Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils, Premier Cru, Chassagne-Montrachet, 2002
My brother Matt was coming over for dinner, and he's a big fan of Volnay. And while I swore I had one in my collection, despite my searching, there just wasn't one in my cooler. So off to the wine shop I went in search of a magic bottle from the Cote d'Or.
The shop is my favorite in Portland: Liner & Elsen. It used to be a little hole-in-the-wall on 21st, but it moved a while back to larger and more appropriate size space on 22nd and Quimby.
Once there, Eric talked me into a Chassagne-Montrachet over any of the Volnays they had available. The Volnay's, while good, were all 2005's. And while one or two were drinking well already, he really like this Montrachet better. And my brother, while partial to Volnay, loves French wine generally. And besides, it's just a hop and a skip from Volnay to Montrachet. So why not try something new.
The nose on this wine is just a treasure -- there's just all kinds of stuff going on. Earthy. Moss. Flowering tree. Saw dust. Rock. Cedar. Dusty, like you're in a wood shop. It's just wild and gamey. The taste, while very good, wasn't as spectacular as the smells. Currant. Raspberry. Red cherry. The body was light. The finish was definitely pomegranate, along with some kind of citrus. Denise tasted pineapple, while I found it to be orange. Either way the citrus was very subtle.
Matt and I really liked this wine. For us, the earthy complexity was wonderful. However, Denise found this wine to be too thin and a bit 'sweet'.
Cost:
Rating:
8.0