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+--- Thread: Mommessin tasting--Tasters' Guild of NYC (/thread-7241.html)
- wondersofwine - 03-13-2003
Attended this event March 10th at the Hotel Shelburne. It was well organized with handouts giving quite a bit of information about the wines being sampled and the history of Mommessin. A French representative of Marie Brizard, Wine and Spirits, the importer, talked about the wines and answered questions. We had small bits of bread and cubes of cheese and water to clear the palate. Costs are approximate retail prices for a bottle.
Four whites:
1. 2001 Macon Villages Old Vines $7.99
Apple on the nose. Apple and lemon in the flavors. Very refreshing--not too acidic.
13% alcohol. Winery notes say juicy apple, pear and hazelnut flavors. Ideal with shellfish, fish, or as an aperitif.
2. 2000 Pouilly Fuisse Chateau Pouilly Reserve
13% alcohol $19.99 (good QPR)
Two-thirds of the vines are over 40 years old; vinified part in stainless steel vats and part in oak barrels. Wine then aged in barrels 8-12 months. The reserve is made with a selection of grapes from old vines and is aged in new barrels.
This was my favorite white of the evening. It garnered only 8 votes as opposed to the Meursault with over 20 votes, but one of them was from the Frenchman who works for the import company.
Nose of light butterscotch and taste of butterscotch and almonds or hazelnut. Oak imparts flavor without overwhelming. Quite elegant. (Interesting footnote: Chateau Pouilly, XV century building, has a spiral staircase built backwards so that the owners could combat their adversaries with their swords in their right hands.)
3. 1999 Meursault 13% alcohol $32.99
6 months in oak medium straw color
Won the general vote as favorite white.
I thought it had a pungent, not-characteristic odor than didn't match the taste. Some glycerol texture in the mouth, coating the mouth and palate. A long finish.
4. 2000 Puligny Montrachet 13% alcohol $45.00
Barrel fermented, then malolactic, aged in oak casks for 8 months; should be long-lived.
Pale straw color. Nose of vanilla and almond paste. Taste: slight butteriness, some noticeable oak. Lighter in mouth than the Meursault but a long finish.
Reds:
5. 2001 Beaujolais Villages Old Vines $7.99
12% alcohol (great QPR)
This was a crowd pleaser. Color was a medium brick red and wine was translucent.
Nose and taste both dominated by raspberries. Comes across as a rather dry wine despite the fruit. Suggestive of framboise.
6. 1999 Moulin a Vent du Domaine de Champ de Cour Reserve $15.00 (good QPR) 13% alcohol
Pale brickred color and translucent. Taste less one-dimensional than the Beaujolais Village. More complexity but not as complex as some M-a-V I've had. Nose of crushed violets and red fruits. Seemed to be popular with the audience. Grapes are from a single vineyard and are not mashed. Vines are over 40 years old. The wine is oak-aged in 2-year-old Clos de Tart barrels, so may have a slight presence of Pinot Noir as well as the Gamay juice. In oak barrels for nine months.
7. Stepping outside Burgundy--a 1999 Gigondas from the Rhone Valley. $16.00
13% alcohol Color is dark brickred (my description) or deep ruby (winery notes). Still translucent but less so than the Beaujolais. Nose of berries and plums; taste of plum and light pepper. (Winery note: concentrated plum and spice flavors;
balances power of Grenache and flagrancy [do they mean fragrancy] of Syrah. "Subtle, yet complex.")
I've made a preliminary judgment that I'm not very fond of Grenache grapes but they seem all right in this wine. Wonder what the proportions are of grenache to syrah.
8. 2000 Pommard $37.00 13% alcohol
Color: pale ruby, very translucent
Nose of red berries, cranberry? Taste: one dimensional, mainly cherries, lacks complexity. Pleasant drinking nonetheless.
Winery note says tastes of raspberry, blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors with good tannins and great length on the palate. The wine receives 20-25% new barrels each year.
9. 2000 Gevrey Chambertin $37.00 13% alcohol (Some glasses were repoured because of a bad bottle, but mine was from a good bottle.
Color was darker than the Pommard but still very translucent. Taste of juicy cherries.
Sylvain Pitiot, winemaker of Clos de Tart, also makes this wine which is 90% barrel aged for 14 months.
10. 2000 Aloxe Corton $47.0 13% alcohol
Pitiot is the winemaker here also. One of my two favorite reds of the night. Color was darker than previous wines but lighter than the Echezaux or Clos de Tart grand cru wines to come. It was smooth drinking despite its young age. Cold maceration for extraction. Sees 18 months barrel aging in 75% new barrels. I agree with the winery notes on this one: "A distinctive, open bouquet of the Burgundian terroir. An elegant yet firm pinot noir with concentrated raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors, good tannins and length on the palate."
11. 2000 Echezaux, Grand Cru Burgundy $90.00 13% alcohol
This came in second to the other grand cru,
Clos de Tart, in the general vote, but I felt the Aloxe Corton was better than the Echezaux, at least at this stage of development.
Cold maceration for extraction. 18 months barrel aging in 100% new barrels. Dark red color. Wood not dominant in the taste. I didn't get down specifics of nose or taste because I was preoccupied in snaring another glass of the Aloxe Corton (#10 wine) from one of the two empty spots at our table. I had already drained my #10 and wanted some to compare to the final #12 wine. Winery notes say concentrated cherry and spice flavors, full-bodied, luscious tannins, long, elegant finish.
12. 1999 Clos de Tart--Grand Cru Morey St. Denis $140-150 13.5% alcohol'
This Grand Cru has been under the ownership of the Mommessin family since 1932. The vineyard is surrounded by a dry stone wall, within which the 12th century farmhouse, cellars and vats are also enclosed. It was once owned by the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Tart le Haut in 1184. It is called a "monopole" or monopoly because only one owner has property in this grand cru vineyard--very unusual for Burgundy. No fertilizers, all organic composting. Grapes are hand picked. Aged for 18 months in new French oak (100% Allier). The wine is not fined or filtered. Wine can be kept 5 to 15 years or drunk now. Match with red meat, cheese or wild game.
This was my favorite red of the evening with the Aloxe Corton second. It was the general favorite with Echezaux coming in second.
The Clos de Tart and Aloxe Corton were the darkest reds. Nose: raspberry and black currant. Taste follows the nose with a mix of red and black fruits. Winery notes: A nose of great finesse, and aromas of red fruits: strawberry, raspberry and black currant. Extremely polished and rich with a taste of impressive spicy, berry character and tons of ultra-fine tannins. Wine Spectator spoke of bright berry, crushed black pepper and smoke characteristics, while Wine Advocate by Robert Parker says rich aromas of deeply ripe dark fruits that give way to a broad, full-bodied, silky-textured and concentrated wine. Remington Norman from "The Great Dopmaines of Burgundy" says "The wines are powerful, but supremely elegant." (Not all above references may be to this particular vintage).
WS rated the 1999 Clos de Tart 94-95 points and the 2000 96 points.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 03-13-2003).]
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 03-13-2003).]
- Innkeeper - 03-13-2003
Making me thirsty WOW!!!
- wondersofwine - 03-13-2003
I'm making myself thirsty with the memories!
- ShortWiner - 03-14-2003
Sounds like fun, WOW! What was the cost for this tasting?
- wondersofwine - 03-14-2003
$65 for members; $75 for non-members.