Together with the 2005 Chassagne by Olivier Leflaive, I thought it would be a good idea to open a bottle of German Chardonnay from the same vintage. I actually kept a bottle of 05 Künstler Chardonnay from Rheingau precisely for that purpose. A wine that pleased me a few years ago (Here a TN in German from 2009 and here in English from 2006) and for which I had hopes, or for which I wanted at least to check the ageing potential.
Well, to make a long story short. This one simply stood no chance against the “real” Burgundy. It seemed already over the top somehow, with overly sweet – kind of like sweet dough- fruit elements that seemed a bit desintegrated from the rest of the wine. But it’s not that it was undrinkable, it was just lacking the balance and elegance that emanated from the two Burgundian Chardonnays. With a bit of imagination there was minerality still and even something earthy, but all in all this one’s going downhill.
But later that evening, we were having a superb 2003 Riesling from Künstler so don’t blame the estate, blame me for having kept that Chardonnay so long and then confront it with Chassagne and Meursault!
