Maybe the last bottle for a few days – an itchy throat and cough not yet marring the taste buds but it seems imminent!
1999 Château de Chorey (Germain), Beaune 1er Les Cras VV
I so wanted to say nice things about this wine, but in the end it disappoints – today at-least. The medium-plus glossy colour invites you: The nose starts spicy and a bit oaky. In the mouth this is lithe, muscled but supported still by barrel staves – it’s so clear in the texture. I wait for aeration – surely that will bring some balance(?) The nose with air develops a reasonably strong pyrazine note (3/10) to add to the dark red fruit and (probably oak) spice. This is clearly a concentrated wine, and one with a lovely acidity, but there is an astringency both to the tannin (oak tannin?) and the overall structure – a little bitterness in the finish too, and it’s far from moreish. I know it’s still something of a baby, but even with a pristine bottle, such as this, I’m not particularly unhappy that there are no more in the cellar, but I’m sad for Benoit too….
Rebuy – No
Château de Chorey once was one of my favorite visits in Burgundy, first when Jacques Germain was still in charge, and then in Benoît’s early years. But right around 1999, I began to find that the wines no longer were in a style that pleased me, and soon after dropped them from my list of visits.
Interestingly, it seems that others didn’t notice this change in style — until it was pointed out to them. On two different occasions in the past few years, I was with a group in Beaune restaurants that insisted on ordering the wines against my counsel, and in both cases, when they had the wines in front of them, they could see what I was talking about.
Indeed, a truly tragic situation all around.
I loved the 08s I tasted with Benoit – but they were still in cask. 05-07 in bottle seemed fine too, but not this. Even the half a glass I saved for today wasn’t pleasant…
The 96 Le Cras from Chateau de Chorey was one of the first Burgundies I ever tasted. A lovely wine, very expressive and elegant, it was one of the wines that started my love for Burgundy. Sad to hear that they couldn’t keep the quality.