Degustation Dinner

No rest for the weary; Saturday night proved out that statement. Dinner at home chez nous with friends who are as obsessive about wines, and particularly Burgundies, as we are. Even better, they own a restaurant and on Saturday night arrived with the main course and dessert as well as several wines.

Our appertif was a 1999 Meursault from François Mikulski, who despite his un-Burgundian name descends from a long line of vintners in the region. While '99 is a year we appreciate in white Burgundies, Mikulski's Meursaults are not high on our list. One of the strongest characteristics of Meursaults, and one we most appreciate, is its, well, strong character, and we find that Mikulski seems to vinify that character away. Imagine loving a certain type of smoked fish particularly for the flavor of its smokiness and suddenly being served the same fish but without its distinctive flavor. It is okay, even fine, but it is not what you appreciate most from that dish. It is the same for us with Mikulski's Meursaults; they are lovely, floral, expressing some minerality, but we rather have another domain's wine from that wonderful appellation.

The first course was served with a Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Domaine Pierre Marey et Fils from 1999. With the potential to be enormous and powerful, such a white wine could have been overkill with a starter. Devoted readers will remember that we like our Grand Crus aged more than ten years and that includes the whites. On this night, our starter was a melon soup with a mousse of smoked ham, and the acidity and minerality that the relative youth of this wine expressed was a nice counterpoint to the salty sweetness of the soup. At the same time, the Charlemagne expressed it usual floral qualities, sharper and greener than with a bit of age, and in the mouth there was more minerality than the buttered toast we revere in this extraordinary Chardonnay.

Dinner continued with chicken breasts in a very spicy marinade and a risotto served with a Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, Les Lavrottes 2005, Domaine Felettig. Now, since you all read yesterday's column, you know how much we adore the Felettigs - such excellent wine makers and in good years, explosive. Although this Premier Cru was young, its youth balanced extremely well with the spice of the chicken. The color was a deep purple, and the nose was filled with ripe fruits. In the mouth, however, the wine showed its true potential. In tandem with the fresh fruit and acidity of young Pinot Noir and a minerality typical of this parcelle (Les Lavrottes, the 1er Cru vineyard), there was a long and lingering expression of what the French call matière, or matter. A vague term, nicer than "something to chew on" but descriptive of a wine's potential for improvement with age and development of increased complexity with time.

We would have to say that the Chambolle was superb with extraordinary potential, even up to seven years in a proper cellar; however, while 2005 was an excellent year in Burgundy, the reds are significantly more drinkable young than the whites. We believe that the white wines from 2005 will ultimately prove to be finer and more capable of reaching significant maturity. One reason for our belief is that these whites have entered into that odd period in Burgundies when bottled, they have 'gone to sleep' making them unexpressive and oddly uninteresting. With time, they will 'awaken' and be some of the most exciting white wines of our lives!

In our next post, we'll regale you with the closing bottle from dinner.
Drink deeply!