Yesterday night tasting, at restaurant Stéphane Derbord, in Dijon. We focused on Côte de Nuits GC, in 2002. All opened in the afternoon and tasted blindly. These comments are my own opinion as a young wine amateur and Burgundy lover.
2002 – Echezeaux – Gerard Mugneret
First wine of the evening, everybody was impressed by the nose. Very expressive and fully open! In mouth it is excellent, powerful and the alcohol kept it fresh and very long. Very well balanced, soft and silky. 18/20
2002 – Clos Vougeot – Château de la Tour
Nose is shier than the previous, but after few rounds in the glass, it gives us several elegant and sensual aromas. There is a small hint of acetate, but nothing obvious, or disturbing. The mouth is more rustic and hot than the Echezeaux. The attack is tight, vegetal and tannic; the length is beautiful and very classy! This wine is more evolved than the previous and has a wonderful final on menthol aromas. 17/20
2002 – Grand Echezeaux – Philippe Engel
The colour of this wine is more tawny, with a little bit of deposit. The nose is fully developed and a bit evolve. No aggressive alcohol and very precise aromas. In mouth the wine has a nice tension, the length is pleasant but a bit monotone. This is a gourmet wine, but under the level of the two before. 16/20
2002 – Clos des Ruchottes – Domaine Armand Rousseau
The nose is dry, smokey and hot, with a very nice concentration. The attack is shy, but the wine developed a nice volume with times. Very nice fruits, aromas of coffee and chocolate. 15/20
2002 – Bonnes Mares – Domaine G Roumier
The colour of this wine was deeper and darker than all the others. The nose begin with a hint of vanilla, evolving on roasted aromas. Very complex, deep and concentrated. Most beautiful nose of the night. The attack is powerful, tannic and chocolate-flavoured. This wine gives a lot on the attack, but it falls back quickly. The acidity came back on the final, with a bit of bitterness; my neighbour qualified it as “cherry-stone”. This wine was very good, and has a high potential. This lack of roundness and length makes me think that a couple more years would makes the job! 17,5/20
2002 – Clos-Saint-Denis – Domaine Bertagna
The nose of this wine was powerful, smell like when you open the powdered chocolate to prepare your breakfast (We all have our standards!). The mouth is amazing, classy, and very elegant. It has leather textured. The length is crescendo, fruits aromas are developing for so long..! Most beautiful length and final of the night. 19/20
2002 – Clos de Tart
Colour is very concentrated. The nose is evolved and smell cassis… The attack is very tannic; Dry and woody tannins. Feels like the wood is not assimilate at all. Final is hot, totally on the alcohol. No one recognized the standards of Clos de Tart and concluded that the bottle might have a fault. We tasted La Forge on the same vintage later in the dinner; it confirms our thoughts for the fault of the bottle. 14/20
2002 – Musigny – Jacques Frédéric Mugnier
The nose of this one was surprising: sweet, menthol, spice and dough of quince aromas. Once in mouth, it doesn’t match the feeling I had with the nose. It is light, very light (too light?) very elegant but so light. After the revealing, I went back on my previous tasting notes. Frédéric Mugnier brings the exact same bottle last month for the Saint-Vincent in Chambolle-Musigny. Back at this date, the wine was amazingly dense, pleasant and smooth with very elegant aromas. Bottle variation…! 16,5/20
2002 – Clos de la Roche – Hubert Lignier
The nose of the last wine was powerful, with very pleasant roasted aromas! The attack was focused on dry tannins, but it turned directly on some very yummy fruits with a hint of spices to keep it for a very long time in the mouth. Very impressive wine. 18,5/20
Dinner came with an amazing La Forest 1er Cru Chablis 2002 from Dauvissat, dense and yummy! Followed by a Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Perrières 2002 from Albert Grivaut, very nice minerality but the acidity was very (too?) evident after the Dauvissat. We continued with a Morey-St-Denis Vieilles Vignes 2002 from Hubert Lignier again, on the same frame than the Clos de la Roche : powerfull and pleasant. Unfortunately the Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulées from Meo-Camuzet was faulty… And that was all for the Burgundy !
Antoine Amiot
