château de chorey 1999 beaune 1er les cras

6.8.2012billn

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

Leave a Reply to Claude KolmCancel reply

There are 2 responses to “château de chorey 1999 beaune 1er les cras”

  1. Claude Kolm7th August 2012 at 3:28 pmPermalinkReply

    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.

    • billn7th August 2012 at 5:41 pmPermalinkReply

      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…

  2. Joachim10th August 2012 at 1:37 pmPermalinkReply

    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.

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