Sunday afternoon I was invited to a gathering of BWE folk at a beautiful place
in Chappaqua. Circumstances (stepfather duties) conspired against my being able
to attend for the whole day, but I lasted for a couple hours of good wine and
good company. As I arrived, our gracious hostess gave me a nice stem, then
steered towards the pool in back. A nice crew of 10 or so were gathered.
While snacking on some delicious guacamole, hummus, and chicken-avocado salad,
I was handed a glass of pinkish bubbly, the Movia ´Villa Marija´ (I assume
non-vintage, didn't see a date). I sipped with a bit of trepidation, as my
previous experience with Movia (Slovenia) was a scarily bad Pinot Grigio. Hey,
"surprise, surprise" as Gomer Pyle might say. Fun wine. Sweet strawberry
fruit, a bit of yeast, tasty. Not quite the Renardat-Fche Cerdon du Bugey, but
what is? Better than the Banfi Brachetto in the Fun Brainless Pink Bubbly
Sweepstakes, a B/B+

On to the whites:
1996 Gouges Nuits-St. George "Les Perrieres"
Yep, white NSG. A white mutation of Pinot Noir. If I hadn't heard of this
before, and been reminded that day, I would have assumed Chardonnay. Apple
fruit, a hint of earth and minerals. Nice, if it were a $30 village Meursault
or Chassagne I'd say buy, but I'm told current releases run $80 for curiosity
value. Sigh. B/B+

1998 Michel Neillon Champgains Chassagne-Montrachet 1er
Tight at first, some sulphur quickly blows off. Minerally, young. Deeper
flavors develop after a while. I think I have one more, could use some time.
A-/B+

Rain starts, we retire up the hill to the house. Jacques brings out huge
platter of shrimp, as well as chunks of a 9-lb striped bass. 4 delicious
dipping auces -saffron, curry, lime mayos, and a cocktail sauce. Yum!

Next up, the 2000 Domaine Leflaive "Les Pucelles" Puligny-Montrachet.
Outstanding, ripe fruit with balancing acidity, wet rocks and flowers, sweet
but unobtrusive oak. Too young, but great example of what white Burgundy should
be. Solid A (even if I weren't an easy grader).

There's a Colin-Deleger floating around, but I'm told too vile for tasting
(storage issues, the problem with bin-ends).

Battle of the 1998 Batards:
1998 Paul Pernot*Btard-Montrachet -back says Louis-Dressner, so amount of oak
surprises me. But not overwhelming, and great acidic balance. Wine develops
very nicely in glass- caramel, honeysuckle and chalk all calling for attention.
A-/B+

1998 Michel Neillon Btard-Montrachet
More developed, lush, fat, almost CalChard meets GC Burgundy (though there's a
minerality that screams Burg). Tasty, but I find myself returning to the
Pernot. B+
*
I need to make my goodbyes, but stick around for the last (I think!) white:
*
1996 Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne
Big creamy Charlie, with flavors of almonds, apples, and vanilla. Very good (I
usually love Drouhin's reds, but not neccesaily the whites, so this is a nice
surprise). B+/A-

I hated to leave this nice group (not to mention the reds lined up, including
Vogue 1er and some older Barbarescos, including Gaja!), but duty called. Thanks
to Jacques and Jill and all the participants!

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency.
Dale

Dale Williams
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