TN: Burgundy Night in St. Louis (w/pics)

WINE TALK
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DINNER IN ST. LOUIS - Niche (8/4/2015)

I was in town for work and got together with a small group at Niche. All the food was great, and it was a lot of fun meeting some new people.


Chardonnay Flight

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  • 2001 Raphaël & Vincent Bérêche Champagne Grand Cru Côte - France, Champagne, Côte des Blancs, Champagne
    From magnum. Bright and zippy nose with lots of lemon/lime zest. Palate was firm and structured with a good balance between some riper pear flavors and soft florals. Drinking very nicely. (90 pts.)
  • 2000 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    A sweet and salty wine. The aromatics were pure and crystalline and felt familiar for Raveneau. Its palate was incredibly sweet but still nicely balanced. Had some nice richness to it with solid balance, too. Loved the feeling it gave me. (92 pts.)
  • 2008 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
    Brilliant showing. Had a beautiful mix of energetic lime notes, with some softer/richer pear flavors. Great balance, mouth-watering acidity…wish we had had more! (95 pts.)

2003 Burgundy Flight

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  • 2003 Domaine Truchot-Martin Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
    Popped this about 90 minutes before dinner. I was worried at first. The aromatics seemed astringent and flat, so I got worried about it being a bad bottle. Luckily, I brought it along to dinner and let it sit for a while. Soon, the wine woke up a bit and picked up a lot of floral accents along with some undertones of earth and meat. I haven’t drank many 2003 Burgundy’s, but I really liked the juiciness of this. Probably didn’t have the 2nd and 3rd gear that other vintages of this wine might have, but I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. The final glass of the night (about 6 hours after opening) saw the earth/meat/florals develop even more…guess I should have given it more air! (91 pts.)
  • 2003 Bouchard Père et Fils La Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Romanée Grand Cru
    Gorgeous aromas of brambly fruit, earth, and ripe cherry. This was a pretty dark wine with more of a blackberry profile than a more traditional cherry. No matter, the black fruit was lightened up by some nice violet tones. Created a very balanced, impressive wine. (93 pts.)

Les Beaux Monts Flight

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  • 1996 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
    Opened for about 90 minutes before dinner. A cool and funky nose with some mushrooms, cherries, and roses. The palate was reserved at first…very tight, but it blossomed over the course of the night. By desert, the wine was firing on all cylinders. Beautiful. (92 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
    Amazing nose of spicy red fruits…very Leroy. The palate was complex, textured, and deep. This had the typical '02 juiciness to the palate, but underneath the glossy exterior were layers of roses, mushrooms, minerals, and spice. Easy to get lost in the glass… (95 pts.)

Younger Burgundy Flight

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  • 2006 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
    Spicy, red-fruited nose was gorgeous and soft. The palate had the 2006 plushness to it but tons of character and depth. Loved the spicy/earthy red fruit with the wisps of roses. A compelling, complete wine. (94 pts.)
  • 2011 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
    I was so happy this didn’t have any of the green notes I’ve picked up on with other producers. In fact, this had an extrodinarily beautiful nose packed with red fruits, floral notes, some mushrooms and spice. The palate was edgy and pure - just delicious! This got about an hour of air before I got to it, and I imagine it’ll be a knockout with some age. A beautiful, young, Burgundy. (93 pts.)

Desert

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for visiting, and for bringing such great wines. Pretty damn fun for a Tuesday night!

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The more I taste of 2003 reds, the less I like them, frankly. Had one last week (a Savigny)…and it was devolving into a strong finish of alcohol. I bought this particular wine …back in 2005-6 because I thought it was one of a few 2003s that wouldn’t go that way, but…

nice tasting. The more I taste from 2002 (had one this week myself), the more I think the vintage is heading to greatness with 20+ years on it. Just beautiful wines premised on finesse.

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Thanks for the write up.

Not a great fan of the 2003s but 2006 has been impressive (emerging from the shadow of 2005).

Thanks for the note of the 2002 Leroy Les Beau Monts. Looks super. I am holding on to my meagre stash that is too expensive to replenish.

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Matt, great notes…what happened to the label on the 2002 Leroy??

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Sorry to have missed it Matt. Come back on a Friday. We have Favre coming next Sat for Niche.

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:frowning:

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I completely agree. At a recent family dinner my friend and I had to abandon two 2003s including a d’Angerville Ducs and a Petit Monts (forget the producer) and open a bottle of Dirty & Rowdy. 2002s have been quite impressive.

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2006 Dujacs are drinking really well right now.

I don’t like 2003s either, but from the couple that I’ve had, Truchot’s 2003s aren’t very “2003.”