My Top Wines of 2019 and Possibly My Top Wines Ever

Posting some notes as a bit of a thread drift from the Top Wines So Far of 2019 thread.

This dinner was a long time in the making. We had talked about it for sometime until the final piece, a 1986 Roulot Meursault Perrieres of excellent color and fill fell into my email folder. This was obviously a sign.

We decided on a small group of 4 so we could taste and re-taste these over dinner. Dinner was at Marche Moderne in Orange County and they put together an amazing 9 course seafood spontanée tasting for us.

There was actually a bit of a scare on the day of the event as I checked the 89 Coche MP and 96 Leroy Corton Charlemagne with me on my flight over. The AA baggage app showed that it was not loaded on the plane. I rushed to baggage claim as soon as my flight landed and sure enough, their systems showed that it was still in Miami. In the middle of throwing a hissy fit and filing my lost baggage incident report the bag was scanned and showed arrived at LAX. Luckily I had a change of underwear on me and was able to proceed to dinner without any other disasters.

We had a leisurely lunch at LSXO with some delicious 1996 Taittinger Comtes, 1996 Leflaive Clavoillon, and 01 Raveneau Butteaux. All 3 wines showed well with the Leflaive and Raveneau really shining.

I had to go organize my cellar and the other guys went for a nap. We reconvened a few hours later for probably the best wines of my life.

Corks were all in perfect condition with plenty of dirt and crud on top that had to be cleaned off. None of the bottles showed any cork taint and the color was excellent on them all. We knew we were in for a treat.

  • 1986 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (5/17/2019)
    Drank alongside the 1989 Coche MP, 1986 Roulot MP, and 1996 Leroy Corton Charlemagne.

The honey and botrytis of 86 was apparent as was with the 86 Roulot MP. There is that long elegant floral finish that you get with Coche Corton Charlemagne. Initially a little behind the 89 Coche MP due to the weight and slight lack of acidity and focus. However, over the next 3 hours it continued to improve becoming more refined and elegant with each repour. By the end of the night, it was as good and maybe even better than the 89. Hard to say as both wines were flawless tonight and showcasing their vintage and vineyard perfectly.

A beautiful medium gold color similar to the 86 Coche CC to indicate this was indeed a properly stored bottle. Again, the 86 botrytis is apparent. On the palate the fruit is rich and ripe and there is incredible length and power. The wine continues to improve over the next 3 hours picking up more acidity and precision. A rare rare treat and I doubt I will see this beautiful wine ever again.

Wow from beginning to finish. This started off with the classic Coche aroma of flint that was less prominent on the 86 CC. On initial sip it was perfect in every way: the fruit, the acid, the precision. Everything was perfectly integrated, extremely elegant, and nuanced. A wine that makes you vow not to open any more Coche MP prior to its 30th birthday (knowing that you will fail miserably and happily). The greatness of it is only highlighted by drinking it next to other great wines. Not much else to say except that it’s a 100 point wine if there ever was one.

  • 1996 Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (5/17/2019)
    Drank alongside the 1986 Coche Corton Charlemagne, 1986 Roulot Meursault Perrieres, and 1989 Coche Perrieres.

This is a powerful Corton Charlemagne. The 96 acidity is very prominent. There is not as much fruit or depth as the 04 that we had a few months ago. However the oak on this was far more integrated and not noticeable. There is a fine mineral streak through this great wine. On any other night this has a shot at WOTN. Tonight it lacked the complexity and nuances of the Coche and even the Roulot. Still, a great drink.

Posted from CellarTracker

Was wondering when I’d see these notes! [worship.gif] What a fantastic experience…congrats! [cheers.gif]

Just wow.

Fred,

When Chardonnay wines show as well as these did for you, its hard not to argue that they can be the best on the planet.

Best Regards
Jeremy

Damned , I went through a case of each of these Coche wines a decade ago . I should have kept some .
My experience with older Coche wines is similar : botrytis shows up after 20 years or so and becomes very prominent . A recent Rougeot 1991 was all honey . Not for the purist but I loved it .

Jeremy,

I couldn’t argue less. In fact, I’m buying fewer reds these days and backfilling with mostly white burgs from low premox years and producers.

Cheers,
Fred

If only you had a case of each now!

It’s funny you mention the 91. We had the 91 Corton-Charlemagne several months ago that was very elegant and nuanced without much botrytis. Initially, we commented that we may have preferred that 91 over the 86. Something about great producers where they sometimes can do better with lesser vintages.

jeebuz. incredible man. i was wondering who pangilinan was drinking with.

Amazing wines and notes, thanks!

Ah yes, but what are the low (non) premox years? 1993 and before?
And which are the low premox producers? Coche, Raveneau, pre-2002 Leflaive, Leroy, and perhaps Roulot…all of which are now absurdly priced.
Aye, there’s the rub.

I would add 92 and before Bonneau du Martray, Robert Ampeau, PYCM, Jadot before 92 and after 2010. I’ve also had pretty good luck with older Girardin whites and the more recent ones are even more promising. Occasionally you can find deals on 04 and before 1er Cru bottlings of Leflaive. I don’t shy away from good producers in poor vintages or producers I’ve never heard of in good vintages if the color is good (had a really tasty bottle of 92 Batard Montrachet from Domain Jomain for far less than any of the producers you listed).

But yes, you are correct the list is small and expensive.

On the plus side I am buying far less these days!

I am impressed
And envious champagne.gif

Indeed - one of my best ever white Burgundies is still the '83 village Puligny from Jadot. I’ve had a few cases of this and not a single bottle has shown any negative signs of age (or indeed many signs of age at all - it’s still on the young side). From what I understand it’s largely a mix of declassified grapes (due to high yields). It was also Michael Broadbent’s favourite wine of the vintage (“Knockout Drops” *****).

Only the other day, I was talking with Jean-François Coche about the 1989 harvest. He was reminiscing about the quality of the grapes, some of the most beautiful he has seen in his career. He used 100% whole clusters for his red wines that year. I’m inclined to say he made the white Burgundies of the vintage.

After having some premoxed 2010’s, and not being willing to buy Coche or Raveneau at grey market absurd pricing (I used to have sources at normal retail but they dried up), and not trusting the winemaking at Leflaive anymore, I have given up buying anything other than Bourgogne or village wines for early drinking. I suppose I could only buy producers who have switched to DIAM in vintages like 2014…maybe someday I will dip a toe into WB once again, but I am like a lover spurned and haven’t been able to get over it.

Amazing set of wines Fred.

1992 BdM is crystalline.

Remember there was a time that conventional wisdom was 1992 whites were good early drinkers but wouldn’t age…

Cannot tell you how many bottles of 1996 and on bottles of BdM I have poured down the drain. I surely hoped they have fixed that disaster.

When/If you do, try starting with Fevre and Jadot. Both have switched to Diam and both have been showing very well at Don Cornwell’s vintage assessments since they made the switch.

I’m not sure how the composite (held together by glue in contact with an alcohol which is a solvent) will hold up at the 20-30 year mark but at the 8 year mark they seem to do quite well.

I love these winemaker insights. Hard to argue with you based on my limited sample size.

Thanks for the story!