Babykiller Birthday

Like many of us, my friend Matthew likes to celebrate his birthday with Burgundy. In this case, a free-for-all house party with lots of it. NOTE: this group doesn’t have real name, but I call them the Babykillers because they’re mostly younger than me, and because of a tendency to open great wines young (like 2010 DRC!). But hey, after who knows how long in the decanter those young DRCs were pretty awesome.

The birthday boy.

It should be noted that this dinner, like many Babykiller birthdays before it, has an unusual format. Food is casual, and all the when is just popped and self serve with small pours. There are 1.5-2 bottles per person, so there is no huge rush. Even the 1990 Dujac took 2 hours to be finished.

1988 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. 95 points. howed beautifully, but not as well as the last bottle. The wine is light golden honey coloured, with fine mousse and effervescence that’s still alive, although fading. Notes of toasted brioche, hazelnuts and dried fruit on the nose. On the palate the wine is smooth, rich and long, with good, muted fruit and great balance and decent effervescence. Drinking at its peak now.

1999 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 95. The 1999 Salon, tasted from magnum, is the first wine in which fresh, primary fruit flavors are replaced by more mature notes. Lemon oil, light honey and chamomile flesh out in a radiant, expressive Champagne loaded with class. Here it is the wine’s texture and breadth that impress above all else. The 1999 is a fabulous transition to the older wines in this tasting, as it is both youthful and complex.

From my cellar: 1995 Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 93 points. Quite refined nose and palate with subtle nose of flowers, green fruit and brioche. Fresh and not even slightly premoxed.

1996 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets. Burghound 91. Exquisite nose of hazelnut and ripe melon with flavors that are not particularly dense but very fine, tight and beautifully detailed with plenty of minerality and outstanding acid/fruit balance. Even though this is young vine fruit, it shows excellent intensity on the long finish.

1999 Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Auxey-Duresses Les Clous. 94 points. This seems to be a mix between the roundness of a Meursault (buttery flavor, texture on the palate) and the minerality of a Puligny (fresh, citrusy scents, length on palate). This one is a knockout, that clearly rivals the grands crus, let it be Chevalier/Batard and the likes. But for a fraction of the price. A knock-out effort by Mme Bize!

2002 Bouchard Aîné et Fils Montrachet. 95 points. A real stunner. We decanted and it had a knockout power.

2004 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Montrachet Le Montrachet. 93 points. The aromas are softer and lighter than the ’05, with some slight green notes. Soft palate entry, with a creamy, chunky texture, without quite the complexity of the ’05. Still very rich, offering nice lemon notes coupled with some good minerality. Nice blossoming finish, which really opens up beautifully, and surprisingly considering the palate. Lovely puckering notes linger, but they are particularly graceful. Nice tartness. Really wonderful on the finish.

Lucky to be having more Amiot Monty!

Various cheeses. I always forget how great a pairing cheese and White Burgundy is.

Antipasta.

Caprese.

Panna.

Arugula salad.

2001 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle. Burghound 92. Riper red fruit nose and with excellent finesse and purity of expression as the intense, understated, precise and detailed flavors display outstanding length. I very much like this as it’s harmonious, subtle and dazzlingly pretty.

2010 Finca Allende Rioja Martires. 91 points. Holy oak, vanilla, alcohol batman. Served blind. Thought it was high octane california chardonnay. Yowsers. No me gusta.

From my cellar: 1997 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Romanée St. Vivant. 94 points. Drinking great. Very RSV, round and expressive. Hedonistic.

1997 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. VM 93. Deep red-ruby. Precise, floral aromas of red fruits, flowers and minerals; less superripe and perhaps more vineyard-specific than the Boudots. High-pitched, fine and light on its feet. Really impressively delineated and lively. Fruity but with firm underlying backbone. Firmly tannic, pure aftertaste.

1990 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux. Burghound 91. A beautiful and fully mature nose of dark berry fruit, spice and earth with just the initial hints of sous bois leads to round, rich, powerful and still moderately structured medium full flavors underpinned by still firm but softening tannins and excellent length. This is still quite well balanced and displays none of the “fruit/tannin” separation that so many ’90s do today and as such, the ’90 Ech should drink well over the next 20+ years.

agavin 96: a knock out and clear WOTN.

1986 Michel Bonnefond Ruchottes-Chambertin. 88 points. Short.

2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant. VM 95. The 2006 Romanée-St. Vivant is backed up by firm veins of mouthwatering salinity and acidity. The characteristic Romanée-St. Vivant perfumed bouquet is very much in evidence, while there is a sense of energy and pure drive that distinguishes it from the Échézeaux. The RSV can be drunk today, but knowing how these wines age, patience will be rewarded as 2006 still isn’t showing all of its cards.

2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux. Burghound 94. Exuberant and ripe spicy purple fruit also exhibits distinct floral and warm earth nuances that go on to suffuse the rich and finely detailed medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent underlying tension before terminating in a focused, intense and gorgeously long finish. This is pure silk and lace but the really impressive aspect of this wine is just how much depth it has. A sublime knockout, particularly by the usual standards of this wine.

2006 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 94. Despite being harvested first, this is clearly the ripest wine in the range where the wonderfully dense fruit is highlighted by a background touch of wood that continues onto the refined, pure and concentrated flavors that are supported by dense but fine tannins and flat out terrific length. This is a lovely wine in every respect and while not exactly understated, everything does seem to be in perfect proportion.