Meeting No: 40

Date: July 16th, 2009.

Theme: Nuits St. Georges, Premier Cru; Meursault, Premier Cru.

Present: Sir Ian of Palatte, Sir Samuel of Pontifico, Sir Leon of Romanee, Sir Russell of Epicure, Sir Stephen of Grammar, Sir Peter of Heathcote, Sir Ralph of Plenty, Sir Thomas of Stocks, Sir Colin of Chambers, Sir Paul of Rousseau, Sir Philip of Politico.

Food:

First Course – Veloute of Langoustine & Le Puy lentils, pan-fried scampi tails.
Second Course – Toasted brioche mushroom ‘Charlotte’, wilted water spinach, truffle poached quail egg, shitake mushroom sauce.
Third Course – Slow-braised, herb-crusted lamb neck, celeriac puree, caramelised onions and carrots, lamb sauce with parsley pesto.
Fourth Course – Warm crepe roulade with ricotta & pistachio nougat, toasted hazelnut ice cream.

Wines:
(In addition to the group ranking, I give the highest and lowest ranking the wine achieved, together with those who ranked it as such; you get some idea of how much we can differ in our appreciation. I also give the total ranking points after the overall ranking)

NV Fourny Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne (PhS): Light yellow, green tinge. Fine, fresh nose. Palate a good mouthful, rich and dry. Very good aperitif. Not ranked;
1994 Yarra Yering Sparkling Blanc de Noir (RG): IC wine. Deepish yellow. Broad, fruity nose. Palate rich and broad, fairly short. Interesting curio but lacks finesse and elegance. Not ranked;
1. 2001 Meursault Santenots (d’Angerville) (CL): Deep yellow. Corked on nose but palate rich and long. Ranked 13th (141). High 12th (CL, SC); Low – 13th (everyone else);


2. 2001 Meursault Poruzots (Jobard) (CL): Medium-yellow. Very fine, developed nose. Palate quite rich, lots of acidity, could use a little more time. Ranked 5th (57). High – 1st (LC, RG); Low – 9th (PS);
3. 2001 Meursault Poruzots (Jobard) (SC): Medium-deep yellow. Fine developing nose. Palate full, rich and long, good acidity and aftertaste, youthful. Ranked 10th (86). High – eq 1st (SC); Low – 11th (SD); I scored this wine one quarter of a point better than wine 2 but that wine was 5th in my rankings.
4. 2005 Nuits St. Georges Aux Argillots (Martin Dufour) (IB): Fresh, young colour. Fresh nose, some finesse. Palate rich and young, very tannic, still open but lacks elegance. Ranked 11th (105). High – 6th (PS); Low – 11th (RC, PhS, PD);
5. 1980 Nuits St, Georges Les Vignes Rondes (Rion) (SC): Quite coloured. Nose good but understated. Palate soft and supple at front, fairly tannic on finish. Not bad. Ranked 7th (62). High – 3rd (CL, LC); Low – 10th (SC);
6. 2003 Nuits St. Georges Les Roncieres (Chevillon) (PhS): Red-purple. Fine, fresh nose. Palate rich and tarry, perhaps a little coarse, needs time. Ranked 6th (60). High – 1st (PS); Low – 9th (IB, SD, SC);
7. 1993 Nuits St. Georges Les Roncieres (Chevillon) (LC): Corked, but fine fruit on palate. High – 12th (all except SC who ranked it 13th);
8. 2004 Nuits St. Georges Les Bousselots (Chevillon) (PD): Trace colour. Nose fine and perfumed, although some saw a little herbaceousness. Palate medium weight, fairly open, attractive, tannic. Nice wine. Ranked 2nd (48). High – 2nd (TJ, RC, PD, SD); Low – 10th (LC);
9. 1998 Nuits St. Georges Aux Boudots (Conferon) (TJ): Trace colour. Nose subdued. Palate big and rich, long. Top wine but closed now. Will be splendid. Ranked 1st (42). High – 1st (TJ, IB, SD); Low – 8th (PD);
10. 2003 Nuits St. Georges Les Chaignots (Chevillon) (PS): Very deep. Nose fine, restrained, understated. Big-scaled palate, trace cinnamon. Some saw a faintly corked character. Ranked 9th (81). High – eq 1st (SC); Low – 11th (RG);
11. 2004 Nuits St. Georges Les Chaignots (Chevillon) (PS): Some colour, medium-deep. Nose fine and understated, attractive. Palate fine as well, less weight than previous, fairly closed now, needs time. Ranked 3rd (50). High – 1st (RC, PD, RC); Low – 11th (IB);
12. 2000 Nuits St. Georges Aux Boudots (Tardy) (RC): Some colour. Nose restrained, trace cinnamon. Palate supple at front, tannic on finish, needs time. Ranked 8th (68). High – 2nd (PhS); Low – 11th (SC);
13. 1995 Nuits St. Georges Les Porots (Dominique Laurent) (RG): Some colour. Nose fine, cinnamon again. Palate soft, supple, fine, tannic on finish. Very good wine, needs time. Ranked 4th (54). High – 1st (CL, SC); Low – 11th (PS);
1980 Ch Climens (SD): Orange. Nose a bit dumb, marmalade. Palate very rich, lovely fruit-acid balance, good aftertaste. Excellent wine, drinking at its peak. Not ranked;
1982 Croft Vintage Port (SD): Pale tawny, hint of red. Nose fine but slight. Palate fine and long, good aftertaste. Light wine but drinking well.