TNs: Some nice Champagnes and LOTS of Burgs

DINNER AT BENG WAN - Beng Wan Terrace (23/2/2021)

One of the last really large line-ups in-between COVID measures - what a night. And these were just the wines - we had a 1.8l bottle of Dassai 23, and an Iwa 5 sake to go alongside!
BUBBLES

  • 2009 Marie Courtin Champagne Resonance Extra Brut - France, Champagne
    Unfortunately shaded by some truly monumental Champagnes on the evening, but this was nice in its own right. Built a 2009 base, this was drinking really nicely. It had an entrancing nose, with a lift of kumquats and limes, orange blossoms, and then a touch of yeast, all tied together with a deep minerally waft. Absolutely lovely. The palate was really good. This is what an extra-brut should taste like in my mind - with a sinewy spine of mineral and yeast, pulling its way through an elegantly muscular mouthful of lemons and limes, red apples, with a little sprinkle of chamomile at the sides. The finish was lovely too, with a long tail of minerality trailing away into the end. Lovely acidity, really fine mousse, great balance, with a beautiful cut and definition throughout. Really good stuff. (92 pts.)
  • 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne CuvĂ©e Rare - France, Champagne
    Absolutely lovely. The nose here was round and generous, with wafts of earth and hard cheese drifting over a centre red apples and honey, herbs and spice - think peppercorns, with a sprinkle of sage and thyme. The palate was absolutely on song. Round and full, with a soft creamy mousse and gentle acidity lapping against a deliciously deep, effortlessly powerful core of red apples, lemons and spice. Again those lovey peppercorns, edged with some thyme and sage. This was so together. Beautifully integrated, balanced, with a lovely umami depth, all leading into a mouth-coating finish of honey and spice. Absolutely delicious today. This was a lovely bottle, bang on form. (94 pts.)
  • 1988 MoĂ«t & Chandon Champagne CuvĂ©e Dom PĂ©rignon - France, Champagne
    An amazingly fresh and well-stored bottle of DP 1998, this was really nice - perfectly poised between exciting adolescence and aged maturity. The nose was lovely, with notes of honey and roasted nuts, red apples, and a nice little dose of peppery spice and savoury minerality, all devolving into a nicely salty, buttery brioche aromas. Absolutely wonderful. The palate was still so lively, with bright, almost stern citrusy acidity and a surprisingly lively mousse wrapped around a beautifully full core of honey and apples and berry flesh - so fresh, so energetic. Just traipsing on a high-wire of minerality and acidity into a lovely full finish of honey and gentle spice. Very good now, but I suspect this will be even better in 2-3 years time. (93 pts.)

WHITES

  • 2016 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 1er Cru MontĂ©e de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    This was decent, if just a tad reductive and SO2 laden. The nose showed notes of chalk and flint floating around a some buttery white fruit and white chocolate tones. This smelt more like a tight Chassagne than a Chablis I thought. I liked it more on the palate than the nose though. The Chablis came out here more, with a real spine of minerality and lemony acidity running through creamy white fruit, just before it trailed off a little into a slightly weaker finish with a little trace of chalkiness. Pretty decent, but not what I look out for in a Chablis. This lacked a bit of cut and definition. (89 pts.)
  • 1999 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
    This was a delightful one. The nose was attractive in classic old school aged-Burg way, with honey and butter, a touch of toasty brioche and white chocolate, and then ripe yellow fruit and chrysanthemum flower hints. There was a faint whiff of oxidation on the nose, but barely a hint of that on the palate. In fact, what really stood out to me was both the fullness and power on the attack, which was wed to a really bright streak of acidity that raced through juicy gobs of rock melon and honeyed stone fruit, and then into slightly more tropical shades, all punctuated with a lovely pull of quiet minerality that drew the wine into a long, long finish. I thought it was a bit fat at first, but boy that acidty and minerality pulled it way back and lent it a sense of control, even elegance, behind all that ripe fullness. Not quite one of the sleek elegant Pulignies that I have come to expect from Louis Carillon, but this was very nice indeed. (93 pts.)
  • 2007 Remoissenet Père et Fils Le Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
    Wow. This was rather too young, but boy was it nice. Really stylish. The nose had an arrestingly flinty, minerally, slightly reductive twang to it, along with lovey drifts of white fruit, mushrooms and cream, earth, and then a nice floral hint tracing its way around the edges of the bouquet. Beautiful. The palate was very nice too - pure Montrachet, with lots of power and intensity in its rich, almost oily texture, yet it was so beautifully poised and balanced that it came across almost effortlessly elegant, with a lovely unfolding of white melons and red apples pierced through with a lovely seam of 2007’s lemon zest acidity and stony mineral. This carried the wine into a wonderfully long, sappy finish, with sweeter red apples, more of that wonderful minerality, and then classic notes of butter and almond nuts lingering away on the backpalate. There was such a tremendous amount of dry extract on this, it just stuck and stuck in the mouth. A tremendous wine, but still young. For all its purity and clarity, it always felt really youthful, with a sense of reserve to it - a coiled-up, slightly stuck inner core promising a whole lot more for the future. I would love to revisit this again in 10 years. (95 pts.)
  • 1952 Guy Leblanc Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
    A really old charmer. Oxidative, rancio, but still very alive. Sauternes gold in colour, this filled the glass with deep honeyed and caramel aromas, white chocolate, along with browned apples and fig peel, chanterelle mushrooms and dried oysters. Lovely stuff. Clearly old, but certainly not 1952 old. The palate was very much alive though, almost shockingly so, with lovely gobs of juicy, kumquat acidity wrapped around a lovely full mouthful of red apples, honey and spice, again riding on a bed of umami flavours - mushrooms and soy and dried oysters. Somehow rancio and oxidative, and also fresh and lively, and so arresting, with a long, playfully citrus finish to go with all that honey and umami. Quite an idiosyncratic old treasure, but boy this was such a treat. (94 pts.)
  • 1998 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
    Good stuff, without quite hitting the heights of the other Grand Cru whites on the night. The nose was really nice, with drifts of mineral and wood spice, sweet red apples, and then butter and sweet cream, with a hint of oak at the sides. A little sweet, but very nice. The palate had that same sweetness to it, maybe even a bit more, with a lovely peach and apricot note coming out when paired with a lobster-head pasta. After that, orange blossoms, lemon curd, and a touch of sweet cream, all laced with a lovely bit of lemony acidity carrying it into a more minerally, slightly white chocolatey finish. As with quite a few Bouchard examples, this was bit of a plump, fat Chevalier, maybe lacking a bit of the cut and polish of a great example - it drank almost like a Batard in that way - but boy was it a yummy mouthful. Good with food too. Very good. (93 pts.)
  • 2008 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Meursault
    Not bad, but a little too tight and unyielding I thought. The nose started with quite a bit sulphur. When that blew off, there was plenty of reductiveness - so rotten eggs, then flint and chalk, then matchsticks, only after a long while, we got butter and cream, white fruit, and a little florals around the edges. The palate was rather more stirring, with a lot of bright lemony acidity piercing laser-like though a mouthful of white fruit - think green apples and pears - leading into a lovely mineral finish. Still needs time to come together, but this as always was an impressive, very elegant village. (91 pts.)

REDS

  • 2006 Domaine d’EugĂ©nie Vosne-RomanĂ©e 1er Cru Aux BrĂ»lĂ©es - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Vosne-RomanĂ©e 1er Cru
    Very nice, if not quite showing fully yet. This had such an expressive nose though, just swirling out of the glass with twirls of black cherries, blueberries and dark plums, earth and iron filings and fragrant wood spice, and a perfumy violet lilt. A very purple nose I thought for some reason. The palate was still a little too young and tight though, with fine-boned tannins and a core of decent acidity framing an otherwise lovely mouthful of dark plums and black cherries, these seasoned with plenty of Vosne sandalwood spice, and then a twist of anise herb and bramble, all trailing away into a lightly mineral finish, with a very Engel-like twang of dried earthiness at the end. There was still a lot of sweet plummy fruit in there, along with a slightly floral core - all waiting for time to unveil. No harm drinking now, but I would leave this aside for another 3-4 years more before broaching again. (92 pts.)
  • 2005 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chambertin - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
    Really solid. I loved the nose on this. Violets, peppery spice, a hint of meatiness, and then lovely notes of black cherries and plums, all patted down with a little bit of earthiness. Lovely, heady stuff. The palate was really nice. Surprisingly ready for a 2005, with fine-boned tannins softened a good bit of acidity, all making for a really nice sense of structure behind a deceptively easygoing mouthful of dark cherries and berries, violets and spice. Make no mistake though, this was a true Grand Cru. Behind its easy demeanour, there was real power, depth and richness to it, with a solid intensity and beautifully length to boot. An archetypal Chambertin. Powerful, muscular, yet so effortlessly so that you barely noticed it’s authority. This was a wine that spoke in measured tones rather than shouting its quality. What a finish too - long, full, lingering. A very, very good wine. Drinking well and surprisingly light on its feet for a 2005. This has a long, long future ahead of it yet though. (94 pts.)
  • 1990 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    Pretty good without being great. The nose was fairly classic NSG, with notes of wet stone, bloody iron and earthy tones underlying aromas dark berries and black cherries, along with a little brush of herbs. A quiet, masculine bouquet. The palate carried on where the nose left off, with dark notes of sour plums and black cherries, again pierced by a good bit of wet stone and iron mineral, a little touch of smoke, and quite a pinch of acidity, all pulling it into a slightly lean finish. There was the power and the strength of the 1990 vintage on this, but I thought it felt a bit stingy for a Les St Georges from such a strong year. (91 pts.)
  • 2008 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    What a coincidence to have two bottles of this wine side-by-side, if just separated by 18 vintages (1990 and 2008)! Good rather than brilliant, but this was nevertheless really enjoyable - certainly more so than the stern and slightly stingy 1990. The nose showed touch of burnt pine cones and wood spices, dark cherries and plums, a good bit of earth and meat. Expressive, a little in-your-face, but quite attractive. A world away from the 1990, which was very much more the classic NSG with its mineral and wet stone notes. The palate very much echoed the nose here, with a deep blush of black cherries, sweet plums, even cassis, all touched with a good bit earth and just a hint of burnt rubber. All still a bit tight and grippy, with firm tannins and chewy acidity carrying the wine into a slightly drying finish. Not bad, plenty of power, but this needs time yet - another 5-6 years at least. (92 pts.)
  • 2001 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
    This is one of those Ponsot CdlR bottles that flatted to deceive. Very pleasant, but not quite hitting the heights you know that the wine can hit in the right vintages. The 2001 had a very perfumed nose, lots of violets and roses, a good touch of woody spice, and then a blush of dark cherries and candied, almost bubble-gummy berries. Very attractive. The palate was really tight though. Here, fine but really firm tannins, bright 2001 acidity, and a touch of herbaceousness framed pure, powerful notes of black cherries and plums leading into a firm, almost savoury orange peel and meat touched midpalate. Still really tight and clenched, with the long finish trailing away with a bit of earth and mineral and a little bit of spice. Altogether a bit stubborn. I did liked it though. Masculine, powerful, singular - a really solid wine, with a long future ahead of it still. But like so many Ponsot wines, I wonder whether it will always remain a good but slightly underwhelming Grand Cru, or blossom into something greater. Check back again in 6-8 years or so. (92 pts.)
  • 2014 Georges Noellat Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    Lots of hype over Maxime Cherulin’s Noellat bottlings these days. This particular example was way too young, but I can see why people are really attracted to his wines. The nose was really nice, with deep draws of blueberries and dark cherries, mushroomy earth and grassy florals, and a great blush of fragrant wood spices. The palate is still in its infancy though. Tannins were grippy but fine, there was plenty of acidity, but it was still very primary, with pure, powerful notes of black cherries and blueberries seasoned with a lovely drop of warm spice and little brambly notes. Compelling, generous, but all still a bit infantile and needing time to integrate and round-up. The finish was impressive too, with mineral and spice trailing away into a long, full back-palate, full of pure dark fruit and mineral tones. This shows great promise and is enjoyable in a very young Burg way even now, but I am laying my other bottles aside for another 8-10 years at least. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Nice lineup …

A recent unexpected old treasure : Henri Coquet Bâtard-Montrachet 1948 (excellent : 17/20).