Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Domaines and Negociants Visited
• Wines Tasted & Tasting Notes – Geoffrey Troy & John Brincko
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2012 Vintage Report
• Recent Vintages (2012-2007)
• How Burgundy is Tasted from Barrel
• A Simple Explanation of Burgundy

Introduction

John Tilson

I first started going to Burgundy to taste wines from barrel in 1981. Since that time I have only missed a few years of tasting Burgundies from barrel. In those trips, Geoffrey Troy, East Coast Editor of the old Underground Wineletter & Contributing Editor to the new Underground Wineletter, has been with me each time. In fact, he went in the few years that I was unable to go. Also, John Brincko, an old friend and Contributing Editor to the new Underground Wineletter, accompanied us on some of the earlier trips and in more recent years has been on each trip. This year, because of health issues I was unable to go, (click here to read the article “The Underground is Back”), but Geoffrey and John, accompanied by a new friend, John Bishop, went to Burgundy and tasted the 2012s at 19 different producers and negociants.
In a nutshell, their findings are that the 2012 vintage is a vintage that will rival or even possibly exceed the 2009 and 2010 vintages. Also, their tastings of some of the 2011s again after bottling confirms the finding of last year that the 2011s are certainly generally excellent if maybe just a slight notch behind the 2010s (to read that article click here).
In terms of style, they feel the 2012s are more like the 2010s than the 2009s or 2011s. They found the best wines are very pure and concentrated with great balance and structure. (Details of the 2012 harvest can be found in the Domaine de la Romanèe-Conti Vintage Report)

Below is a list of domaines and negociants visited on this trip. (Also, with the exception of Domaine Francois Lamarche and Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, background notes on all of these producers and negociants can be found in previous Along The Burgundy Trail articles. (To read Along The Burgundy Trail 2011 click here , to read Along The Burgundy Trail 2010 click here , and to read Along The Burgundy Trail 2009 click here ).

Following the listing, are brief tasting notes and comments from Geoffrey Troy and John Brincko. These are followed by the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2012 Vintage Report. Finally, there are links to earlier vintage reports (2012-2007) and the articles How Burgundy Is Tasted From Barrel and A Simple Explanation of Burgundy. If you are new to Burgundy or just need a refresher, I highly recommend that you read the articles How Burgundy Is Tasted From Barrel and A Simple Explanation of Burgundy.

 

Domaines and Negociants Visited

Camille Giroud
Domaine Anne Gros
Domaine Armand Rousseau
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue
Domaine de la Romanèe-Conti
Domaine Dujac
Domaine Francois Lamarche
Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg
Domaine Georges Roumier
Domaine Hudelot-Noellat
Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier
Domaine Leflaive
Domaine Liger-Belair
Domaine Marquis d’Angerville
Domaine Méo-Camuzet
Domaine Ponsot
Olivier Bernstein
Pierre Yves Colin-Morey
Remoissenet Pere et Fils

 

Wines Tasted & Tasting Notes
Geoffrey Troy & John Brincko

Except as noted all tasting notes are from Geoffrey Troy. John Brincko feels the best 2012s he tasted were from Anne Gros, Compte George de Vogue, Domaine de la  Romanee Conti, Mugneret-Gibourg, Georges Roumier, Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, Ponsot, Olivier Bernstein,  and Leflaive,  followed by Camille Giroud, Dujac, Rousseau, and Hudelot-Noellat.

Camille Giroux
Tasting of 14 2012 red wines and 6 2012 white wines with David Croix. The 2012 production here was 50% less that normal with a total of just under 3000 cases produced.

Red Wines
Bourgogne
Volnay
Gevrey-Chambertin
Vosne-Romanee
Beaune Les Avaux 1er cru
Beaune Les Cras 1er cru
Volnay Les Laurets 1er cru
Volnay Santenots 1er cru
Aloxe-Corton Valozieres 1er cru
Morey St Denis
Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques
Maranges Le Croix Moines 1er cru
Corton Clos de Roi
Chambertin

All the red wines showed balance and fruit with concentration and depth. Wines with Outstanding Potential: Chambertin, Volnay Les Laurets, Volnay Santenots, Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques. The Corton Clos de Roi has Very Good Potential Plus while the other wines all have Very Good Potential.

White Wines
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Vergers 1er cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Tete du Clos 1er cru
Chablis Bougros
Meursault

The white wines have lovely fruit and balance with nice underlying acidity and have Very Good Potential.

Domaine Anne Gros
Tasting of 6 2012 red wines and 1 2012 white wine with Anne Gros and her daughter. The yields in 2010 and 2012 were similar. Anne believes that the 2012s have more power and opulence.

Haut Cote-de-Nuits Bourgogne Rouge
Bourgogne rouge
Chambolle-Musigny Les Combes Orveaux
Echezeaux
Clos Vougeot Les Grandes Maupertuis
Richebourg

White Wine
Haut Cote-de-Nuits Bourgogne Blanc

The 2012 red wines here have lovely balance and lots of fruit. Wines with Outstanding Plus Potential are Clos Vougeot Les Grandes Maupertuis and Richebourg followed by Echezeaux with Outstanding Potential and the Chambolle-Musigny Les Combes Orveaux with Very Good Potential Plus. The Bourgognes, as usual, are lovely and very pure. And the Haut Cote-de-Nuits Bourgogne Blanc is crisp and balanced with lovely fruit.

Domaine Armand Rousseau
Tasting of 10 2012 red wines with Frederic Robert. The yields here in 2012 were 20% less than average. Frederic Robert compares the 2012s to the 2010s, but softer and very fresh. The Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze were in 100% new oak and the others from no new oak to 20% new oak.

Gevrey-Chambertin
Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques 1er cru
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru
Charmes-Chambertin
Mazy-Chambertin
Clos de la Roche
Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er cru
Chambertin Clos de Beze
Chambertin

The Chambertin is full and rich with gorgeous very pure fruit and lovely balance –  Outstanding Plus Potential. The Chambertin has gorgeous fruit and is supple and very pure – Outstanding Potential. The Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er cru has lovely fruit with a good backbone and is balanced and flavorful – Outstanding Potential. The Mazy-Chambertin is really good. It has lovely fruit and balance with great structure – Outstanding Potential. The Clos de la Roche has lovely fruit and is balanced with nice structure underneath – Very Good Plus Potential. The Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes is quite rich and flavorful with nice structure and balance – Very Good Plus Potential. The Charmes-Chambertin soft and supple with lovely pure fruit – Very Good Potential.

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue
Tasting of 5 2012 red wines with Francois Millet

Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru (15-25 yr old vines + small parcel from 07)
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses
Bonnes-Mares
Musigny

The Bonnes-Mares and Musigny are really very special in 2012. The Bonnes-Mares is rich and full with lots of fruit and flavor showing floral notes – Extraordinary Potential. The Musigny is beautifully structured with lots of fruit and depth and shows a lot of  concentration – Extraordinary Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru is made from furit grown mostly 15-25 year old Musigny vines. It shows great complex flavors and is balanced and really delicious – Outstanding Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses is a lovely balanced wine with lots of fruit accented by floral notes – Outstanding Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny is a lovely village wine with lots of fruit and is concentrated and balanced – Very Good Potential Plus.

Domaine de la Romanèe-Conti
Tasting of 16 red wines (8 2012s and 8 2011s) and 1 white wine with Aubert de Villane. The yields here were below average at 23-25 hl/ha in 2011 and only 17-20 hl/ha in 2012. Both vintages show remarkable balance and concentration.

2012
Echezeaux.
Grands Echezeaux.
Romanee Saint Vivant
Richebourg.
La Tache.
Romanée Conti.

The Corton was not tasted as the wine was just racked. The 2012 DRCs are loaded with fruit and are balanced with great concentration. The La Tache looks to be one of the great modern day La Taches. It is a WOW wine with tremendous concentration, depth, and balance showing great oriental spice complexity – Extraordinary Plus Potential. The Romanee Conti too is a classic with great elegance, balance and layers of flavor with a soft suppleness and oriental spice tinges – Extraordinary Plus Potential. The Richebourg is a powerhouse. Rich and concentrated with lots of rich dark fruit flavors and spicy nuances – Extraordinary Potential.  The Romanee Saint Vivant is similar to the 2011 with great elegance, style and finesse – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Grands Echezeaux has concentration, depth and balance and is flavorful  and rounded – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Echezeaux is lovely with lots of fruit, concentration, and balance – Outstanding Potential.

2011
Corton
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet.
Echezeaux.
Grands Echezeaux.
Romanee Saint Vivant
Richebourg.
La Tache.
Romanée Conti.

The 2011s here last year looked to be the best wines of what we called “The Surprise Vintage” (to read that article click here) Now bottled, the wines have lived up to their promise with gorgeous supple fruit and great balance. They are wines of great charm yet with concentration and depth. The Romanee Conti and La Tache are both classic wines. The Romanee Conti is elegant and supple with an underlying vibrancy and lots of oriental spice tinged fruit – Extraordinary Plus. The La Tache has lots of rich, oriental spice tinged fruit and has impressive balance and depth – Extraordinary Plus. The Richebourg has lots of plum like fruit and is balanced with great depth and length on the palate – Outstanding Plus.
The Romanee Saint Vivant is supple with lots of red fruit flavors and an underlying minerality – Outstanding Plus. The Grands Echezeaux is gorgeous with supple plumy fruit and great balance – Outstanding Plus. The Echezeaux has lots of flavor with balanced plumy fruit and lovely balance – Outstanding. The Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet is a lovely wine that totaled only 2000 bottles of production and will be sold only in the European market.

White Wine
2011
Montrachet
The 2011 Montrachet is yet another great Montrachet with faint botrytis tinges and honeyed tropical fruit nuances accented by a vibrant underlying crispness and a long finish  – Extraordinary.

Domaine Dujac
Tasting of fourteen 2012 red wines (three negociant wines) with Jeremy Seysses. Depending on the vineyard, 2012 production here was down from 10-30% compared with 2011 (villages down 10% and Premier Cru and Grand Cru down 30%). Jeremy thinks 2012 is like a mix of 2009 and 2010.

Morey St Denis – negociant
Chambolle-Musigny – negociant
Gevrey-Chambertin – negociant
Morey St Denis
Chambolle-Musigny
Morey St Denis 1er cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers 1er cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er cru
Charmes Chambertin
Vosne-Romanee Les Beaumonts 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Malconsorts 1er cru
Echezeaux
Clos Saint Denis
Clos de la Roche
Bonnes-Mares

The Clos de la Roche is concentrated and has depth and richness with very nice balance. This seems to be the star this year – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Bonnes-Mares is elegant with lovely fruit and balance – Outstanding Potential. The Clos Saint Denis has a nice minerality and is supple and flavorful – Outstanding Potential. The Echezeaux has lovely sweet fruit and is very supple with nice balance – Outstanding Potential. The Vosne-Romanee Les Malconsorts 1er cru is also a lovely wine with richness and depth and lots of flavor – Outstanding Potential. The Charmes Chambertin has very nice raspberry tinged fruit and is finesseful and supple with very nice balance – Very Good Plus Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers 1er cru, Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er cru,  and Vosne-Romanee Les Beaumonts 1er cru all are balanced wines with very nice fruit and depth – Very Good Potential. The Morey St Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Morey St Denis 1er cru are finesseful wines with lovely fruit and the negociant village wines are nice in a lighter style.

Domaine Francois Lamarche
Tasting of Lamarche 10 2012 red wines with Nicole Lamarche. The 2012 harvest here is down 40% from normal with some yields as low as 12 hl/ha.

Bourgogne Haute Cote de Nuits
Vosne Romanee
Vosne Romanee Les Charmes 1er cru
Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru
Vosne Romanee Les Malconsorts 1er cru
Nuits-St-Georges Les Cras 1er cru
Echezeaux
Clos de Vougeot
Grands-Echezeux
La Grande Rue

The La Grande Rue is lovely showing lots of spice tinged fruit with concentration and balance – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Grands-Echezeux is very pure and expressive with lots of fruit and nice balance – Outstanding Potential. The Vosne Romanee Les Malconsorts 1er cru is really lovely with richness and depth and wonderful balance – Outstanding Potential. The Clos Vougeot has lovely plummy fruit and very nice balance – Very Good Plus Potential. The Echezeaux is also very nice with lovely fruit and great elegance – Very Good Plus Potential. With very nice balance the Nuits-St-Georges Les Cras 1er cru is rich and rounded – Very Good Potential. The Vosne Romanee Les Charmes 1er cru and Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru are also lovely with both exhibiting supple roundness and very nice balance – Very Good Potential. The Vosne Romanee is also a lovely village wine and the Bourgogne Haute Cote de Nuits is also very nice.

Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg
Tasting of 7 2012 and 3 2011 red wines with Marie-Christine. The crop here was down sharply with some vineyards yielding 50% of normal. Marie-Christine compares the vintage with 2010.

Vosne-Romanee
Nuits St Georges Au Bas de Combe
Nuits St Georges Les Chaignots
Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes
Echezeaux
Clos Vougeot
Ruchottes-Chambertin

The Ruchottes-Chambertin is a real stunner. Rich and concentrated, very pure, and beautifully balanced with loads of fruit – Extraordinary Potential. The Clos Vougeot, Echezeaux, and Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes are also gorgeous. The Clos Vougeot with great fruit, intensity and balance, the Echezeaux with great structure, balance and flavor, and the Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes really gorgeous with supple fruit, elegance, and concentration – Outstanding Plus Potential. And rounding out the line-up, the Vosne-Romanee, Nuits St Georges Au Bas de Combe, and Nuits St Georges Les Chaignots are really impressive. The Nuits St Georges Les Chaignots with lovely fruit and balanced with a long finish, the Nuits St Georges Au Bas de Combe lots of fruit, rich and round, with lovely balance, and the Vosne-Romanee an outstanding village wine with delicious supple fruit and a lot of charm and flavor – Outstanding Potential.

2011
Ruchottes-Chambertin
Echezeaux
Clos Vougeot

The 2011s here are on a par with the 2010s and 2012s. All 3 of the 2011s tasted were gorgeous – wonderful fruit, supple and rounded, and delicious – Outstanding Plus.

Domaine Georges Roumier
Tasting of 6 2012 red wines with Christophe Roumier. The 2012 crop here is 30% less than 2011. Christophe believes the wines are like the 2010s but with more depth.

Bourgogne
Chambolle-Musigny
Morey Saint Denis Clos de la Bussiere 1er cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru
Bonnes Mares
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru

The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru is a classic – supple and rounded with complexity and charm – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Bonnes Mares very concentrated and flavorful with good length – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Morey Saint Denis Clos de la Bussiere 1er cru and Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru are beautiful wines. The Morey Saint Denis Clos de la Bussiere 1er cru with loads of fruit and balanced and very flavorful – Outstanding Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru gorgeous with lots of fruit and supple and rounded – Outstanding Potential. And a lovely village wine – the Chambolle-Musigny with lovely fruit and balance and depth and richness – Very Good Plus Potential. The finale, a really terrific Bourgogne with lovely pure fruit and beautiful balance – Very Good Potential.

Domaine Hudelot-Noellat
Tasting with Charles Van Canneyt of 13 2012 red wines. Production in 2012 was down sharply with Grand Crus down 50%, Premier Crus down 30 to 50%, and village wines down 20%.

Bourgogne
Chambolle-Musigny
Vosne-Romanee
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Bas de Combe
Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Murgers 1er cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Beaumonts 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Malconsorts 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru
Clos Vougeot
Romanee St Vivant
Richebourg

Richebourg and Vosne-Romanee Les Malconsorts have Outstanding Plus Potential. Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er cru, Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru, Clos Vougeot, and Romanee St Vivant all have Outstanding Potential. Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Murgers 1er cru, Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er cru, and Vosne-Romanee Les Beaumonts 1er cru all have Very Good Plus Potential. Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanee, and Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Bas de Combe all have Very Good Potential.

Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier
Tasting with Jacques-Frederic Mugnier of 6 2012 red wines and 1 2012 white wine. Yields in 2012 were reduced due to hail. Frederic believes the fruit in the 2012s is like the 2010s, but with deeper texture and a little less acidity.

Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 1er cru
Bonnes Mares
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru
Musigny
Nuits St Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er cru

White Wine
Nuits St Georges Clos de la Marechale Blanc 1er cru

The Musigny is gorgeous with lots of floral berry nuances and elegant and flavorful with great balance and length – Extraordinary Potential. The Nuits St Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er cru is perhaps the best yet. It is rich, full, and concentrated with lots of fruit and very nice balance – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru is supple and rounded with very pure fruit and flavorful with a lot of charm – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Bonnes Mares has lovely fruit and great balance and flavor – Outstanding Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 1er cru is lovely with a lot of charm and very pure fruit – Very Good Plus Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny is a charming village wine with lots of supple fruit and very nice balance – Very Good Potential.

Domaine Leflaive
Tasting with Eric Remy of 10 2012 white wines. The 2012 crop here is 50% less than 2011 at 23 hl/ha. Eric says the 2012s are similar to the 2010s and 2008s.

Bourgogne
Puligny-Montrachet
Meursault sous le Dos d’Ane 1er cru
Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres 1er cru
Puligny-Montrachet Les Combottes 1er cru
Puligny-Montrachet Le Clavoillon 1er cru
Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er cru
Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet
Batard-Montrachet
Chevalier-Montrachet

The 2012 Leflaives are gorgeous wines with gorgeous fruit showing no botrytis and lots of richness with balanced acidity. The Chevalier-Montrachet is a classic with great perfume, intense very pure fruit, and richness and depth, with structure and backbone – Extraordinary Potential. The Batard-Montrachet is a rich, full, intense wine with lots of fruit and flavor – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet is made from fruit grown on very old vines and is structured and layered with lots of fruit and richness and a firm underlying backbone – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er cru and Puligny-Montrachet Les Combottes 1er cru are really lovely. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er cru rounded with lots of lush, supple fruit and the Puligny-Montrachet Les Combottes 1er cru with lovely fruit and balance and a lot of charm – Outstanding Potential. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres 1er cru has lots of very pure fruit with very good underlying acidity and a firm structure – Very Good Plus Potential. The Puligny-Montrachet Le Clavoillon 1er cru and the Meursault sous le Dos d’Ane 1er cru have very good fruit and balance with nice finesse and crispness – Very Good Potential. The Bourgogne is racy with lovely fruit and the Puligny-Montrachet has lovely fruit and balance with a faint exotic tinge.

Domaine Liger-Belair
Tasting with Louis-Michel of 10 2012 red wines. Yields were 40% less than normal here in 2012. Louis-Michael compares the vintage to 2010.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee
Vosne-Romanee La Colombiere
Vosne-Romanee Les Chaumes 1er cru 1.5 barrels
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Cras
Vosne-Romanee Les Petits Monts 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee Aux Reignots 1er cru
Echezeaux
La Romanee

The La Romanee is stunning.  It is lush, rounded and silky with layers of very pure concentrated fruit and gorgeous balance – Extraordianry Potential. The Echezeaux and Vosne-Romanee Aux Reignots 1er cru are beautiful wines. The Echezeaux with loads of blackberry fruit and great balance and the Vosne-Romanee Aux Reignots 1er cru concentrated and full with loads of berry fruit – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Vosne-Romanee Les Petits Monts 1er cru and Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru are lovely. The Vosne-Romanee Les Petits Monts 1er cru with very pure fruit and a lot of charm and the Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru concentrated and full with lots of fruit – Very Good Plus Potential. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Cras, Vosne-Romanee Les Chaumes 1er cru, Vosne-Romanee La Colombiere, and Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru all show very pure fruit and are balanced with very nice concentration – Very Good Potential. The Vosne-Romanee is a very nice village wine.

Domaine Marquis d’Angerville
Tasting with Guillaume d’Angerville of 3 red wines
The 2012 crop was drastically reduced by hail. In some vineyards production was only 5-10% of normal. The last 4 vintages, 2010-2013, have been the equivalent production of 2 normal harvests.

Volnay Champans 1er cru
Volnay Fremiet 1er cru
Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er cru

While the 2012 quantities are painfully small the wines are marvelous. The Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er cru shows great fruit, balance and depth – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Volnay Fremiet 1er cru also has lovely fruit and is rounded and supple with lots of flavor – Outstanding Potential. The Volnay Champans 1er cru is also beautifully balanced with lovely fruit and a nice finish – Very Good Plus Potential.

Domaine Méo-Camuzet
Tasting of 13 2012 red wines and 1 2012 white wine with Jean-Nicolas Meo. Jean Nicolas believes 2012 was like 2002, but with less sugar and a bit like 2010.

Gevrey-Chambertin
Chambolle-Musigny
Fixin Clos de Chapitre 1er cru
Vosne-Romanee
Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru
Nuits Saint Georges Les Perrieres 1er cru
Nuits Saint Georges Aux Murgers 1er cru
Clos de Vougeot
Vosne Romanee Les Chaumes 1er cru
Corton Clos Rognet
Vosne Romanee Les Brulees 1er cru
Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 1er cru
Richebourg

White
Haut Cote de Nuits Blanc Clos Saint-Philibert

The Richebourg and Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 1er cru are fantastic wines. The Richebourg with tremendous concentration, depth, and balance and the Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 1er cru with intense fruit and concentration and wonderful complexity – Extraordinary Potential. The Vosne Romanee Les Brulees 1er cru and Corton Clos Rognet are very impressive. Both have complex fruit flavors with lots of depth and beautiful balance – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Clos de Vougeot is really lovely with balance and layers of fruit – Outstanding Potential. The Vosne Romanee Les Chaumes 1er cru, Nuits Saint Georges Aux Murgers 1er cru, and Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru are from different places, but all with a lot of supple fruit and flavorful with lovely balance – Very Good Plus Potential. The Nuits Saint Georges Les Perrieres 1er cru very nice fruit and balance – Very Good Potential.  The Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Fixin Clos de Chapitre 1er cru, and Vosne-Romanee all are nice wines with lovely fruit. And the Haut Cote de Nuits Blanc Clos Saint-Philibert has lovely balance and tinges of tropical fruit.

Domaine Ponsot
Tasting with Laurent Ponsot of 9 2012 red wines and 1 2012 white wine. Yields in 2012 were only 17 hl/ha vs normal of 30 hl/ha and an average over 30 years of 26 hl/ha. The quality here in 2012 is superb and the wines look to be some of the very best of the vintage.

Chambolle-MusignyLes Charmes 1er cru
Morey St Denis Cuvee des Alouettes 1er cru
Griottes-Chambertin
Chapelle-Chambertin
Corton Cuvee de Bourdon
Clos de Vougeot
Chambertin
Clos St Denis Vieilles Vignes
Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes

White Wine
Corton Charlemagne

Fabulous wines here in 2012 led by the off the charts Clos St Denis Vieilles Vignes which has phenomenal concentration with layers of very pure fruit and impeccable balance – Extraordinary Plus Potential. The Chambertin and Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes have Extraordinary Potential. The Chambertin has great depth and intensity with intense very pure fruit and lovely balance and the Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes has lots of richness and flavor with great structure and balance. The Griottes-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin, Corton Cuvee de Bourdon, and Clos de Vougeot all have Outstanding Plus Potential. They show intense fruit with lots of concentration and are balanced with impressive length on the palate. The Chambolle-MusignyLes Charmes 1er cru and the Morey St Denis Cuvee des Alouettes 1er cru both have Very Good Plus Potential. The Chambolle-MusignyLes Charmes 1er cru has lovely fruit and balance with lots of flavor and the Morey St Denis Cuvee des Alouettes 1er cru is delicous with lots of supple fruit and very nice balance. The Corton Charlemagne is a lovely wine with gorgeous spice tinged fruit showing floral tropical notes and is flavorful and balanced – Outstanding Potential.

Olivier Bernstein
Olivier Bernstein began his negociant business with the 2007 vintage. Geoffrey Troy and I tasted here the past 3 vintages and notes for the 2009s and 2010s were included in previous ariticles (click here for background).
This year John Brincko tasted here for the first time. Eleven 2012 red wines were tasted.

Gevrey-Chambertin
Chambolle-Musigny Les Lavrottes
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux 1er
Gevrey-Chamberin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru
Charmes Chambertin
Clos Vougeot
Clos de la Roche
Bonne Mares
Mazis Chambertin
Chambertin Clos de Beze
Chambertin

John was very impressed with the five wines at the top extraordinary. His notes follow:
Both the Chambertin and the Chambertin Clos de Beze have great perfume, concentration and length. They look to both be really great wines – Extraordinary Potential Plus. Close behind are the Bonnes Mares made from grapes grown on 54 year old vines in the Terre Rouge near the Compte Vogue holdings, the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru which is a superb effort reminiscent of the old Leroy wines from this vineyard with great perfume, concentration, balance and a long finish, and the Clos Vougeot from a parcel in the middle of the vineyard is a really excellent wine – Extraordinary Potential. The Charmes Chambertin, Mazis Chambertin, and Clos de la Roche are all lighter in style, but with character and balance – Outstanding Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Lavrottes and the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux 1er cru are lovely wines that are very close to some of the grand crus with great balance and lovely fruit – Very Good Potential Plus.  The Gevrey-Chambertin is balanced with very nice fruit and is a lovely village wine – Very Good Potential.

Pierre Yves Colin-Morey
Tasting with Pierre Yves Colin-Morey of 14 2012 white wines. Production in 2012 down dramatically from 2011 – St Aubin 30-40%,  Meursault 50%, and in Chassagne-Montrachet some vineyards had no production.

Saint Aubin L’Blanc
Saint Aubin Champlots 1er cru
Saint Aubin La Chateniere 1er cru
Saint Aubin En Remilly 1er cru
Chassagne-Montrachet L’Anceniere 1er cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes 1er cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Baudines 1er cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er cru
Meursault Narvaux 1er cru
Meursault Les Charmes 1er cru
Meursault Les Perrieres 1er cru
Corton Charlemagne
Batard-Montrachet
Chevalier-Montrachet

The Chevalier Montrachet is a stunning wine – lush and full with lots of concentration and a wonderfully balanced underlying acidity leading to a long finish – Extraordinary Potential. The Batard Montrachet, Corton Charlemagne, and Meursault Les Perrieres 1er cru are all terrific wines. The Batard Montrachet is rich and full with lotof of flavor and beautiful balance, the Corton Charlemagne is also rich and balanced and very elegant, the Meursault Les Perrieres 1er cru has wonderful balance and flavor with structure and a nice underlying crispness – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Meursault Les Charmes 1er cru is a lovely elegant wine with finesse and concentration – Outstanding Potential. The Chassagne-Montrachet Les Baudines 1er cru and Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er cru are both really lovely with lots of fruit and great balance – Very Good Plus Potential. The Meursault Narvaux 1er cru is fruity with honeyed nuances and is very racy – Very Good Potential. The Chassagne-Montrachet L’Anceniere 1er cru and Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes 1er cru have lovely fruit and are beautifully balanced – Very Good Potential. The Saint Aubin Champlots 1er cru, Saint Aubin La Chateniere 1er cru, and Saint Aubin En Remilly 1er cru all have lovely fruit and a nice underlying crispness with the Saint Aubin En Remilly 1er cru being particularly racy. The Saint Aubin L’Blanc was tasted from bottle and is a lovely wine with elegance and finesse.

Remoissenet Pere et Fils
Tasting of 18 2012 red wines and 2 2012 white wines with Bernard Repolt.

Nuits Saint Georges
Vosne-Romanee
Gevrey-Chambertin
Volnay Robardelles ler cru
Beaune Greves 1er cru
Beaune Marconnets 1er cru
Beaune Bressandes 1er cru
Beaune Toussaints 1er cru
Beaune Teurons 1er cru
Morey Saint Denis Milandes 1 er cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Echanges ler cru
Nuits Saints Georges Les Damodes 1 er cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots ler cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1 er cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Poisinots 1er cru
Clos Saint Denis
Clos Vougeot
Chambertin Clos de Beze

White Wines
Meursault Genevrieres
Corton Charlemagne

The Chambertin Clos de Beze consists of only 1 barrel (25 cases). It is very special with a stunning perfume and lots of depth and richness with loads of fruit showing a faint spiciness – Extraordinary Potential. The Clos Saint Denis with under 40 cases produced is gorgeous with loads of supple rich fruit and lovely balance – Outstanding Plus Potential. The Clos Vougeot production is only 75 cases. The wine has a lovely perfume and is balanced with depth and richness – Outstanding Potential. The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1 er cru production is also only 75 cases. It has loads of fruit with depth and richness and beautiful balance – Outstanding Potential. The Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er cru, Nuits Saints Georges Les Damodes 1er cru, Chambolle-Musigny Les Echanges 1er cru, and Beaune Teurons 1er cru  are all beautiful wines. There is only one barrel (25 cases) of the Suchots. It has lots of fruit and is supple and rounded. The Damodes has lovely layered fruit and is quite rich and silky. The Les Echanges has lovely supple fruit and is velvety and very flavorful. The Beaune Teurons is a blend of old and young vines. It has body and flavor with a lot of freshness and lovely balance – Very Good Potential Plus. The Gevrey-Chambertin Trio ler cru, Beaune Greves 1er cru, Beaune Marconnets 1er cru, and Beaune Bressandes 1er cru are all lovely balanced wines: The Gevrey is a blend of 3 Premier Cru vineyards. It is supple and rounded with lovely fruit. The Beaune Greves has really nice fruit and is expansive and delicious. The Beaune Marconnets has lots of fruit and has depth and richness. The Beaune Bressandes had gorgeous fruit and is very tasty – Very Good Potential. The Nuits Saint Georges, Vosne-Romanee, Gevrey-Chambertin, Volnay Robardelles 1er cru, Beaune Toussaints 1er cru, Morey Saint Denis Milandes 1 er cru, and Gevrey-Chambertin Les Poisinots 1er cru all are lovely, well structured wines with very nice fruit. The 2 white wines tasted were both impressive. The Meursault Genevrieres has gorgeous fruit and is structured and balanced with depth and good underlying acidity Outstanding Plus Potential. The Corton Charlemagne has richness yet with tension and bright fruit and is really flavorful – Outstanding Plus Potential.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2012 Vintage Report 

Recent Vintages (2012-2007)
How Burgundy is Tasted from Barrel
A Simple Explanation of Burgundy