2003 Bourgogne Epineuil, "Cote de Grisey", Dom. de l'Abbaye du Petit Quincy
There comes a time when a Burgundy lover can no longer avoid his favorite regoin and must choose a bottle even from the most mundane of retailers, the big-box. And so, I broke down and bought a few different bottles at the local Carrefour (the French Wal-Mart) to see what I could find in terms of quality. I bought a Bourgogne rouge, a Cote de Nuits villages, and a Volnay 1er cru. A small sampling and the other night I opened this unassuming domaine bottled Bourgogne (I may be hooked but I'm not crazy!). For an '03 the color was all wrong. Orange-brown instead of purple. Something went wrong with this wine, either too much oxygen during vinification or bad cellar conditions since it's bottling. In the nose, very little juicy fruit BUT, at least it showed typical Burgundian flavors of cinamon, leather, orange, and dried leaves.... It kind of smelled like it looked. Brown. Nevertheless, the aromas it did have were enjoyable "Burgundian" and made me smile (I'm easy). In the mouth, it was dry, a bit bitter and herbaceous for the vintage. Finished with strawberry, and strawberry leaves. Fell apart after a couple of hours into a sour mess.

This wine was damaged, either by poor (careless) vinification or by its storage conditions. That being said, it did provide pleasure for about 30 min, not terrible for 7 euros. Hey, I'm a "glass is half full" kind a guy. On to bigger and better stuff!