One last reply to myself. I've included below the most recent invitation of the tasting group I used to regularly attend when I lived in the Bay Area. It's a private group run by a computer geek who started doing this for fun probably 40 years ago, and still runs them. If I were still in the Bay Area I'd probably be going to this one (I'm a sucker for white burgundies) and the Spanish Reds.
-- Charles Chassagne-Montrachet is located in Burgundy, at the southern tip of the > Cotes du Beaune, which itself is the southern half of the Cote D'Or. The > latter is a long, broken range of hills overlooking the Saone River to the > east, and most of the best vineyards are on the gentle eastern slopes of > this range, facing towards the morning sun, and protected by the hills from > the storms coming in from the west. > Although the name Chassagne-Montrachet appears on well over a hundred > labels each vintage, the whole region is only 1.5 kilometers long and a > kilometer wide. The vineyards surround the town of the same name on three > sides. The town itself is really little more than a quiet village with > many old stone houses and petit chateaux. > The modern history of Chassagne essentially began in the fifteenth > century, when the village was burned to the ground by Louis the XI because > the local landowner, the Prince of Orange, sided against him and with > Margaret of Burgundy. The town was rebuild by local monks, who also > replanted the vineyards around the town. Until the 1980s, the area was > more known for its red wines than its whites, with three quarters of the > vineyards planted to Pinot Noir. This changed dramatically when Pinots > from the area fell out of favor, and the popularity of the Chardonnays from > Chassagne began to skyrocket. Now most of the wine which comes out of the > area is white, and what little red is made is rarely seen in this country. > Roughly 85 different vineyards are crammed into the 1.5 square kilometer > region. About half of the vineyards are premier crus; these are largely on > the hillsides to the northwest of the town. Just across the road running > along the northeastern edge of Chassagne are the two vineyards of > Batard-Montrachet and Le Montrachet, the two most famous and highly > regarded Chardonnay vineyards in the world. > Most White Burgundy followers would argue that we are still in the the > Premox Era, which began around 1995 and continues to the present vintages, > and during which time many white burgs have had a tendency to oxidize or > age too quickly, sometimes within just a few years of the vintage. During > these couple decades, collectors of Chassagnes, Pulignys, Meursaults and > Chablis have had to carefully monitor the progress of these wines, trying > them every year or sometimes every few months lest they suddenly drop off > the premox cliff. Although there are still multiple theories of what > causes premature oxidation without agreement on the true cause and how to > fix it, the situation in recent years has gotten gradually better, and some > may say we are through the worst of it. > Back before this Premox Era, collectors would routinely lay away Premier > and Grand Cru white burgs in unopened cases for at least the first decade > after release before touching the first bottle, and then sample the bottles > on a leisurely pace for the next 10+ years. Collectors differ on when > these wines reach their peak; some of this difference comes down to > preference on what one likes in old burgundies. If they follow just the > right path, an old Chassagne or Meursault can turn into a beautifully > complex mix of lemons, butter, toast, green peas and minerals -- as > compelling an old wine as can be achieved with any varietal. > How far could one push old white burgs before the Premox Era started? > Tonight, we'll try a collection of 27-35 year old Chassagne-Montrachets, > almost all Premier Crus, in two flights to explore an answer to this > question. In Flight 1, we'll have five 1983 Chassagnes on their 30th > birthday. In the second flight, we'll have a range of Chassagne vintages > extending back to a 1978 Remoissenet (as far as I can tell, the color still > looks great on this bottle), and including a mini vertical of Gagnard > Delagrange Chassagnes. We'll be having many of these at reasonable prices > ($30-40), well below what the prices of current vintage Chassagnes. > FLIGHT 1 > 2003 Domaine Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet (12%) > 2003 B Bachelet, "Morgeot 1er Cru", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) > 2003 Coron, "Les Morgeots 1er Cru", Chassagne-Montrachet (13%) > 2003 Paul Pilot, "Les Caillerets", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) > 2003 Georges Deleger, "Chevenottes", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) > > FLIGHT 2 > 1978 Remoissenet, Chassagne-Montrachet (32%) > 1982 Delagrange-Bachelet (Blaine-Gagnard) "1er Cru La Boudriotte", > Chassagne-Montrachet (13%) > 1983 Gagnard-Delagrange, "1er Cru Morgeot", Chassagne-Montrachet (12.5%) > 1985 Gagnard-Delagrange, "1er Cru Morgeot", Chassagne-Montrachet (12%) > 1985 Gagnard-Delagrange, "1er Cru La Boudriotte", Chassagne-Montrachet > (12%) > 1986 Dancer-Lochardet "La Romanee", Chassagne Montrachet (12.5%) > Thursday, May 9, 2013, 7:30PM, at [redacted] Palo Alto. Drop me a note if > you are planning to come. > [Redacted] > UPCOMING TASTINGS: > Monday (May 13): 2002 Syrah Retrospective, Part 11 > Thursday (May 16): 2011 Siduri Pinots with Adam > Monday (May 20): 1993-2001 Rosenblum Samsel Vineyard-Maggie's Reserve > Zinfandels > Thursday (May 23): 1988 Cabernets and Bordeaux, Part 3 > TUESDAY (May 28): Spanish reds
