France Soir 11 Toorak Road, South Yarra 18th March 2016
Pol Roger Pure Brut Nature NV (ST)
Ballot Millot Meursault Genevrieres 2008 (RP)
Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne 2002 (ST)
Bruno Clavelier Chambolle-Musigny La Combe D'Orveaux 2007 (PT)
Jadot Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 2002 (MJ)
Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 2004 (DC)
Bruno Clavelier Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts 2002 (ST)
Bruno Clavelier Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts 2004 (ST)
Daniel Rion Vosne-Romanee Les Chaumes 1990 (DM)


SHARAD THACORE Wrote:
Cellargeek dinner 18th March 2015 France Soir

From memory, here are some random thought on the wines presented at the 1st 2016 Cellar Geek dinner.

The White Burgundy pairing was possibly the best of the evening.
Both wines were from the same vintage - 2005 and from acclaimed climats.
However, they showed significantly different levels of bottle development.
I do not feel that the Batard was Pre-Moxed (sp?) but it was terrifically developed with lovely notes of nuts on the nose.
The Batard was also remarkably long.
On the other hand, the Corton-Charlemagne presented as a far more youthful bottle.  It had a massive amount of fruit and honey on the nose (with complexity).R
Of the two, this wine continued to change in the glass very impressively and it was a shame to have to empty the glass for the next bracket.
Both these wines were supremely enjoyable and yet so different.

The Latricieres-Chambertin presented in the glass as a wine with the complexity that comes with bottle age. 
We were all surprised it was the 2011 vintage - hardly a baby for a Grand Cru. 
I have not drunk much, if any, Latricieres but I felt that it did not display the earthy power normally associated with Gevrey.
Having said that, it was certainly very enjoyable and displayed great elegance and drinkability.

The Clos-St-Denis was from a producer who is very controversial as he uses 200% oak.
ie: after time in new barrels he transfers the wine into fresh new barrels again!
All the oak seemed to have been integrated as no one commented on it being too oaky.  
It was certainly very intense and obviously complex with length that I'd associate with a Grand Cru.
Martin suggested it was a Bonnes-Marres (not far from Clos-St-Denis) and
Greg suggested it was from Morey.

The Chambertin was again very delicious and many of us picked it as a 1996 - I (we?) were surprised it was a 1998 as it drank very well.
Whilst there may have been talk of it being from Gevrey no one picked it as Chambertin.
This was again just excellent and paired very well with the Clos-St-Denis for style and intensity.

Overall, I felt that the quality and enjoyability of all the wines were within a very narrow band.
That is to say, there were no wines which stood out as being either slightly sub-par or greatly superior or requiring more bottle age or being too old.
Without doubt, from memory, this Cellar Geek dinner had the most consistently superb wines across the entire lineup.

Special note also for Greg Baker who, more often than not, was the first to correctly narrow in on the associated climats.


MARTIN JAMES Wrote:
Geeks,
Great notes Sharad. Peters wine was a Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches 2009. One of the top wine of Beaune. 
Great concentration of fruit with balance and elegance. Drinking well reflecting the 2009 forward vintage. 
It certainly did not drink too far out of place from the other GC's. A point to note was the reductive character of both Greg 
and Sharads wine which added interest and complexity. The reduction did blow off after 30 minutes or so. 
The 1971 Moulin Touchais is a classic wine/ vintage by this maker. A great wine as a departure from Sauternes, we should 
have ordered tart tartin, it's perfect match. I very much enjoyed the pair of white burgundies. 
Very rarely do we drink GC whites and a pair of 2005 purely by chance. 
The wines changed considerably over nearly an hour, lucky Rob was late! Hopefully DC can make the next dinner- Sharad is hosting.
Cheers
Martin