Griotte Chambertin 1988 Dom. Ponsot
9/95. Bought at auction June-95 for $95 (imported from Chicago for $103 net).
Griotte Chambertin is the tiniest Grand Cru vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin.
Less than 700 cases are produced by all the ten different owners together.
Naturally, Ponsot's effort of this rare wine is considered among the best.
I would never dream to open such a young "grand" Grand Cru, but this bottle
has a story. I bought it as part of a three-bottles lot. The other two
identical bottles came fine (as the rest of my two-case batch), but this particular
bottle was 'bleeding' a little when I took it out of the styrofoam
in the package. This is the first time I had a bottle leaking during shipment,
and it was obvious the leak is fresh and was caused by the hardships of the
journey. It was also clear to me that this specific bottle must have had some
previously-unnoticed cork defect. I don't think there is much point in
'ageing' a leaking bottle, so let's open it and have some damage control at
least.
Tonight along with main course of roasted duck for Friday night dinner with
friends. Opened and left to breathe for about 20 minutes. The fill was about
1.5 inch below the cork.
COLOR: Medium-deep red, but noticeably paling towards the rim.
NOSE: Extraordinary! Beautiful cherry fruit overshadowing everything else
including the usually-un-maskable 'Bourgogne nose'. Earth, leather, and dump
forest are all there on the nose, the cherry just wins big.
TASTE: The fruit is carried all the way from nose to taste buds to finish to
aftertaste. Though still a bit tannic and close, the complexity and intensity
of this wine makes it an immensely pleasurable experience to drink even now. I
am not sure if, and to what extent, the leakage have affected this wine, but
if it did I couldn't tell.
LENGTH: Medium-long aftertaste that keeps developing in the mouth.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium to full body. Fruit coming very strong through the
tannin curtain. Not yet fully integrated.
OVERALL: A superb wine that is a sheer pleasure to drink. No way I am going to
touch my remaining two bottles for at least three more years.
MARK: 18+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.
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yak@yakshaya.com
Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.