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| The vertical line-up |
19 November 2010: La grande journée – a vertical tasting of 15 vintages of Denis Mortet Chambertin, from 1985 to 2006! Not a great start for me….my nose was streaming and I was totally overcome with a severe cold. I rushed out to the pharmacy in anticipation of my cold worsening. At least I was able to participate in the tasting, nonetheless in a rather subdued state (so I did consult Richard about his tasting notes!). The domaine has a very small holding of Chambertin, 0.15 hectare and produces 2 -3 barrels of this wine a year….in other words highly sought after. Always a perfectionist, while he spared no effort in making wines that combined power, precision, balance and the ultimate smoothness, he was equally disturbed by the fact that he was unable to win the battle against nature - his wines were becoming much more concentrated than he had liked. He sadly took his own life in January 2006. 2005 was the last vintage he was involved in the making of the wines from his domaine.
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| The lunch spread |
This kind of tasting has become an annual tradition for Richard and me……however we couldn’t have made them happen without the generosity and help of a few people. David Boobyer for helping us transport the wines from our storage in the UK back to their birthplace, Burgundy! Jasper Morris for organizing the actual tasting. Becky and Russell for hosting and putting on a sumptuous lunch for us after the tasting. Also joining us this year were Anthony Hanson, Andrew Caillard and Bobby, his wife, Scott Paul, a winemaker from Oregon, and a couple of friends of Becky’s from Florida.
Russell cooked a delicious pintard au vin, accompanied by asparagus, a carrot and parsnip gratin and brussel sprouts. As Russell is a great cheese aficionado, no repas would be complete without a comprehensive cheese selection and he selected for us the following: le délice de Pommard, brillat savarin au truffe noir, reblochon, vacherin and salers! All very yummy! Thank you, Russell! (And please check out the problem at Abbaye de Cîteaux – such a shame not to be able to have even a morceau of this cheese on this trip!)
Here are my very modest notes on these grand wines from this vertical tasting:2006: Already showing its richness and power, complemented by a complex nose of red fruit, floral and spice. Vintage characteristics. . Not quite ready now and will continue to develop in next 10 -15 years. 18.5/20
2005: Display of aromatic complexity, elegance, complexity, balance, fine structure, concentration and enduring strength. Red fruit, floral, spice, coffee, wet leaves. A very long life ahead – 20+ years. 19.5/20 (Andrew gave it 20/20!)
2004: Showing vintage characteristics. Mineral, herbaceous overlaying the red and black fruit, spice, liquorice and cloves. Lacks concentration and length. Drink well for the next 10 – 12 years. 17.5/20
2003: Very ripe fruit, already showing some animal character. Sweet fruit on entry, but lacking complexity, structure and length. A relatively simple but approachable wine. 16/20
2002: Pure and elegant style. Very Burgundian. Red fruit, leather, coffee, liquorice. 18.5/20
2001: Quite a mineral style, but lacking in concentration of fruit. Not a favourite amongst us, except Richard. 17/20
2000: Leafy, herbaceous, hoisin sauce. Good acidity, silky tannin. Lacks structure and power. 16.5/20
1999: Leafy, herbaceous, hoisin sauce character. Some spice and red fruit. A complex wine that needs time to develop further. 18/20
1998: Lush and elegant at the same time, with plenty of freshness and fruit character, lots of finesse. Beautiful fruit, with development of leather, tobacco, animal, savoury notes. Velvety texture. One to keep: 15+ years. 19/20
1997: Leafy, herbaceous, sweet fruit on entry, lacking in depth, concentration and length. Still tasting relatively fresh though. Drinking well now and for the next 4 – 6 years. 17/20
1996: Lots of tertiary character: saddle, gamey, animal, caramel, coffee. Lots of freshness. Very fine. Needed aeration in glass. Drinking well now with further development anticipated in the next 10 – 15 years. 18/20
1995: A bit of volatility on the nose. I did not like this very much. Not a good example, probably.
1993: Mature characteristics coming to the fore. Caramel, coffee, animal character…. for me, I felt that it was slightly marred by a hint of acetic acidity that needed time in the glass to blow out. It was a clear favourite of many of us at the tasting and definitely a great example of the vintage. 19/20 (Richard's score) - I actually gave it 16.5/20......
1990: A bit more richness and weight. Needed the aeration. Sweet fruit still. I quite liked it. 17/20
1985: Unfortunately slightly corked……
A sensational tasting which simply confirmed that Denis Mortet was a master at his art, making extremely high quality, ageworthy Chambertin, as close to perfection as one could achieve…..and that his legacy is being proudly perpetuated by his son Arnaud who has already put his own stamp onto the vintages of 2006 and 2007.
At lunch, as if we felt shortchanged after all the spitting at the vertical tasting, our vinous supply was replenished by 3 more magnum bottles. First we freshed up our palate with a glass of Château de Bligny champagne which Andrew had brought. Then we tucked into the 1999 Bâtard Montrachet Ramonet, brought by David. A wine balanced in richness, minerality and acidity, complex and long in finish. Very smokey, spicy, lemon curd, lanolin, honey and nutty….perfect, in fact even better with the cheese! 18.5/20 (Thank you, David!)
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| The garnet-hued 1959 Musigny |
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| 1959 Calvet-Bottled Musigny |
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