Today I made it to my first trade tasting of the calendar year at the Summit, NJ office of importer Frederick Wildman for sampling of their 2008 Burgundy portfolio. This was the third consecutive year for me at this event. I arrive at the office at exactly the start time of 12 noon. Another monster snow storm is expected to hit in the afternoon, just like their 2008 event, and I hope to make it through all wines and get out.
Ten years ago when I was working at The Wine Club in San Francisco, I was tasting, selling and regularly buying for my own meal pairings, a great deal of Burgundy. Back then the dollar was even with the Euro and the wines were more affordable. It’s a different story now. Today, for me, it’s all about trying to find Burgundies that offer good value for the price and that is not easy. On top of that, the 2008 vintage is expecting to be challenging, especially for the reds.
By and large, the Wildman Burgundy portfolio is filled with familiar names, but generally lacking wines from the large negocient houses that I prefer to avoid. I’m not looking for mass-market, but for some originality.
As expected, the reds were indeed difficult. It was interesting to hear the pleads from a couple of producers to essentially taste with an open mind. More like to play with our mind and convince ourselves that they are not so impressive.
While there were some worthy ones, they usually didn’t stand up to the quality/price ratio test. I’m sure there are retailers and restaurants with customers willing to buy regardless – be it for the love of the name or for lack of concern for price – but for me, a value oriented buyer, there are limited choices.
The whites, however, were quite nice, especially the Vincent portfolio which were judged by myself as best of the tasting. Vincent and their other label, Chateau Fuisse, were true character wines. When I was younger, the name Pouilly-Fuisse, the best known area in the Macon region of Burgundy, was synonymous with white French wine at restaurants. Over time, I felt that they were often over-valued and usually didn’t recommend them. But on the heels of expensive Burgundies from the Cote d’Or and California chardonnay, they have never been better.
Classically, the whites (chardonnay) from Macon have lean, crisp yet palatable acids with scents of wet stone, crisp apple-pear fruit with a touch of tangy lemon. The effect of barrel aging is typically negligible, at most a whiff of fresh wood and its spices. Delightful food wines or just to be sociable with company. And prices were reasonable.
The other whites, from the Cote d’Or, were as a group showing bright, clean acid as opposed to an overly tart green apple acid form challenging vintages or producers. The fruits tasted ripe and focused and the finish was elegant. Now about those prices. Whoa.
By the way, I made it home just as flakes were falling – so there will be another story.
