TNs: Mid-week Burgundy drinking

[Michael Malinoski]

It was a rare mid-week foray out for me and my wife as we met two other wine-loving couples for dinner at Troquet, with a very loose theme of red Burgundies. At dinner, we knew what wines each other had brought but we ended up deciding to drink them single blind just to see what happened.

2006 Domaine de L’Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de L’Arlot Blanc. Before we dove into the reds, we ordered this white from the list to get us started. It presents a pleasing nose of crushed gravel, wet chalk, green melon, pear, hazelnut and herbs. It’s sleek and spherical on the palate, with fine weight and solid flavors of pear, citrus, cantaloupe and apple supported by an underbelly of crunchy minerality. It turns a bit ticklish and more herb-tinged on the finish, which while a bit short on length is nonetheless quite enjoyable. I thought this was a really nice start to the evening.

1996 Dominique Laurent Pommard 1er Cru Les Épenots. This wine presents a truly beautiful bouquet, with tons of character and lovely layering to the haunting, ethereal aromas of suede and rawhide leather, dried red flowers, dried raspberries, sour cherries, jasmine tea, tree bark and occasional notes of tobacco leaf. In the mouth, the acidity offers good cut and precision running beneath the bright flavors of sour cherry, cranberry and high-toned raspberries. The dominant feature is the delicious red fruit core more so than any particularly earthy or savory element. It finishes with an airy, easy twang and excellent length. I think it can surely age a while, but offers very rewarding drinking right now.

2002 Domaine de la Pousse d’Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d’Or. This is pleasing on the nose, though certainly a bit more reticent than the previous wine—showing some interesting aromas of lilac flower, crayons, cherry, pomegranate, white pepper, mushrooms and toasted herbs. In the mouth, it has very nice roundness to the mouthfeel and a smooth but gripping texture showing excellent class. It features flavors of brown spices, toasted stems, sassafras, sweet cherry and raspberries, along with a hint of ashy smoke toward the end. It’s a very good wine that’s unravelling quite nicely right now but could probably benefit from a few more years in the cellar.

2007 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes. This is showing quite youthfully on the nose, with slightly linear but decidedly intriguing scents of smoked cherries, rhubarb pie, licorice rope, cranberries, black tea, cool stones and toasty barrel spices. In the mouth, it’s sleeker-weighted than the others, but also the most subtly tannic. It has excellent acidity, fine lift, fun spices and tight tangy red fruit in excellent combination with one another. Fresh and driven, clean and tasty, this has all the ingredients you’d want, but it needs a good long rest in the cellar, at least for my tastes.


-Michael