2002 Meursault “Les Grands Charrons” Michel Bouzereau vs. 1985 1er cru “Clos des Bouches Chères” Labouré-Roi : the beauty of age …

We discovered this winery a couple of years ago by “accident” and I am happy that we did because back then they vinified a real classic burgundy, mineral Chardonnay for a reasonable price. I said “back then” because today, just a few years later, they are very popular and they are still offering a very good Chardonnay but of course also their prices are staying now “abreast of changes”. During our first visit we talked a lot with the senior partner of this winery and he let us try all the bottled and even the new wines directly from of the barrels. Furthermore he spoke very honest and openly about his wines, about problems and the difference between the actual vintages. So he recommended us for example to consume the 2003 vintage before 2002 (in 2005 a lot of people still considered the 2003 vintage to be a “big” one …) because of a lack of aging potential due to the hot summer. I am always highly appreciating this kind of honesty and directness in front of a client you see for the first time because it shows, that this person knows about what he/she is talking and doesn’t want to fool you as a client. And it turned out that he has been absolutely right. By pouring the wine in our glasses it showed a typical strong, crystal clear, straw yellow color but the nose was overlayed by a strong, yeasty odor – a little bit stinky. After a little bit more than 1,5 hours in a carafe this little stinker has disappeared and a nice “Chardonnay” smell was able to enter the stage. Scents of ripe quinces, lemons and toffee together with some fresh baked vanilla biscuits and a hint of fresh basil formed an intensive but not overdone bouquet which appeared still very young. In the mouth again with a decent (but positive) influence of the yeast, hints of barrel (wood), vanilla beans, cinnamon and baked apples all this underlined and sustained by a very straight, mineral acidity and a fine tannin structure. Midlenght finish. All in all a very elegant, young and crisp Chardonnay wine which is still a little bit too dominated by its barrel flavors Today you can find wines of this style also from other countries and for less money (comparing to the actual prices). But burgundy is supposed to develop a certain beauty with age. Therefor time will show, how it will develop and if this justifies those fancy prices.

Talking about older wines … From this fellow, we have had 3 bottles in the beginning and 2 out of them have been … well, let’s forget about it ! So today it has been the last chance for this wine to belie the high expectations this big name implicates. The filling level has been very good, the cork completely soaked and the wine … genius ! A strong, clean golden-yellow color with an amazing “old-school” white burgundy perfume (right from the start) really gave us the “low-down”. A looot of roasted hazelnuts, a looot of brown, melted butter, very ripe apples, yellow pumpkin and vanilla sugar with some citrus (oranges, mandarins) – crazy, outstanding, at the peak, simply yummy ! Another wine you should bottle in some vials to carry them with you through the day and to get from time to time a whiff of that legal drug. At the palate buttery but still with a decent acidity and a soft traces of petrol. But the main aromas have been again roasted hazelnuts and baked apples combined with a fresh, ethereal note of a sage bonbon in the long aftertaste. We drank this wine over three hours and not even after this time it showed any signs of age or oxidation. It has been simply a very, very good Chardonnay and absolutely worth the money. But it should be consumed now because I cannot see, what exactly may become better on such a piece of wine. As big as the pleasure has been I remained also a little bit angry and disappointed because I felt deceived from the first two bottles of this wine which have been both “extinguished” by bad corks. One time I would like to try such a wine, aged under a screw cap …