Thursday, November 26, 2009

Pierre Bouree Gevrey-Chambertin Clos de la Justice, 1982

A mature red Burgundy for Thanksgiving dinner? Well, yes. Donna and I were on our own (the family arrive tomorrow for the offiical feast), so we decided to treat ourselves with Beef Bourguignonne a la Julia Child. Wow! The meal was magnifique, and the wine was good enough.

This Gevrey-Chambertin was one of those "just in case" wines, a single bottle that never seemed right for any occasion until now. While the wine may have been better a few years ago (the cork certainly would have been easier to remove), it was still a decent representation of its appellation and producer. Pierre Bouree is a large negotiant firm with headquarters near Gevrey-Chambertin. In the 1980s, Bouree was known for producing good, but not great, wines, made in a traditional style--no de-stemming and no new oak. Clos de la Justice was its best wine, and I paid $13.50 for the 1982--30 percent more than the Hermitage la Chappelle of that vintage.

The color is deep garnet with significant amber at the edges. The bouquet is fully formed with notes of black cherries, earth and old barrels. It's a rustic wine, sturdy and full-framed. In the mouth, the wine is full bodied and glycerined with a rich, satisfying finish. Although some old barrel notes have crept in, the fruit has not faded. This is not what you'd call an elegant Burgundy but it's fairly deep and complex, worth some serious sipping and contemplation after the meal is finished. And a good enough match for the Boeuf Bourguignonne.

There was no wine to match and no words to describe the chocolate pecan pie we had for dessert.

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