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Old Burgundy on review
ASPEN - There are many reasons to attend the Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, just as there are many reasons to partake of good wine and great food beyond the simple pleasures of enjoyment.
I won’t belabor the point that some people unfairly diss the Classic for its air of apparently unbridled consumption, an argument that falls apart when you realize how much control (both personal and legal) is manifest by the attendees and those running the Classic. And a general softening of the “It’s my money, I’ll spend it any way I like” was particularly noticeable this year after many Food & Wine Classic regulars were stung hard by the financial contretemps of one Bernie Madoff.
The latter point in some way might have played into my favor, something I realized after finding myself sitting in a seminar on vintage Burgundies from the house of Remoissenet Pere & Fils. In “normal times” (whatever those might be) these Reserve Tastings would be played to full houses but this year an opening unexpectedly appeared and I sat down as fast as possible.
The tasting was led by the knowledgeable and very low-key Bartholomew Broadbent, a man who’s credentials and lineage are as impeccable as that of Remoissenet itself. The tasting featured a fascinating vertical of Remoissenet’s Clos Vougeot (“reverent wines,” Broadbent described them), including a 1952 that came from Broadbent’s personal cellar.
Apparently Broadbent, with his Oxford diction and wind-swept shock of light brown hair, is a bit of a pack rat, or maybe cellar rat is more appropriate. He said he’s fond of burying newly purchased cases of wine under older purchases, an attempt to hide the new wines until they are ready to drink.
Unfortunately, what sometimes occurs is he loses track of some cases, as happened with the 1952 Clo Vougeot. “I had completely forgotten about it and found it when I moved,” he told the audience. “I might have found it too late.”
While still quite pleasant and drinkable, the wine was starting to show its age, wearing a bit more of the brickish color one sometimes expects from older Burgundies. Panelist Robert Simpson said the wine still showed “oriental spice and soy sauce” aromas while David Schofield admired the “layers of fleeting aromas” including a faint whiff of vanilla but said the wine finished “a bit short.”
Other wines in the Clos Vougeot tasting included a 1955 (very pale in color with hints of violets); 1957, from a generally poor vintage but this wine was terrific, with scent of roses and maple; 1959, at 40 years old a marvelous, no-tannin wine from what Simpson described as “one of the greatest vintages ever,”; 1964, earthy, dark cherry and plum nose, flavors of dried strawberries and plenty of tannin and acidity; and a 1969, a gorgeous wine at its peak from another great vintage.
We also sipped from a 1978, 1985, 1997 and a 2007 Clos Vougeot. It was a lifetime of education and experience crammed into 90 minutes by Broadbent and his panel, which also included Pierre-Antoine Rovani, the former “Wine Advocate” writer who now works for Remoissenet.
Rovani summed up the tasting when he said, “When learning about Burgundies, take everything you know about wines and throw it out.” Don’t be afraid, he implicity was saying, to start over with a clean slate. It reminded me of a recent writing by Italian Wine Guy Anthony Cevola on his blog, “On the Wine Trail in Italy.”
Cevola is one of the most-thoughtful and provoking (in a grand and fascinating way) bloggers writing about wine and life, and recently he wrote: “Just once, try and approach a wine you think you know really well and imagine you have lost your memory of it. Maybe that is the essence of blind tasting. But instead of trying to find markers, imagine this is the first time any wine has ever passed your lips. Learn to forget.”
You can read the entire blog here.
But the point is terribly valid whatever you’re tasting at the moment. I read somewhere that a good wine critic is one who can appreciate a well-made wine even if it’s not a wine the critic particularly likes. Leave the old prejudices (pro and con) at home, you might be surprised at what you find.
Comments
By Jill
July 8, 2009 1:22 PM | Link to this
Dave, do you think we’ll see lower retail prices for the better wines? Jill
Hi, Jill: I’d expect to see lower prices as demand sinks and supply grows but what might happen is wineries keep their premium lines at normal prices and instead introduce lower-priced lines of wines using the same grapes under new labels. Cheers. Dave..