Burgundy tasting at Capital Grille Orlando: Part II

Stacole Fine Wines, a member of the Vintner Group, hosted a tasting at the Capital Grille Orlando on April 24th for selected area collectors and retailers.  The wines on offer were one 2008 white Burgundy and 11 Côte de Nuit reds dating from 2006-2009.  I have covered the tasting of the white and the 2006 and 2007 reds in a previous post and will cover the remaining wines in this dispatch.

Red 2008 Flight

The 2008 vintage kept Burgundy vignerons on their collective toes.  They confronted mildew, odium, rot, and a number of other vineyard challenges which forced a minimum of two sprayings.  The grapes ripened rapidly in the two weeks prior to harvest when conditions became more favorable.  Truly a "miracle" vintage.

Domaine François Lamarche La Grande Rue Grand Cru

La Grande Rue Grand Cru is an 11.33 ha monopole of Domaine François Lamarche, a multi-generational family farm.  While most of the Côte de Nuit soil is ferruginous limestone over stony, rocky, or clay-soil subsoils,Vosne Romanée has a deeper clay-limestone soil.  Grapes are hand-harvested and sorted twice (once in the field and again in the winery) before being destemmed and placed uncrushed into temperature-controlled wood or steel open vats.  The fermented must is bladder-pressed prior to a cold maceration and long vatting.  Depending on the vintage and appellation, the wines are aged between 14 and 20 months in 60-100% new French oak prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Tasting Notes: Aromatic.  Bright red strawberries, buttered popcorn.  On the palate sour, rich, red fruit.

Domaine Comtes George de Vogué Chambolle-Musigny

The characteristics of this producer were discussed in the previous post.

Tasting Notes: Elegant, restrained nose.  Smoky, red fruit, vanilla.  On the palate lean with great acidity.  A great wine for acid hounds like me.

Red 2009 Flight

2009 was a warm, dry, near-perfect growing season which yielded clean, ripe fruit.  According to Allan Meadows, "An excellent and very consistent vintage of opulence, charm, and seduction."  According to Berry Bros & Rudd, "... 2009 ranks among the very best Burgundy wine vintages of recent times."

Domaine François Lamarche Les Chaumes Premier Cru

The characteristics of this producer were discussed earlier in this post.

Tasting Notes: Vanilla and red fruit on the nose.  Lean, smooth red fruit on the palate.  Silky finish.

Domaine d'Eugénie Clos-Vougeot Grand Cru

This domaine came into being when Francois Pinault bought the estate of René Engel in the summer of 2006.  The domaine owns 7.5 ha of vineyards to include Grand Cru plots in Clos Vougeot, Grands-Échezeaux, and Échezeaux and Premier Cru and Village plots in Vosne-Romanée.  The Clos-Vougeot plot (1.36 ha) is located in the top-left portion of this property in an area called Les Marets Hauts.  Subsequent to the purchase the new owner has invested a lot of effort in restoring the vineyards to pristine condition.  The domaine has experimented with vinifying one cuvee with the stem and one without and then blending them together prior to bottling. They have had success with this approach and will be implementing it more broadly in the future.

Tasting Notes: Spicy dark fruit on the nose and rich on the palate.  Ron described it as a beautiful wine with soaring spice, great length and balanced.

Domaine Méo-Camuzet Échezeaux Grand Cru

Prior to 1985 the domaine operated a sharecropper-like arrangement where the vines were tended by farmers and the owners compensated for the farmers' use of the land.  Beginning in 1985 the domaine began making wine under its own label and, since 1998, has begun taking control of vineyards as these "sharecropping" agreements expire.  Currently the domaine has 15 ha of vineyards under its control while another 13.5 ha is still controlled by farmers.  The domaine's objective is to make wines that are seductive and delicate.  Vines are farmed organically and fruit is sorted and destemmed prior to a pre-fermentation maceration.  Fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled vats over an 18-day period with pump-overs twice daily.  The wines are aged in 60-70% new oak if from a Premier Cru vineyard and in 100% new oak if Grand Cru.

Tasting Notes: Sour red cherries and baking spices on the nose.  Red and black fruits on the palate along with an earthy minerality.  Balanced with a long finish.

Domaine Méo-Camuzet Les Chaumes Premier Cru

The characteristics of this producer were discussed earlier in this post.

Tasting Notes: Dark cherries and oak on the nose.  Red and black fruit plus spice on the palate.  Good acidity level and mouthfeel.

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This was a very good event. Stacole brought some excellent wines to the table and combined that with an excellent team and a bunch of folks who enjoy drinking high-end wines together.  I showed my appreciation for the effort, and for the wines, by placing orders for the Bonnes Mares, the Clos de Beze,  the Clos Vougeot, and the La Grande Rue.

At then conclusion of the tasting Ron and I pulled out bottles of Bordeaux, Burgundies, and Rhones to accompany our long-delayed lunch.

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