I have had much to be thankful for this past week. For instance, classes started up again and, strangely enough, they’re all pretty interesting (though the amount of reading I have is daunting at times). I finished up the main portion of a Student Bar Association (SBA) program I was in charge of which consisting of pairing 1Ls with upperclassmen mentors. I got two more Riedel Vinum Burgundy glasses, and my friend Sharon got a sweet part-time job at Banana Republic (which will result in sartorial benefits for m, I hope!).
Thus I wanted to get a decent bottle of wine with which to celebrate.
But what to get? As my last post indicates, I’ve been on a big Burgundy bender recently. I really enjoyed a very, very nice Meursault and also enjoyed a much less expensive bottle of Rully, so I went to The Wine Specialist and picked up a bottle from the same producer as the Rully.
I poured the 2005 Pierre Andre Saint-Aubin “Les Anges” Premier Cru chardonnay ($38.99) into the new Riedel glasses (I figured from the description of the wine that it would be less minerally and more richer and rounder like a Montrachet, which Riedel recommends being poured into a big-bowled glass similar to a Burgundy glass), swirled it around, admired its saturated straw color, and stuck my nose in the glass. There was an almost tropical mango or peach nose, very appealing.
The first few sips were a bit closed, with more of a pronounced minerality than I was expecting. It was also very tart. There was just the faintest touch of oak, thank God. I figured that the wine would open up and relax as it warmed, and I was right. After about 30 minutes the wine was rounder and more “toasty.” Alex noticed dried apricots. However, there was still not a very substantial finish–the wine started beautifully but seemed to drop off pretty significantly.
We couldn’t finish the bottle that night so we resumed the next evening. Initially, the wine was tart and a bit thin. I was afraid this was because the bottle had been open for a while, but I hoped that it was merely because the wine was too cold. The latter, thankfully, was true. With warmth more of the rounder profile emerged, with a bit of minerality and citrus, almost evocative at first of a sauvignon blanc. The finish was longer, in the mouth there was a persistence of chestnut or baked yam (yay for my Korean palate!). I actually enjoyed the wine more the second day than the first.
Overall, the wine was pretty solid. One could tell it was well-made, and it was complex and pleasing. However, I still did not enjoy it as much as I did the Meursault, and I would actually recommend the Rully ($21.99) from Pierre Andre as a better value.
Vinicultured: A Wine Blog 
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