1997 Verget Meursault, Burgundy, France

Drinking good wine requires patience. It's easy to grab a bottle of this or that at the local wine shop, and that's what most of us end up doing... convenience and all of that. To purchase an amount of wine with the goal of essentially hiding it somewhere dark and closet-like for some amount of time (usually measured in years) requires more of the mindset of a planner, of a schemer. This is something that I used to be way, way better at than I am now. I had a lot more time to research my purchases and carefully plan what I might like to be drinking ten years into the future. Now is when I begin to reap the benefits of the work of my past self. Ten years was like ten lifetimes ago.

And yet, here we are with a wine that has been waiting patiently, waiting quietly for its chance to impress me. A wine that was a bit of a gamble to wait on... 1997 Burgundian Chardonnay could have gone either way. So, this being the last of this wine... the remaining orphan, we brought it up and cooled it down, preparing it for its time.

In the glass this wine was a really unique straw yellow color, almost disconcertingly so. These days we're not used to drinking well aged white wine (though we certainly try...), and age tends to alter white wines in distinctly interesting ways. So the color was this straw yellow, pale and just slightly tinged with brown. The nose was amazing. It was full of lime and grapefruit at the beginning, and balanced by fragrant floral and a little vanilla towards the end. The palate was equally interesting, with more citrus and a great limestone base with richer honey and something we can only describe as freshly cut grass. This wine tasted like what freshly cut grass smells like in the summer. It was really good. Nice, lingering finish, but not cloying in any way. This is one of the first whites that we brought out and chilled in preparation for the advent of warmer days, which are quickly making inroads here now, and it is immensely rewarding to have a wine around for so long and be able to really enjoy it.

I have to say that in all reality, though, that 1997 just does not seem that long ago. That worries me somewhat.

cost - $29.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 9

Affordable Burgundy Death Match

Not really a "death match" so to speak, that is mostly for dramatic value. This is a group tasting of four entry level Burgundy Pinot Noirs ($14-$20/bottle) that we have opened over the last few weeks. The goal here is to find really good value wines to fill out the lower end, every-day-drinking, table wine part of our cellar. We have mentioned this previously with various wines tasted here on winecommando, but we thought it would be fun to do a group comparison looking for bottles of wine that deliver value beyond their price and that provide a buffer against grabbing the really good wines too often (though we taste those too, just to see how they're coming along...). Let's get started.

2003 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre "Les Belles Roses" Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire (Meursault)
We decanted this wine for one hour before tasting and found the nose full of plum and strawberry with a little bit of a wet rock, minerally scent. The nose was surprisingly deep and rich, and the color in the glass equally so. It was dark garnet with the rusty reds around the ring of the glass. It looked beautiful. On the palate there was deep dark strawberry in an almost jammy fruit kind of way. There was cranberry in the finish, the way it reacts with the back of your tongue. Along the way we tasted earthy, autumnal flavors but they were incredibly subtle. Very balanced, light to medium bodied and wonderfully finished. This wine is significantly more sophisticated than the price. Seek out and drink more.
cost - $14.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.5

2004 Nicolas Potel "Cuvee Gerard Potel" Bourgogne (Nuits-Saint-Georges)
This wine was opened and decanted for an hour before we tasted. When we tried it we found the wine to be thin and restrained. We let it sit for another hour and found it to have opened up a bit more. The nose was very distinctly full of dark cherry with a little bit of cedar and spiced fruit, like savory fruit preserves. The palate was very light, and remained thin. Flavors were cherry and raspberry, the sharper sides of those, and some smoky notes. Not a lot of depth, but still an elegant wine with good balance. This wine is definitely on the lighter side of Pinot Noir and the finish was short and very dry.
cost - $17.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 7.25

2004 Jean Garaudet Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Bourgogne (Pommard)
This wine was particularly interesting. We decanted for an hour and a half and when we smelled and tasted it made us smile. Really interesting, deep and complex nose. There was vanilla and that baking cookies smell that some Pinot Noirs have in a really good way. The fruit was more cassis, with edges of plum and a little sweet grape juice. It smelled really good, very aromatic, but definitely not traditionally Burgundian. That's cool. In the glass it was a deep, dark, rich purple color and very dense. Also atypical for Burgundian Pinot Noir, especially at this level and price point. The palate was surprisingly Californian, and definitely pushed the fruit right out front. A lot of strawberry, rich and lush, balanced by good structure and a minerally quality. Definitely earthy, but the richness of the fruit makes for a great balance. Medium bodied, it is not overly sophisticated... more like a POW! in the face as it walks out of the room. We liked it because of this and because it was so different, so unexpected. Another really good value and a fun wine to contrast with more typical French Pinot Noirs.
cost - $16.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.25

2005 Rene Lequin-Colin Bourgogne (Santenay)
I was excited to try this wine as it is the first I had seen at this level from what is really a very small, family driven and historically rooted Burgundian winemaker. This is another wine story that started with a merger by marriage, and the Lequin-Colin family can trace their vineyard holdings back to the mid-1600's. It is still a small operation with the focus steadfastly on quality, not quantity, with vineyards maintained for low, concentrated yields of excellent quality fruit and a belief in the historical traditions of winemaking... basically being "intimate" with their vineyards and doing as much by hand as possible.

We decanted for an hour or so and when smelled found the nose rich, round and opulent. This was a little bit surprising, given that this wine is a 2005 and was only released last year. It is a table wine, though, and was clearly vinted to begin drinking. The nose was a little floral and fragrant, and offered black cherry, spiced plum and a little black pepper. The palate was velvety smooth, very balanced and had the same dark cherry fruit, a nice spicy quality, some earthy richness, and a smooth, quite finish. Really, a very nice wine for the money and given that the grapes are sourced from the families holdings in Santenay (a solidly prestigious area of Burgundy) and while they may not have been good enough to make it into the families Santenay, my guess is they were excellent by most standards and result in a really terrific value wine for us. We will be having more of this wine on hand.
cost - $18.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.0

2004 Domaine Lamy Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet, Cote D'Or, Burgundy, France

Back to Burgundy, but this time a Chardonnay... and one with a long pedigree. Chassagne-Montrachet is known for great Chardonnay, but this was not always the case. Historically, mostly Pinot Noir was grown here but it had difficulty living up to the quality produced in neighboring Volany or Corton. Now more than half the vineyards in Chassagne-Montrachet are producing Chardonnay, and of the five appellation designations for this area three are grands crus, or the best of the best. The appellation Montrachet is considered to be the "king of white wines." This bottle is not appellation Montrachet, but is the appellation Chassagne-Montrachet controlee. I will explain the French concept of appellation designation another time, but suffice it to say that this wine would be considered, though excellent, the entry level for the Chardonnay of Chassagne-Montrachet.

This wine is made by Lamy Pillot, the result of a familial merger. The Lamy family have been winemakers in Burgundy since 1640. The Pillot family began making wine in Chassagne-Montrachet around 1595. Like Shakespeare, these two families were joined by marriage, but this time with a happy result. The marriage had the result of also joining their vineyards, most notably in the best areas of of Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay and Beaune. Three hundred years later they remain a family driven winery and Lamy Pillot produces consistently excellent, prestigious wines from their diverse vineyard holdings.

I would not classify Cat and I as Chardonnay lovers. We do really like the Burgundian style of Chardonnay, though, and this wine is solidly in that category (itself actually BEING a Burgundian Chardonnay... that's not obvious or anything). The biggest difference between the broad styles of Chardonnay, to my mind Californian and Burgundian, is the way in which oak barrels are used in the vinification and maturation process. Californian style Chardonnay producers, and this is a bit of a generalization, gravitate to a heavier, more oaked style with oak flavors very present in their wines. The Burgundian style Chardonnay producers tend to want the oak to be incredibly subtle, and to have the natural flavors of the wine and the terroir be the focal point. Some use no oak at all. We like that approach and if you have read some of our other reviews here on winecommando, that is now patently obvious.

We poured this wine and let it open for a bit before tasting. We found the nose to be rich and full. It smells of honeysuckle, apple and honeydew melon. Very distinct and round fruit to the nose, but not in a heavy or cloying way. There is also the subtlest limestone scent, as well as a nutty quality. The nose is wonderfully complex. So is the palate, which is big and mouth filling with melon, more apple and a little citrus. There is an earthy component, the limestone again, and a little almondine and vanilla. All of this is incredibly well balanced, and while I would say this approached being a heavy bodied Chardonnay, it is very soft and evenly structured. This wine is terrific to enjoy on its own, but would also pair really well with food and could match fish and poutry dishes. I would even consider pairing this with pork tenderloin.

cost - $37.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.75

2004 Pouilly-Fuisse Clos Reissier, Burgundy, France

White Burgundy means classic French style Chardonnay. At least it means that most of the time. The French style of Chardonnay is so right, in my opinion, and is differentiated by its bastard relatives in Napa and Somoma by favoring crisp, citrus qualities balanced by creaminess and structure. I'm generalizing slightly here, but given the choice I would choose Burgundian Chardonnay over just about any Chardonnay from California... though there are several great California Chardonnays that are vinted in a French style. I have to concede that.

Getting to the point. The area of Pouilly-Fuisse in Burgundy produces wonderfully classic French style chardonnay. Pouilly-Fuisse is an area made up of four villages that collectively make their wine under the Pouilly-Fuisse moniker. The soils of the area are very chalky and has a high clay content. Just from that you can guess what this wine is going to taste like.

This wine sees no oak and is fermented in stainless steel. That can be a good thing as the results are a clean, crisp, bright wine that is a perfect apertif or refresher on a hot day, which we are not currently having around here (-12 degrees F outside at this very moment). The nose of this Chardonnay was full of citrus and green apple, balanced by a flinty scent. On the palate it tasted of pear and lemon with a short but elegant finish. Really, a very straightforward white wine that is totally unpretentious. Very bright, great with lighter food or before dinner, and an excellent palate cleanser - like the lemon sorbet of wine. Very enjoyable for the price.

cost - $15.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

1990 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches, Burgundy (Part Three)

We did it. We opened the Clos des Mouches last evening and had it with dinner. It was a unique experience. We served it with pan seared and roasted beef tenderloin with a shiitake mushroom and parsnip ragout and a pinot noir reduction. The reduction was made from this wine, that's just how we roll. Dinner was great and the wine paired very, very well with the beef.

Before I tell you how the wine was, I want to drag this out a bit and explain why, perhaps, Clos des Mouches is considered to be so special. Burgundy is a small area, about two miles wide and thirty miles long. Only about 62 acres of Burgundy comprise Beaune Clos des Mouches, and this land is divided among twenty different winemakers. The largest single owner is Maison Joseph Drouhin, and they have the 32 best acres in the lot, land perfectly situated to make great pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. Joseph Drouhin acquired the beginnings of his Clos des Mouches holdings back in 1918 and has steadily added to them when possible and believes these vineyards to be their most precious holding. Maison Joseph Drouhin makes terrific wine, and they consider the wine made from Clos des Mouches to be their best of the best.

So, the vineyard is special. The winemaker is prestigious. But then add in the challenges of making great pinot noir (cue your internal clip of the movie "Sideways"). For those of you who have not seen this movie, I offer a brief explanation here. Pinot noir is challenged during each step of the transition from vine to bottle. The vines and fruit are fragile and susceptible to virtually every malady possible. Though favoring of cooler climates, the vines are easily damaged by spring frost. Every grape destroying pest finds a comfortable home in pinot noir vineyards as their fragility prevents resistance. A lack of particularly leafy vines exposes the grapes to much sunlight and makes them easily damaged by heat. Add in attacks by grape eating birds, and the very thin skin of the grapes and you have to wonder why people bother. They bother because when everything works, which is not often at all, the results can be absolutely staggering. When the weather works and harvest is timed well, pinot noir vineyards can produce incredible fruit. But then you have to make the wine.

Pinot noir is incredibly challenging to ferment, too, as it quite often "boils" out of its container. This is because the grapes have 18 amino acids that are naturally balanced, which can increase the rate of fermentation to the point that it is not controllable and can ruin large lots of the fruit. Making wine from this grape requires constant attention and focus. It is not a set-and-forget affair, and the pinot noir winemakers of the world must always be on their game. Making great pinot noir is something that can take a lifetime to get right.

Back in 1990 everything came together for Joseph Drouhin's heirs, and with his son Robert now running the winery (he took over from his father in 1957) they had a miracle vintage. Some of that wine made its way into my cellar. I've been able to sample bottles of the 1990 Beaune Clos de Mouches, and other great Burgundies from this vintage, over the years and remember many of them being excellent, some of them being tight and sharp, and others just not ready to drink. This bottle, though, has remained intact. Until last evening.

We opened the magnum and decanted about half of it to serve with dinner. We bottle poured a tasting and sampled the wine right after being opened. It was as we expected... tight, sour cherry smelling, thin in color and the nose hot with alcohol. It also had a pronounced wet leather smell to the nose and taste on the palate. This concerned me a little, as that musty and slightly stinky scent can indicate the wine is faulty. Ultimately though, there were no big surprises and we just wanted a baseline for when we tasted it again later. We poured glasses about an hour later after we decanted and tasted before we sat down to eat. It had changed dramatically. The nose was still a bit sharp with the same sour cherry scent, but the hot alcohol quality had dissipated and the wet leather scent had become very subtle. The palate was really beginning to open and was beginning to offer fruit that was much more rich. It was very balanced and had a terrific finish. The color, too, had developed and while the wine came out of the bottle with a very thin color ranging from light reds to reddish browns, it was deepening into more ruby reds. We were beginning to really enjoy it.

The kicker came with dinner though. Having the wine with food totally changed it. We ate over the next hour and the wine continued to unfold. It paired absolutely perfectly with our meal, and the ragout brought out more intense fruit in the wine. This was a good match. The wine had perfect structure to hold up to the beef, which is actually a lot to ask of an old pinot noir. Both Cat and I agreed that across the entire palate there were tremendous flavors, but they were all in balance. There was good rich cherry fruit. There was the leathery, earthy backbone. We even tasted a little asparagus... it had a subtle vegetal quality.

What a relief.

To be fair, this was not a wash-off-the-fireengine-we're-having-a-parade wine. But it was really, really good. I would have been happy with just really good, but the wine delivered a little extra for our efforts. Now, the 1990 vintage is going to be tough to come by, but both the 2002 and 2003's are excellent... and much more accessible price wise. I plan on getting a bottle each of the 2002 and 2003 to fill the hole in my basement where this wine sat so comfortably for so many years.

cost - $90 (in 1993)

served with - pan seared and oven roasted beef tenderloin with shiitake mushroom and parsnip ragout

winecommando rating (1-10) - 9

1990 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches, Burgundy (Part Two)

I had a scare yesterday. It was one of those moments where you quietly freak-out to yourself. I was doing a little digging into this wine in preparation for writing Part II and came across a review of it. The reviewer was looking at a number of Burgundies from 1990, both red and white. He exclaimed that he did not see what the big deal was surrounding Clos des Mouches. He found it thin, uninviting and not worthy of further investigation. Uh... say what? My first thought was how I would break this to all of you... I mean, I'm trying to build a little tension here.

Then I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and saw the post date. November of 1998. HA! That was 10 years ago. I did a little more research and discovered that this was when this wine was smack dab in the middle of the aforementioned "dumb" period. Dumb periods are like minefields to wine collectors. You have to be checking all of the time to make sure you get maximum enjoyment out of your investment. Or, you could just be like Cat and I and drink the freaking wine when it suits you (but after checking around, natch...).

But then I started this blog and now have to DELIVER. What if the wine blows? What if the whole thing was just one big waste of our collective time? Well, we'll just have to wait and see as I'm not cracking the magnum until tomorrow.

I did get confirmation that the wine is killer and that now is a good time to drink it. Maybe not the "best" time, but "best" is theoretical and we are all about practical action over here. Also, as a result of the confirmation I wanted to do a financial break down of this wine for you:

Purchased in 1993 for $90.00
Lot sold at auction in 1995 for average of $56/bottle or $120 for a magnum
Retail price in 2000 averaged about $60/bottle or $140 for a magnum
Last price review in 2006 had bottles around $150 and a magnum holding at $325 (updated!)
Restaurants are listing 1990 Clos des Mouches for between $300 and $500/bottle and around $700-$1000 for a magnum (updated... did more research and found a chart on proper valuation validated by Robert Parker)

Magnums tend to command a premium. I'm not exactly sure why, but my guess is that it is because they are more limited in availability and tend to age better due to the additional volume. I'll check this out and tell you what I learn.

Anyway, $90 to $1000 (updated!) - not bad for just sitting around and yes, I understand that $1000 is a restaurant price... just be patient. Auctions and restaurants are the only places to now buy this wine. My associate said that it will probably begin to appreciate quickly over the next two years as more reviewers are beginning to assign it a "drink now" designation.

Here's the deal, though. We don't collect wine. We drink it. We have great wine around so we can share it with friends and family and the investment quality is purely academic to us. And yet, it is still fun to see how wine appreciates in value.

Will tomorrow's tasting be worth $1000 for the experience? Probably not. Will each glass taste like $100? I sure hope so. I once had a $100 glass of 1900 Madeira (on New Year's in 1999!) and I have to say, it was pretty damned good. I'll let you know how we make out here tomorrow, once the deed is done.

1990 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches, Burgundy (Part One)

This weekend we will be drinking this very, very special wine. It is a really big deal to me as not only is this an absolutely incredible bottle from a fantastic wine maker (Joseph Drouhin) it is also from one of the best Burgundy vintages in the last 150 years. 1990 is held by Burgundy lovers with a special reverence as it was one of those vintages when all of the challenging variables of making awesome pinot noir came together just right. This is also a special bottle as it is actually two bottles. It is a magnum (1.5 L as opposed to 750 ml). Double the fun. All of that, and this bottle has been in my "cellar" since around 1993 or so. That's nearly 15 years. This wine has seen me through many experiences and I have had it with me longer than I have had my dog. This bottle was in the basement when I got married. It was there when I had my daughter. It has seemingly always been down there, resting comfortably. Now it's time to share it.

As much as I love wine, it is the stories behind the wines that get me all excited. Every wine has a story... or at least it SHOULD have a story, as that makes the whole thing so much more interesting. As much as I seek out great wines, I seek out great stories. I may forget what a wine tasted like, but I always remember the interesting facts and legends around it. This bottle has many stories with it and, in anticipation of actually drinking it, I am going to savor the next couple days by telling them.

So, 1990 is a super-vintage (rated "Exceptional"). Joseph Drouhin is a top Burgundian wine house. That alone is a killer combination. But this bottle is from the vineyard Beaune Clos de Mouches, which is considered to be one of the best, if not THE best Premier Cru vineyard in all of Burgundy. The vineyard is located on a hill with direct southern exposure and is made up of stony soil with a very high chalk content. The vines love it, and when the weather works just right they produce incredibly intense fruit. The weather rarely works just right. The name Clos des Mouches is interesting. Mouches in French actually means flies - like the nuisance insect. But in this area of Burgundy mouches means honey bees. Dating back to the 1500's this vineyard was once the location of many bee-hives as its orientation made it ideal property to help keep bees. Hence, Clos des Mouches means "Enclosure of the Honey Bees." That explains the little bees on the wine's label (you'll see that in Part Two).

That's enough for the moment. Look for Part Two in the next day or so. I do have a call into an old associate who is this wine's original importer (this actual bottle, I bought it from him back in 1993). I need to speak with him before I open it. I have to know that I am doing the right thing as great Burgundies are notorious for going in and out of "dumb" periods. That, and I want an estimate on this bottle's value. It's got to be way up there.

2004 Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne, Burgundy

Really a Burgundian table wine, this pinot noir is a great value. Truly classic in style and from a very well respected family house, the Bourgogne is a great entry-level Faiveley wine. The flavors are dark cherry, very rich and intense on the palate. The nose is restrained, mostly because the wine is still young, but it is ready to drink now... like most table wines. This would be a great staple wine for your cellar as it offers excellent value. I was always a fan of the wines of Joseph Drouhin and really did not have a lot of experience with those from Faiveley. When Cat and I moved a while back our local wine store focused heavily on the catalog of wines from Faiveley, so we checked them out. A lot of them. Often. We have been very happy with almost all of them.

cost - $12.39 on sale from $14.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 7.5

2005 Verget Macon-Charnay "Le Clos Saint-Pierre", Burgundy

Verget is a highly regarded Burgundian wine producer. As a result they are able to acquire their grapes from some of the top vineyards in Burgundy. Several of their wines are actually quite pricey, but this entry-level was not only quite affordable, but also very excellent. It is clean and very well made in a light style with excellent Chardonnay character and hardly any oak. It may have seen no oak at all. It is very fresh and bright tasting with hints of wet stones and anise in the nose. It has fruit as well as a very nice length to the flavors with melon balanced by slate and a mineral quality that we love. Cat noted that the flavors were great and they disappeared quickly leaving a dry and crisp finish to the wine. For the money, this wine kicks ass. It would be terrific with lighter food and most fish and seafood.

cost - $17.99 on sale from $24.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8

1998 Domaine Caillot Santenay, Burgundy

Ugh. What the hell were we thinking. Typically, we love white Burgundy and Santenay rarely disappoints. Was at the local wine shop and saw this 1998 from a producer we had not tried and despite the fact that it was on "close-out", and despite the distinct possibility that this wine was past its prime, damaged, and probably not drinkable... well, the price was too good to say no to and we brought it home.

Lesson no. 456 - Trust your instincts.

The wine was bad. It was badly damaged, probably by heat and/or improper storage. The color was more like a Sauterne than like a chardonnay (see photo). It tasted like a marathon runner's insoles. It has sat on our kitchen counter for the last week as we were planning on returning it. For some reason, though, it continues to sit there like some sort of "you're an idiot" signpost. Note that with French chardonnay in this price range it is best to check on the older vintages prior to purchasing. This is because, especially within the last few years and with the lower priced wines, they are being vinted to drink within a few years after release.

cost - $9.99 on sale from $22.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - not rated / bottle was damaged

2003 Jean-Philipe Marchand Gevrey-Chambertin "Clos Prieur", Burgundy

This being the inaugural post on winecommando it seems fitting that it would be a Burgundian. This is for two reasons. The first is that the Burgundian style of pinot noir is a favorite for both Cat and I. The second is that we have been working our way through the wines of Burgundy for the last several weeks.

We decanted this wine and allowed to open for about an hour or so. It was still very restrained when we tasted it after this time. However, over the course of the next hour it opened up really well, and was good. Definitely an earthy pinot noir, light in body and with an apparent, but subtle, fruit. I tasted cherry and a little bit of licorice. It had a distinct, but really nice, vegetal quality as well. Cat can't remember what she tasted. Honestly, as a 2003 this wine is a tad young to be drinking. In all fairness, in about 4-6 more years this bottle would be very different and probably excellent.

cost - $34.99

served with - slow cooked chicken with roasted vegetables, marjoram, lentils and a vidalia onion sauce

winecommando rating (1-10) - 7 (will improve with age)