Category Archives: Cote de Beaune

2011 Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Narbantons

We enjoyed this bottle of Burgundy with a Dutch dish called “Parelhorn met Dragon-Dille Boter” otherwise known as guinea fowl with tarragon and dill butter. The guinea fowl is flavorful and light…I like to think of it as slightly gamier chicken…this is how all chicken should taste. The wine is a premier cru Burgundy from the Cote d’Beaune in the Cote d’Or. With the price of well known Burgundy producers/regions in outer space Savigny and Santenay are great areas to explore on weeknights or with low key meals with solid bottles available around $20-$30. For something more sophisticated with a weekend meal or having guests but still on a budget I’d recommend jumping to something a bit nicer around $40-50. Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin, Chassange-Montrachet, Nuits-Saint-Georges, or Meursault are all good choices.

colonelgrape: 84. We had this on a weekend with a big meal but I’d consider it more of a weekday drinker. On the nose there was red/black cherry, fresh earth, and a hint of citrus…young smelling. As the night went on the nose improved. Similar on the palate but I enjoyed the nose more than the taste. Even though most young Burgs tend to be a little tart at the end the finish here was on the tart side. Overall it was a somewhat simple but good value at $25…I’d drink it again.

MobyGrape: 81. There’s just something about pinot that I’m not so keen on, and I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Oh wait, yes I can. It’s the incredible tartness that comes along with young pinot, or pinot that isn’t mad expensive. I want to like it so badly, because it works perfectly with lighter meats until you get to that puckery finish and then it’s just ruined. Ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic. It’s not ruined, this was a perfectly fine bottle of wine, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Fall NJ Trip

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Moby and I took a half day Friday to take a trip down to visit Aunt, Uncle, and Cousingrape last weekend. We ate great food and drank fantastic wine making a perfect weekend. We also stopped by wine library and stocked up on Champagne and Cotes du Rhone. Here’s the wine lineup along with a few blurry pictures in here and some wonderful hand modeling by Auntgrape and Mobygrape:

2007 Domaine Bruno Clain Corton-Charlemagne

NV Albert Boxler Cremant

2010 Domaine Blain Gagnard Chassange-Montrachet

1988 Chapoutier Cote Rotie

1990 Campo Delle Piane Boca

1989 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron

1990 Chateau Leoville Barton

For me the wine of the night was hands down the 1989 Pichon. With the wine market the way it is Moby and I do not have the luxury of drinking mature Bordeaux regularly but thanks to Unclegrape it’s a special treat every so often. The tannis had melted away leaving structured and delicious fruit. From nose to finish you get a complete wine experience, just outstanding. I’ve developed a taste for younger Bordeaux but honestly it’s not even close…if you have the will power age your Bordeaux. Be patient, it’s worth it. Moby really enjoyed the Cremant as well. Light, refreshing, not as big as a Champagne it’s a great aperitif. We’ll definitely be having more Cremant in the future.

You may have noticed the oddball Nebbiolo in our otherwise French theme. I found this bottle at Vin Bin recently and brought it along. We enjoyed it quite a bit and will be purchasing a few more bottles. It wasn’t a fair fight vs. the 89 Pichon however a delicious mature Nebbiolo at $65 is a steal.

Plate of the Trip:

Foie Gras from Le Rendez-Vous Bistro. Wow. Perfectly cooked, creamy, melt in your mouth liver with a balsamic reduction and carmelized apple. There’s a strong possibility this was the best plate I’ve had all year.

Purchase of the Trip:

Completely unnecessary yet completely necessary at the same time. Aunt and Unclegrape have two parrots so this was the perfect purchase. Does it work? Who cares…It’s a Corkatoo and it’s hilarious.

2009 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Anniversary Edition

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Back to Burgundy for another Pinot Noir example. You’ll have to excuse the photo, I forgot to take a picture of the bottle before it made it’s way to the recycling center. This bottle is a special anniversary edition of Louis-Jadot’s Beaune premier cru wine celebrating 150 years of wine making. We enjoyed this wine with glazed chicken thighs roasted with green beans and rice. I think chicken thighs are an under-used cut of chicken…especially if you like dark meat. They are cheap, easy to work with, and delicious.

colonelgrape: 94. This wine was a clear garnet-red in the glass, very pretty looking. On the nose there was raspberry, strawberry, hints of acid (yes, you can smell acid). On the palate the smells were affirmed with flavors of tart, young red berries with hints of earth…and a healthy dose of acid. The finish was long and pleasant. This was a very tight pinot noir and one worthy of aging, in fact I’d love to buy a few more bottles and try them in 3-5 years. It really goes well with lighter fair like chicken and pork with vegetables.

MobyGrape: 89. Smelled like, wait for it…wait for it…red wine. Maybe a little bit like dirt. Tasted a little dry, a little acidic, I’d call it crisp. I distinctly remember another pinot noir tasting like grapefruit, and this one might have a similar tangy citrusy kick to it but it’s not overwhelming. Overall, this wine went well with a lighter meat meal (chicken, pork chops), or would do well on its own, but don’t expect a velvety hug from this one. If you’re coming home after a bad day at work this wine’s going to slap you and tell you to snap out of it, quit your bitching and get on with it. It won’t sympathize, but after you stop crying and realize it was right, it will certainly be delicious.

2005 Pere & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chenes

Grapestorm

The snob and the everyman write about wine