A tale of an obscure Burgundy

Jan 16, 2005 5 Replies

Drunk last night, the bottle was a birthday gift from a friend two years ago.



The label reads "Mercurey Duchancel". I have no idea whether Duchancel is a climat or a négociant. The neck label says 1978. The bottle is a slim Burgundian version in a light green glass with less content, 70cl, - a Swiss bottling, confirmed by an almost illisible (because of the stained label) "Exclusivité en Suisse par Hammel SA Rolle". Hammel is a large négociant firm in Rolle on Lake Geneva, mostly known for their low-end bottlings.



The bottle having thrown deposit, I decanted it through a funnel into a clean bottle and poured immediately. I have never understood why one should not decant Burgundy - is it nice to have sediment in your teeth?



Oh, and there it was: lovely, subdued pinot on nose and palate, soft, smooth, beautiful. Not a great wine, but very good and attractive.



M.


Here is an example of an obscure Burgundy I have(at least obscure to me). Marceau Chambertin, Vintage 1959, Mise du Domaine, Exclusively bottled for R. H. Macy & Co., Inc.. A small label above the main label states: Specially selected in France by Macy's famous taster for Macy's Fine Wine and Liquor Store. This store was part of the huge Macy's department store in New York City. I only have the one bottle. It still has considerable color, the best I can judge looking through the bottle. Exclusive labels have been used at times in the US, but those that I have seen are for wines bottled in France. I do not recall seeing one for a French wine bottled in the US, although French wines often were bought in cask in Europe and bottled in the UK, Belgium, etc. in the past.

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Hi, Michael -

I wasn't aware of any proscription regarding decanting Burgundy. FWIW, I _always_ decant wines that have thrown sediment in bottle. They taste better when they are clear and free of murk.

Tom S

"Michael Pronay" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@pronay.com...

Ah, 1978. Now, that was a good year. I recall tasting a lowly Chorey-les-Beaune from Drouhin which was wine of the night in 1980 or so, so I bought another bottle for storage and had it some 10 years later. An extremely good wine, that. Anders

It's generally not done in Burgundy, and many - people and books - follow suit, declaring Burgundy - especially aged wines - to be too delicate to sustain decanting.

M.

In my experiences in Burgundy the high end restaurants decant the wines especially older wines or Grand Cru/Premier Cru wines. Bi!!

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