A nice duo of '05 Red Burgundies

You know it's a good vintage when a Frederick Esmonin wine is blowing you away. Was at a restaurant last night that had a somewhat shady wine list and saw the 2005 Frederick Esmonin Gevrey Chambertin "Clos Prieur" for $55 so decided to take a shot. Great nose of grilled meats, dark cherries, tree bark and wet earth. Palate is round and concentrated with beautfiul purity and that killer '05 balance. Tannins are there and extremely ripe but buried by a ton of fruit. Long finish and wonderful velvety texture. Another killer '05 at the low end. So many good village wines in this vintage..which is about all I can afford! So I am glad they are good. I bet Freddie E's Grand Cru's are great in 2005. He has some choice parcels.

The next wine was from the Chambers Street specialty producers, Gilles Lafouge. He is a Auxey-Duresses specialist and makes light yet complex and very ageable wines from some of the finest 1er Cru vineyards in Auxey. They are very delicate but have amazing purity. The 2005 1er Cru "Climat du Val" is from Lafouge's strongest vineyard. This took a while to come around as it was very backward upon opening. The palate was ripe and jammy but did not in any way lack freshness. Very concentrated and with a wonderful pillowy texture. The nose after a while became a panopoly of spice and became very complex. I liked the wine and would like to see how much more it evolved as the last sip was great but the fruit profile seemed a bit ponderous to me. Seems like this wine will benefit from ageing.