Essex County Wine Society

ESSEX COUNTY WINE SOCIETY

September 20, 2007

Dear Friends and Fellow Wine Lovers:

As we enter the 35^th year of the Society we can look back to having enjoyed some excellent wine events and look forward to some great wine tastings for the years 2007-2008.  In our schedule we plan to present wines from the very successful –worldwide- 2005 vintage, including those from Burgundy and Bordeaux.  We will have wines from Italy (2001 Brunello di Montalcino reserva), California (Napa Valley Cabernets) and, for the first time, Southwest France (Madrian, Cahors).  We will also taste [very] old vintage Burgundy. 

NOTE:  Our April tasting date has been changed from April 3 to Thursday, April 10, 2008.

Our first tasting of the year will be a selection of 2005 white Burgundies presented by fellow member and past president, Doug Salthouse.  Doug comments: “There has been tremendous excitement generated over the 2005 Burgundies, and this applies to the white wines as well as for the red wines.  Many vignerons – and not just the younger ones – have stated unequivocally that 2005 is the best vintage they’re made, so excitement is high.  To quote the Burghound, Allen Meadows, “in my strong view, the best 2005 whites from the Cote d’Or are not only excellent but MUCH better than they have been given credit for to this point”.

Doug continues: “In tasting through many wines to make the selection for the upcoming Burgundy tasting, I’ve found the wines to be – in general- very ripe and rich, exhibiting full, dense flavors with high levels of dry extract, good acidity, exceptional balance and long finishes.  As one would expect from such a warm, dry growing season, some of the wines are too heavy, too extracted and lack grace, but that’s not the rule and I’ve excluded those wines from the tasting.  Overall, the wines from the Cote de Beaune, the Maconnais and Chalonnaise are going to be hard to resist in their youth, but should age gracefully for many years to come.  Chablis is another matter.  The wines are delicious to drink, but may not have the overall acidity and mineral tone one looks for in classic Chablis. You can see for yourself on the 11^th of October 2007.

For this tasting I have selected one example from each of the “secondary” white appellations in Burgundy, including Bouzeron, Macon, and Chalonnaise.  From the Cote d’Or and Chablis, I’ve selected two examples – one village level wine and one premier cru from Chablis, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet.  I’ve included only quality-minded producers as well as negociants so the society can evaluate a wide range of these wines in order to make informed purchasing decisions.  Producers to be included will be Aubert de Villaine, JP Fichet, Bernard Morey, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Carillon, Maison Auvigue, William Fevre, Domaine Pinson and a few others to be selected.  One grand cru wine will be included, most probably from Corton-Charlemagne, but a final selection has not been made at the time of this writing.

If you love white Burgundy, or if you are a fan of new world chardonnay and usually find Burgundies too austere or acidic for your liking, don’t miss this tasting.  There will be something for everyone.”

The following tasting on November 8, 2007 will be 2001 Brunello di Montalcino reserva

presented by Woody Waga.

For members we have included with the Wine Press a summary of our financial condition and a list of wines in our wine cellar.

(Those members who have not paid their dues for the year please include a check for $75.)

The cost of the tasting will be $68 for members and $82 for guests.

 A votre sante and in vino veritas

Bob and Howard

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