TN - 2005 Blain-Gagnard CM Caillerets

We had a wonderful evening of wine and seafood(oysters & scallops) this past weekend. There were some interesting wines opened but I wanted to highlight the 2005 Blain-Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet Caillerets. My expectation was, from what others have said here previously, that this 16 yr old wine would be oxidized to some extent and maybe totally. It was last in the lineup that started with NV Egly Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru( 2008 disgorgement date) that was fantastic with raw & baked oysters and a very polarizing 2016 Albert Mann Grand Cru Hengst Pinot Gris that was well made but carried 22g/l residual sugar that did not entirely sing with the scallops with acidic herb sauce. In fact one guest who grows pinot gris commercially could not finish his small pour of the Mann pinot gris. The Blain-Gagnard was meant to be a backup wine with no expectations so I pulled it out of the refrigerator to help make the pinot a distant memory. I let one of the dinner guests have a crack at opening the wine and the top end of the cork crumbled out. I went at the remaining cork with my new Durand that swiftly and easily pulled the remaining cork out intact. When poured the wine had a nice slight citrus nose. On the pallet the first impression was no oxidation, perfectly balanced, and good length. For fruit flavors I sensed soft lemon with some passionfruit but not much else. I think that the residual memory of the pinot gris deadened my tasting senses a bit. I have a few more of these as I bought a half case of the B-G on release with the expectation to put most of it away to see how it evolves. So far I’m pleased with the sixteen year old but I’ll need to open another relatively soon to find out what the flavor profile is really like without interference from other wines.

Had a second one from this vintage that I have had stored since release. Opened only ~3 months since the last one. Wine was oxidized and relegated to a cooking wine at a later date. Bummer as I had made a Mediterranean style roasted branzino fish to go with it. For a backup I pulled out a chenin blanc that sat on it’s lees for 12 months before bottling…delightful with the fish.