Magic Night of Aged Burgundy

The theme for last night’s Monday Table was White Burgundy 1992 and older and Red Burgundy 1978 and older. I added a few other things in to keep things interesting.

Melbourne’s Flower Drum restaurant did a brilliant job with wine and food service.

Steamed seafood dumplings (Crab, Prawns & Scallops)

1949 Pommery Champagne Brut: No bubbles left but an enjoyable drink none the less. It had quite a sweet core of tinned peaches. It was full, vinous and grapey, with some mushroom and earth development. I suspect dosage was quite high on this one.

1943 Renaudin Bollinger & Co Champagne: Again, no fizz here. This started with some nuttiness and truffle and freshened in the glass. There was some preserved lemon and it had really good structure. The long finish was carried by bright acidity.

Saute Jade Tiger Abalone with garlic chives and Spring Onion

1969 Maison Leroy Montrachet, Grand Cru: A wonderfully fresh and thoroughly engaging bottle of wine. Complex aromatics of vanilla, white peach, aniseed and toast. It is rich and layered and cut by a fine line of minerally acidity. It really builds through the palate and possesses fabulous length of flavour.

1987 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Luchets: Super-fresh, with a nose of struck match, menthol, rockmelon and peach. Full in the mouth, with ripe fruits and a touch of spice. There’s a suggestion of almond butter and terrific cut.

1988 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru: Still supremely youthful. There’s some flint, citrus blossom and mildly exotic fruits on the nose. It is rich, dense and linear in the mouth. It has fabulous detail and such great posture. Citrus flavours really linger.

1986 Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet, Grand Cru: Sadly, there was just a touch of cork taint to this wine. It was rich and layered and had notes of mandarin, custard apple, honey, apricot and aniseed. Botrytis was evident. I suspect sound bottles would be really good.

1981 Delagrange-Bachelet, Batard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: This particular bottle was looking a little tired. It was a bit custardy and had plump, sweet fruits. Acidity was a bit flat and there was some caramel to the finish.

Quail with spicy salt

1969 Faiveley Nuits-St-Georges Les St-Georges, 1er Cru: A splendid bottle of aged Burg, packed, powerful and perfumed. There’s sandalwood spice and an intense core of ripe cherry fruit. It has some root vegetable and earthy nuance and is deep and long.

1953 Faiveley Nuits-St-Georges Les St-Georges, 1er Cru: Has some salty, soy-like and seaweed traits. There’s plenty of sous bois and truffle and mushroom development. It has vinous sweetness and finishes with savoury persistence.

1959 Michel Ganoux Pommard Grand Epenots, 1er Cru: Some funky game and leather at first. There is a deliciously sweet core and it is a strong wine with plenty of authority and muscle.

Roast duck Breast

1937 Armand Naulot Pommard 1er Cru: Has an iodine note that works well with the sweet, rich fruits. It is quite earthy and has a light gaminess running through the wine. It finishes with a gentle flex of sinewy muscle.

1937 Armand Naulot Echezeaux, Grand Cru: Complex aromas of sandalwood, ginger, moss, balsamic and truffle. Good volume in the mouth with plenty of sweet, vinous things lapping around the gums. It has a velvety feel and good length.

1937 Armand Naulot Corton, Grand Cru: Too much aldehyde and volatility.

1937 Armand Naulot Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru: Has some meat, leather and compost. It is sweet and deep, with dark fruits and a slight sauvage character. It drinks very nicely.

1937 Armand Naulot Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru: A wonderful bottle. Spicy nose of aniseed, sandalwood and curry leaf. It is rich and textural, with black cherry fruit. There are layers of flavour and it finishes with a suggestion of Hoisin and tar.

Eye Fillet steak with black pepper sauce

1976 Averys Cuvee Georges de Vogue: We think this wine may have been Bonnes Mares, what it was though was a splendid bottle of red Burg. It was deep, sweet and luscious, with excellent power and drive. Dark fruit flavours are tinged with spice and really build through the palate, fanning out on the finish. I liked this very much.

1978 Domaine Henri Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru La Grande Rue: An engaging nose of Chinese 5 spice powder, sandalwood, forest floor and red fruits. It was silky and sweet in the mouth, with lovely balance and a fine line of minerally acidity. The finish was a peacock’s tail of geological matter, fruit and earth.

1945 Léon Violland Latricières-Chambertin, Grand Cru: A very fresh bottle with the scent of black tea, Asian spice, smoked meats and dark fruits. It was plump, sweet and round in the mouth, with deliciously spicy fruit flavours and a long, energetic finish.

Baked Chestnut pudding

1994 Domaine de la Bongran Mâcon Clessé Cuvée Botrytis: Incredibly concentrated, complex and rich. There are notes of lavender, honey, dried apricots and crème brulee. It has great volume and presence, with luscious fruits enveloping the mouth. For all its sweetness there is balancing acidity and the finish is clean and supremely long.

Almond cookies

1878 Camus Frères Cognac Fine Champagne: Such a pure, calm and even nose. The spirit is harmonious with all the grapey things. It is full and round, with great complexity and poise. Each sip drew out a subtle new aroma or flavour. It wasn’t fiery or sharp, but simply complete and a joy to drink.

Just Wow!

The old Léon Violland wines are always worth looking out for!

A really great night, surprising how well almost every bottle showed, and some were just magnificent!

The 1937 bracket (how often do you see a bracket of ALL 1937’s, from the same producer…so cool) was a real treat, with the Clos Vougeot a standout.

The 1969 Leroy Montrachet was superb, so fresh and hard to believe it was a '69 (it’s in the first glass on the left).

Lots of other neat wines, like the '76 Avery’s De Vogue (probably a Bonnes Mares with the Avery’s gold GC label - direct from John Avery).

And to finish, a Cognac from 1878! Along with some amazing Chinese food, not much more you could ask for!

+1

Wow. Thank you for sharing this.

Yes, amazing, thanks!

Its a pity the '37 Corton didn’t show better. A previous bottle was splendid (my note below).

A whiff of strawberry patch greets the nose. After the red fruits and black earth, there’s a sweet nuttiness, some leather. sandalwood spice, forest floor and pine needle sap. It is rich and voluminous in the mouth, with excellent depth and so much savoury nuance. It has a velvety feel against the gums, builds through the palate and really fans out on the long finish leaving a salty soy taste once swallowed.

agreed on the WOW!

Any idea where those 69 Leroy whites came from?

The 69 Leroy Meursault Charmes is also ageless. I can’t imagine what the Montrachet must be like.

Thanks for sharing!

Jealous

We have had 4 or 5 '69 Leroy whites before, they were a museum release form the domaine around 10 years (?) ago.

This bottle though, may not have been (from the label) and may have been an original bottle.

Will post a pic of it later when I can.

I just got a PM from Francoise. He says, “That bastard!”

:wink:

Thanks for the awe inspector notes!

What a great step back into history!!!

Glad to see y’all are still on the struggle over east! /s

Thanks for sharing Jeremy.

The White Burgs including the 1969 Leroy Montrachet:




2 1940’s Champagnes:




The 2 Champagnes in glass:




1945 Violland, 1976 Gold Label De Vogue and 1978 Lamarche:

What a great evening . I had this Leroy Montrachet 69 about 10 years ago with similar praise . But glad to see most of the other whites were still fresh too .

+2

Sorry to be ignorant - what is jade tiger abalone?

super night. Never had a ‘37. Violland wines are a mark if quality, at least the few I have had.

I think it’s some sort of weird sexual act.