Catching up with friends, Burgundy always helps

Trying to catch up with friends this weekend and had a chance to dine with my friends Sophie, Damon, and Will at the very good Vin Rouge here in Durham. Even though you might think they are direct competition for my brother, we’re all pretty good friends and I think that Matt is a great cook and Michael is as good a front of the house guy as there is in the Triangle. He’s put together a very nice winelist as well. Besides, the way I look at it, we’re all on the same team. We all want to eat great food and drink great wines and we know the difference. I think there is enough room for both places to succeed.

I seem to have been on a roll with Burgundies lately. Watch the next few show like ass.

2001 Roagna Solea
This is a chardonnay from the Piedmont with 5% nebbiolo blended in; thus, it should be cool. It was interesting to a point, but I found it a bit clumsy but maybe it would have shown better with the right food, whatever that would be.

2000 Dauvissat Chablis La Forêt
Folks out in CA had claimed that they had experienced premature oxidation with Dauvissat. I didn’t really buy that. This bottle scared me a bit at first as it didn’t really bolt out of the gate. It did begin to build after being open for a while, but didn’t ever blossom into what I had hoped it would be. Good, but that’s all and not nearly enough from such an historically excellent wine.

1999 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey Vielles Vignes
Really showed great. Opened for 30-45 minutes before we dove in to it. Lovely depth of fruit and that unmistakable animal/mineral quality I associate with Gevrey. It’s been about a year since I’ve had a disappointing Geantet wine, and it was a 1996 which hasn’t been kind to me across the board. Darker in color and deeper in fruit than the Fourrier and only a bit less elegant. Really held it’s own.

1999 Fourrier Gevrey 1er Champeaux
This was decanted upon our arrival to the restaurant, so it had a good hour+ in the decanter before we got into it for real. I don’t have as much experience with Champeaux as I do with some of Fourrier’s other wines. This was typical Gevrey, with dark red and blue fruits mixed in with forrest and a touch of animal. I found this to be very good both in terms of structure and flavor. Was great with food and deft in the way of all Fourrier wines. Drinking well now, and sure to improve, but there is no harm in digging in.

Aubry Champagne Brut Rosé
Eh, just OK. Better when I mixed it with some Dauvissat…