Montrachet and Clos de Tart

Dinner at Jardin de Jade.

1997 Baron Thénard Montrachet - I decanted this in the office 2 hours before dinner, and it showed a distinct nose of orange and minerals.  During dinner there were also notes of toasty corn and a little plastic.  For some reason I thought there was a shadow of German Riesling...  It was just a little sweet on the nose, with good acidity balance on the palate.  Later on it opened up a bit more and revealed tropical fruits like pineapple and floral notes which went along well with the chrysanthemum tea we were drinking.  With more aeration the nose got sweeter, and heavy minerals and toast became dominant.  This was a pretty nice wine, and as expected it took a long time to open up.  However, there was no "wow" factor tonight, as I have experienced with all the previous Montrachets I have tasted - even the ones from "lesser" producers.

1998 Mommessin Clos de Tart - initially the fruit was very subtle and the nose very elegant and soft.  A bit of smoked meats, forest, a little dusty.  When the wine sat in the glass for too long, the palate degenerated into something horrible.  Near the end of dinner the nose showed a little Chinese medicine... like American ginseng (花旗篸).

Full post on dinner is here.