Dinner with 99` Philipponnat Grand Blanc, lots of really good white and red Burgundy

Our weekly dinner group enjoyed another fine night out, this time we returned to one of our local favs, the consistently fine bouchon.

The wine theme was the usual champagne, white Burgundy and on this occasion, red Burgundy.

Eight of us were seated in the outdoor, covered patio and served righteously by their top waiter/ sommelier who delighted in taking care of the wine service for us although we almost always do our own. The owner and close friend to most of us also hung out from time to time and imbibed in a few of our special wines.

We began with:

1999 PHILIPPONNAT GRAND BLANC BRUT “L.V.” LONG VIEILLISSEMENT- Disgorged in 2005 @ 4.5 gpl which qualifies this for being an Extra Brut; it is a special, rarely declared bottling that occurs only in exceptional years and then only 800- 1000 bottles are made; about 20% is barrel fermented with ML being blocked and the rest goes into vat which does undergo partial ML; this is a Blanc de Blanc which is rare for this house which is Pinot Noir centric; the Chardonnay fruit is sourced from Cote des Blancs and their own estate vineyard, Clos des Goisses, which is located in the southern region of the Montage de Reims in Ay; it comes presented in an classy OWC and the front and back label can be easily distinguishable from all other Philipponnat champagnes.

So, enough of the intro, how was the champagne? Well, I’m not a fan of oxidative notes, especially when it has reached the nutty, Sherry like state when really advanced, but as my ITB, quite knowledgable friend who has Philipponnat in his portfolio commented, “this is oxidative, but not oxidized”; for me, that translated into those early stages of oxidation where the color is yellow gold and the aromas and flavors include caramel, butterscotch and honeysuckle; as one would expect from extended lees contact, this was full bodied, super rich and creamy; it was mindful of the 2002 Cristal Late Release and i have to say, I’m just not that enthralled with the immensity and “mature” profile of these champagnes all the while respecting that there are many others who prefer this style. {also posted separately}

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We moved on to some really nice white Burgs:

2008 ANTOINE JOBARD MEURSAULT-GENEVRIERES 1er Cru- mild notes of flint and minerals first appear, then a good hit of citrus comes in with lemon most prevalent before a nice streak of lime finishes it off; the flint and minerality components pick up steam and intensify once past mid palate while the citrus fruit stays in the background; this is nicely matured and ready now although it has so much acidity, it has the stuffing to go much longer.

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2011 BOUCHARD CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- loved this over and over; it had so much elegance and charm and yet had enough pizza to check off more boxes; no flint here, just a nice vein of minerals to support the tasty lemon/ lime that came in early and held on all the way to the back end; the mouthfeel was so smooth and easy on the palate and now all of my sensory receptors are happy; although this wine did not fit into our central theme, it was good enough to be considered and mentioned for the WOTN.

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2015 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY LES NARVAUX MEURSAULT- now were are back to the flinty notes as it starts off immediately in the nose before being joined by sweetened lemon zest; add in a dollop of minerals and a touch of spice and this is pure pleasure.

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2016 CAROLINE MOREY LES CHAMPS-GAINS CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET 1er Cru- this comes in as a light weight, literally and figuratively; mild aromas of flint and mineral accented lemon, kiwi and lime continue on with more flavors showing up on the palate; it was medium bodied at best and initially finished with a little heat that dissipated; I’ve had other bottles of this that were more expressive and tending toward balance and have to think this one was just bit shutdown and discombobulated.

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2019 SAMUEL BILLAUD MONTEE DE TONNERRE CHABLIS 1er Cru- this was mindful of Squirt soda from childhood days when I last had it with its bracing grapefruit notes, but this also had a twist of lemon, honeydew melon and lycheee; it was super soft and smooth and flavorful; delicious wine; so much better than Squirt.

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With our palates properly prepared and the courses now more compatible for the reds, we moved on:

2001 LUCIEN LE MOINE CLOS DE VOUGEOT GRAND CRU- 30 minute decant; spicy red raspberry/ cherry is first experienced in the nose, then continues on to be joined by red currant and even a touch of cranberry; it had a nice mouthfeel, lots of body and a long, welcomed finish; this is in a really good place now and ready and capable to please.

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2005 ARLAUD CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU- the nose was so inviting with aromas of fresh cut roses, ripe red fruit and a hint of vanilla; the red fruit translated into lovely raspberry and cherry once tasted; the hallmark of this wine was it’s perfect balance; it had layered depth and lots of complexity as well as a silky texture; it was the total bomb and my WOTN at this point {if the Corton wasn’t}.

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2013 LA POUSSE d`OR CLOS DE LA ROCHE GRAND CRU- decanted 3 1/2 hours; this was fabulous and after having 3 stellar red Burgs in a row and more to come, I’m reminded of just how much I love Burgundy as if I needed any more reminders after 30 plus years of fond appreciation; this serious full bodied and fully loaded beauty started off with intense aromas of red and dark fruit which on the palate became red and black cherry, red plum, black raspberry and blackberry; a thread of spice persisted throughout and just exploded at the back end; as big and complex as this was, it’s silky smooth mouthfeel gracefully softened its power and sealed the deal; as good as it is now, it should be stupendous in 20 years.

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2014 DROUHIN-LAROSE BONNES-MARES GRAND CRU- decanted 3 hours; another wondrous wine here that opened up even more once poured and swirled; it gave generous amounts of serious fresh red and dark fruit with a bit of sweetness; initially, tart and wild red cherry/ berry was most prominent, but it became much more tame and less tart past mid palate and thereafter; this was full bodied with layers unfolding over time and improved so much in the glass, it strongly suggested a return visit later on and when I did, it was a completely different wine and attaining a better sense of balance. As with the La Pousse d`Or, this will be an unbelievable wine with around 20 more years of age.

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2016 ANNE et HERVE SIGAUT LES SENTIERS VIELLES VIGNES CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1er Cru- touting bright acidity, this lovely wine was good out of the gate and kept going albeit with youthful exuberance and miles to go; Asian spices and oak notes embellish the red currant, red and black cherry fruit; it was soft and easy on the palate and expanded in the glass crescendoing to higher levels on the pleasure meter.

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2017 ANNE et HERVE SIGAUT LES MILLANDES MOREY-SAINT-DENIS 1er Cru- this was a nice sequel to the 16` Les Sentiers and possessed a similar personality in that it was highly energetic and has so much more evolution to go through before reaching its apogee; in addition to the ripe and savory red cherry/ berry fruit tastes it gave out, it was the addition of freshly picked blueberry that sealed the deal.

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2013 OCCIDENTAL {KISTLER} BODEGA HEADLANDS VINEYARD CUVEE ELIZABETH PINOT NOIR SONOMA COAST- {also posted separately} formerly labeled as Kistler Vineyard, this is now Occidental which was previously labeled only as Cuvée Elizabeth Pinot Noir; it was brought as a ringer and it certainly was easy to distinguish it from a red Burg, but it did have some redeeming qualities and held its own in that new world vs old world scheme of things; this is a pretty big, extracted wine with the dark fruit profile of Pinot Noir covered in spades; blackberry, black cherry, back raspberry and even a touch of black currant all came forth while being delivered to the back end in a rich, full on medium; this wine will appeal to those who love the bigger, more heavily reductive Pinots of today.

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2012 DENNER VINEYARDS PALEA PASO ROBLES- this dessert straw wine is made in the Jura vin de paille style but unlike in Jura where they use Chardonnay and Savagnin, this is 100% Marsanne; the aromatics and tastes profile was constantly evolving with some sweet peppermint and pine laced melon, pear and white peach notes darting in and out.

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This was another spectacular night with the gang, this time in Burgundy heaven and a better slice of heaven at that.

Cheers,
Blake