2001 wines at 20 years of age...

Jean Chauvenet Nuits St-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains 2001

Came as part as an auction lot, picked up for a song. Browning. Shy oxidative nose of soy, oxtail and celery...with plenty of marmite. Painfully shy and strict persona. About as ‘old school’ as it gets. The tannins exited left stage some time ago leaving a modest edifice of ...well, not a lot... reminds me of the Fawlty Towers dead body sketch when the doctor asks Basil what is he doing in the laundry basket to which Basil replies ‘not much really’.

Having said all this I preferred and enjoyed this more than, the discombobulated, dysfunctional, mess of a 2001 Musar during the week...which did not improve on day two.

I did not dare put this delicate burg in anything bigger than a Zalto universal, and the Eisch neatly telegraphs how this wine will evolve 45 minutes forward. It is nothing special and needs drinking, being low on everything, especially fruit and energy.. but it is charming and quaint too, which is to damn it with faint praise. A throw back to the past, while nostalgic a reminder that in spite of the wicked world progress is still forward.



AA2722EC-A5C8-44DE-BBF2-24EF6B653005.jpeg
 
After dry January I had this bottle (sorry for the poor label). 2001 Weingut Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese, showing maturity in colour but the wine is still in good shape with zesty fruits and vibrant acidity. This has few more years to stay on its prime.
 

Attachments

  • 2021-02-02 (23b).jpg
    2021-02-02 (23b).jpg
    138.1 KB · Views: 4
Posted from weekend thread. Although anyone with sense will read @Simon Grant 's note instead of mine - he also seems to have tasted this over the weekend.

  • 2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (14/02/2021)
    Valentines Weekend Wines
    : Popped and poured. Drunk too quickly with lasagne. Colour - purplish-red. On the nose - vibrant, oak and forest floor and a hint of red fruits. On the palate - the American oak is clearly there, but well integrated, and there's an acidity to it that gives everything definition and makes it almost thrilling. Not as enjoyable as the 1989 of this wine I drank over Christmas, but I feel that this will be a better wine when it gets to that age. Hopefully I will be able to exercise sufficient restraint to have some of this left in 10-15 years time.
Posted from CellarTracker
 
Recent notes on the 2001 Musar remind me that the powdered cork I displayed above is the very same. The wine was fine, but Musar seem to consistently use poor corks that disintegrate far earlier than others. I'd rather they use screw caps.
 
Posted from weekend thread. Although anyone with sense will read @Simon Grant 's note instead of mine - he also seems to have tasted this over the weekend.

  • 2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (14/02/2021)
    Valentines Weekend Wines
    : Popped and poured. Drunk too quickly with lasagne. Colour - purplish-red. On the nose - vibrant, oak and forest floor and a hint of red fruits. On the palate - the American oak is clearly there, but well integrated, and there's an acidity to it that gives everything definition and makes it almost thrilling. Not as enjoyable as the 1989 of this wine I drank over Christmas, but I feel that this will be a better wine when it gets to that age. Hopefully I will be able to exercise sufficient restraint to have some of this left in 10-15 years time.
Posted from CellarTracker
Yes, another decade or two to run. A bit of variation — some bottles have brighter more raspberry fruit and show a little more acidity, some more mellow and velvety With darker, rounded fruit.
 
Jean Chauvenet Nuits St-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains 2001

Came as part as an auction lot, picked up for a song. Browning. Shy oxidative nose of soy, oxtail and celery...with plenty of marmite. Painfully shy and strict persona. About as ‘old school’ as it gets. The tannins exited left stage some time ago leaving a modest edifice of ...well, not a lot... reminds me of the Fawlty Towers dead body sketch when the doctor asks Basil what is he doing in the laundry basket to which Basil replies ‘not much really’.

Having said all this I preferred and enjoyed this more than, the discombobulated, dysfunctional, mess of a 2001 Musar during the week...which did not improve on day two.

I did not dare put this delicate burg in anything bigger than a Zalto universal, and the Eisch neatly telegraphs how this wine will evolve 45 minutes forward. It is nothing special and needs drinking, being low on everything, especially fruit and energy.. but it is charming and quaint too, which is to damn it with faint praise. A throw back to the past, while nostalgic a reminder that in spite of the wicked world progress is still forward.



View attachment 17421
I've had some absolutely outstanding Chauvenets from the 90s so it's not as if they weren't any good back then(though your description of the bottle, and particularly the photograph, makes me vaguely wonder whether it is flawed in some way) but this sounds like an awful lot of 01s at this point, where it seems to me that only the top producers have really flourished over 20 years and that the best of the rest probably ought to have been drunk. Like many, many burgundy vintages one that was first under(because the wines didn't taste nice) and then over(because the wines were delicious) rated.
 
Poderi Colla, Barbaresco Roncaglie 2001
Typical translucent browny-red colour. Nose very typical with white pepper, spiky red fruit, mint, truffley mushroom, just a touch of orangey brioche - there’s depth and complexity here. Palate still has plenty of quite coarse tannin, a bit drying at times though fine with food. Stacked with fruit, more black than red and balanced by ample acidity. No signs of age or tiredness, this is very traditionally structured and needs another 5-10 years to soften, integrate and evolve.

Looking back at the notes from Piedmont in this thread, this bottle seems the most blatantly unready. My Brovia Villero and Nigel’s Giacosa both had evident charms. Beppe Colla made unapologetically trad wines for many years at Prunotto, and his Barolos from the mid & late 80s are drinking well now, so leaving this 2001 alone a while longer looks the best policy.

IMG_20210214_193904.jpg
 
Gilles Barges Cote-Rotie Cuvee Du Plessy, 2001, 12.5% ABV

Better than the last one, which is not saying much as it may have been flawed. This is one highly strung wine. First impressions are of soil, scorched earth and salinity. Then overwhelming peppery notes, cracked black pepper and peppercorns; then come the meaty tones of cured bacon and beef consommé. It is high-toned, has piercing lemon juice acidity and is well into its tertiary phase now. It is rasping on the palate with plenty of tensile nervosity and feral skittishness; it finishes quite abruptly, like a fox vanishing over a garden fence. On the one hand it is quite thrilling, or the other quite flawed. I have three left, and if this bottle did not measure up, I was planning to sell them. I think I will keep them, but will have to drink them soon. It would be fun to bring one of these to an offline later in the year to elicit other opinions. Another old school 2001, which needs drinking.

AFD27FEF-7BFA-43B0-9DFA-76B5B77C2336.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Chateau Bel-Air-Marquis D’Aligre 2001, 12.5% ABV

Double decanted three hours in advance. Expressive and promising on opening, but then it went into its shell. As it emerged faint red currant fruits, rocky slate and minerals, tobacco, and then the Margaux berries started to bloom. So delightful; everything plays out in minor key, but it is a superb accompaniment to a veal steak. A purist’s delight. This is not a classed growth, and no it is not quite in the same league as Chateau Margaux or Chateau Palmer, but in the 1855 classification I would place it as a solid third growth, on a par with Ch. Giscours and Ch. La Lagune. My favourite vintage of this wine so far is 1995, but I loved this 2001. I have bottles of 1999 (not tried yet) and 2000. I am happy to be sitting on ~20+ bottles of this wine from these four vintages. Our friend Martin Buchanan in Cornwall sells this wine at eminently reasonable prices.

E8D74B05-2980-4CA6-9B05-E5463A1084C6.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey St-Denis 1er Cru La Riotte 2001

Cross posting from the weekend drinking thread:

This Tapenot-Merme Morey started off promisingly. It wasn’t corked like some others from the same batch of 01 and 02 Riottes. It has a smoky sauvage /meaty/cured meat entry which was alluring, and a bit of sweet berry fruit on the palate. But otherwise it was humdrum. It was rather boring and lacked depth and complexity. This is an estate that has really raised its game it seems in recent years. It needed to.
 
Last edited:
Over the weekend we drunk, Chapoutier La Sizeranne Hermitage 2001 with fillet steaks and red wine sauce. A great combination. The wine was very ready with little tannins and a touch of meat to the fruit. Not overly complex, a granite northern Rhone, lacks anything special but good drinking wine. Underwhelming if you paid £50 only a couple of months ago. The next night the remaining glass was ruined .
 
This Versino CdP was sublime last night. Cool-fruited, savoury, stemmy and ethereal, with a spine of iron ore. Absolutely singing. 13.5%. I’m really getting back into CdP at the moment as the traditionally-made ones are really quite good value in the wider scheme of things and are genuinely world class wines that I really want to drink at the table.
 

Attachments

  • D9951B3B-57B6-4AEE-927E-FEEAF0DE70E2.jpeg
    D9951B3B-57B6-4AEE-927E-FEEAF0DE70E2.jpeg
    104.2 KB · Views: 9
Here's my latest 2001. Absolutely ravishing it was too:

  • 2001 Château La Tour Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (07/02/2021)
    5/12, vg cork. Decanted 1/2 hour.
    Deep garnet core, pale garnet rim - showing a bit of age. Lovely, inviting, developed smoky Graves nose, earth and tobacco notes. Medium/full bodied, packed with rich, smoky dark fruit, spice, tobacco and even a touch of chocolate, soft tannins, substantial but all balanced by fresh acidity, black fruit comes back in on very good length finish. Really lovely, drinking beautifully. (94 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
 
2001 Vina TonSonia riserva. Opened 6.30 pm . Needs 2+ hrs and it’s a delicious fruit mature glass of wine. Lively deep mid palate and classical acuity keeps the palate interested for a second and third glass. The aromatic volatility is revealing in complexity and is a Joy to smell and this leading into the entry of the palate is part of the completeness of the wine. I don’t do scores. Read the note. Not a fruit bomb. Simply deeeeelish.
 
Here's my latest 2001. Absolutely ravishing it was too:

  • 2001 Château La Tour Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (07/02/2021)
    5/12, vg cork. Decanted 1/2 hour.
    Deep garnet core, pale garnet rim - showing a bit of age. Lovely, inviting, developed smoky Graves nose, earth and tobacco notes. Medium/full bodied, packed with rich, smoky dark fruit, spice, tobacco and even a touch of chocolate, soft tannins, substantial but all balanced by fresh acidity, black fruit comes back in on very good length finish. Really lovely, drinking beautifully. (94 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Sounds fab Paul. One I have a soft spot for even though not enough in the cellar!
 
Yes, me too Gareth - thanks mainly to Richard Z who brought a very good 99 to an offline at RSJ (which Cellartracker tells me was almost 6 years ago ). The 98 is also excellent, as are so many Graves from that vintage,
 
Chateau Croizet-Bages, Pauillac 2001
Bordeaux, France, Dry Red, Cork, 12.5% abv
89-90/100. Having last tasted this 18 years ago, 'en primeur', when I rated it 87/100 and suggested that it was for early drinking, my expectations were tempered. There's still good colour, though that is pale and edged with brick. The nose is gamey and cedary, with a touch of green leafiness, but there is a black fruit in there too. The palate is a touch lean, but I really enjoyed this, a coffee depth of oak and juiciness to the black fruit, actually the balance pretty solid. Probably not for extended cellaring but enjoyable for sure, perhaps surprisingly so, and proper mature Bordeaux. £50.00, see all stockists on wine-searcher.com

20210227_172502.jpg
 
Indeed - on both counts. I realise Tom had the advantage of having tasted the wine EP but that’s a better showing than my ignorant self would have expected from Croizet Bages of that period.
 
2001 Domaine Maume, Mazis-Chambertin.
Quite pale and translucent, distinctly fading coral tones at the edge. Quite likeable on the nose, plenty of fine red fruit still, strawberry and cranberry, some evolved underbrush and savoury stuff too, some complexity and depth but really all rather staid and restrained. The palate has really striking cranberry-fruited acidity. Some raspberry fruit too. Tannins soft and velvety. The balance is way-off at the moment - the tannins have softened, the fruit is gentle and red but the acidity is screechy and shrill. This was fine with food but I’m not sure I’d back it to be any better with further age.

This was the only bottle of Maume wine in my cellar, picked-up years ago at D Byrne’s of Clitheroe for not much money. On this showing I’m happy they only had one bottle that day. It isn’t bad, but it’s also far from great. Does anyone know more about Maume at this time? The shrill acidity was striking and made me wonder about added acidification - is that possible?

IMG_20210226_192558.jpg
 
2001 Domaine Maume, Mazis-Chambertin.
Quite pale and translucent, distinctly fading coral tones at the edge. Quite likeable on the nose, plenty of fine red fruit still, strawberry and cranberry, some evolved underbrush and savoury stuff too, some complexity and depth but really all rather staid and restrained. The palate has really striking cranberry-fruited acidity. Some raspberry fruit too. Tannins soft and velvety. The balance is way-off at the moment - the tannins have softened, the fruit is gentle and red but the acidity is screechy and shrill. This was fine with food but I’m not sure I’d back it to be any better with further age.

This was the only bottle of Maume wine in my cellar, picked-up years ago at D Byrne’s of Clitheroe for not much money. On this showing I’m happy they only had one bottle that day. It isn’t bad, but it’s also far from great. Does anyone know more about Maume at this time? The shrill acidity was striking and made me wonder about added acidification - is that possible?

View attachment 17673
I had bottles in 2013 and 2015, and the acidity wasn’t quite as you describe, though the first bottle was quite bright, but it had softened and rounded over the following couple of years. One left...
 
I had bottles in 2013 and 2015, and the acidity wasn’t quite as you describe, though the first bottle was quite bright, but it had softened and rounded over the following couple of years. One left...
Be interested to hear what you find whenever you decide to give it a go, Simon. As I have no other bottles i don’t feel I really have a frame of reference to judge whether this was just an odd bottle or an awkward phase or a death plunge!
 
Top