Hospices de Beaune Tasting Notes
November 1997

Hotel Dieu, Evening of Diner Aux Chandelles, 1997

As you will see, I found these wines, all tasted in Burgundy, average as a group and generally underwhelming. They tend to be rather pricey, so I would have to say that as a group they are not recommended, although some of them were quite good and well worth drinking.

• 1993 Meursault-Charmes Cuvée Bahèzre De Lanlay
  A decent finish can't rescue a wine that seems all lees and oak, with thin fruit and too much acid. Maybe I'm too hard on this wine, but cheap it ain't and there should be something with more balance and class. 86 points.
• 1992 Corton-Charlemagne Cuvée F. De Salins
  This is more like it. The fruit is fat and round. The lees and oak flavors are there, but the concentration level is better. A tannic kick finishes it off. 92 points.
• 1993 Beaune "Clos des Avaux"
  Decent weight, very tannic. Ultimately this wine is unbalanced, with too little fruit and flavor to support the tannins. The finish is a bit bitter and annoying. 85 points.

  1991 Volnay "Santenots" Cuvée Jehan De Massol
  Tight tannins allow some focused raspberry fruit to pop through. There's a bit of velvet, but not much. The finish is a bit green. In the context of the vintage, this is a considerable success, showing some body, focus and fruit, but it falls well short of being exceptional. 88 points.

  1992 Corton Cuvée Dr. Peste
  One of the more familiar cuvées. This is not a big success, but is not bad. The finish is coarse, the tannins overwhelm the fruit, and the texture of the wine seems a bit harsh. The concentration levels are good, but the wine lacks both flavor and charm. 87 points.

• 1990 Pommard Cuvée Cyrot-Chaudron
  Gorgeous velvety texture. The fruit wraps elegantly around the core of the wine. Pretty, fragrant nose, missing from most of the clunky wines above. 90 points.
• 1983 Monthelie Cuvée Lebelin
  Pruney, rather disgusting, maderized wine. The pourer said this was a typical botle and seemed decidedly unshocked when I called it defective and dying. Good weight for its appellation, but that's about it. 70 points.
• 1989 Corton Cuvée Charlotte Dumay
  Full and fresh, tight and closed, this wine may show more velvet and flavor when it opens. At the moment the tannins predominate, but I think this will balance out. A little too severe for such a ripe, opulent vintage, though. 90 points.
• 1978 Beaune Cuvée Nicolas Rolin
  A wine with soft fruit, and good body. It seems gentle and charming. Regrettably, these aspects can't save the wine from some maderization of the pruney type, although it is not as overt as the Monthelie, above. 79 points.
• 1969 Beaune Cuvée Guigone De Salins
  Tannins are outliving the fruit here, and the wine is clearly drying out a little. That said, it is amazingly elegant and fragrant. I found a lot here to like, for all of its flaws. 86 points.
• 1962 Beaune Cuvée Guigone De Salins
  Not quite dead, but on its way. Scent of decay and oxidation. Tannins overwhelming fruit. Over the hill and uninteresting. 78 points.

  The above were served by the Hospices at a special tasting. In addition, served at the 1997 Diner aux Chandelles:

• 1994 Meursault-Charmes
  Served at the Diner Aux Chandelles. Buttery and oaky, without much of a finish and no depth. Can improve, but will never obtain concentration and class. 87 points.
• 1992 Meursault-Genevrières
  Rich and round, and delicious. Long finish, and long aging potential. The heady nose is marked by lees notes and oak. The fruit coats your mouth on the finish. 91 points.
• 1989 Corton
  Soft and charming, unlike some of the clunky young monsters above, this wine has some sex appeal, some perfume and some berry flavors. It loses points because it thinned too fast with air and showed lack of concentration. But it was fun for awhile. For the price, a bad deal. For a wine, not bad. 88 points.

  Served at Patriarche cellars:

• 1992 Beaune Cuvée Guigone De Salins
  Friendly strawberry fruit with a nice texture surrounded by sufficient tannins for aging ability. A user friendly, well made wine that is lacking some depth, but does a lot right. 89 points.
• 1979 Charmes-Chambertin
  Soft, charming, but a bit short. Yet this wine has a ton of charm and seductive appeal that left me liking it a lot. It seemed hard to resist, fragrant and sexy, absolutely perfect for current drinking. 91 points.
• 1982 Chambertin
  Hollow, hard, and tannic. A wine with no flavor, less fruit, and even less charm. Grand cru? On Mars maybe. 81 points.
• 1976 Musigny
  A little short on depth and thinning a bit, and as a consequence, a little short on accolades. Yet, as with the 1979 above, this wine's soft, gentle fruit is still flavorful and fragrant, sweet and charming. A lot here to like. 89 points.

Copyright © 1997, all rights reserved, Mark Squires.