This was a really fun dinner - thanks, Dan, and everyone else. Particularly fun to start with a rose Champagne (and then have more of it as an intermission) and then finish with a Riesling. Think I'm 95% in agreement with Simon, although I liked the Gros more than he did, and I think he (and most others) found the Fourrier CSJ even more exciting than I.
1998 BURGUNDY HORIZONTAL - Noize (31/01/2023)
If the Gros Richebourg is open for business, perhaps other 1998s are too? Let's find out...
Gougeres
- 2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut - France, Champagne
Magnum. Very brightly fruited, and quite sweet and rounded - an uncomplicated wine, in the best sense. Strawberry fruit, green strawberry stalk, vanilla patisserie, orange sherbert and a subtle grip on the finish. Drinking very well, and almost too easy to enjoy. Second half of the bottle, drunk around 90 minutes later, wasn't hugely different to the first; perhaps even sunnier in feel? (93 pts.)
Fresh fettucini with wild mushroom
- 1998 Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de l'Arlot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
An interesting, grown-up wine, this. At first it felt almost completely tertiary, all smoke and undergrowth, with a green streak running through it, but with air there developed notes of strawberry candy and orange blossom, and the muddy undergrowth smartened itself up into musky, cedary moss - it smelled great! Tangy on the slightly tannic finish. (93 pts.)
- 1998 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Goulots Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
A more conventional wine than the Arlot, perhaps. Slightly sweet on the nose, with complexity from touches of earth, rubber tire and VA. Bright and juicy on the palate, hints of truffle, some residual grip and decent line and length. At first I preferred this to the Arlot, but it seemed to tighten whilst its flight-mate blossomed - high-scoring draw, then, as both were delicious and food-friendly. (93 pts.)
Breast of Cornish chicken, crispy potato, red wine jus
- 1998 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Probably tonight's least appealing wine, but still with a lot to offer. Surly and reductive at first, then merely reserved and chunky, with noticeable tannin... but also soulful and earthy, with a dusting of espresso and cocoa, and something ferrous. Oddly wasn't improved by drinking it with food. (91 pts.)
- 1998 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Ooh - this is nice. Airy and truffley on the nose, then developing an exotic woody scent, like an expensive cologne. Interesting on the palate too: tangy, brambly fruit, some sherbert and caramel, crisp and well-delineated. Ever-changing and ever so fine, it would have been nice to split this bottle with only one other person rather than seven! (94 pts.)
Roasted pigeon, lentil ragout, Morteau sausage
- 1998 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
I guess this was pretty much as expected: bare, dry, woody and leathery, giving a 'masculine' feel. That said, there was also a finer, brighter, more mineral edge, although not really any fruit. Long finish that tasted like an Old Fashioned made with a particularly oaky Bourbon such as Woodford Reserve; that's a cocktail I enjoy, but I found the note distracting here. Solid, interesting wine, and good with the food, but glad I didn't have the bottle to myself. (92 pts.)
- 1998 Domaine Louis Remy Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
Exotic and seductive! Incense, smoke and truffle on the nose. Supple on the palate, with quite a bit going on - lovely red fruit, black cherry, rose, dark bitter chocolate and some residual tannin. Good fun, this. (93 pts.)
- 1998 Domaine A.-F. Gros Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
Much sweeter on the nose than its dry, savoury flight-mates. Really dense on the palate (as I'd expect from Richebourg), with intense blueberry fruit and a mineral feel. Somehow also fleet-footed and elegant despite its potency - very fine. (94 pts.)
Fresh house cheeses
- 1998 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Served blind. The sturdiness took us to Gevrey or Nuits. Wafts of savoury smoke on the nose. Dark, woody and grippy, but also very clean, with a lift that made it easy to drink at the end of the meal - nicely mature. (92 pts.)
- 2017 Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp Riesling Auslese Auction - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Served blind. So aromatic. Floral, bright and light. Creamy and sensual on the palate, with waves of juicy fruit - peach, lemon, lime zest and lime juice in particular - and plenty of energy. Especially wonderful with the soft cheese. A refreshing and yummy finish to a great dinner. (94 pts.)
The dinner delivered on its premise, with all the wines feeling mature and performing well or better. The vintage's character appears to be embodied in a slightly stern, firm, greenish feel, but this didn't prevent us from enjoying the wines (though I wouldn't have wanted the Jadot, in particular, to be any more austere). I was reminded of the 2001s we had last year in terms of weight and relatively dark-toned feel, but those were less rustic than the 1998s. Overall, very positive though!
