WBW #39: Sliver Burgundy

It is great to have Neil, aka the Brooklynguy, to host the 39th installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday originally started by Lenn. Neil is passionate about French wines and his favorite regions are Burgundy, Lorie and Champagne. The theme he proposed this time is ‘Silver-Burgundy’ where participants have to seek out wines from outside of the infamous Côte d'Or region. In fact, he only allows wine produced from the regions of Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais to be discussed.

I am still climbing the steep and expansive learning curve of understanding wines from Burgundy, partly because of the unfavorable US/Euro exchange rate and partly due to the highly touted 2005 vintage where prices are unrealistic. Furthermore, wine prices from the lesser vintages such as the 2003 and 2004 have been inflated by at least 10 to 25% recently. In spite of these conditions, I found 2 lovely and affordable Burgundies to be shared in this WBW. Both of these wines are imported by VOS Selections.

2003 DomaineChofflet-Valdenaire, Givry, Chalonnaise
2005 Domaine Thomas Tradition, Saint-Véran, Mâconnais

2003 Chofflet-Valdenaire, Givry
ABV: 13%, Price: $22

Background information:
The Chofflet-Valdenaire estate, located in the hillside hamlet of Russily, has been in their family for over 100 years. Today, Jean Chofflet’s son-in-law Denis Valdenaire runs the 11-hectare domaine. Theestate’s Givry AOC comes from several vineyard parcels. The grapes are entirely hand-harvested and 100% destemmed. It is aged half in tank, half in two to three year casks for one year before bottling. They also produce two single vineyard cuvee being produced, Givry 1er Cru Clos de Choue and Givry 1er Cru Clos Jus.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Clear medium ruby. Tight rims.
Nose: Notes of ripe cherry. Initial funk, which my wife describes as rotten lettuce, that blows off after a while in the glass.
Palate: Juicy sour cherries giving way to notes of sage and earth.Slightly dusty tannins and lively acidity support the very balanced mouth feel. The fruit flavor is fairly focused.
Body: Light to medium.
Finish: Medium length with notes of cherry, dried herb, earth and black pepper.

2005 Domaine Thomas Tradition, Saint-Véran ABV: 13%, Price: $18

Background information:
Domaine Thomas was created in 1934 and now extends over 12 hectares on southwest facing slopes. They have been estate bottling the majority of the wine production since 1987, specializing in St-Veran. Lucien Thomas, owner and winemaker, produces his St-Veran from old-vines planted around a remarkable, single-block, south-southwest facing amphitheater vineyard. The St-Veran is made from 40-50 year old vines. Domaine Thomas also produces a St-Veran Vieilles Vignes made from a block of vines that are 70 years old. Neither of these 2 wines is treated with oak in order to preserve the terrior and the fullest expression of fruit.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light golden.
Nose: Expressive aroma of pear and lemon. Notes of stones.
Palate: Fairly concentrated. Ripe pear and lemon zest flavors supported by lively acidity and undertone of minerals.
Body: Medium.
Finish: Slight peppery and bitter notes that support a long citrus flavor. The finish is very clean.

Comments:
While not particularly complex, both of these wines are very food friendly. They are straightforward wines for simple and homey dishes. The Chofflet-Valdenaire pairs very well with an earthy but light Cantonese dish of Steamed Chicken with tiger lily and fungus. On the other hand, the Domaine Thomas, being a unoaked Chardonnay, is a good match for the steamed black sea bass we prepared.


For folks who would like to know the recipe of Steamed Chicken with tiger lily and fungus, the recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:
Half a dressed chicken (about 1.5 lbs)
4 Chinese dried mushrooms
1/2 oz. Dried tiger lily [honey suckle flower]
1oz. Cloud ear fungus
4 Red dates
1 Tbsp chopped ginger
1 Tbsp Chopped garlic
2 twigs of Cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Seasonings:
1 Tbsp Light soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp Dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp Ginger wine [We use the Domaine Thomas instead]
1 1/2 tsp Cornstarch
A dash of Sesame oil

Sauces:
1 cup of Water
1/2 Tbsp Light soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tsp Sugar
A dash of Sesame oil

Note: All the ingredients above are readily available in any Chinese grocery stores.

Preparation:
Chop chicken into pieces. Season and marinate for 1/2 to 1 hour. Soak and rinse mushrooms, tiger lily, fungus and dates. Quarter the dates and discard the pits if present. Tie each tiger lily with an overhand knot. Cut mushrooms into thin slices.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil, sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. Stir-fry chicken until 60% done, add remaining ingredients and sauce. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until done. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

A wine tasting event with Jean-Philippe Marchand

Jean-Philippe Marchand from Doamine Marchand Frères was on hand last weekend at Astor to showcase three of their 2005 Burgundies.

The estate of Doamine Marchand Frères was founded in Morey-Saint-Denis in 1813. In 1983, the Marchand family also purchased a wine grower’s house in the heart of Gevrey-Chambertin which currently serves as a wine shop. Today, the Marchand properties include vineyards located in the villages of Charnbolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin.

Their wine portfolio includes 1er Crus such as Les Sentiers at Chambolle, le Clos des Ormes at Morey, les Combottes at Gevrey as well as Grand Crus including Clos de la Roche at Morey, Griottes Chambertin and Charmes Chambertin at Gevrey. The average age of the vines for all Cru level wines are 40-50 years old except the vines for Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru which are over the age of 60 years.

Besides producing wine under the family label of Doamine Marchand Frères using estate grapes, Jean-Philippe Marchand is a négociant making wine under his own name, using purchased grapes from other growers in the region.

Tasting notes:

2005 Maison Jean-Philippe Marchand Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Chardonnay
Price: $21

Color: Light bright gold.
Nose: Closed initially. With air, it eventually shows lemon peel and mineral notes
Palate: Lemon, green apple and honey notes, fairly crispy and balanced.
Body: Medium and smooth.
Finish: Medium but very focused notes of citrus flavor.

2005 Maison Jean-Philippe Marchand Cevrey-Chambertin "Clos Prieur”
Price: $35

Color: Light ruby.
Nose: Red fruits, brown sugar and smoke.
Palate: Very tight but balanced. Sour cherry dominates the flavor with underlayer notes of earth. Structure is firm. Fairly focused.
Body: Medium.
Finish: Medium-long but very clean. Tannins still grainy at this point.

2005 Doamine Marchand Frères Morey-St.-Denis 1er Cru “Clos des Ormes”
Price: $62

Color: Dark ruby.
Nose: Sweat oak, baking spice, coffee and wet earth overshadow the black fruit. Light aroma of rose pedal.
Palate: Extremely tight but still exhibits great balance. Dark cherry layered with herbs, oak and spices supported by velvety tannins. Good acidity and concentrated fruit.
Body: Full.
Finish: Very long. Most notes of cherry and spice (cinnamon?)

Comments:
These 3 wines demonstrate the great quality of 2005 Burgundies in general. represents quality better than the average wines of their respective wine-class. Again, these wines

The Chardonnay is straightforward, crisp and pleasant. But for $21, it does not represent a great QPR wine. There are a lot of 2005 Bourgogne Blanc out there with similar price point.

The Clos Prieur is a great food wine. Balanced, structured and very focused. For $35, it is a good value compare to other basic Cevrey-Chambertin wines. Too bad at the tasting there is no opportunity to compare this one with the estate wine, Domaine Marchand Frères Gevrey-Chambertin “En Songe”, to see which one is better.

Clearly the Clos des Ormes is a big wine. It has great cellar potential. Although drinking well now with proper decanting, I bet in 10 years this will be a great drink after it sheds the baby fat. However, it is not cheap for $62 per pop.