|
| |
RED BURGUNDY
 Burgundy is the biggest mine-field in the world of wine. There
are fabulous wines to be had here, but for a variety of reasons, it's one of the most
difficult wines to understand.
First, the producers tend to be tiny. While a Bordeaux property might make thousands
of cases of a single wine each vintage, in Burgundy a producer might make but a couple of
thousand cases. Of this production, they may make six or twelve different wines,
meaning that each batch of wine is very small, sometimes amounting to but one or two
barrels of a particular wine.
 Add to the mix that the wines are made of Pinot Noir. This is perhaps the
greatest red grape, but because it's not as easy to understand as Cabernet, Merlot,
Zinfandel or Syrah, you have a variety of opinions as to the quality of a particular
wine. There are a number of critics who, for one reason or another, cannot assess
Burgundy. When you're tasting Pinot Noir and expecting it to have the color of
Syrah, the body of Zinfandel and the tannins of Cabernet, it's not surprising your tasting
assessments and ours are not in agreement.
Many producers are wary of many of these critics.
Robert Parker now has an associate
who writes about Burgundy as Monsieur Parker is sometimes not a welcomed taster.
The
Wine Spectator is also not welcome on the grounds of a number of top domaines.
This
is due, in part, to the winemakers' feeling their wines are not fairly judged. We
can understand the stinging criticism from wine writers can be difficult to accept.
How would you like it were your work held up to a worldwide audience and someone who has
not traveled in your shoes writes something to the effect that your work for that year
should never have seen the light of day? I am thinking specifically of one
producer's wines. Had someone on the Left Coast made the same exact wine, these
critics would herald them with great enthusiasm and pronounce the winemaker a
"genius".
Sometimes the standards are different.
A wonderful facet of Burgundy is the variation in vintages.
Some years produce
wines with very high levels of tannin. The critics tend to view these are
"great" vintages.
Lighter wines or those which are drinkable in their
youth tend to be maligned.
If dinner is tonight, what's wrong with putting a young
and ready-to-drink bottle on the table?
Paramount is "it's who made the wine that's important."
Good winemakers
make good wines. The rubes get lucky in a good vintage and are lost the rest of the
time. Good winemakers are sensitive to the vintage and adjust their winemaking
accordingly.
Taste wines from vintages such as 1991 and 1992. This is where
you can separate good winemakers from poor. We had a wonderful "mixed
appellation" tasting of 1992s---one wine was poor, but seven were delicious,
including a wine from the producer whom the Wine Spectator said shouldn't have bottled
anything (that vintage). It won the tasting, by the way.
Some estates use lots of new oak. We've visited some cellars where the American
importer supplies the barrels! Some importers dictate other winemaking practices
such as "no filtration". The "field" is varied and there
is an incredible array of red Burgundy to be had. Some are great. Some are
schlock. Almost all are expensive!
We don't have a large or deep collection of Burgundy. We select wines we like.
If the critics like them, fine. If they don't like them, I DON'T CARE!
And a number of Burgundy lovers will tell you to turn upside-down the
ratings from Robert Parker and The Wine Spectator. Many times these people are
looking for the same characteristics in Burgundy as one looks for in Cabernets.
Tasting in a Burgundy cellar...
Some Burgundies We Like:
- DOMAINE RAMONET
 These guys are famous for
their wonderful white wines from Chassagne and environs. Happily, their red wines
are an after-thought for most people with platinum credit cards, so the wines remain
relatively well-priced. They have a few premier cru reds and a basic bottling.
The juice is cold soaked for a few days, half the fruit being de-stemmed. They have
some cement vats for the fermentation, macerating for about ten days. About
one-third new wood is used for the reds, which are usually nicely concentrated
Pinots. We rarely detect the oak in these, but have been delighted with the quality
given the pricing
We have found Ramonet's basic Chassagne Rouge to be, routinely, a wonderful
bottle of Burgundy. It tastes Burgundian. You won't mistake it
for California, Oregon or New Zealand Pinot Noir.
The 2006 is a mildly-oaked red. Delicious, in fact. I don't
think it will cellar for more than 3-5 years, but it sure is delicious right
now. In a period when California vintners seem to view $40 to $60 as
the "sweet spot" for pricing Pinot Noir, you can own a bottle of
this for $35. That's an easy decision.
- Currently available: 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge
$36.99
-
-
-
CHANTAL LESCURE
 This
estate was founded in 1975 by Chantal Lescure and her husband, Xavier
Marchard de Gramont. Her sons took over running the property in 1996
when she passed away and in 2001 they handed over the reins to Monsieur François
Chavériat who remains in charge today.
The estate doesn't have a great reputation for its wines and so they're
relatively unknown to most wine drinkers, though Burgundy fans have
undoubtedly, at least, heard of the domaine.
We noticed their wines in an importer's catalogue and bought a bottle of the
2005 Beaune Premier Cru to taste. It was amazingly good and everyone
seemed to go refill their glass with a second pour.
It's from a small parcel of 30 year old vines in the premier cru site called
Les Chouacheux at the southern part of the Beaune appellation. It's
close to the more famous site called "Clos des Mouches."
They have but one hectare of this site.
Chantal Lescure is a domaine now cultivating its vines, we understand, by
organic farming methods.
The 2005 vintage provided good quality fruit and it's one of those vintages
where if you did not make a good wine, you should go look for another line
of work. This wine displays a lovely cherry fruit character with some
sweet oak. It's remarkably good now...we're not sure how long this
will age, as it's pretty nice for immediate drinking.-
- Currently in stock: 2005 CHANTAL LESCURE BEAUNE Premier Cru
"Les Chouacheux" $38.99
-
JOSEPH ROTY
 From
what I've read about Joseph Roty, he's quite a curmudgeon and quite a
perfectionist. Sounds like our kind of vintner!
He's been described as an "enfant terrible" by some
journalists. I noticed that despite the fame and wide recognition for
his wines, you won't find an entry for the estate in the annual wine guide
from Revue de Vin de France. Nor will you find the wines tasted by the
Guide Hachette crew. Roty doesn't submit his wines to these
people.
The domaine is now run by his son, Phillipe. They have very old vines,
with most of their vineyards in Gevrey-Chambertin and
Marsannay. Farming is said to be biologique and they
tend to have very old vines. I read the Marsannay from Les Ouzeloy comes
from vines well over 80 years old. The small production of fruit per vine
accounts for the rather amazing character and quality of this wine.
We have a couple of Roty wines in stock presently.
The Marsannay from 2004 displays hints of cherry fruit and a
smoky element on the nose and palate. The flavors are wonderfully
elegant and refined with the complexity of far more famous appellations,
frankly. It's delicious and ready to drink, especially at cool cellar
temp.
The Gevrey Chambertin is a treat! It has some of the
bacony, smoky notes we love in Burgundy. It's a medium-bodied red with
hints of cherry and forest floor fragrances. Match this with some sort of
porcini mushroom dish and you'll have a most memorable wine and food pairing.
- Currently in stock: 2004 Marsannay "Les Ouzeloy"
$34.99
2004 Gevrey-Chambertin $55.99
2005 Gevrey-Chambertin $79.99
-
- CAMUS-BRUCHON
 Savigny-Les-Beaune
is a small wine village north of the "metropolis" of
Beaune. The vineyards in this appellation cover some 380+ hectares,
a sizeable quantity. As a result, value conscious Burgundy drinkers
know this town as a potentially good source of wine.
Lucien Camus-Bruchon, his wife Bernadette and their son Guillaume farm some 9.2 hectares of
vines, mostly Pinot Noir. Lucien took over from his father in 1971
and he's the sixth generation, son Bill is the 7th...
Like most vintners in this area, Lucien's holdings are scattered amongst
several different crus. You'll encounter Les Lavières, Les
Narbantons, Les Gravains along with an old vines' bottling of
Savigny. They also make a small amount of Pommard from the Premier
Cru site of Les Arvelets (a recently purchased vineyard), as well as a
Beaune Premier cru, Clos-du-Roi.
At this domaine, as with many others, the wines are "made in the
vineyard" and the Camus-Bruchon team are down-to-earth farmers at
heart. And the work in the cellar is done with care and precision along
with a chef's sensitivity to cooking...
The "Vieilles Vignes" bottling of Savigny-Les-Beaune comes from
89 year old+ vines in Savigny. The Aux Grands Liards (a
"liard" is a black poplar) comes from vineyards planted in 1913
and 1922. Old vines are a way of life at this domaine, although his
white wine is from a vineyard planted in the early
1990s.
We tasted some exceptional wines in this cellar. Especially
surprising is Camus-Bruchon's white wine, a Savigny-Les-Beaune Blanc
"Les Goudelettes." This is a delicious, smoky, toasty
Chardonnay that spends about eleven months in wood. Lucien stirs the
lees during the secondary, malolactic fermentation. As a result,
you'll find a nice bit of fruit and toasty notes here. Quite dry, of
course. Don't have any presently...
The red wines of Camus-Bruchon are quite good in their youth.
However, they also generally have good structure for cellaring. We
tasted a rather youthful 1993 Vieilles Vignes bottling, while the 1982
vintage was amazingly fine! This demonstrated the dedication of the
winemaker, as 1982 is not especially highly regarded. Yet a 20 year
old bottle is magnificent and memorable.
You're quite in luck should you own a bottle of 1976 Savigny-Les-Beaune
"Les Lavières." This wine displayed some gamey Pinot Noir
aromas with earthy, truffley aromas and some pencil lead
fragrances.
The 2007 Savigny from the Le Pimentiers site, comes from Pinot Noir vines
of 80-something years of age. It's a classic example of Burgundy and
the wine is medium-garnet in color and teeming with cherryish fruit and a
faint floral note, reminiscent of violets. There's a hint of
wood...just a hint, though, as the fruit really shines here.
We find this to be delicious now and suspect it will cellar well for 5-10
more years, maybe even longer.
The wines from this property are well worth purchasing, on the basis of
high quality and outstanding value.
-
Lucien & Bernadette
- Currently available: 2007 CAMUS-BRUCHON Savigny-Les-Beaune
"Les Pimentiers" $34.99
-
-
-
- FREDERIC ESMONIN
- This property is also known as the Domaine des Estournelles. They own or farm
three Grand Crus in Gevrey-Chambertin as well as some premier cru and village vines.
Their recipe calls for a four day cold soak, followed by a warm fermentation.
Typically they use 25% new wood for their wines.
 I
liked the 2004 Gevrey Chambertin wines we have from Esmonin and did not find
the 2005s quite as charming. Bob tasted the 2005s as well and we both
agreed in preferring the 2004s!
The 2007s are showing wonderfully and yes, they're young. But
drinkable now!!
In the 2007 vintage, we found the Estournelles-Saint-Jacques to be our
favorite wine (typically we prefer the Lavaux bottling).
The wine has loads of bright cherry fruit and a nice spice element from a
bit of wood. We suspect it will be a nice wine in a decade when fully
mature, but it's so enchanting now...
This domaine also has a tiny patch of vines in the grand cru site of
Mazy-Chambertin...less than half a hectare. The 2004 is a bright, mildly
cherryish Burgundy...there's a nice bit of wood here and the tannins are of
a moderate level. It's drinkable now, but ought to cellar well for
another ten years...And the wine arrives at a very attractive price, too.
- Currently available:
2007 Gevrey-Chambertin "Estournelles Saint-Jacques" SALE $49.99
2004 Mazy-Chambertin $59.99
-
- MICHEL MOREY-COFFINET
 A small domaine of less than 8 hectares, Michel Morey is the son of Marc Morey, another
famous Chassagne producer.
We've been pleased with the white wines from this estate and a number of the
reds have been remarkably good. We've had some good Chassagne rouge
but currently are featuring a most price-worthy wine. If you're a fan
of good Pinots and are hunting for something sensibly-priced, you may find
this to be as fine a bargain as we do.
Recently shipped to the Bay Area is a Bourgogne Rouge which puts to shame
many "village" level Burgundies. I'd venture to guess most
tasters would probably identify this wine, if tasted blind, as some sort of
pretty good Burgundy such as a Volnay, Chassagne rouge or even something
from farther north. In fact, it's more stylish and charming than just
about any "Bourgogne Rouge" we ever tasted. The price is
also remarkable, especially considering how well this does on the dinner
table. It's a medium-bodied, cherryish Pinot with a nice touch of
oak. Drinkable now (and how!), this is best served at cool cellar
temp.
- Currently available: 2001 Chassagne-Montrachet "Morgeot"
Sold Out
2007 Bourgogne Rouge $19.99
DOMAINE DES MONTS LUISANTS
 Here's
an estate that's got a familiar name, Monts Luisants, but it's actually a
new label and a new domaine.
Jean Marc Dufouleur's father had a few hectares of vineyards and in 2000
Jean Marc started to vinify the fruit. Previously the family had sold
off the grapes.
There are some 3.4 hectares of vines in Morey-Saint-Denis and these are
tended, as we're told, with great care. Dufouleur is described as a
perfectionist and we understand he did not even vinify his 2004 crop as he
was not happy with the quality of the grapes. Wow...that says
something about this vigneron, doesn't it?
I tasted a few of the Monts Luisants 2005s and 2006s and was awe-struck by
the premier cru bottling of Les Genavrières. This comes from a
small parcel that borders Clos de la Roche to the east and Clos Saint Denis
just to the south with Monts Luisants just north of it.
The perfume of this wine is incredibly enticing. The nose shows
nuances of black cherry, plums, sweet spices and a woodsy element. I'd
have bet the wine saw a fair percentage of new oak barrels, but the importer
contends new oak is minimal. Given that the production of this wine
totals close to 120 cases, that would mean Dufouleur had 4 or 5 barrels'
worth of this wine.
The structure of the wine is firm and probably will allow for 5-10 years of
cellaring, but it's so charming now, holding this for several
years may be out of the question.
Currently in stock: 2006 DOMAINE DES MONTS LUISANTS
Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Les Genavrières (List $120) SALE
$99.99
-
- DOMAINE DE LA ROMANÉE-CONTI
 What can I possibly add to what has already been written about this
producer? It is the top estate in the world of red Burgundy. It is a target
for wine writers who can easily bemoan about the high prices these wines
fetch. We're partial to their "cheap" wine from the Echezeaux
appellation, being content with the DRC style at their "entry level"
price.
 Owning some 24 hectares of vines, the wines include the famous
Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Grands Echezeaux and
Echezeaux. All new oak. Low yields. Truly hand-made wines (our last
visit we saw the cellar master hand-racking from barrel to barrel). They also make a
modest amount of Le Montrachet and we sometimes can purchase their brandy (marc or
fine). DRC reds are the standard by which all others are measured. -
- ***
We are amused by the reviews this estate gets from The Wine Spectator.
A few years ago the Spectator bashed an entire vintage of DRC wines. I
recall a blind-tasting we conducted of 1992s, I believe, and the DRC wine
won the tasting. The Spectator had written something along the lines
of "these wines should never have been bottled."
Participants in that tasting felt most of the wines were worthy of
praise.
I had sent off a note to another winery, saying we enjoyed their wine in
this particular tasting and they forwarded my note, bemoaning the lack of
taste on the part of some journalists. One of the owners of DRC,
Aubert de Villaine, called them immediately to say it was pleasant to see
signs of intelligent life in, of all places, the USA! The wife of the
owner of the other domain, by the way, sent a note back saying few wine
writers recognize the work that goes in to making these wines, especially in
less-than-perfect vintages.
In any case, we were told a few years ago that Wine Spectator staffers were
not permitted to visit the domaine! I don't know if this policy has
changed, but we were amused upon hearing of a local hotel stopping by to
purchase a case of DRC wines and the DRC staff were certain these bottles
were for a Dictator tasting.
Look on any vintage chart and you'll see poor ratings of 1982 and
1984. Those vintages of DRC wines sold for modest money. We
enjoyed the wines in their youth. In June of 2001, a friend opened a
bottle of the 1982 DRC Echezeaux and this was the wine of the evening!
I don't want to beat the drum too enthusiastically, but wish to merely point
out: taste what's in your glass.
Unfortunately the wines of "The Domaine" (as many people call it)
are purchased by people who do not intend to ever pull the cork. These
people are "investors," speculating that the wines will increase
in value. This tends to drive up demand in those harvests dubbed by
"experts" as "top vintages." If you want to get an
idea of what this winery produces, splurge on their wine in a so-called
"smaller" year. I have never been disappointed. -
- The 2007s are the most recent arrivals. The prices are a reflection of several
factors: the increasing demand for the wines of DRC, the weak dollar
and the US importer having to sell these wines to dining establishments with
ostentatious wine lists. (I'm most specifically referring to the
sudden huge demand for these wines in Las Vegas, for example.)
In tasting the 2002s I found the wines to be quite good, with the Romanée-Conti
being a shade lighter in color than the other wines and not quite as
impressive as La Tâche or Richebourg. In 2002 they produced for but
the third time in their history as "Vosne-Romanée" appellation
wine. This is a lovely Burgundy unless you serve it alongside
one of the other heavy hitter bottlings.
We had a bottle of 2000 La Tâche at Thanksgiving in 2007. Lovely
wine. Really nice fruit and beautifully balanced. I just
received an offer from an importer for this wine...it turns out the current
value is about a thousand bucks for a single bottle! Yikes.
Our dear friend Mario Perelli Minetti has long spoken about wanting to taste
a DRC wine. The man is 97 years old, so we figured we'd better hurry
up and pop the cork. I picked him up at home and we drove to a spiffy
restaurant. We had a lovely bottle of Laurent Perrier's Grande Siecle
Champagne to start.
Mario ordered the Sea Scallops.
"Mario," I cautioned, "we're opening a bottle of fine
Burgundy tonight...maybe you might find something else?"
"Hell, I'll drink the wine with sea scallops. I don't mind."
So we poured the wine and he tasted it.
"Say, this is damned fine Pinot Noir. What's a bottle of this
going for?"
"Mario, it's a ten year old vintage. The most recent is being
offered for $440 a bottle wholesale."
"Wow...they have a strong marketing department!"
More recently, a Chicago-based wine rep told us she'd worked for a company
in Illinois, selling (okay, taking orders) DRC wines and she'd never been
offered a taste. When she was heading to California on a sales trip,
we extended an invitation to dinner...
-
-
- ...and we opened a bottle of 2000 vintage Grands-Echezeaux. This
wine, at 9+ years of age, was a delight. It's a classic
Burgundy...essence of Burgundy...deep cherry notes with toasty oak, forest
floor fragrances and a bit of truffle...magnificent!
- Currently available: A few bottles are in the locked
case...stop by and have a look.
No mail order sales of these rarities. Sorry.
AURELIEN VERDET
 So
many young winemakers cater to critics who demand bigger, darker, deeper,
more potent wines, it's remarkable to discover a very young vintner who
makes elegant, refined Burgundy.
Aurelien Verdet is the son of a vigneron who grasped the notion of organic
and biodynamic farming well before these concepts became fashionable in
marketing wine. Aurelien was more interested, though, in racing
motorcycles, but the crash which ended his career on the racetrack may have
started his "ride" in the vineyards and cellar.
Verdet actually works for a Nuits Saint Georges winery and in his
"spare time" he tends some Hautes Cotes de Nuits vineyards and
makes a bit of his own wine. The wines we tasted from this property
were all nicely done and elegant.
We chose his 2007 Chambolle-Musigny because the wine displays the elegance,
restraint and finesse usually ascribed to wines of that appellation.
Chambolle wines tend to be fairly delicate and so they are often over-looked
by many who find more satisfaction in bigger or more muscular wines from
neighboring villages.
Currently in stock: AURELIEN VERDET 2007 Chambolle-Musigny $49.99-
BONNEAU du MARTRAY
 The
Bonneau du Martray estate is pretty much synonymous with Corton and
Corton-Charlemagne.
Most of the domaine's holdings are planted with Chardonnay, but they do have
a small patch of Pinot Noir in the Corton appellation amounting to about one
and a half hectares.
Jean-Charles le Bault de la Morinire is the architect of this property,
taking over the reins back in 1994 after returning from Paris where he was,
well, an architect. Stung by criticism of the domaine's Corton Rouge,
he has worked diligently to upgrade its quality.
Yields tend to be fairly modest, generally around 30hl per hectare.
The fruit is de-stemmed and the juice is given a pre-maceration cold
soak. Wood is not a major part of this wine as they seek to highlight
the fruit and particular terroir.
We have some bottles of their very fine 1999 vintage. It's a
medium-bodied Pinot, displaying some dark cherry fruit and a hint of
spice. The tannins are modest at this stage. Very fine.
Interesting to think this is perhaps the lone domaine in Burgundy which
makes "grand cru" level wines exclusively.
Currently in stock: Bonneau du Martray 1999 "Corton"
$74.99 (last bottle or two)
Domaine
Comte Georges de Vogüé Many
estates in Burgundy have remarkable histories.
This is one of them.
The family can trace its roots back to the mid-1400s. Comtes Georges
died in 1987 and the estate was run by his daughter, Elizabeth.
Since these people often have titles, hers is "Baronne Bertrand de
Ladoucette." Now her two daughters are involved and they are the
Comtesse Gerard de Caussans and her sis, Marie de Vogüé.
Their wines tend to be a bit 'severe' or quiet when they're young.
These are not made with an eye towards fashion, nor do they make wines for
today's critics who rush to judge the most recently crushed grapes in an effort
to be the first to bestow praise or criticism on a wine. The wines of this
domaine, like it or not, are wines for those who have the patience and storage
conditions to allow these Burgundies to actually develop and, in fact, mature.
If you're looking for instant gratification, you'll undoubtedly be disappointed
in the Comte de Vogüé wines. These are not as flashy as the wines of the
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, for example. They're more difficult to
assess when they're young and, unless you're willing to wait a decade (or two or
three), these may not be the wines for you.
The property comprises nearly 12-and-a-half hectares. A significant
percentage is in the vaunted Musigny appellation, with 2.75 hectares in Bonnes-Mares.
They also make a tiny bit of "Bourgogne Blanc," the wine coming from
vineyards within the Musigny appellation. I think they make about 4 or 5
barrels of this annually.
There's a lovely, elegant Chambolle-Musigny and a Chambolle-Musigny Premier
Cru. Along with these they make a few barrels of Chambolle-Musigny Premier
Cru "Les Amoureuses." Then there are the grand cru wines of
Bonnes-Mares and Musigny.
We periodically see some bottles of the Comte de Vogüé wines.
- Currently in stock: 2005 COMTE DE VOGÜÉ Chambolle-Musigny
Premier Cru $184.99
-
-
- MORE RED BURGUNDIES
|
TO
INQUIRE ABOUT A WINE: