A Whirlwind Journey Through Burgundy

Burgundy Tasting at K&L, Redwood City
February 26, 2005
Jen’s Notes

Neither Shane nor I have much experience with Burgundies. Mine is limited to Chablis and one lovely Chassagne-Montrachet that I still remember fondly. So, we headed down to Redwood City on Saturday afternoon to sample 11 Burgundies at K&L Wine Merchants. The tasting was $20.00 a person, which is a steal, considering the fact that you could very easily pay $70 and up for one bottle of Burgundy and hate it.

We started off with three whites, all of which I thought were pretty good. I liked all of our early reds as well, but we didn’t hit the jackpot until no. 9, the 2002 Vosne Romanee, "Les Vigneaux," Domaine Jean Tardy. It was excellent, a supremely elegant and refined wine. It boasted a big floral nose, like a bouquet of wildflowers. The flavors were well balanced and supported by smooth, integrated tannins. It is difficult to pin down the flavors; Burgundies tend not to be fruit bombs, although this one boasted hints of strawberries. I also detected exotic spice and herb notes, a touch of vanilla, and maybe some leather and smoke. The finish was long but clean.

The unfolding quality of the flavors in this wine amazed us. The flavors smoothly accordioned and shifted, sometimes significantly, from one area of the palate to the other. This characteristic of Pinot Noir (all the Burgundies we tasted exhibited this characteristic to some degree) is very bizarre to us Merlot/Cabernet drinkers and is very difficult to describe (we suspect that this characteristic of the varietal is partly responsible for Pinot’s high standing with the wine nerds). It is as if the varietal is hosting a very refined and lovely party on your palate.

The Les Vigneaux was a bit more accessible than the other Burgundies with slightly richer flavors and a bit more complexity. Altogether charming and wonderful, and a comparative bargain at $47.99.