The role of Saint Benedict in the identification and cru-ing of Burgundian terroir

As illustrated in my graphical summation of the history of wine styles -- described in Lukacs' Inventing Wine: A New History of one of the World's Most Ancient Pleasures -- the next significant development in wine after the Fall of Rome is place-based wines out of Burgundy. According to Lukacs, the "first wines prized for their ability to display ... individualized aroma and flavors" were made in Burgundy by the Cistercian order which had been founded in 1098. This order was focused on piety and hard work and devoted a lot of effort to tending their vineyards. In his APAVM FAW lecture (titled St. Benedict and the Blessings of Burgundy), Dr. Jonathon Britto provided insight into events leading up to and surrounding the Cistercians and Burgundian wine.

Gregory of Tours was a prelate, historian, and chronicler who "resided at the junction of Rome of antiquity and the emergence of the medieval world" and "documented the continuity of Gallo-Roman civic culture through the early Middle Ages." This Gregory was the first to sound the praises of the wines of Burgundy in a 591 writing. According to Dr. Britto, King Guntrum of Burgundy had donated land to the monks in 587.

Gregory of Tours

Saint Benedict established "the Rules," which became the governing principles of monastic life. The Rules provided for a balance of prayer, work, and study. Charlemagne was enamored and had them copied and distributed throughout his realm in the 8th and early 9th centuries in order to encourage monks to adopt the principles. Saint Benedict's Rules, according to Dr. Britto, "laid the groundwork for community discipline of labor and this ethic, plus the donation of fertile land for the growing of grapes, was the kernel for successful viticulture in Burgundy.

St. Benedict (Portrait (1926))  
Herman Nieg (1849–1928);
Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria

The Benedictine Abbey of Cluny was founded in 910 by Duke William I of Aquitaine and was given to the monks "untethered." The deed of gift "included vineyards, fields, meadows, woods, waters, mills, serfs, and lands (cultivated and uncultivated)." 

The Abbey started out on a modest scale, but at its peak was home to 1,000 monks and seeded monastic life throughout Europe. Such a large contingent of monks required administration, fields, and food and was financed partly through indulgences and partly through wine trade. The Benedictines became major landowners with holdings in Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanee in Burgundy plus holdings in Rhone, Champagne, and the Loire Valley. 

When completed in the early 12th century, the Abbey was the largest church in Christendom and remained the largest building in Europe until the 16th-century completion of the new St. Peter's in Rome. Cluny was plundered and destroyed during the French Revolution.

While, on the face of it, Cluny was a success, a number of resident monks felt that monastic life had been "challenged and traded for a commercial life." These "conservatives" felt that the only way to resolve their internal conflict was to leave Cluny and return to a stricter observance of the Christian monastic tradition. 

In 1075, Robert Moleme was given permission by Pope Gregory to leave Cluny and establish his own Abbey. Robert de Moleme and his monks acquired a plot of marshland south of Dijon at a place called Citeaux and set up an Abbey as the seat of a new Cistercian Order. The Citeaux monks returned to the original Benedictine ideals of manual work and prayer, dedicating themselves to charity and self-sustenance. 

Robert was called back to Cluny and left the Abbey in the hands of Steven Harding, and Anglo-Saxon who had lost his holdings during the course of the Norman invasion. He was elected Abbot and led the Cistercian community ably. The Cistercians grew, "forging alliances with the Duke of Burgundy and, by both donation and purchase, acquired vineyards in Meursault and Clos Vougeot."  They eventually encircled Vougeot with the wall that stands to this day.  The wall was completed at the end of the 15th century. 

Harding was a prolific recorder of contemporary events and wrote that the Cistercians were the first to notice that different vineyard plots gave different wines consistently. According to Lukacs, over the course of many vintages, these monks were able to identify the characteristics of individual vineyard plots and to note that these differences were, in some cases, manifested by "only a few steps separating an excellent grape-growing spot from a merely good one." The monks marked out these plots by their differences, in some cases building a stone wall to create a "cloistered vineyard." 

Lukacs takes the position that the monks did not intend that their demarcations single out one vineyard as better than the other. Rather, they were saying that the grapes sourced from these vineyards made reliably noticeably different wines and they thus needed to be so identified. The wines from Clos Vougeot and other Cistercian crus were perceived as being so different as to be worth the trouble and expense of overland shipping to the relevant markets or waterways for onward transit.

Dr. Britto: The Cistercians therefore "laid the first foundation for labeling the Burgundy cru and the region's terroir philosophy. It was the Cistercians who defined every tiny parcel of vineyard land, identified the good and the bad points, the geology and micro-climate, and the different flavors and yields.

The diligence inherent in the Benedictine rules, and the application of the work ethic, were instrumental in the identification and mapping of the Burgundian crus that we know today.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Context and conclusion of the Burgundy-Champagne 100-year war

On February 2nd, 2016, Gargantuan Wine posted a scintillating piece on the 100-year (mid-17th to mid-18th century) battle between supporters of  Burgundy and Champagne for the primacy of their favored wine at Court, and, as a result, in the realm. Since reading that post I have encountered a book (Thomas Parker, Tasting French Terroir) which places the battle within a wider context. I share Parker's perspective in this post.

As I will cover in a future post on the topic, the concept of terroir has had a roller-coaster existence during the course of its French history. And this period was one of its down times. Further, terroir was not confined only to wines and foods of regions; the word could be used to denigrate a person, a region, or a population. For example, Paris, was the center of French society (and, therefore, the center of the universe). But as you ventured away from this center, you encountered increasing terroir; that is, less refinement and more country bumpkinness. And so with the wines of France.

Nicholas Abraham de la Framboisière, the Royal Physician of Henry IV and Louis XIII, in some of his early 17th-Century writings spoke of white- and rosé-colored wines as being produced closer to Paris (and thus more cosmopolitan) while lighter to darker reds could be found in Burgundy and Bordeaux. The latter wines, according to de la Framboisière, contained more terrestrial elements; in a time when that was considered unsavory. The table below (compiled from Parker) captures de la Framboisière's characterization of white and red wines.

In the mid-17th Century Champagne was a still wine but, according to Parker, was "already imbued with prestige" and was "long the choice of royalty and other elites." In this timeframe it was considered bad form for a wine to reflect terroir. Charles de Saint-Évremond, the most refined epicurean of his age, captures both his love of Champagne and aversion to terroir in the following passage (Parker):

If you ask me which of these wines I prefer, ... I would say to you the good wine of Ay is the most natural of all wines, the healthiest, the most purified of any odor of terroir -- and of the most exquisite pleasurability in its flavor of peaches, which is unique to it, and the best in my opinion of all flavors.

Potrait of Charles de Saint-Évremond.
By Sir Godfrey Kneller - Collection of James stunt,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=15748177

It was in this timeframe that the skirmishes described in Gargantuan Wine began. Medical texts of the latter half of the 18th Century favored Champagne because it supposedly contained a large proportion of water which led to "healthful, frequent urination" (Parker). The battle royal was kicked off by Guy-Crescent Fagon (Louis XIVs Physician) who indicated that the frequent urination associated with Champagne was caused by excessive tartrates and that Burgundy would be the King's drink henceforth because Champagne was too acidic for his stomach.

Despite the efforts of the Champagne proponents, red wines gained a foothold at Court and across the land. During this same timeframe, the light, still red wines produced in Champagne began to lose favor in the Parisian markets, forcing the Champenois in ever greater numbers towards an effervescent wine (Parker).

When the smoke of battle had cleared, the following outcomes could be discerned:

• France had modified its drinking practices
• The status of red wines had been elevated
• The French had begun to take the first steps towards a new, 18th-Century view of terroir.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

A Champagne, red and white Burgundies, and a Bordeaux

Those were the parameters established for the dinner at Norman's to celebrate Juan David Valencia's first day on the job as Assistant General Manager at that prestigious Orlando restaurant.

Juan is one of the bright young Somms on the Orlando wine scene and, until a few weeks back, had been the Somm at Luma on Park, a Winter Park culinary stalwart. He recently passed the Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier exam and, in his message so informing me, also indicated that he was moving over to Norman's as AGM. I was extremely pleased with both of these developments as I have played the role of mentor to Juan. I told him that we would be there on his first night of work to lend support and enlisted Ron for this effort. At our lunch last Wednesday, Ron suggested that we bring along the wines mentioned in the title of this post as dinner accompaniments. Done.

Ron and Bev arrived at the restaurant before we did and had been seated at a table with a lovely view of the beautifully manicured grounds outside. Juan was at the table speaking to them and I was proud to see him in his grey suit, blue shirt, and tie, a sartorial splendor that could not be practiced at his place of former employment. After welcomes and congratulations, we settled in for what would prove to be a fun night.

Champagne
Ron began the proceedings by opening a bottle of Jacques Selosse Substance. Substance always impresses me with its vibrancy. On the nose, honey, orange rind, nuttiness, and creme brulée. Weighty on the palate with burnt orange, bitter lemon, walnut, a syrupy tangerine, and a rich creaminess. As the wine matured in the glass, the sensation of floating on a tangerine sea. The 1999 Cristal that I took was yeasty on the nose with notes of golden apple. On the palate, rich and fresh with great acidity. Two radically different Champagne styles.

The Champagnes were accompanied by Wianno Oysters and Hackleback Caviar.

White Burgundies
We quickly realized that we had both brought the same bottle, a 2007 Remoissenet Le Montrachet. There is a background story here that is worth a tell. I first met Ron six years ago at a Pierre-Antoine Rovani tasting held at The Wine Barn here in Orlando. Rovani had just been appointed President of Remoissenet, after its purchase by THEM, LLC., and was barnstorming the the US carrying the message of the "new" Remoissenet while trying to sell some of the stock in its cellars.

Ron and I got to talking at the event after it became clear that we would be the only ones buying the Le Montrachet that night. We bought three bottles each and was now each down to our last, the ones we had brought this evening (We had drunk all of the other bottles at joint dinners in the past but had never before brought our bottles to the same event.). We decided that we would only drink one of the bottles that night. Ron suggested that we flip a coin and the "loser's" bottle would be drunk that night and the "winner's" the next time we met. Juan produced a coin, flipped it, I called, and we drunk Ron's wine.

This wine was sublime. It was pale gold in color and restrained on the nose with elegant, classic apple-pear notes and hints of baking spices. Lemon, orange, pineapple, faded lemon rind, and a hint of smokiness on the palate. Perfect weight. Perfect texture. Perfect balance. Tight focus. Elegant, lengthy finish.

I paired this wine with a Brazilian Styled Creamy Cracked Conch Chowder which was rounded out with Saffron, Orange, Star Anise, and a Coconut Cloud.

Red Burgundies
The red Burgundy flight consisted of two DRCs: a 1988 Echezeaux (Ron) and a 1994 La Tache (me). We started with the La Tache and the aromatics were welcoming. A red fruit slurry on the nose along with nutmeg and smoke. Not very expressive on the palate initially, an issue we attributed to the vintage (1994 had been a difficult year for Burgundy). With time, faded red fruit, tamarind, and blackpepper with a dilute finish. The wine became a little more robust in the glass with the passage of time.

The 1988 Echezeaux was rich and creamy on the nose with red fruits, smoke, baking spices, tobacco, thyme, and beeswax. Savory on the palate with a balsamic note. Balanced with a long finish.

This flight was paired with a Yuzu Mojo Roasted Breast of Organic Chicken accompanied by Pad Thai Rice Noodles, Snap Peas, and a Ginger Carrot Purée.

Bordeaux
Ron brought a 1982 Pichon-Lalande and I a 1995 Latour. The Pichon exhibited green bean-bell pepper notes along with sweet spices, dried herbs, cedar, and mocha chocolate. On the palate mature black fruit, dark chocolate, and smoke. Drinks younger than its age. A producer and vintage that Ron does not mind trotting out because it always shows well.

The Latour showed earth, soy, spice, nutmeg, squid ink, dried tree bark, graphite, roasted coffee, and black fruits. On the palate saltwater taffy, butterscotch, black olives, soy, dark fruit, and a savoriness. Focused. Balanced. Long finish.

The flight was accompanied by a Dry-Aged, Bone-In, 22 Oz Ribeye Steak with Spanish Potato Torta, Thumbellina Roasted Carrots, and Malbec Essence.

***********************************************************************************************************

All in all a wonderful evening: Juan saw friendly faces for the duration of his first night at work in his new restaurant (and drank some pretty good stuff to boot); Ron, Bev, Parlo, and I got to enjoy each others company in a great local setting; the food was of an extremely high quality; and the wines were exceptional. We all remarked as to the consistently high quality within and across the flights.

A very satisfying evening on all fronts.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

"The Louis Vuittonification of Burgundy": A road map for Barolo?

Manna continues to rain down from heaven. A little less than two weeks ago I wrote a post describing two recent articles I had read about the Barolo region. One of the articles was a blog post from Alfonso Cevola (On the Wine Trail in Italy) titled The Burgundization of Barolo... In that post he described a Levi Dalton podcast wherein Antonio Galloni elaborated on a number of areas where Barolo was becoming akin to Burgundy.

Today I read a post from burgundy-report.com titled The Louis Vuittonification of Burgundy (I love the title. It is so evocative) wherein the author is decrying the  -- Burgundization of Burgundy? The author described some of the issues mentioned in the Galloni podcast but went even further. I have taken the liberty of summarizing the author's findings and placing it into a table juxtaposed with Galloni's perception of Burgundy and the areas where Barolo was becoming like Burgundy.

The question that arises is whether the full list of issues raised by the author presents a potential roadmap of where Barolo is headed. If Galloni sees Barolo becoming more like Burgundy, is this a path that is in Barolo's future? I hope not.

Burgundy*	Barolo*	The Louis Vuittonification of Burgundy**
Inaccessible producers	Potential for this situation to develop	More and more doors being closed to the casual visitor
Big-Money investors	Potential future
Expensive wines	Getting there	Step-change in global pricing since 2005
		Each vintage more ink being spilled on the cost of the wines than what is in the bottle
		Bulk wine prices tracking the increases of the top labels
		Many restaurants replacing 2nd and third level wines with 4th tier wines due to costs
		Imbalance where Village wines from Cote de Nuits cost more than great 1er Cru from Cote de Beaunes
		Land pricing and inheritance costs working their way through to the price of wine
		Range of wines being offered to taste shrinking as Grand Cru bottles become too expensive to open
*The Burgundization of Barolo (On the Wine Trail in Italy)
		**The Louis Vuittonification of Burgundy (burgundy-report.com)

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Hit and miss: Two tales of Barolo and Burgundy

As they sit around the domino table, spinning yarns about the way it used to be, many an old-time, old world wine drinker can be heard to utter the unicorn words "As Barolo and Burgundy age, they tend to converge sensorially." Being a confirmed unicorn and UFO hunter, I have been searching high and low for writings which confirm this position; or at least discuss it in some meaningful way. I thought that I had happened upon two of those articles this year -- based on the titles -- but I can say at this time "mission un-Accomplished."

The first of the two articles was titled The Burgundization of Barolo -- An Imminent Sea Change in the Langhe, posted on the blog On the Wine Trail in Italy on Sunday, January 18, 2015. This post focused on the changes taking place in the broader Barolo region and drew especially on a Levi Dalton podcast with Antonio Galloni to help make the case. This was not exactly what I had been looking for but was a very interesting post, nonetheless, with some piercing insights:

• The wines and social climate of Barolo and Barbaresco might be shifting to the more "exclusive and limited world in which Burgundy finds itself."
• Winemakers in Barolo are becoming less accessible a la their peers in Burgundy
• Barolo may become like Burgundy where winemaking families cannot afford to buy vineyards that come on the market. Those vineyards will instead be bought by investment groups.

This was interesting so I filed it away in Evernote with the sense that I might be able to build a knowledge base of some type that would build on it..

Just a few weeks ago, @Winefamilies tweeted a link to an article by Jay McInerney in townandcountrymag.com titled Can a Barolo Really be as Good as a Top Burgundy? And still be Affordable? This stoked some fires. First, based on the title, I thought that the article would provide arguments as to why -- and why not -- a Barolo was not as good as a Top Burgundy. Secondly, while not defining the term "Top Burgundy," the title implied that all Top Burgundies were good. Further, the article was not asking whether a Top Barolo could be as good as a Top Burgundy. Instead it seemed to be asking that question re Barolo as a class. Seemed somewhat non-competitive to me. Finally, I thought that this article could be the second installment on my knowledge base, which at this time only consisted of the Acevola post above.

Anyway, I continued reading the article. It went on at great length about Chiara Boschis (star of the movie Barolo Boys, according to the article), the battle between the modernists and traditionalists in Barolo, and the Giacomo/Giovanni Conterno Monfortino story. It was not until close to the end of the article that the word Burgundy is mentioned in the text. I will quote you the entirety of its treatment:

Conterno aside, Barolo still represents great value compared with, say, the wines of Burgundy, a region with which it has much in common. Both are small, geographically complex appellations composed mostly of small grower domains (sic).

That's it. On the basis of these two sentences we are supposed to answer the questions posed in the title? Now don't get me wrong. This was an excellent article. I am just not sure, however, that it addressed the burning questions that it asked.

Well, my hunt for the unicorn goes on. As does my hunt for an answer to the question "Can a Barolo Really be as Good as a Top Burgundy? And still be affordable?

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Lunch with Jean-Marc Roulot and Christophe Roumier at Daniel: La Paulee NYC

The main event of La Paulée's official Thursday afternoon schedule was a multi-course lunch, prepared by Daniel Boulud and his team, accompanied by selected wines from Domaines Guy Roulot and Georges Roumier, said wines to be presented by the respective vigneron. At the conclusion of the Roulot play, lunch attendees were shepherded back towards the front of the restaurant and into a room to the right of the main entrance. The room was populated with a number of 10-top, white-table-cloth-clad tables and as we entered, we were given additional glasses of Meursault Les Luchets 2011. As the attendees streamed in, I was pleasantly surprised to see Aubert de Villaine enter and stride to a place at the Roulot-Roumier table which was centrally located within the room. Daniel Johnnes welcomed us all and then launched the event.

The first course was called Jaune d'or et Soleil Vivace (components were Iberico Ham, truffles, and eggs) and had been prepared by Michel and César Troisgrois.

It was accompanied by 2010, 2009, and 2004 Roulot Les Luchets, the former two in magnum. The 2010 Les Luchets exhibited spice, orange-tangerine, power, minerality, orange rind, burnt orange and a slight pricking on the nose. On the palate bright, powerful, intense. Long, intense finish. The 2009 Les Luchets had similar characteristics to the 2010 except it had a little more stemminess, was a little more aromatic, and showed riper fruit. It was also not as tightly wound as the 2004. The 2004 exhibited a lemon-lime aroma along with minerality, crushed stone, sea shells and a hint of sulfur. Slight salinity and great acidity. Balanced. Bright, long, coating finish.

The second course was a Filet de Sole Duglére also prepared by Michel and César Troisgros. This was accompanied by a Roulot Meursault Charmes 2004, Roulot Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2000 (in Jeroboam) and Roulot Meursault Perrières 1999 (in magnum).

The Meursault Charmes 2004 had tangerine and orange rind citrus characters accompanying notes of spice and herbs. Voluptuous, with bracing acidity and a long finish. The 2000 Meursault Tessons was elegant with apple-pear notes, spice, herbs, cardamom. The 1999 Meursault Perrières had citrus and citrus rind on the nose. Powereful, mineral, and coating on the palate.

de Villaine and Roulot 

Daniel Johnnes with the Jeroboam of Tessons

The third course was a Bœuf Wagyu Rossini which was prepared by Daniel Boulud. And this signaled a turn to the wines of Domaine Georges Roumier. The wines that he presented were the Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares 1996, 1995, and 1990, all in magnums.

Bonnes Mares is a 15.06 ha Grand Cru appellation that sits at the northern end of Chambolle-Musigny and hosts 22 producers, one of whom is Domaine Georges Roumier with its 1.39 ha distributed over four plots. According to Clive Coates (www.clive-coates.com), the vineyard lies between 270 and 300 meters altitude and is comprised of two soil types -- terres blanches (a white marl rich in fossilized oysters) and terres rouges (red-brown soil possessing more clay) -- each yielding a different wine style from the same grape. Domaine Georges Roumier has vines on both these soil types and ferments the wines separately, blending them at a later date.

The Domaine Roumier Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 1996 exhibited ripe pinot fruit, a herbaceousness, and barrel spice on the nose. Restrained but balanced. Long, spicy finish. The 1995 Bonnes-Mares had a richer nose than the 1996, and greater power and intensity. The 1990 Bonnes-Mares showed pinot fruit, spice, and orange peel on the nose. Perfect weight on the palate. Balanced. Light stemminess/astringency. Herb finish.

Poire Tahitienne (Daniel Boulud)

Thus culminated an absolutely wonderful day. You do not get this type of variety thrown at you in the wine world every day. Especially in NYC, you can go to a play any day of the week. But it is not every day of the week that you get to see one of the leading winemakers from the famously tight-lipped and closeted region of Burgundy placing his reputation on the line by stepping on stage in front of his customers and running the risk of hurting his brand. And it is not every day that you get to follow that up with that same guy coming back and pouring you a range of his best wines. And, for good measure, he invited along one of his friends to pour some of his (the friend's wines). And all that wrapped around the food of Master Boulud.

It does not get any better than this.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Christophe Roumier of Domaine Georges Roumier

The Jean-Marc Roulot play was the opening salvo in a double-header of elevated -- and elevating -- experiences that were visited on La Paulée participants who attended the Daniel event on Thursday afternoon. The main event was scheduled to be a multi-course lunch, prepared by Daniel Boulud and his team, accompanied by selected wines from Domaines Guy Roulot and Georges Roumier, said wines to be presented by the respective vigneron. Readers of this blog are familiar with Jean-Marc Roulot and his domaine but have never been exposed to Christophe Roumier herein. In that I believe that context aids in appreciation/understanding of a wine, this post sheds some light on the vigneron and his domaine.

Christophe and his wines are widely acclaimed. Writing on his blog (Roumier, www.clive-coates.com), Clive Coates states thusly: "For Chambolles with a difference, wines which are substantial, even sturdy, as well as elegant and velvety, the best source is ... the Domaine Georges Roumier. This is one of the longest estate bottling domaines in the Côte D'Or. And one of the very best of all." Jonathon Nossiter (Liquid Memory) described Roumier as "one of the poster children of the new generation of Burgundian vignerons ... who not only make biodynamic, organic, or chemical-free wines from the greatest terroirs in Burgundy ... but have outstripped the parents in quality, sophistication, and renown and yet they have all maintained their peasant rootedness and commitment to an ever more precise expression of terroir."

Christophe Roumier and Ron at La Paulée
(Photo courtesy Ron Siegel)

The domaine was founded in 1924 by Georges Roumier and was one of the early adopters of the practice of in-house bottling. Georges began to transition the estate to his son Jean-Marie in the 1950s but did not fully retire until 1961. In the same fashion, Jean-Marie began a transition to Christophe -- who had joined him in 1982 -- which culminated in a total handoff in 1990.

Most of the 11 ha of land from which the domaine sources its grapes is rented from family members. The exception is Ruchottes-Chambertin which is worked in a sharecropping arrangement with the proprietor, one Michel Bonnafond. The distribution of Roumier fruit sources is as shown below.

• Grands Crus
• Corton-Charlemagne -- 0.2 ha
• Musigny -- 0.1 ha
• Bonnes-Mares -- 1.6 ha
• Ruchottes-Chambertin -- 0.54 ha
• Charmes-Chambertin -- 0.28 ha
• Premiers Crus
• Clos de la Bussière -- 2.59 ha
• Les Amoureuses -- 0.4 ha
• Les Cras -- 1.75 ha
• Combottes -- 0.27 ha
• Village
• Chambolle-Musigny -- 3.70 ha

The domaine's holdings in Bonnes-Mares are illustrated below.

The domaine's vines are farmed biodynamically and are known for low yields. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard and then transported to the cellar where they are mostly de-stemmed before being placed in wooden open-topped fermenters. The must is cold soaked at 15℃ before the initiation of an approximately 3-week fermentation by indigenous yeasts. The cap is punched down twice daily to ensure optimal extraction of flavor, anthocyanin, and tannin compounds.

After fermentation the wines are racked off into barriques for malolactic fermentation and aging. The oak regime is as follows:

• Village wines -- 15 - 25% new
• Premier Cru and Grand Cru (except Bonnes Mares) -- 25 - 40% 
• Bonnes-Mares -- 50%

The wines are aged on their lees for between 16 and 18 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Now that we have dotted all I's and crossed all T's, we can turn to the main event: Lunch with Jean-Marc Roulot and Christophe Roumier.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Jacques hits a homer

Jacques has finally hit a home run. As a matter of fact, a series of home runs. You will remember Jacques as my friend from the Hamptons who comes down from on high every two years or so to teach us Boonesville residents what "real" wine drinking is all about. You will also remember that his prior campaigns have been more Napoleon-at-Waterloo than Alexander-at-Issus. His first foray ran hard aground on the rocks of TCA while his second sunk into the depths of faded glory.

But this guy is nothing if not persistent and, right on schedule, I received an email from him detailing when he would be in the area and wondering if we could get together to share some bottles he had in tow. I quickly agreed to set up a dinner because, his wines notwithstanding, he is a fun and wine-knowledgeable guy and I like spending time with him. Plus, the wines he mentioned in the email sounded promising. The dinner was set for Eddie V's, one of Orlando's landmark dining spots, on Friday, January 9th. I invited Ron and Bev to join us for the evening.

We were the first to arrive and that gave us time to ice down a bottle of Jacques Selosse Initial such that it would be ready for consumption when the others arrived. Ron and Bev arrived next. Hugs and kisses all around. We had not seen each other since New Year's Eve. The Selosse was cracked open and we began doing what we do best. We have never met a Selosse that we did not like. And this one was no exception. Bright acidity, sour golden apple, and bread. Like pulling on an old robe.

Jacques and Allison showed up around this time with Jacques lugging a cardboard box under one arm and a wooden box under the other. We tried doing the greeting thing all around but the boxes kept getting in the way. Finally he deposited the cardboard box onto the floor and handed the wooden box to me. "I brought this for you," he said. I accepted the box (it had the size and appearance of a magnum container) and placed it on top of my wine bag. By this time the waiter had poured Champagne for Jacques and Allison and we all clinked gleefully and drank.

After his initial taste of the Champagne, Jacques turned to me and asked that I open the box that he had brought for me. Upon its opening, the box revealed a 1973 Bollinger Champagne which had been shipped in 1981 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I thought this a very nice gift and placed it gently back into its container. Nice, thoughtful start Jacques. Disarming.

The first still wine that we tasted was a 2008 Drouhin Montrachet. I had brought this wine to four previous events and had taken it back home because we had not gotten around to it. I was not going to be denied this time. This one was first out of the gate. It had a rich, oily nose with notes of walnut and unthreshed rice. Great texture with lemony-lime flavors and lime rind. Fresh and balanced with a nice long finish. A hint of tannins. Jacques thought that it was reminiscent of the 2004 vintage. This paired well with the yellow tail sashimi with the robustness of the wine complementing the light soy sauce that accompanied the fish.

Our Burgundy flight was the flight of the tattered labels but the bottle contents were stellar. The 1971 Confuron Bonnes Mares was contributed by Ron while Jacques offered the 1980 Clerget Chambolle-Musigny. And they were both home runs. The Bonnes Mares exhibited ripe Pinot fruit, tobacco, and dried wort. Earthy cherry, mushrooms, and a savory character. Fresh, with a late-arriving spiciness. The earthiness of the wine provided an awesome pairing with our potstickers. The Chambolle was elegant on the nose but, initially, had a less-than-round mouthfeel and short finish. Classic Pinot fruit. Fresh and lively on the attack. Savory with dry tamarind. With more extended residence in the glass the dry tamarind flavor became lusher, the mouthfeel began to flesh out, and the finish lengthened. Pomegranate seed note on the finish.

Our next three wines were Barolos: a 2000 Monfortino that I brought and a 1989 Fontanafredda Vigna La Delizia and 1971 Prunotto brought by Jacques. The Conterno was young with plum, tar, earth, tobacco, and vanilla. Freshness, savoryness, and a long, tannic finish. Fifteen years on this wine is still a baby. Two of the greatest Barolo vintages in the '80s were 1988 and 1989 and Vigna La Delizia is one of Fontanafredda's most prestigious crus. This bottle represented both the vintage and the cru exceedingly well with tobacco, balsamic, and truffle notes accompanying elegant tannins. The Prunotto had road tar and a nuttiness on the nose and was sharp, rich, and balanced on the palate. Lengthy finish.  Two more homers for Jacques.

He was now on a roll. We had to restrain him because he kept popping in to that bottomless cardboard box and coming out with gem after gem. He was giddy with joy. In order to give him a chance to recover his composure, Ron opened a 1998 Rayas, a 2000 Soldera Riserva, and a 1961 Ausonne. Rayas continues to be the flagship of CdP from our perspective. This wine had lifted aromatics with a Pinot-like nose. Sapodilla and kiwi fruit, blackpepper and tobacco. Ron felt that the Soldera was more open and less structured than the 95 vintage which he had had recently. He saw this wine as having clean ripe cherry and strawberry fruits with tea leaf, tobacco, and spice notes. Burgundian. Silky and elegant on the finish. The Ausone (Ron's notes) had a nose of red fruits, plum, cedar, sweet tobacco, and graphite. This was drinking well at 54 years of age, showing the classic and elegant character of the label and vintage.

Jacques quickly brushed these wines off the table and re-asserted himself. He had been waiting for this day for 6 years and he was not going to let anything, anybody, or anyother wine get in his way. He had decanted a mag of 2000 Quinault L'Enclos and he waved imperiously towards the waiter to have it brought over. Given our preference for older Bordeauxs we were a little apprehensive about this wine (It was paired with our New York Strip course) but Jacques could not be contained. This was truly his night. The L'Enclos was a phenomenal closer. Tobacco, anise, blackberries, and chocolate on the nose with herbs, leather, and great acidity on the palate, closing with a long, intense finish.

By this time all of the patrons in the restaurant had long gone. As had most of the staff. A beaming, bright-eyed Jacques did not want to leave the arena. This was vindication for him. This was what he had been coming here for years to accomplish. He was not going to let loose of this moment quickly. If at all. The few remaining staffers were trying to shepherd us towards the door but Jacques was having none of it. "Have these kids never heard of basking," the look on his face seemed to say. Triumph. Triumphant. Oh well. I guess I'll have to live with it.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Tasting the wines at Domaine Guy Roulot

The tasting during our Domaine Roulot visit proceeded on two tracks: a tasting of the 2012 whites followed by a tasting, some of it blind, of some older Roulot vintages. The 2012 tasting segment tasered terroir onto our palates while the free-form segment cemented Raj Parr's reputation as an accomplished blind taster with superior knowledge of Burgundy wines.

2012 Meursaults

The 2012 vintage had been abnormal with hail damage, mildew, odium, and heat combining for a 60% reduction in stock. We tasted through the full range of Meursault wines. Given that these wines were from the same vintage, and had been subjected to similar winemaking treatments, any differences should be attributable to terroir. And we did note such differences. There were consistent observations of fruitiness, minerality, and crisp acidity but texture, degree and shade of fruitiness, type of minerality, and florality varied depending on the source of the fruit. Our observations regarding these wines are captured in the table below.

                           Domaine Guy Roulot 2012 Meursault Wines

Classification	Climats/Lieux-Dits	Location	Characteristics
Bourgogne Blanc		Meursault	Citrus, mineral, acidity
Meursault		Slope south of valley	White fruit, citrus, floral, mineral, freshness
	Tillets	Highest on the slope and facing south	Floral, focused, step up in quality
	Vireuils	North of Tillets at slightly lower elevation; east-facing	White fruit, richness, crisp acidity, will age well
	Luchets	Further north and lower	Sweet white fruits, floral, citrus, chalky minerality, richness
	Narvaux	Adjacent to Tillets	Only 1 barrel made. Slight oakiness
	Meix Chavaux	North of Premier Crus but at same elevation	Lemon, stone, denser than wines preceding, mineral, sea shell
	Tessons	do.	First bottle deemed improper by Jean-Marc. Second bottle fresher fruit, minerality, crisp acidity. Balanced with a long finish
Premier Cru	Bouchères	Northernmost	White fruits, mineral, citrus
	Porusot	South of Bouchères	Tight minerality, sea shell, citrus, crisp acidity
	Charmes	On Puligny border; 70-year-old vines	4 barrels made. Big, rich fruit structure
	Perrieres		Big structure. Grand Cru quality. Pear. Weighty, mineral. Long finish

Pre-2012 Vintages

The first wine tasted in this segment was the 2011 Bourgogne Blanc. Jean-Marc said that this vintage had experienced early flowering and harvesting and there had been no attacks of odium or mildew. This wine had great texture and balance. Ron voiced that it was the best Bourgogne on the planet. The next  offering was the 2011 Tessons, a wine which revealed lemon, pear, and a distinct mineral note.

The next wine was offered blind. Tangerine, earthiness, and a chalky minerality. One of the things that we noted during this trip was that the winemakers all wanted to have Raj taste their wines blind. They constantly put him to the test and he consistently hit the mark or came pretty close. In this case he surmised 2010 Bouchères. It was 2009 Bouchères instead. Jean-Marc rapidly followed with another blind wine which Raj thought was a 2005 Tessons. It was. The third blind wine was ripe and open. 2003 Tillets said Raj. Right again. A tour de force of blind tasting in my opinion. The next wine offered had tangerine and honey on the nose and was very rich. I got lucky and tagged the vintage as 1989. It was a 1989 Bourgogne Blanc.

The final wine tasted was the 1992 Perrieres. Sweet tropical fruit to include pineapple. Ron described it as absolutely amazing. Jean-Marc called it "old Chardonnay." Raj said that this is one of his 10 best wines of all time.

A blockbuster end to a truly amazing tasting and a truly amazing day. Unfortunately the morrow did not attain this level of sustained, intense brilliance.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme