Magnums

Well, once again I apologize for the delay in writing, loyal Audience. It is horrible to become addicted to something and then not get it. Imagine if one installation in the serialization of those Dickens novels had been delayed.... but I digress if only to camouflage my tardiness. The saddest thing is that there has been so much to write about and I have kept you hanging, right through the holidays when I know so many of you have hours and hours of extra time to catch up on required reading.

The good news is that together we have finally plowed through the Prince Consort’s various birthday dinners and the wine salons. Reading over some of those postings, I did notice that I failed to enlighten you, dear Audience, on the virtues of the magnum of white 2003 Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses, Domaine Claude Lessaque. The “quick and dirty” is I did not really find it memorable. Claude Lessaque is a small producer in the village of Vergelesses and 2003 is that particular year, but it did not ring my bells.

I am being a bit aggressive, I’ll admit, but the first Pernand Vergelesses I really drank, not just déguster was a 2000 1er Cru Les Caradeux by Domaine Chanson Père et Fils. It was extraordinary. I thought I had died and gone to heaven drinking it. I still remember the honey and spice of a deep yellow tinted wine. I am afraid that a lot of people appreciated this wine as well; I’ve spent hours searching for that domain’s 2000 without luck.

Now, with regard to this 2003, we all remember that that was the summer of the canicule which changed wines like never before and there remain two other major factors: 1) the advice of the Chef Cousin that a good Burgundy will go to ‘sleep’ for several years and express few if any of the characteristics hinted when it was young (sometimes this sommeil will last for several years and one can ‘waste’ a lot of wine trying to catch la belle dormant just as she wakes), and 2) that it was bottled in a magnum.

We all remember that a magnum is two normal bottles, or one & one-half liters. Wine ages in the bottle through a chemical process and in a normal bottle we can say this process occurs over a certain period of time, at a rate of change we'll identify as equal to X. From that then we can induce that a demi-bottle with half the volume of wine will pass through this process at a rate of ½X, a relatively simple theory to test because half bottles are not that rare and can even be drunk next to the same vintage in a full bottle. More difficult to prove is the theory that magnums will age at 2X, if only for the fact that there are fewer magnums floating around. Unfortunately, Audience, I cannot add to the body of evidence supporting or disputing the latter theory with my experience of this Pernand as I have not drunk the same in a normal bottle. However, using anecdotal evidence, I have decided to give the benefit of doubt to the wine maker and say that I will not hesitate to try this domain’s wine again, but with more time in the bottle.

In translation, I believe that the magnum of white 2003 Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses, Domaine Claude Lessaque, was too young and would have benefited from more time. At the same time, more research leads me to believe that Claude Lessaque could be a négociant, which is not always a negative but could lead one to believe this Pernand will always be inferior; I do not think that is the situation for this magnum.

We drank this bottle with the first course at the Prince Consort’s family birthday dinner. His father found it very nice, but I don’t look for minerality in my Pernand. I want the traditional flowers in the nose and, with time, the honey and spices. For those of you who read a bit of French, take a look at this site:
http://www.vins-bourgogne.fr/
and more specifically, this page:
http://www.vins-bourgogne.fr/index.php?p=31&art_id=&PHPSESSID=694e1ffda6e39988cc484981f633cdd0
where you can seek information on each appellation in Burgundy.

Ugh, I promised no more birthday news and I have gone back on my word. I hope, dear Audience, you will forgive me in light of the discussion of magnums. As a treat, I promise more on this subject in future columns.

Stay tuned!