TN: Domaine Jacky Truchot Morey-St-Denis 2005

[Chasse-Spleen]

Domaine Jacky Truchot Morey-St-Denis 2005 and Maison Champy Macon-Uchizy 2009

I had been holding this wine and could resist no more. It was a great occasion to try a solid red Burg. My girlfriend Maria and I went to Taureau, the fondue place that is owned by the La Sirene folks. It has been moved from its old East 7th street location to the former space of Ivo & Lulu, which is right next to La Sirene of Western Broome St. BYOB of course. On this night there was a prix fix, a cheese fondue followed by a meat fondue followed by a chocolate fondue. The cheese was a swiss with the owners special recipe from his place in Paris, which included garlic and nutmeg plus something else maybe. Either way we were very happy with that choice. The pork and hanger steak we ordered were accompanied by a variety of dipping sauces. We cooked the meat in hot oil right at the table. It's a really cool set-up for wine tasting, because you get to try all these different flavors with your wines. There were Gorganzola, Dijon mustard-based (mild), garlic-mayo, and two others.

Truchot's Morey-St-Denis 05 was terrific. This was the last vintage that he made before selling his estate. Dark, almost opaque purple, a dark core. Earth on the nose with sweet berries. More berries, earth and some iron ore on the palate, which is medium bodied, in Burg terms. Nice acidity and balance. Tannins basically resolved but I can still feel a subtle zing when I think of the wine. A bit closed at first but opened up nicely. Long finish. Beguiling, to say the least, it reminded me of a 1990 Vougeot that I once tried, nowhere near as ethereal, intense or refined, but with that special something you come across only once in awhile, that hovers in your mind, as you contemplate the wine with a silly grin on your face. Strawberries emerge and you get that beautiful pinot flavor. When Maria first tried it she said, "That's pinot noir!" A major breakthrough...

The Macon-Uchizy 09 was very soft with the acidity and some oak that had been there a few months ago more or less resolved. Medium bodied with velvety texture. Very pleasant to drink. Some white fruits, peaches, apricots, and minerals and a good finish. Great counterpoint to the Morey-St-Denis and really good with the cheese fondue.

Chasse

[jmccready]

Burgundy seems to buffalo a lot of collectors when it comes to cellaring. An old British bordeaux man told me years
ago in Atlanta that "there has never been a bordeaux made that can stand up to a great burgundy". But it takes too much
"work"apparently to find the scant amount that is available to buy and cellar. But I am still stunned at how little burgs are
cellared by those contributing to this site. It should sit beside bordeaux in most great cellars as the two classic reds in
all of wine. The hit and miss aspect of burgs do make clarets a safer bet. To me 50% claret, 25% burgundy, and the rest
mixed is my ideal percentage. But to each his own. And if you have 100% bordeaux you will not suffer a bit. Good notes Chasse. JM

[stefan]

Many BWEers have a lot of Burgundy, JM. About 24% of my cellar is Burgundy.

[JonB]

Chasse - who did he sell his estate to, Chasse? Was it David Duband? I've read a few of the reviews of his wines, but he hasn't seemed to capture the magic of Trochot.

[Chasse-Spleen]

Thanks, JM. Jon, I'm not sure but it's possible. David Duband works with this negociant/money guy Francois Feuillet who has a large domaine, Domaine Francois Feuillet. I used to sell their wines when I was a sales rep. I could never get to the bottom of the Jacky Truchot question, but I think it's possible that Francois Feuillet bought some of Truchot's plots. If you find anything out further, let me know. BTW, the wines of Francois Feuillet are very good.

[Chasse-Spleen]

Yes, it seems Domaine Francois Feuillet has the Truchot vines, but how they are deployed, blended, distributed, etc. is a mystery to me. A nice description of the story is here:

http://www.burgschnauzer.com/domaine-tr ... artin.html

[JonB]

Chasse - thanks....that's an interesting link.

Burghound says "David Duband, who now exploits, among other vines, the former estate of Jacky Truchot...."

Then "note that the wines are also distributed under the Francois Feuillet label. M.Feuillet is an investor in many of the vineyards of Domaine Duband and, by contract, a portion of the production is due him in bottles. This circumstance causes a situation where there is, in some places, dual distribution of what are, except for the label, exactly the same wines."

[Chasse-Spleen]

My question is, if Duband has been making wines for Dom. Feuillet since '91, then which wines are Truchot and which are Feuillet, etc. It seems that the Truchot wines were made in a very traditional style and that it's unlikely those processes would be retained. A lot of these Burgundy folks don't give out a ton of information.

[DavidG]

Truchot is supposed to be a traditionalist, yes? So this other person (Duband? Feuillet?) is bottling the same wines under a different name? Or are they getting the grapes or the unfinished wine and completing the vinification or elevage? Or is thus other person going to influence the traditional Truchot style?

Another reason I am happy to leave Bugundy to the masochistic self-flagellationists among us. Understanding styles is like trying to understand an episode of "Lost" somewhere in the middle of the third season. That, and the thin, under-ripe, under-fruited, over-acidicU wines themselves. Not that I don't care for them...