On September 20th, the Sons of Bacchus (SOB's) and a Daughter of Dionysus assembled for a tasting of Premier Cru White Burgundies from the Côte d'Or, comprised mainly of the communes of Aloxe Corton, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. Eight wines in all were tasted and ranked in order of preference. Here are the results with my rankings, scored and notes, in order of group preferences.

2011 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru, La Romanée - This was the hands down overall winner, picked as the top wine by a majority of the participants. My notes: Brilliant gold color. Floral aromas of pear, peach and spring flower. Exquisitely wrought, with distinct mineralogy and fine balance. 19+/20 points.

2004 Domaine Vincent Girardin Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru, Les Combettes - This was surprisingly vivid for a 12 year old white. Deep gold colored. Nose of butternut, woods, stone and a hint of white smoke. The well developed flavors were strikingly vigorous, bolstered by bright fruit acids. 19/20 points. Interestingly, another Girardin wine, 2005 Meursault Geneveieres-Dessous, showed its age with noticeable oxidation and butternut. 

2010 Louis Latour Chassage-Montrachet 1er Cru, Morgeot- Deep lemon gold colored, this showed a floral nose of peach, apricot, butternut, and exquisite, with well-defined mineral, slightly nutted flavors and fine fruit acids on the lingering finish. 19+/20 points.

2014 Domaine Philippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru, Chenevottes - This wine was fourth overall, but impressive. Still a young wine, it showed a brilliant gold color and a soft nose of pear, peach and meadow flowers. The nicely delineated flavors were stylish and upright. 18.5+/20 points. With further aging, should go to 19/20 points.

The other wines were noteworthy as well.

2010 Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru - Put in for good measure, this showed a medium gold color and an exquisite nose of pear, peach and wet stone. The flavors were precise and varietally pure, with a bit of citrus and vanillin on the back. My preference for third place. 19+/20 points.

2012 Domaine Bruno Colin Chassage-Montrachet, 1er Cru, En Remilly - Rich, almost buttery nose of pear, peach and flowers. The flavors were rich, yet precise, with notes of grape skin, peach stone and minerals. 19/20 points.

2014 Domaine Antoine Jobard Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru - From the town of Blagny, adjacent to Meursault, this was another young wine that should improve with age. Brilliant gold colored, with a citrusy nose of spring flowers and hazelnut. The flavors showed distinct Burgundian character, with a nice, but not long finish. 18.5+/20 points.

2005 Domaine Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru, Les Charmes-Dessous - See Domaine Girardin above. 18/20 points.

Before the tasting, we had a red 1993 Domaine Piguet-Girardin Santenay 1er Cru, La Comme (compliments of Erik McLaughlin) which had held up surprisingly well for a 23 year old. Also thanks to Philippe Michel for hosting and for the fine cheeses and jambon.