chance to take a peek at the wine list, but if it is as well thought
out, well executed, and well priced as the food offerings then they
will do very well.

Per Tokyo style, the courses came as small plates and were not directly
matched with wines, but provided a nice continuing back drop that
matched very well.

1. Fragile First

It makes me a contrarian, but I'd rather drink the older wines first if
there's any risk of them being overwhelmed by bigger/younger wines.

*1970 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant - France,
Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée*

In the glass this has really gone over to an orange color, but it is an
encouragingly deep orange. The nose shows as attractively ripe with
strong and fully mature mushroom and raisin notes plus a little brie.
Time brings out flowers and the decadent sweet smells of summer. The
palate is soft in a pleasantly mature way with fully evolved berry
fruit. Actually a bit of brightness shows up on the finish after the
wine spends a little time in the glass. With even more time, some of
that brightness shows up in the front of the mouth as a more youthful
shot of raspberry. What really set this apart, though, are the great
flowers and summer part of the nose and a dose of spice that builds and
builds in the finish. After an hour, this is actually starting to dry
out in the mid-palate but the floral/spice elements are still growing.
Obviously not a blockbuster, but a damn pleasurable wine from an
"off" vintage that is discernibly and delightfully RSV.

2. Two '78 Re-releases

These paired in many ways: both '78s; both from more foursquare
terroirs; both ex-domaine.

*1978 Camille Giroud Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune,
Aloxe-Corton*

Dense and solid looking many years younger than it is in the glass.
When I double decanted this about 2 ½ hours before dinner, I worried
that it might be very mildly tainted. However, when poured at dinner,
it is perfectly clean and there is nothing to worry about. Nose shows
dusty earth and a bit of raisin initially, plus broad and solid dark
cherry fruit. An hour or so later, it shows beguiling blue cheese and
mushroom notes. Great deep and rich palate with roast plum, deep sweet
cherry, and a hint of raisin. In the back of the palate and on the
finish, there is a surprising (and necessary) bright flash of acidity.
Getting better and better as the night goes on, this still needs a lot
more time. Very Corton-like: not necessarily exciting, but with very
broad shoulders and great depth. Corton is not my favorite cru, but I
can't complain when something shows so typically and with such
solidity.

*1978 Michel Gaunoux Pommard Les Grands Épenots 1er Cru - France,
Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard*

Isn't it a great night when wine after wine shows as typical of its
appellation? This one began with a good and complex nose of mushrooms
and wet earth and cherry that just loved the salad and duck confit with
which it was paired. The palate had a great resiny depth of taste
featuring plum and brie and meat and smoke. Meaty and savoury is the
description that kept running through my mind. There's also just a
bit of beet and the occasional flash of acid/brightness that keeps it
fresh enough. Though more mature than the Giroud, this still has plenty
of time to go.

3. One Last Wine

We'd had it by then and probably should have quit, but I had already
double decanted this earlier and I'm a glutton for punishment anyway.

*1990 Hubert Lignier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte
de Nuits, Morey St. Denis*

Nose had a red fruit and earth core that was spot-on and very pleasing,
but there was also a meatiness and hint of roasted fruit that was a tad
distracting. Though never sticking out, there was also a lingering hint
of oak imparted suavity. On the palate, the roasted element was
initially more obtrusive, but with time it settled down and the fruit
became a little cleaner and fresher. The medium-weight mid-palate also
shows a little soy, while the earth comes back out on the finish. I'm
not sure this bottle was in perfect condition, as there was an odd,
ongoing, and ultimately unresolved conflict between the freshness
earthiness and elegance that peeked out from time to time and the
roasted notes that always threatened to dominate. I picked this up a
while back at retail, so who knows where it had been. Then again, this
showed much more roasted and soy notes when I double decanted earlier,
so it may just need even more time to clean up. Certainly fresher and
less roasted at the end of the night than the beginning.


The RSV was the most exciting wine of the night, with its strong spice
and floral notes. I take great pleasure in older "off" vintages when
they show well, even if they are beginning to fade.

The two re-releases (Gaunoux and Giroud) both showed very well and much
younger than their 28 years of age. Both of them deserve more
attention. I'll be interested to try something from a more elegant
village than Aloxe from Giroud and see how the older-style winemaking
works. It's definitely a style that shows well in an older wine from a
place like Corton.

I was disappinted with the Lignier, but who's to complain when three
older wines show as well as or better than you have a right to hope and
one wine is only somewhat disappointing?

Enjoy,

Jim

Posted from CellarTracker