I'm still recovering from this weekend's wine extravaganza founded by Daniel Johness for those besotted with Burgundy. While others in town for the event started drinking on Thursday night with the various private parties, La Paulee

PART ONE:

"Where are you?"
"Dripping from the tub?"
"Why aren't you here?"

She was talking about the Becky & Peter Wasserman burgundy seminar at the

City Winery

Got there with fifteen minutes to spare. Lots of Becky love in the room. The good news is that if you haven't gone to the Bouilland Symposium pres de chez Becky, there's still room. If you've got the dough, it's MORE than well worth it. In fact, it's life changing.

Back at the seminar: a bunch of 2006's were poured. Lafarge Volnay VV was brilliant. Have to admit so was the Freddie Mugnier Chambolle. It must have been a flower day, pretty stuff.

So was Becky.

PART TWO:
It was balmy, and I biked over to the afternoon tasting on 18th street. Lots of big names were pouring and I felt it was my responsibility to taste some, like Coche Drury. They fail to charm me. Okay, the Meursault, Les Caillerets was very tasty. But they are massive and I just am more drawn to less.

Moving on to others, Comte Liger-Belair and Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg? There were some wines that stood out for me like the L-B Vosne-Romanee Clos du Chateau which had a bit of cinnamon, great acidity and a stretch of ground ivy. From M-G I liked the Echezeaux except it was marred by some caramel. Certainly they weren't confected like the Clos de Tart. But I felt a sameness in the wines, a sameness in weight and in fruit. Whenever there was a rare wine with a ribbon of earth or ivy, I jumped all over it.

Getting used to many of the Burgundies represented--supposedly ready upon release-- is like learning to love the gel in your lover's hair. But, then you run your fingers through real hair smooth one's hand over one beautiful bald scalp, and you go--shit, I forgot.

The next step--infidelity. You leave the husband/wife and kids and go for it.

Just when I was about to succumb to fruit overload, there was Domaine des Chandons Des Brialles. In Savigny, about 7 km outside of the city of Beaune, in the shadows of the hill of Corton, down the road from Pernand de Vergeless, south of Bouilland, DDB IS what it is all about.

Claude de Nicolay mistress of the domain was pouring I should do a whole blog post about these wines. Another time.

in 2007 at the domain.

In particular? Everything. The 2006's are brillaint. She is in her 3rd year of biodynamics. There is a heavy percentage of stems which give the wines an exotic spice and a touch of funk that I find riveting. They were vital, elegance and grip and without the take no prisoners approach to concentration that was so easy to find in this tasting. But a sip of the Ile des Veregelesses blanc or rouge, charm, provoke and tease. In my mind, the reds thumbed their nose (politely) at all the other reds in the room.

But wait! Something peculiar is happening, I'm tasting metal in everything. I thought it was a flower day but perhaps it's a metal day? Are there metal days? It's not unpleasant but it is odd.