J.O. Day Two, Second Half

Back to work, loyal Audience. We’ve lots of reds to work through here. Maybe we should refresh your memory, prior to the full body dip:

Red Wines
* 2003 Ladoix, Chevalier Père et Fils because after visiting Saint-Romain we ate in a restaurant with the CC where the chef is the daughter of this producer
* 1996 Beaune 1er Cru, Les Grèves, Jean Allexant because Mr. Bordelais had promised to bring a Beaune 1er Cru that he had recently bought; we have this producer’s 1990 Beaune in magnum and it is delightful
* 1987 Santenay 1er Cru, Gravières, Paul Chapelle because this was also bought at the French Wal-Mart’s Foire aux Vins and after tasting it the first time, we returned to buy all that remained in the store
* 1992 Corton-Renardes Grand Cru, Domaine Maillard Père et Fils because Corton is one of the great wines of Burgundy and we’d never tasted it
* 1983 Pommard, Platières, Domaine Perruchot (in reserve) because the CC always says he has never tasted a Pommard that lives up to that wine’s notoriety

Digestive
* Graham’s Porto Vintage, 10 Year because we purchased it after drinking it for years and loving it on American Airlines’ international flights but had not opened one at home

Contributions
* 2004 Château Muret, Haut Médoc, Cru Bourgeois from the CC because he found the price-to-quality ratio to be very high and thought we should try it
* 1999 Beaune 1er Cru, Teurons, Bouchard Père et Fils because Mr. Bordelais had recently purchased it at auction and wanted us to taste it

We began with the Ladoix, always a lovely wine, especially for a village appellation and 2003 is, of course dear Readers, the year of the canicule that changed all wines for one year. Interestingly enough, as more and more time passes from the bottling of that year’s Burgundies, more and more producers are saying that one should drink their wines from 2003, that they are just not going to hold up with time, nor evolve and mature. Perhaps in other regions it is different, but this is what we are hearing in Burgundy.

So back to the wine at hand; we are very fond of the Ladoix produced by Ravault and have several different years in the cellar. Traditionally this wine has a beautiful deep ruby color with a full nose of red fruit. In the mouth, it is flavorful but less balanced or sophisticated than Premier Crus from the same immediate area. We would not go so far as to call it rustic, but it is easy to drink without thought. This particular one was no surprise. The one thing we would note is that Chevalier seems to make a wine more ‘ready to drink’ than many producers we know in the region. “Working the fruit,” as the CC calls it, produces a wine with good flavor, and balance upon bottling rather than after several years in a dark cellar. We would assume that Chevalier produces more wine than many other producers in the region and, since we can find some of their production in the neighborhood grocery (don’t you love France?), they produce a wine of reasonable quality that is easily appreciated by the average shopper.

Okay, okay, this Ladoix was not our favorite of the afternoon. Onward and upward, to the 1999 Beaune 1er Cru, Teurons, Bouchard Père et Fils. In past fact-filled screens, we feel that we have held forth on the Bouchard domain so if we repeat, loyal Readers, please forgive. The domain is an old one, large and commanding a great deal of respect in France. However, we see their wines in New York, as we all do, and are never very impressed with the quality.

In reality, they produce a great deal of wine from grapes and juice they buy from other growers, in village appellations or in simple Bourgogne Pinot Noir. These appear to be exported in large quantities while the wines made from grapes they grow in parcelles controlled by Bouchard are produced in more limited quantities with more limited distribution. Interestingly, they grow enough grapes in Premier Cru parcelles that Bouchard makes a Beaune Premier Cru, Le Château that is a blend of all their premier cru growths. Talk about ‘easy to drink.’ That one goes down like water, even in the most recent vintage. It also only sells for about 20 Euros in our neighborhood grocery. It is an easy but impressive hostess gift!

This particular Beaune, Teurons was delicious – fine and elegant as Beaune should be, with a full nose of red fruit. Unfortunately, it lacked that highly appreciated muskiness in the bouquet and similarly, in the mouth, it was slightly unbalanced with stronger tannins than fruit. Ultimately, we decided it was too young. Most likely with another 4 – 5 years in the cellar, it would be stellar!

To follow this Beaune, we’d chosen the 1996 Les Grèves by Allexant. Now, dear Reader, don’t forget that Beaune to Beaune, different parcelles produce different wines, and into this ‘mix’ we’ve added the difference of the producer. If Bouchard is big, far-reaching (they’ve production in many regions in France, not just Burgundy, and other parts of the world) and profitable, Allexant is small and family owned with a limited production that seems to have ceased at the end of the 1990’s. Regardless of their profit levels, Allexant made a wonderful Beaune last century. Those most loyal of the Audience will remember that a magnum of this domain’s 1990 village appellation impressed even the Prince Consort’s Aunts at Christmas dinner.

And we must say the 1996 received high marks from the audience this Saturday afternoon also. It was well balanced, fruity without being jammy, lingering in the mouth and possessing that essential musk both in the nose and in the mouth. Yes, we’ll admit we are partial to the more elegant of the Burgundian wines, but this was particularly good and for the price, excellent.

Continuing along that trail of elegance with age (the Country Lady always says we have a weakness for big-boned blondes of a certain age so maybe our taste in wine and women is similar; there is little more appealing than the elegance of time and beauty!), we pulled the cork on the Santenay 1er Cru, Gravières from Paul Chapelle. For Burgundy, this domain is a bit different. Paul Chapelle was a well-known wine maker in the hire of others when in 1976 he created his own domain. The year after the grapes for this bottle were harvested, in 1988, his two daughters took over the production and management of the domain.

Despite its finesse (Santenay is, after all, really a commune of Beaune), Santenay is a very complex wine that need a minimum of 10 years to mature. With time, the explosion of red fruits and sharp tannins rounds to an inky balance with the fruit expressing certain qualities more similar to dry fruits and the mouth is filled with layers of fruit, warm spices, smokiness... it is as if Chapelle had bottled autumn! I cannot believe the luck of finding this at the Foire aux Vins.

Having measured the endurance levels of our tasting companions, we had earlier in the afternoon carafed the 92 Corton-Renardes from Domaine Maillard. Unlike Bordeaux, which can stand open or carafed for hours and hours, Burgundies are more fragile and should be poured not much more than an hour or two depending on the age and type. A Grand Cru, as all Corton are, will have more ‘staying power’ than a village appellation of the same year.

Grand Crus are the pinnacle of Burgundy wines and should present the most complex, the most sophisticated and the most expressive of all wines from the region. At least that is our understanding. Sadly, we found this one slightly lacking. Okay, we can admit that maybe our taste buds were slightly strained. We were swirling, sniffing, sipping and SWALLOWING, not spitting, but considering all the degusting in caves we have done that finished with young Grand Crus, we are not convinced that excuse holds water, or wine. Perhaps it was the year; 1992 in Burgundy was not a bad year, and compared to some regions in France, quite good, but some experts describe the red wines of that year as beginning with very light tannins. We believe it is the tannins that balance the fruit and provide the skeleton on which wine ages. Without tannins, the wine is, well, less distinguished than it might be in other years. And although we probably had higher than legitimate expectations for this bottle, it must be noted that the price-to-quality ratio is very high. (Don’t forget, loyal Audience, with one small email you to can taste these wines in the comforts of chez vous.)

With the degusting of this Corton, the CC and Mr. Bordelais bid us farewell and departed the Onzieme. Both driving, they did, we are relieved to report, live to reach their respective homes. With the eager son-in-law, his step-father-in-law, and the Prince Consort, we were waiting for the telephone call from the 'powers-that-be' instructing us to appear for dinner. No call had yet arrived so we began to fix our gaze on the Pommard, the ‘must taste’ Bordeaux and the Port.

Until then, we should all go and take deep breaths outside to clear our heads...