Becky Wasserman, part 2: the REDS

Becky Wasserman is choosing and Russell Hone is pouring Red Burgundies. Not only do you get to try great wine, you also get to hear great stories and enjoy a couple of well spent hours. This entry continues coverage of the Woodland Hills Wine Company tasting of Becky Wasserman Selections. tBoW covered the whites, pinks and sparklers in the previous entry.
While Becky staffed the white and pink flight her husband Russel Hone [ed. greeting us above] handled the Red Table. The wines were all very good. What was really special was how the wines became better as we moved up the ladder…really better.
2007 Saladin Cotes-du-Rhone Loi $15.30: Red purple color. Thick but not quite 30W motor oil. Stinky nose. 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 10% Carignan and 5% Bourboulenc. The 2007 vintage in Rhone was notably HUGE. Should we be drinking the 06 Rhones if we are put off by the big forward fruit? Not with this wine. It is big but not TOO big. 60% Grenache, 20% each Syrah and Mourvedre. Yummy rich flavors. Would be nice to compare with something similar from Tablas Creek. A top quality U20 wine. 13%
2007 Domaine Les Grands Bois Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Les Trois Souers $12: This is NOT a Wasserman wine but I thought I might mention it here as a typical example of the rich and fruity and very California-like 07 Rhone vintage. The color is inky black purple. Weight is very thick. Dotor√© decribes the 07 Rhone vintage as “this year’s vintage of the century”. A big shouldered wine at a very good U20 price. Plenty ripe if not overripe. 14.5%
2007 Bize Savigny-les-Beaune Aux Vergelesses 1er Cru $37.80: Spicy peppery nose especially for French Pinot Noir. Fruity wine but still “light on its feet like it should be.” [ed. credit that to WHWC staff David Russell] 13.5%

2006 Bachelet Cote-de-Nuits Villages $30.60: Funky gamey nose. Love it. Will take several years. Structured but ultimately simple. Slightly tannic. Raises issues about where you might best spend your sheckles since it is a village wine. More on this coming up. 13%
2006 Lignier-Michelot Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvee Bertin $39.60: Now we in da good shit. We are told by the very knowledgable Mr. Russell that Lignier is a young winemaker based out of Morey St Denis with vintages beginning with the millenium. One acquires Burgundy vineyards in only three ways: inheritance, marriage or oodles of cash. David points out this is an AC wine [ed. quality wine produced in a superior region but not that superior] that combines fruit from two vineyards formerly bottled separately. This wine is striking on presentation. Lots of funk, skunkweed, and spice. Some call it forest floor but I believe that applies when the aromas are more integrated and maybe not so rough. Gevry often makes this impression on tBoW. This is brawny stuff. On second pour it shows sweetness and ripeness. Excellent effort. 13%

2006 Burguet Gevery-Chambertin Place des Lois $54: Bowled us over. We like it mucho when there is a wine that is simply stunning, truly special. It reinforces our belief that wine can be magnificent, delivering stimuli beyond a good buzz. This is that wine tonight. Sublime. Caramel nose. SImply beautiful. Pure Pinot Noir flavors. Delicate, balanced, showy without being a show off. This is where great Barolo meets great Burgundy. Right here with this wine. This also solves the sheckles dilemma. Why spend $30 for a village wine when you can spend $40 for a grand effort like the Lignier. But if you are crossing the threshold for a very nice and exotic wine like Lignier then you may as well go to $55 and buy something that will seduce your senses and knock your socks off…gently and soothingly. Turn in my U20 card. We bought it. [ed. turns out this was a very good price since Internet searches showed prices 20% higher] 13%
We close with a photo of an anonymous taster chilling in front of Paul Smith’s Wall-o’-Wine.