I had rain for most of last week – a short window of dryness for the daylight hours in Amsterdam on Saturday – a deluge of rain in the evening and (shock!) blue sky yesterday. Interesting thing about Amsterdam; whereas most capital cities are defined by the massive numbers of ‘Macdonalds’ eateries, Amsterdam is different – Argentinian steak restaurants – everywhere…
Should be back home late on Wednesday.
I start 8 days of travel today – Holland: mainly Dutch Siberia (Friesland) with a weekend in Amsterdam – if I’m in your environs (during the week) drop me a line at the usual place. I expect only a smattering of posts in that time.
I don’t really have any commercial posts here, but I suppose that these people are not actually selling wine and also I expect they will provide a fantastic ‘service’ given that the people providing the ‘service’ concerned include; Clive Coates, Allen Meadows and the two sons of one of the most respected burgundy importers of a generation. It is the basis as much rigour and detail as anyone can shake a stick at, and looking at the (nice) website, the programs look interesting – if expensive. I don’t expect any enthusiast to find it too much of a bootcamp!
For full disclosure, I’ve no financial interest, and I can’t even get to New York in February to blag a free seat – but I do get the occasional free coffee in Beaune!
Burgundy Bootcamp
The Red Wines of the Côte d’Or
A Seminar Hosted by Peter and Paul Wasserman
New York, February 7th-9th 2008
In New York from February 7th to the 9th 2008, Peter and Paul Wasserman will be hosting a 3 day seminar on the red wines of the Côte d’Or. The seminar’s goal is to give attendees the kind of understanding of the region and its wines it often takes Burgundy lovers decades to acquire. “Throughout our careers as wine merchants,” the Wassermans say, “we have coached countless collectors and members of the trade. Often the greatest realizations about Burgundy have nothing to do with terroir itself but with many peripheral issues which range from how to really assess young Burgundy, to wine making styles and how they affect ageing potential, or even how to read between the lines of reviews. Today, there is so much technically sound wine produced which merits 90 points or more, but that score is not a guarantee that a wine will actually bring a wine afficionado pleasure. The perverse effect is that the 90 to 95 point range has become rather meaningless and it takes intimate knowledge of a region to make the best purchasing decisions.”
Naturally the wines chosen to illustrate the various topics that will be discussed reach far beyond the scope of the estates represented by Becky Wasserman Selections. The following is a list of some of the estates whose wines will be featured during the seminar: D’Angerville, Comte Armand, Robert Arnoux, Denis Bachelet, Ghislaine Barthod, Simon Bize, Bouchard Pere et Fils, Chandon de Briailles, Alain Burguet, Sylvain Cathiard, Chateau de Chorey, Bruno Clair, De Courcel, Domaine des Croix, Drouhin, Dugat-Py, Maurice Ecard, Dujac, Faiveley, Paul Garaudet, Camille Giroud, Henri Gouges, Grivot, Anne Gros, Hudelot-Noellat, Louis Jadot, Joliet, Michel Lafarge, Comtes Lafon, Lambrays, Launay, Dom. Laurent, Domaine Leroy, Comte Liger-Belair, Lignier-Michelot, De Montille, Mugneret-Gibourg, J.F. Mugnier, Jean-Marc Pavelot, Paul Pernot, Perrot-Minot, J.M. Pillot, Ponsot, Nicolas Potel, Pousse d’Or, Romanee-Conti, Georges Roumier, Armand Rousseau, Roty, Clos de Tart, Tollot-Beaut, De Vogue, Vougeraie, etc…
Cost of the seminar is $5,450 per person. For further information please go to www.burgundybootcamp.com or contact the Wassermans via email at info@burgundybootcamp.com , or reach Peter Wasserman by phone at +1 (201) 779-8177
Domaine Robert-Denogent is a domaine whose wines I’d never tasted. Given that they also lie outside the ‘true’ Côte d’Or – way out in Pouilly-Fuissé – I’ve never felt the need to travel that far afield. But a couple of weeks ago I had the chance to taste, and the wines were really excellent – even more-so when factoring in the value versus a Puligny or Meursault. I started without my pen, but the wines were so good I had to find it, hence, the notes gradually get longer!
2005 Robert-Denogent, Mâcon-Fuissé Les Taches
Very impressed by the length here – this is very nice.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Robert-Denogent, Mâcon-Solutré Clos des Bertillonnes
Slightly more tropical nose – gives a similar impression on the palate too. It’s soft, but also intense and with super acidity.
Rebuy – Maybe
2005 Robert-Denogent, Pouilly-Fuissé La Croix
Less tropical – starts much more mineral and then widens out into a wide vista of ripe fruit.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Robert-Denogent, Pouilly-Fuissé Les Reisses
This seems very concentrated and intense. I like this very much and there’s a super length.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Robert-Denogent, Pouilly-Fuissé ‘Claude Denogent’
There’s just a hint of cream on the nose. In the mouth it’s very impressive with a creamy width and an expressive length.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Robert-Denogent, Pouilly-Fuissé Les Carrons
On the nose this also has the cream, but there’s an extra dimension too – lovely. Quite big in the mouth, though the ‘hit’ of concentration comes quite late. Before that ‘hit’ I might have wanted a little more freshness, but the mouthwatering finish knocked my socks off – very, very good.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Joseph Voillot, Volnay 1er Les Champans
Medium and a bit depth of colour. The nose is deeply red with an impression of soft oak in the background. It’s a narrow entry, right through into the finish where it suddenly widens and shows a lovely length of flavour. The fruit is a mix of beautifully melded cherry and raspberry, the tannin must be in there somewhere but the impression is just the smooth ride to the finish. Compelling, but less interesting and open today than the Brouillards despite a little more density.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Barthod, Bourgogne Rouge
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. Slightly volatile and high-toned, but these notes mainly disappear with swirling to leave a deeper, cream-edged base – it’s then quite impressive. Fresh in the mouth, dense and slightly furry with very good fruit that follows through into the finish. Very impressive – average 2004 villages quality here – but I’d still mainly drink over the next 2-3 years.
Rebuy – Yes
PS Unlike the Chambolle, this wine still shows a high level of value…
2005 Tollot-Beaut, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Champ-Chevrey
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. Wide, sweet and interesting on the rather yummy nose. There’s plenty of grainy tannin, but it doesn’t overwhelm the lovely fruit background that slides slowly into a good, less obviously creamy and oak inflected finish than the 1er Lavières. I almost always like this cuvée and here’s another to add to the list!
Rebuy – Yes
This very adequately followed a half-bottle of Billecart-Salmon…
2005 Tollot-Beaut, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Lavières
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. A deep and impressive nose that’s edged with dark cherry and darker oak. The palate is very well concentrated, soft tannin and excellent acidity. The fruit is dark shaded, buttressed by oak flavour and has a nice creamy medium length. Very, very good.
Rebuy – Yes
Thursday was just your average evening: me gatecrashing a dinner in Beaune with 3 former ‘harvest (07) mates’, plus two winemakers and someone ‘ITB’ (in the business) from Australia…
Prompted by an earlier Henri Boillot bottle that was more than a little tired I had decided that I had to open a 2001 Corton-Charlemagne. I hadn’t tasted this in the last couple of years, but the first three bottles of a six-pack were seriously (and serially) stunning – I never had a better Charlemagne. I took the same occasion to try another (as yet, recently untasted) 2001 Charlemagne from Dubreuil-Fontaine and added a little Mischief & Mayhem 2005 Puligny Caillerets to oil the wheels:
Light colour. With the first sniff, everyone said ‘typical 2005’ – ripe, forward, rich etc. Was a great start before we moved to… Light colour. Tight, mineral, less obviously ripe. Austere and concentrated – probably what most 5/6 year-old Charlemagnes would aspire to! Not light colour – at least not when using the previous two as reference. Very ripe, honey on the nose. In the mouth it’s fat and concentrated – no obvious oxidation aromas or flavours – but not the zing, not the painful intensity and not the haunting finish of those first bottles – comment from winemaker friend #2: “you called me round just to taste this?” – ouch.This Boillot is now ‘only’ a good wine, no-longer a great one. It’s a significant fall from its peak and my last two bottles will be drunk in the next 6 months – at €60 I won’t leave one for academic interest – N.B. the 2005 is more like €100…
After that, we all went back to the Dubreuil to confirm how austere it was before finishing every last drop of the evening’s ‘honey’ the M&M – just a very, very classy wine.
For the record, we also had a lovely 2001 l’Arlot NSG Fôrets de l’Arlot, a sadly ‘flat-ish’ 1990 Dom Ruinart Rosé and a 2001 Amiot-Servelle Clos de Vougeot that showed poor aromatics but was ‘okay’ in the mouth… Oh, and the company was great 😉
You are using an outdated browser. Please update your browser to view this website correctly: https://browsehappy.com/;
