Auction and Charity Imbibing
Posted on | February 5, 2007
The first auction of the year saw me drinking a bit more than usual on the job. It was a big sale and by the time lunch rolled around, it was also looking like a successful sale. Since I was right on schedule, I decided to sit down to lunch with a few friends and quench a slight thirst.
There were two wines from cellars in the sale on the table, and the first one was a 1995 Leroy Latricieres Chambertin, a wine that I found absolutely delicious. It had that full-bodied Leroy style without being too beefy, and rich yet tender fruit unlike many 1995s that are plagued by a lack of fruit and a rusty style. I have seen more than a few serious Burgundy collectors give up on this vintage over the last year or two. Back to the Leroy, it also had saucy, red fruits in the mouth and was quite tasty to all. It had excellent balance but might never be better than the next couple of years (93).
It was paired with a 1993 Faiveley Mazis Chambertin. The Faiveley was much more elegant than the Leroy, almost too much so. There was a bit of must that didn’t blow off. It had some positive attributes of the vintage in its personality, but I found it too light, and its must made it all the more difficult to enjoy. Delicate and seemingly fully mature, this bottle was not a perfect one, but I am not sure that a perfect one would be something I would go out of my way to get, either (89A?)
One of the good things about doing the auctions at Cru is that one knows there is plenty of backup in case of emergency. We grabbed a 1999 Rousseau Chambertin out of the cellar, seeing it was a Chambertin kind of day. The Rousseau was fabulous. It was so ‘99, dripping with its baby fat and fruit as if it was much younger than it was. Its fruit was so pure and fresh, it seemed like it could have been released last year, which is why I am convinced 1999 might very well be the greatest red Burgundy vintage of my lifetime. Its balance and structure were superb behind its grapy and sappy fruit. Violet and symphonic when the earth and minerals finally came out, the ‘99 Rousseau delivered a knockout performance (96).
I grabbed a glass of 1996 J.F. Mugnier Chambolle Musigny “Les Amoureuses’ on my way back to the podium, and it also proved to be a delicious drink. It was very soft and lush, a touch sweet and with very little of the acid that marks most “96s. It seemed mature yet fresh, and I liked its singular, candied personality. It was easy to drink, tasty, and I helped myself to seconds to get through what seemed like a lot of lots that afternoon (92).
There was one more wine that made its way onto my table, a 2005 George Pinot Noir “Nuptial Vineyard.’ California held its own amongst its Burgundian brethren on this afternoon, as the George had tasty and classy fruit, beefy and rich with its bouillon and dark fruit flavors. It was a nice aftermath to the sweeter Mugnier, although the George was softer and more delicate in the mouth (90).
A few of us ended up at Cru for a spontaneous get-together that very same night, a veritable second game of this culinary doubleheader.
We started with a magnum of MV (Multi-Vintage) Krug. This blend of multiple vintages is Krug’s entry level Champagne, but superior to many’s luxury cuvee. It was clean, racy and full, all Krug in its personality and a great way to start any meal (93M).
A trio of white burgundies were on our list. I have not been drinking many 1992s of late, finding many of them starting to turn the autumnal corner, so to speak. We began with a 1992 Raveneau Chablis “Butteaux.’ The Butteaux was soft and lush, forward and buttery. It was nice and easy, fully mature and flashing some signature 1992 sweetness. It will not get any better, but it is still an enjoyable drink although some might find it leaning on the flabby side of town (90).
The 1992 Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet “Les Ruchottes’ followed with the signature Ramonet menthol and wax aromas, also sweet in its nose with more mineral and stone than butter, but all three nonetheless. The Ruchottes bottling is one of my favorite value white Burgundies and can be magnificent around age ten. Age fifteen proved a touch older than ideal, at least for the 1992 vintage, but again the wine was still enjoyable. There were still nice corn, butter and yeast flavors in this mature white Burgundy (92).
The 1990 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet “Les Pucelles’ stood out from the crowd, a testament to the 1990 vintage. The Leflaive seemed relatively coiled, intense and wound with its mint, yellow wax and mineral aromas. There was long and distinguished character in its nose as its minerals unveiled sinus-clearing acidity still behind it. Long on the palate, I could easily see this wine drinking well in another ten years. Racy and vibrant, stylish and secure, the 1990 Pucelles was a true baby Grand Cru (94).
A 1985 Lafon Volnay “Santenots du Milieu’ was very nice, charming as a good Volnay should be with delicate earth wrapped around its velvety fruit. Soft, round and pleasant, it had nice traces of earth and edge to it, still holding on to middle age gracefully (92).
The 1978 Pousse d’Or Volnay “Les Caillerets’ had gorgeous aromatics, full of earthy and gamey ‘78 fruit, purple and black in its profile. Its rich fruit and delicate earth were what great Volnays were all about, but in the mouth there was a touch less intensity than I had hoped for, and after about 30-45 minutes, the wine seemed like it was fading already. There were still good earth flavors here, but its nose was much sexier than its palate (91).
A trio of 1999 Amoureuses comprised the last flight, but we had them served single-blind; i.e., we knew what the wines were but not the order. Double-blind is where you don’t know the wines and hence the order as well; triple-blind is double-blind where all the wines are picked from your cellar without you knowing what! Now that takes some courage.
The first wine was on the beefy and full-bodied side with a lot of earth and meaty fruit. There was some animal and game to this aggressive Amoureuses, which gained more of a weedy kink to it with time in the glass. It was an excellent wine, rich and spicy, beefy and full of iron flavors. It paired stylistically more with the third wine in the flight as opposed to the second, although the third wine was clearly the class of the flight. The 1999 Groffier Chambolle Musigny “Les Amoureuses’ was one of the better showings of a Groffier wine that I have recently had. Groffier can be great but also inconsistent, often suffering from a green and weedy kick that can become too much. That quality was under control here, and I enjoyed its robust and hearty style even if it was an Amoureuses (93).
The 1999 Mugnier Chambolle Musigny “Les Amoureuses’ I figured out right away since I had just had the 1996 in the afternoon. It had a similar cherry bomb personality, more candied, floral and sweeter than the other wines in the flight, charming and laced with nut and spice aromas. It was richer and fuller-bodied than the 1996 as 1999s are prone to be, but one could see the younger brother having the edge in this sibling rivalry (94).
Theory met practice in this final flight after the 1999 Roumier Chambolle Musigny “Les Amoureuses’ was tasted. More similar stylistically to the Groffier than the Mugnier, the Roumier took the intensity and class up a couple notches form the Groffier. Beef, earth, leather, mineral, rust and spine oozed out of its reticent nose. Rich and powerful in the mouth, there were spicy and spiny tannins to complement its boatload of dark and dank fruit. This was serious juice (95+).
Not being a usual daytime drinker, that was enough food and drink for me for one day.
Later in the week saw me at Per Se for a quick dinner and a 1964 Faiveley Latricieres Chambertin. I had had a great bottle of this courtesy of Bruce at La Paulee two years ago and was looking forward to a reunion. The wine still had great aromatics of sweet, musky brown sugared fruit and old book ends, complemented by lots of earth. The wine was much softer and less intense in the mouth than the bottle two years ago, and I couldn’t help but wonder if two years made such a difference at this age or whether it was just bottle variation. I concluded it was normal bottle variation as this bottle was indubitably sound and aromatically complex, but its soft palate had less character than I remembered or than the nose was leading me to believe. That is one of the random factors that makes drinking older wines so exhilarating yet also aggravating (90).
The day after I was MC’ing a big charity event for the City of Hope, which helped raise over $150,000 for the hospital. It was a wine-themed event, featuring both silent and live auctions of great wines, as well as wines served and a supplementary BYOB option. It was a tremendous event that left everyone looking forward to year two. On to the wines-
I had a quick taste of Tom’s 1997 Raveneau Chablis “Les Blanchots’ during cocktail hour. 1997 whites are drinking wonderfully right now, and this Raveneau was no exception. It had typical Raveneau character with bright citrus aromas and flavors and a minerally, limy Chablis kink. Soft and round, it was pure and delightfully drinkable (91).
The 2002 Raveneau Chablis “Montee de Tonnerre’ was the official white for the evening, and it was another delightful Chablis. There was more intensity to this premier cru than its older, grand cru sibling, due both to the age difference and perhaps the vintage difference too. There was more vim and vigor here with lots of minerals and spices, and a long, regal finish. Tasty and tangy, the 2002 was excellent stuff (93).
I had grabbed a 1991 Lafon Volnay “Santenots du Milieu’ from the store as a “just in case.’ I was the MC after all, and I needed to make sure I would be loose on the mic, professional that I am. The Volnay helped get me stage ready. It was a pure and beautiful red, 1991 in its tender yet vimful personality. There was solid earth, nut and leather components to the Volnay, which was still holding on to its window of drinkability, but whose fruit and intensity seemed to be entering an autumnal stage (91).
The 1995 Vogue Musigny “Vieilles Vignes’ was served out of magnum, a spontaneous selection since it was one of the lots that was purchased at the live auction and opened right on the spot! It was outstanding. I was most impressed with this 1995, my second wine from this recently-maligned vintage that showed fantastically this weekend. The Vogue was rockin’ and rollin’, full of rich, decadent red fruit, along with smoke, earth, iron and spine. Intense and flavorful, it delivered a mouth-watering and mouth-filling glass of Burgundy with enough character to go another decade or three (95+M).
The 1998 Leroy Vosne Romanee “Les Beaux Monts’ was a real surprise and a delicious wine. Rich yet tender with supple and lush red fruits and that kiss of Leroy beef and muscle made this wine just right. Its exquisite balance and decent length were admirably delicious, and its fruit components layered, soft and plush (94).
Tom had bought a lot of 2004 Vogue Bonnes Mares at the auction, and he proceeded to crack the case and open a bottle right there on the spot! The fruit on this infant of a Burgundy was very primary yet fragrant and open. I was surprised how much skin this ‘04 was showing with its aromatic and perfumed personality, sensually forward with its almost Caliesque style. This was unmistakably Burgundy, but definitely could have been pulled over for impersonating a Cali Pinot with its forward fruit and sweet nature. Softer in the mouth, its tannins and acidity seemed pre-pubescent, hiding and not unveiling the adult it will eventually be. Very young wines are so tough for me (92+).
The 1999 Lafleur was stunning wine, another testament to great producers making great wines every year. This is a tremendous value in the context of other vintages of Lafleur. Deep and brooding fruit revealed classic plum, chocolate and mineral, not over the top and not shy either. In the mouth, the wine was filling and round, tasty and similar in its flavor profile to its aromas. This turned more than a few mouths at the event (94).
The 1998 Lafite Rothschild was another magnum that was purchased at the auction and opened on the spot by Eric the Red Wine Bandit, Angry Man undercover himself. The Lafite was very good but marked by a touch too much wood in my mind, a bit earthy and woody despite excellent balance and texture. It had a long, elegant finish, but its flavor profile bothered me a bit, to be frank. Every time I have this wine I seem to be under-inspired (92).
The last wine of the night was a 2000 La Conseillante. Rich and decadent, it had chewy and dense plummy fruit, chocolate and a roasted bacon edge that redefined “kinky.’ It was mouth-filling and lush, flirting with 5-star territory (94+).
Tomorrow was catalog production, and Friday it was off to Chicago, so after 30 minutes of post-event mingling, it was time to say good night.
JK
