After opening with the Roederer Rosé 2012 at the Elitistreview 20th anniversary lunch, we then moved on to whites with a St Aubin 1er Cru Derriere chez Edouard 2015, Hubert Lamy – exactly half the age of my organ.
I have had very few encounters with St Aubin that I have reported on here. This is most likely because of the view I articulated in January 2012 – namely “St-Aubin rarely lives up to its promise of being almost as good as its quality neighbours whilst costing far less”.
A 2004 and a 2005 from Bernard Moreau have been damned with faint praise a couple of times. Even a now wildly desirable PYCM St Aubin does not escape this treatment in July 2008, it is merely, “nice enough”.
PYCM does not escape vitriol when I have tried flasher wines of his. When our friend Richard bought a bottle of 1er cru Meursault around I am sure I was not meaning him when I said, “I feel sorry for people stupid enough to pay a fortune for wines like this”. My description of it ran:
This wine turned into a plain, dumpy schoolgirl with thick glasses, sitting alone and unloved at the side of a swimming pool, whilst all her classmates had a wild time in the pool. This is all because she persuaded her mother to sign her off sports because she would rather stuff greasy crisps into her vacantly gaping maw and be stubbornly antisocial than have a good time with friends. That is very much how I picture this wine.
Jean-Marc Boillot made a real car crash of a St Aubin 1er Cru 2004 that I had the misfortune not to have avoided drinking in February 2008. This was popped to celebrate me escaping the nut house after a week of being locked up; I needed to drink fine wine, not suck oak planks! I shudder to think how much this wine costs today if Boillot still punishes a reasonable but minor white Burgundy experience with so much new oak. I seem to recall swearing off his wines after this palate basher.
St Aubin Premier Cru Derriere chez Edouard 2015, Hubert Lamy
Hubert Lamy now enjoys quite a positive reputation. As I smell and taste this wine I just have to ask, “Why?”
This is a supposedly top St Aubin vineyard, from a top vintage that has been carefully aged and all it is is vaguely drinkable, minor white Burgundy. There is no joy, excitement or, in all honesty, pleasure in this wine, it is just something to drink. Well, I am not going to and will move onto the next wine.
Many thanks to whoever went to the great trouble of sourcing a wine half the age of my site for my celebration meal, but it just did not do it for me at all.
