Bonnes Mares..... Musigny.....

A rare, wonderful and extremely interesting experience for a grand dinner at home with our wine partners Amihai & Dafna.
Two Grands Vins. Both from 1983, both by G. Roumier and both from the famous neighboring Grand Cru vineyards of Bonnes Mares and Musigny.
The wines were served together and accompanied, side by side, the following superb dinner prepared by Dorit:

Bonnes Mares				1983	G. Roumier

Bought in auction Feb-95 for $100 (imported from Chicago for $112 net).
The 4th and last bottle of this perfection of a great (B). Roumier's considerable holding (in Bourgogne terms) of 1.8 ha of this 15 ha vineyard, enables him to control and select grapes for this flagship wine of the Domaine.
COLOR: Very good and vibrant darkish red. Some clearing towards the rim, but the general appearance is that of a healthy-looking translucent wine.
NOSE: Exquisite perfumes of fresh red-fruits, engulfed in a robe of mature yet delicate 'Bourgogne Nose', wet forest floor, game meat etc. Complex, enticing bouquet, of the type that makes one's nose kept glued to the glass for long minutes before the first (and each subsequent) sip.
TASTE: Mouthfilling, multi-flavored and rich nectar. Really felt and enjoyed by each and every taste bud. Cherries, a touch of sweetish plums, vigor, complexity and most of all - plenty of 'wininess' is revealed as each layer unfolds to display a perfect harmony. A true and rare treat!
LENGTH: Extremely long and reverberating finish that turns into the most pleasurable aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: A blockbuster in the most positive sense of the word. Not only extremely tasty, but clear, fat, well structured and perfectly balanced.
OVERALL: Extraordinary! Together with Mongeard-Mugneret's Grands Echezeaux, the best 1983 and one of the best (B) I have ever tasted. Will keep for some time but why wait? 'en point' now!
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Musigny					1983	G. Roumier

Bought in auction Oct-95 for $130 (imported from Chicago for $140 net).
Roumier's ridiculously small holding of 0.1 ha (1% of the vineyard) enables him to produce only one barrel of Musigny each year. It seems logical that in a difficult vintage like 1983, this meager quantity does not allow for rigorous selection. I was told by Christophe Roumier that nowadays (when he runs the domaine) they downgrade the Musigny to a "Chambolle 1er Cru" in such cases where the resulting wine does not justify the its high pedigree. Not so in the early eighties...
COLOR: More brownish than the Bonnes Mares. Visibly duller and murkier looking wine.
NOSE: More 'advanced' than the Bonnes Mares. Hardly any discernible fruit with the mature elements of the 'Bourgogne Nose' too dominant. Not a bad nose as such, but obviously on the downwards slope.
TASTE: Again, a very good wine but no match to the Bonnes Mares. Too acidic, a bit hollow, though one can still feel a great (B) on the palate. The elegance and complexity of this wine is still there with multilayers of flavor. Only the flavors are a bit 'tired' and not mouthfilling.
LENGTH: Very short and mostly alcoholic aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied, much too acidic in proportion to the little 'flesh' exhibited. Tannins almost totally absent as are the fruity elements. It seems this wine reached its peak much faster the the Bonnes Mares and is now a bit over the hill. Don't get me wrong here, I'd love to have a bottle every week, but the Bonnes Mares would make me happy every day....
OVERALL: Excellent wine that must have been better some 3-5 years ago. Drink up if you happen to have a bottle.
MARK: 17/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? No.

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Jacob "Yak" Shaya.