TN Nick’s 2002 Burgundy @ Noizé

I suspect this will turn out to be a tale of two tables, but for what it’s worth some impressions from ‘table 1’. Lots of good banter and commeraderie in adversity but the suggestions that we include the water in the voting were only partly in jest.

2002 BURGUNDY @ NOIZÉ - (05/05/2022)

  • 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare - France, Champagne
    Full straw. Nicely rich on the nose. Toasty and buttery. Similar on the palate. Rich upfront and a fresh finish. Just a slight mid palate dip that seems to pick up with air. **** (93 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
    Mid to full straw. Gently nutty. Nicely herby with good energy. Lovely and very proper. Line, poise and length. Just lacks a little persistence for top flight. **** (93 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Blanchots Dessus - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
    Brighter full straw. Nicely mature but vital. Initially seems a little reduced, but there’s something disjointed here. With air it takes on a sickly sweet poxy aroma without really showing it on the palate. Becomes spiky though. No, this bottle is on its way out. A little cooler and it would have been fine for the first twenty minutes. **1/2 (85 pts.)
  • 2002 Jean-Jacques Vincent Pouilly-Fuissé Château de Fuissé Collection Privée - France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé
    Full straw. Fresh, quite full and oaky with a fresher, leaner line. Touch hot on the attack. Warm butter nose. Not quite the harmony but it does have some oomph. *** (88 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Brouillards - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
    Light bright garnet. Nicely mellow sous bois. Some talk of cornkiness but I don’t think so — maybe a bit mute cf previous bottles but served a little warm and the glasses don’t help. A point and nicely relaxed. Sweetens with air and the fruit strengthens. One better contemplated than speed-dated. Not the best bottle of this but enough interest if you look. ***1/2 (90 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
    A little more stuffing here. A density of fruit. Redder fruited and with a mineral line, spine without austerity. More poise and breeding here. Polished. **** (93 pts.)
  • 2002 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
    Full garnet. Again, that characteristic hint of coal tar that I seem to get with Bize, regardless of vintage. Good density of fruit, dark and savoury, but a little herby. Not my style.***1/2 (90 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Aleth Girardin Pommard Les Vignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard
    Full mid ruby. Nicely savoury around some ripe mid red fruit. Dark fruit upfront. Mellow and pleasant. ***1/2 (90 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
    Dense mid ruby. A little cloudy. Dark and brooding. Just too muddy. All stewed tannin. Three day old black tea. No. This can’t be representative or what the wine maker intended after twenty years in bottle. No. NR (flawed)
  • 2002 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    Dark, dense but balanced. Dark red fruit. Dense and savoury. Padded structure. Just starting to get there. Robust but balanced. Very drinkable. **** (93 pts.)
  • 2002 Nicolas Potel Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
    Pale ruby to mid garnet. A slightly herbal edge. Mid weight. Some minerality. A pleasant drink but lacks GC depth and gravitas. **** (91 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
    Quite savoury. A touch of swimming pool, probably with some cork floating in it. A pale imitation of a bottle a couple of months ago. No. NR (flawed)
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Sigh. Thanks for the notes, Simon. A few 90 point wines there.

We did fare better on table 2. Notes to follow tomorrow.

Huge thanks to team table 2 for some fabulous and very generously shared wines, Nick for pulling together and Ian for the scores on the doors mastery which will reveal the table's free and fairly elected wine of the night and honourable mentions.

Overall really enjoyed the food although the black olive emulsion that came with the spicy couscous and veal nearly overpowered the wines.

Top night.

À la prochaine.IMG_20220505_225900.jpg
 
As ever Simons notes and assessment is pretty spot on. I think that despite best efforts our table would be most apply described as curmudgeonly, at least the wines were. The company battled on through what were largely some tough wines but hey ho, its a dirty job and someone has to do it. I personally thought the Les Brouillards was corked, whilst not stripped on the palate a high level of musty damp cardboard are my triggers for TCA. The Potel (my wine) was decidedly disappointing in comparison to the last bottle I had which was my WotY 2 years ago. I would never have guessed my WotN would be a 20 year old Meursault from a year that has previously given me so much red wine pleasure.

Having said that, I haven't been to Noize before, the food was very tasty, the company and gallows humour as we progressed through was hugely entertaining. Thanks to my table mates and Nick for organising
 
First off, on a positive note, it was an extremely fun night and thanks to Nick for organizing. As Simons notes say we were a bit unlucky with some of the wines but it happens. Not just in Burgundy I might add, its happened with Bordeaux and Rhone dinners I've attended as well. Simons notes on the whites are spot on, I think we did well that only 1 of 3 20 year old white burgundy, in the middle of the premox era, was faulty!

I was in the camp that said the Brouillards wasnt quite right, but to be fair it didnt get a lot worse with time so judgement reserved, maybe as Simon notes its just the way it shows. Courcel wasnt a great wine, I got new oak and was quite muddy. Sadly, no question the Lambrays was corked, my first of 6 bought on release...gutted!

I would say the other wines performed about right. The Bize was wide open and showing well, though as you would expect maybe not the complexity of other wines. Interestingly Jon said a bottle opened 9 months earlier was shut down hard as nails. The Taillepieds is for sure on the austere side and will never be elegant but thats the style and showed well in its way. Both could have benefited from being served a few degrees cooler. Likewise I thought the Gouges showed well, its a dense, chunky, structured wine but it was balanced so the tannins didnt overwhelm it, and dare I say there was a hint of fruit, I've had for worse wines from Gouges!! The Potel, while maybe lacking GC depth had enough about it to make it interesting and enjoyable. Thats my glass half full take on the wines that weren't faulty :p

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the night even if all the wines didn't perform to expectations. Thanks to all my table mates for there wines and company. Roll on 2003, that could be an interesting dinner and not for the faint hearted ;)
 
I don't think I have good karma with Burgundy-only dinner by far... I have only been in three Burg dinner, one is the 1991 offline in Chez Bruce, the wine was meh; and then the rather disasterous 90s Burg in Noize, and last night. I have had some wonderful Burg red though, thank to some generous forum people, but they were in other context of events.

What I can say is, I really enjoyed the company; it's all about sharing experience. I really would rather to have some friends criticising a meh wine together than to open a great bottle by myself. Am I running to buy some 2002 Burg in the list? No. But even I was in table 2 I probably couldn't do that anyway!
(Special thank to Dan to let me try some top red wine of table 2 from his glass; they were indeed better.)
 
I was on table 2 so did not taste the de Courcel but I can tell you that the wine maker at the time made many faulty wines around this time. I was an importer but declined to buy this vintage. Normally in burgundy, if you decline to buy a vintage you will no longer be welcome either to taste or to buy. I wrote to the proprietor explaining why I would not buy. The wine maker was sacked !
 
NICK A'S 2002 BURGUNDY HORIZONTAL (TABLE B) - Noizé, London (05/05/2022)

Following on from successful 2001 horizontal, this was a chance to focus on the more highly regarded 2002 vintage. Table B focussed on the Cotes de Nuits after a Champagne and a pair of Chablis
Champagne
  • 2014 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Special Club Brut - France, Champagne
    On pouring a lovely lemon sherbet nose, later something that reminds me of the Trebor Fruit Salad halfpenny sweets of my youth. A Rose's lime cordial quality emerges too. Palate has great balance with refreshing acidity and persistence. Very nice champagne. Sourced at the domaine in early April. Will be back for more in the autumn. (90 pts.)
Chablis
  • 2002 William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
    Our sommelier warns us there is something little lactic to this wine and there is certainly a Sour Cream and Chive Pringle character to the first sniff as correctly suggested by our organiser, this soon blows off and the wine gets better and better in the glass. There are some shelled pea notes and some oyster shell. With time some wholemeal toast notes emerge and a gorgeous butterscotch roundness. On pouring a prefer the Raveneau Clos this is served with but after time in the glass this has greater personality an interest. The best bottle so far from the case according to its contributor. My 5th favourite wine of the night in a very, very tight field. (93 pts.)
  • 2002 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
    A fabulous Chablis which on any ordinary night would have had one purring as it unfurled. I think suffered in the Chianti glass it was served in. The nose has a slightly smoky tea character supporting the oyster shell and lemon oil flavours, later there is some freshly sliced William pear and hay. Palate is so well balanced and lasts for a good 20 seconds, there is the faintest suggest of peanut shell too. I don't often comment on appearance but this is very pale and bright, could have been a 5 year old wine rather than a 20 year old. A treat. (92 pts.)
Gevrey and Chambertin
  • 2002 Domaine Maume Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    Dark fruited nose, some lifted notes. Meatier than its flight mates, something of a muscular wine. Another not helped by the stemware, I fear. After time a charling creaminess emerges before it gently fades. (89 pts.)
  • 2002 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    Wow. More in the red fruits here. Some Bakewell almond puree and cherry notes to the nose. Palate is utterly gorgeous texturally and flavour wise - what one really seeks in Burgundy. The tannins are beautifully resolved, the acidity refreshes and the rich morello cherry fruit caresses. With time some freshly sliced damson emerges on the nose. Outstanding and my second favourite wine of the night. (95 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
    This is hard to really assess at this point in its evolution. I suspect has all the ingredients to wow in the years ahead. Might have showed more in a Burgundy glass. As of now there is a blackcurrant character to the nose with a little nutmeg appearing after time. Palate is a tad closed and no amount of swirling and sitting in the glass coaxes it to reveal that flash of ankle I yearn. I suspect given the riches it was served alongside I might not have given it the full attention it was due. One to revisit in 5 years in a big glass. (89 pts.)
Nuits 1er Crus
  • 2002 Domaine Jean Tardy et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    This is another belter. The cool red fruits have some exotic accompaniments, I think some subtle crystalised ginger and some peonies. Palate much more open then the Grivot initially but still not fully open for business with time in the glass there is some softening but still a wine that will be better in 5+ years (90 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    This takes some time to unfurl but when it does is very impressive. There is something meaty to start with a little kirsch like lift in the background. With time some sweet chestnut notes emerge. Palate doesn't really get going but there is so much potential here. (91 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    This is a big wine but so refined. There is some sliced beef tomato and something a little stalky initially which gives way to some summer greenhouse notes and some spiced blueberry coulis. Palate gorgeous with great length and mouth coating texture and à point acidity that refreshes without overdoing it. Black fruits to the fore as this opens up over an hour in the glass. My 3rd favourite wine of the night (95 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
    Very Nuits but also very different from its flight mates. This has a heady sweet meats and almost violet florality to it. With time there is a an extra layer to the meatiness almost as if one were tucking into a steak and kidney pie and sliced into that kidney. Something in the caramel spectrum too. I think dulce de leche. Just a gorgeous wine with so much going on and a real treat. My 4th favourite wine of the night. (94 pts.)
Arnoux Grands Crus
  • 2002 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
    Excellent wine if a little in the shadow of the sublime RSV it is served with. Nose has gorgeous detail there is a rich Dundee cakey feel here, some refreshing cranberry stalkiness and later some marzipan and bresaola. After 40 minutes in the glass there is very subtle lift and perfume not unlike a little eau de Cologne. Palate is youthful and initially tight with a frame that will need to resolve for this to be at its apogee (in about a decade I think) still really good stuff. Only just outside my top 5. (92 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
    One of the finest Burgundies I've been lucky enough to sample. This wine has such a richness and quality to it, it's really hard to describe. The brooding deep red fruits of the nose are complemented by a freshly baked gingerbread character that I find beguiling. Palate starts tightly coiled but even in a Bordeaux glass comes to life over 40 mins in the glass. Another bottle in 5 years in Burgundy glasses? I can only imagine. This is extraordinary. My wine of the night. (96 pts.)

The stars aligned for Table B and all wines were in good shape after a scare on a lactic start to the Fevre Chablis
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Setting aside the flawed wines what really underperformed though?

I'm not surprised about the Potel myself but all the others seem around a level one might expect?

Interested to read other reports.

I think you’re right Alex. Bar a couple of underperforming bottles, most of table 1’s red selection would be expected on paper to be somewhat surly and less than lush. I do think they would have shown better in proper glasses and at a correct temperature, but that’s one of the occupational hazards of offlines in general. With Neil’s notes alongside, I think the two tables give a good snapshot of the 2002 vintage across the two Cotes. I’ve enjoyed a few 02s in the past six months (incl better bottles of last nights Lambrays and Brouillards) and they’ve been a delight, fitting in nicely to the table 2 end of the hierarchy. I think it’s a good vintage, but as ever, twenty years on there’s an element of bottle variation, and also what people still have in their cellars.

As Steve, Po, Craig and others have noted, it was a fun night regardless of the wines and the need for some gallows humour, and that’s what it’s all about.

FWIW, a few other snapshots from the last six months to help with context…


Posted from CellarTracker

Having re-read my previous note I do agree tha5bthere was something off about the de Montille Brouillards. Another bottle is stood up to test this evening…
 
I had a super evening on Table 1. Thanks for organising things Nick. Great to catch up with some folk who I’ve not seen since before the pandemic and enjoy some good conversation and decent food - and the wines were an interesting assortment.

I thought the Brouillards was very slightly corked, and the Lambrays was definitely corked, but the Meursault, Taillepieds and Bize were all super wines (even if the reds were all served a fraction too warm). I struggled with the Gouges. It wasn’t an uncompromising brute in the way that Gouges can often be but I found it a pretty joyless experience. It lacked energy. The Potel was a nice enough wine and had some of the amplitude that you’d expect from a grand cru but none of the breeding.
 
Table one’s bitter disappointments (the Trump table), contrasted with the triumphs on table two (the O’Sullivan table). When Gareth, who was nearest, reached for some of the three quarter empty bottles to refill our glasses, we started to get heckled by table one. If we had not conceded some samples the mood in the basement of Noize could have turned ugly.


2014 Gaston Chiquet Special Club - this was a revelation, fresh, lively - top notch fizz - a champagne, remarkably, that Howard had never encountered before - 92


2002 Fevre Chablis Les Clos - lush, ripe, creamy, aged, with tropical notes and butterscotch - beautiful but getting towards the end of its life - 93

2002 Raveneau Chablis Les Clos - this otoh still has plenty of time in hand, a bit more structure and intensity here with the trademark wet wool and a glorious finish - 95


2002 Maume Gevrey Champeaux - signature old school Maume, with beefy, horsey, sauvage, notes, it is drinking well and enjoyable but does become a bit attenuated over the night - 91

2002 Jadot Gevrey Clos St Jacques - a creditable rendition of CSJ, with attractive red fruits, resolution, delineation and balance, with some nice spicey notes. This bottle annoyingly suffered from being too warm. At the right temperature it might have been a point or two higher. - 92

2002 Drouhin-Laroze Chambertin Clos de Beze - brooding, powerful and structured, it was difficult to coax in the Bordeaux glass last night - indeed blind you might have confused this for a Bordeaux - but it has a lot of stuffing and potential. You would automatically think ‘come back in five years’ but in a proper large burg glass, or a Sensory Conterno, it is transformed. 92+ on the night with upside potential.


2002 Jean Tardy NSG Boudots - this was superb, with perfect ripeness, balance and structure. Not an exciting address or name but this really delivered last night. A travesty that it was the only wine not to register any votes with the scores of the doors. 93

2002 Grivot NSG Boudots - a similar wine to the Tardy - same vineyard - it took a bit longer to come round but when it did it displayed an extra layer of complexity. Compelling. 94

2002 Chevillon NSG Vaucrains - it just kept on getting better. What can you say about this exceptional sensual, dark fruited, meaty, complex and multi-faceted wine apart from that it is grand cru quality? My wotn, group runner up - 95

2002 Mugneret-Gibourg Chaignots - Dan pulled this rabbit out of the hat and another sensational wine with a beguiling spicey-nutmeg attack with a seamless palate and personality. A more feminine creature than its masculine flight mates, and a sheer delight - what a superb flight! 95


2002 Arnoux Clos Vougeot - my notes became a bit diffuse at this point. There are a lot of moving parts in this wine but it is a bit clunky right now and yet to come together. It has good potential. Come back in 5-10 years. 92+

2002 Arnoux Romanee Saint Vivant - in a similar state of evolution to the CV, the RSV nevertheless dwells in a more celestial plane. It is rich, spicey and brooding, and only at this stage showing us a glimpse of its hidden pleasures. 95+


This was the menu - the fish dish was the pollocks!

Pollock, Fresh Peas, Grilled Baby Gem, Seaweed Sauce

Cornish Chicken Breast, Crushed Jersey Royal, Broccoli, Mustard

Roasted Veal, Aubergine Purée, Courgette, Jus

Selection of Cheese


Thank you Nick for organising, which involved a lot of work, to Mathieu and team and to all my very generous table mates, singling out Howard (the RSV - you need to take out a mortgage to buy one these days if you can find one) and Dan (for bringing both Les Clos and adding in the M-G).

Meanwhile let’s have a look at the scores and the doors:

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Interesting to see Drouhin-Laroze showing well from that era. I think at the time the 2002s went on sale they were very much regarded as a lower-tier producer - their wines stayed very inexpensive for years after the Burgundy boom took off. As recently as 2013 the 2002 Bonnes Mares & Beze were less than £60/bottle.
 
Thank you Ian for your excellent notes. A big thank you to Nick too for organising this special event and of course a big thank you to Mathieu and all the staff for the excellent meal and service.
Re my RSV Arnoux, I opened the bottle at 4pm to check that it was not corked or otherwise out of condition. I tasted it and it was so delicious that I decided not to do, as I usually do, a double decant, as I wanted to preserve it exactly as it was. As for its provenance, it had made just one journey in its life; from their cellar to mine and the transportation would never have been either summer or winter. 2002 is a top vintage and demand was very high. I am very glad that I kept a few bottles for sharing with friends who appreciate them.
There were many other really fine wines on our table. As so often, it was like a horse race with an early leader overtaken after after some time by another wine and so on through the evening.
Yes, Chiquet had never come my way before and I was very impressed.
Thanks to everyone on table 2 for their lovely wines and convivial company.
 
I was on table 2 so did not taste the de Courcel but I can tell you that the wine maker at the time made many faulty wines around this time. I was an importer but declined to buy this vintage. Normally in burgundy, if you decline to buy a vintage you will no longer be welcome either to taste or to buy. I wrote to the proprietor explaining why I would not buy. The wine maker was sacked !
Howard -- Something is amiss here. Yves Confuron (of Domaine Confuron-Cotétidot) has been making the wines at de Courcel since 1996 (see 2nd edition of Jasper's Inside Burgundy, p. 498 -- and I can confirm as I tasted the 2002s from barrel in 2003 and from bottle in 2004 with Yves), and he continues to make the wines there. Jasper calls it one of the greatest estates in Pommard, I would go further, and for me it is the greatest estate in Pommard. I did not buy the 2002 Grands Epenots, which probably means that I did not find it or did not find it at a satisfactory price, but I have the 2002 Rugiens in my cellar. Alas, the wine is in San Francisco and I am in Paris, so I can't immediately pull a bottle to check on it.

Re the suggestion that oak dominated the Grands Epenots: very little to no new oak was used on that wine or any wine at de Courcel. Likely it was reduction (which can be very difficult to tell from new oak) or the effect of 100% whole clusters (which affects different people in different ways).

Several people above have mentioned that some of the wines were too warm -- that can be fatal to red Burgundy, destroying the delicate acidity balance, and especially for a vintage such as 2002 where the acidity has been rather round. For me, they really need to be 13-16º (i.e., cellar temperature) to show their best.

My view early on for 2002 reds was that it was a great vintage for Côte de Beaune, but only good for Côte de Nuits. Recently, I've found the Côte de Nuits wines performing at a level above what I saw when I tasted the wines from barrel and then early on from bottle.

Sorry to have missed this and I'll miss the WIMPS Burgundy lunch, but I look forward to seeing some of you at the WIMPS Northern Rhône lunch later this month.
 
Well, my apologies Table Oners… I‘ve just opened the ‘B’ sample of the Brouillards, and that had the corkiest cork I’ve ever smelled, and the wine was worse than last night’s. Having retrieved a ‘C’ sample from the cellar that’s fine — last nights (good) sous bois around a core of sweet red fruit without any mustiness. Curiously, I’m drinking it with my mother who reports that she opened a bottle of it last week that I’d given her previously, and that was corked too. At least three bottles from the same case :(
 
Well, my apologies Table Oners… I‘ve just opened the ‘B’ sample of the Brouillards, and that had the corkiest cork I’ve ever smelled, and the wine was worse than last night’s. Having retrieved a ‘C’ sample from the cellar that’s fine — last nights (good) sous bois around a core of sweet red fruit without any mustiness. Curiously, I’m drinking it with my mother who reports that she opened a bottle of it last week that I’d given her previously, and that was corked too. At least three bottles from the same case :(
That reminds me of my tasting from bottle in 1995 of the 1993s with the most wonderful Christiane de Montille, Étienne de Montille's late mother (who always was dressed to the nines, including high heels, down in the cellar). The wines had been marvelous from barrel the year before, but we encountered one corked bottle after another, and finally I told her to stop: "Je suis le porteur de la mauvaise chance." Which she found hilarious.
 
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