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jason
Napa Valley
Wine Addict
Posts:6756
 | | 04/22/2005 6:36 AM |
| I am wondering what others associate with the communes of Meursault, Puligny Montrachet, and Chassagne Montrachet? What in their flavor profile and structures differentiates these wines to you? Not necessarily the Grand Crus but in general.
Hope someone (jb, jamietown, duke) provides their opinion and thoughts on the three communes comparing/contrasting etc. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 04/22/2005 10:42 AM |
| | I'm not a Meursault fan. Most are heavy-handed and heavily oaked. Chablis is my favorite style of white Burgundy. The crispness and sharp flavors pair well with many foods. | | | |
| DukeRiley
McMinnville, OR
Barrel Racker
Posts:1952
| | 04/22/2005 1:18 PM |
| I'll throw out a few impressions now and perhaps add more later, but the primary distinctions that I find are:
Meursault - nut and honey flavors.
Puligny - more minerally and "taut". I think these wines take a little more time to open up.
Chassagne - more like Puligny than Meursault, but more easy-going. On a vineyard level, I've found a smokiness in a number of Morgeots that I haven't tasted elsewhere. | |
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| Wineaux
New Orleans, LA
Barrel Filler
Posts:1413
| | 04/24/2005 3:08 PM |
| | I'll supplement the above Meursault comments by adding that I find the lower level versions to show a lot of butter-like characteristics with Meursault's overall flavor profile closest to that of Cali Chards. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 04/24/2005 3:10 PM |
| | wineaux, absolutely! I frequently refer to Meursault as the California Chardonnay of France. | | | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 04/24/2005 4:13 PM |
| Quote:
wineaux, absolutely! I frequently refer to Meursault as the California Chardonnay of France.
Hmm, I wonder if that is why I have liked virtually every Meursault I have tried.  | |
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| jason
Napa Valley
Wine Addict
Posts:6756
| | 04/24/2005 7:49 PM |
| | Thanks for the opinions. I guess some questions are better left for ebob. | | | |
| jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3370
| | 04/25/2005 1:31 AM |
| Jason, sorry I didn't see this question until today. Meursault, Puligny and Chassagne all have some general differences, but I do think that it all really depends on the producer. GENERALLY I think that Puligny is the most elegant and refined of the three communes, Chassagnes tend to be more rustic and brighter in acidity (but only relatively for good producers), and Meursaults more richer.
But there are no rules - if you taste BLIND a Jean Boillot Puligny Clos de la Mouchere one will find it to be more Meursault-like because of it's richness and super big fruit. On the other side, if you taste a Mikulski Meursault Genevieres or a Grivault Clos de Perrieres you may find some Puligny-likeness because of their elegance and minerality. I think on one level It reflects the importer's style (Bobby Kacher vs. Becky Wasserman), but Comtes Lafon of Meursault (who is also a Becky Wasserman selection) you will find that big richness, but also balance and minerality. Go figure!
As far as flavors go, it's so, so hard to peg certain flavor descriptors to certain villages, but here are some that I've enjoyed from various premier and village crus from these communes. These are mostly young burg flavors, since I still do not have a lot of experience with older burgs.
Pugliny: high degree of elegance, lots of ripe yellow apple flavors, a gentle river rock minerality
Chassagne: smokiness is right on, more citrus flavors, sometimes a bitter nut-skin quality (a good thing), green apples.
Meursault: Elegance and richness. Nuttiness, yellow apples. | | | |
| whiner
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning
Wine Thief
Posts:2867
| | 04/25/2005 2:41 AM |
| I've frequently gotten cinnoman from Meursault, particularly from Les Charmes.
a | |
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| ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 04/25/2005 2:55 AM |
| | Must disagree with jt on one point. I find Meursault the least elegnat of white Burgundies. | | | |
| jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3370
| | 04/25/2005 2:59 AM |
| A Lafon Meursault has great elegance and full body. A Grivault Clos des Perrieres, while having lesser body, has lots of of fruit packed in with great elegance. Coche Drury I imagine has great elegance on a full bodied frame, otherwise it would not get the high scores it gets from wine critics.
I think if you look at some of the best producers, you will find elegance in spades. | | | |
| skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 04/25/2005 2:52 PM |
| | I will agree with Jamietown on this Board-o. In Meursault you have to go with the best producers (Lafon et. all) to get good wines. Some of the Lafon wines I've had have been absolutely stunning. His 1989s are white Burgundy at its height. There are alot of lesser wines made in Meursault so tread carefully. | | | |
| Joseph Bembry
Wine Lover
Posts:4834
| | 05/04/2005 11:47 AM |
| Came to this thread late. My thoughts...
Meursault is certainly the most Cali-esque of the communes. To my palate the wines are plump, sometimes clumsy, but usually possess a honied quality and I often get buttered popcorn notes, especially from Perrieres. I enjoy these wines, but they are not at the top of my list. But Perrieres from a top producer is another story.
Of the 3, Chassagne lies in the middle in terms of my preference. Others have mentioned smoke notes and I would agree, but I don't think it is the main culprit I have experienced. To me Chassagne has peach and floral tones that I don't seem to experience as much as the other communes. I often get smoke as well, but more as a nuance. My favorite vineyards are Caillerets, Grands Ruchottes and Morgeot.
My favorite White Burgundies come from Puligny Montrachet. Puligny wines are some of the most interesting whites in the world, imo. I find them to possess a combination of oily richness with serious minerality, stoniness and wonderous acid levels . I love the aforementioned Clos de la Mouchere, a monopole owned by Jean Boillot. I love the play of minerals, wet stones, citrus notes. I buy these wines for my cellar from producers I enjoy like Marc Colin, Jean Boillot and Etienne Sauzet (although I could not stop drinking the Sauzets, thus I have none left). Favorite sites are Folatieres, Champ Gain and La Garenne.
All that being said, do not sleep on the wines from St. Aubin. As I have mentioned in other threads, it is the last bastion of under $30 1er cru whites that almost always deliver serious pleasure without pocketbook pain. One other little wine that I found delicious this year is from the village of Chitry, which lies just outside of Chablis. Another spot for excellent value.
Hope this helps.
jb | | | |
| JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Lover
Posts:4981
| | 05/04/2005 5:14 PM |
| Coming even later to this thread....
When one refers to a particular commune as producing the most California-like Chardonnays, does that mean that these wines evoke the profiles (or vice versa) of the higher end stuff like Aubert, Kistler, Pahlmeyer, Peter Michael and Marcassin. Or are these White Burgs being compared to more mid-priced butter bombs like Beringer Pvt. Rsv., Mer Soleil, Neyers, etc.? | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
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