Beserkers: Support Laura's House

My husband is participating in a Beserkers challenge called "Empty My Wallet" started by Frank Murray III, for Laura's House, dedicated to ending the silence of domestic violence. The challenge began on November 21st and will last until November 30th. For every photo that is posted with tasting notes, Frank will donate $10.00 to Laura's house. Here is my husband's contribution to the challenge.

1996 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Boucherottes:
We had this wine over 2 nights with duck breast with berry-balsamic sauce, wild rice, and salad with tarragon vinaigrette. Color was medium garnet with a touch of bricking at the margins and the wine was crystal clear. The first night there was not much aroma which blossomed slightly to an earthiness on the second night. The flavor came off with a forward hint of oak tannins and a reserved sour cherry flavor lagging behind on night one. This became more balanced the second night with the tannins stepping back in line with the acidity and cherry fruit which was now showing a bit of red raspberry. Overall, this is a good wine and not a great wine. The wine does not taste of an obviously aged wine as the tannin and acidity are there but I think the fruit is not strong enough to last much longer as the other elements mellow further. I have had this wine in the past and the fruit was a bit stronger. I will know if this is a variant bottle as I have more to drink in the future. Thank you Frank for the challenge....Cheers, Gary
On Thanksgiving, we had two other bottles of Pinot Noir with friends. My husband brought over the 2013 Patrick Javillier and our host and hostess provided the 2002 La Pousse d'Or Volnay Premier Cru Clos D'Audignac. The Patrick Javillier seemed a little thin compared to the Clos D'Audignac. Our new friends shown in this photo are from near Reims in France, so they really know their wines. When the Clos D'Audignac was brought out, Alain was delighted!
Here are my husband's tasting notes:
2013 Javillier Savigny les Beaune 1er Les Serpentieres
Talented and well known vintner for white burgundies and less so for red. The Javillier vines in Aux Serpentieres are ~ 30 years old. This was my first experience with a red burgundy from this vineyard. Color was a light garnet color for this clear wine. Not much of an expressive nose at this stage. As the color might suggest this was a light bodied young wine in the mouth. The tannins are in the forefront slightly compared to the good acidity displayed. At this point the fruit comes off as a weaker partner in the trio with a light blend of strawberry and red raspberry. I have one more bottle on hand that I will save for a few years to see if anything emerges but at this point I do not see the fruit depth to warrant additional bottles for this vintage.
2002 La Pousse d’Or Volnay 1er Clos d’Audignac
Monopole vineyard for this estate with vines of ~36 years old at time of harvest. Clean clear wine with dark red color and slight bricking on the edge. A leather and floral nose emanates from the glass. On the mouth this wine exhibits terrific balance with well integrated soft tannins, acidity, and fruit. The fruit comes through as a beautiful blend of sweet cherry and black raspberry over a very slight earthiness. This is a clean and succulent wine that straddles a new and old world style. It seems to me that this wine is peaking now but should be there for a few more years as it has the fruit and acidity to march on.

My husband and I had our friends over for a post-Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday for another round of drinking Pinot Noir. This time, it was a 1999 Clos de Tart.