2013 RED BURGUNDY: A GREAT SURPRISE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
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 each Burgundy vintage from barrel. For all of those trips, Geoffrey Troy, East Coast Editor of the old Underground Wineletter and 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. And, in the last 2 years, a new friend, John Bishop, has also accompanied us.
Following are my notes on the 2013 Vintage and a link to the 2013 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Vintage Report, a list of Domaines and Negociants that I visited and whose wines I recommend, and finally a list of the wines I tasted and my tasting notes. And under the Table of Contents at the beginning of this article 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.
2013 BURGUNDY VINTAGE
It can be said that all vintages in Burgundy are different, but often they are really different. The 2013 vintage falls into the latter category. The weather was up and down and variable as it often is. And, there were problems at harvest which caused sorting to be absolutely essential to making great wines. In short, there were a lot of nervous growers throughout the entire cycle. But, a real distinction of 2013 is that it goes down as one of the latest vintages in history. And, it was late both from the standpoint of the harvest and vinification. In fact, the malolactic fermentations were so late that many fermentations finished during or just before the 2014 harvest began. This resulted in a very different tasting perspective in early November at the time of our visit. You see, at this time the malolactic fermentations usually have been finished for some time. Therefore, the producers usually have already tasted the wines many times. This year many of the producers had either not tasted the wines since the malolactic fermentations had finished or had tasted them only once or twice. So the results of the tastings were not only new to us, but new to nearly everyone. And, before tasting the wines after the malolactic fermentations, many producers were very nervous. It was looking like that it might be termed the Nervous Vintage.
As mentioned earlier sorting was absolutely essential to making the best wines in 2013. This made for some outstanding results as the tastings after the malolactic fermentations revealed many wines that are beautifully balanced and very pure yet with richness and depth. This is indeed the magic of Burgundy. But, it should be recognized that my notes and opinions on the vintage are based on a tasting of wines from mostly producers that we have long considered as some of the best in Burgundy. We did hear comments about problems with the vintage such as rain at harvest and lady bug infestations amongst other things. So, given the ups and downs of the weather and other problems, it is entirely possible that there were notable underachievers. Indeed, our tastings revealed a few. But, it should also be noted that this is often the case in Burgundy. And, all things considered, for me, it was yet another Surprise Vintage. And, the surprise was not only that the 2013s were better than expected (like the 2011s), but that many of the wines were some of the greatest Red Burgundies I have ever tasted from barrel. This was the real surprise! So I would say this about the vintage: 2013: THE GREAT SURPRISE! In the end some called it a “terroir driven” vintage others a “transparent” vintage and others a “great” vintage. Along the way there were descriptions such as a “nervous” vintage which was previously mentioned as well as a “difficult” vintage and a “frightening” vintage. In short, it was not uniform.
Comparing 2013 with any previous vintage is difficult. Here’s the introductory comment from the 2013 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Harvest Report: In my previous harvest reports, I often compared the changeable weather conditions that govern the birth of a vintage by referring to “ups and downs”, “a chaotic course”. I sometimes used the words “fight” or “adversity “. No year more than 2013 deserves to be described in this manner. And from the perspective of the lateness of the vintage the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and others compare 2013 to 1978 and 1979. The 1978 vintage I first tasted only after the wines were bottled. Glowing reviews of the 1978s appeared in the early issues of The Underground Wineletter including the first ever reviews of the great 1978 Henri Jayers (to read those articles and Retrospective Reviews from Volume II, Number 1 August/September 1980 to Volume II, Number 6 June/July 1981 click here). I thought at that time that the 1978 vintage was outstanding. And, that not only were the best wines really great, but that they would evolve and develop over a long period of time. That has happened. The best of the 1978s have been a pleasure to drink for over 30 years and are still superb today. I can only hope that some of these 2013s will evolve in the same manner. The vintage may not be as consistent as 1978. After all, our evaluation of the 1978 vintage was after tasting over 400 different Red Burgundies after they were bottled! We shall see. But, what I know from the 2013 barrel tastings is that the best of the wines have a purity and balance combined with flavor and finesse that I have rarely encountered in all my years of tasting Burgundy from barrel. So now all we have to do is see how the 2013s turn out after bottling and then follow what promises to be a long evolution over time. It should be quite a journey and one I look forward to. But, as always, it is important to keep in mind the caveat that selectivity is extremely important.
DOMAINES AND NEGOCIANTS VISITED
(Click on the name to connect directly)
This year we visited our usual number of Domaines and Negociants and the following are the ones I visited and whose wines I can recommend. Again, I would note that these are producers where, along with my friends, I have visited and tasted for many years. In many cases, this goes back to my first visit to Burgundy in 1981. There are some remarkable wines here in 2013 and every Burgundy lover should make an effort to acquire some of these wines.
Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux
Domaine Anne Gros
Domaine Armand Rousseau
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue
Domaine de la Romanèe-Conti
Domaine des Lambrays
Domaine Dujac
Domaine Faiveley
Domaine Francois La Marche
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
Bouchard Père et Fils
Pierre Yves Colin-Morey
Remoissenet Père et Fils
WINES TASTED AND TASTING NOTES
Following is a list of wines tasted followed by brief tasting notes. The quality of many of these wines is truly remarkable and, as I have said, A Great Surprise!
Domaine Arnoux-Lachoux
For six generations the Arnoux family has been making wine in the Côte de Nuits. This domaine in Vosne Romanee began in 1858 and there still exist at this domaine old bottles that date back to the 19th century. I first visited this domaine over 30 years ago when it was known as Domaine Robert Arnoux. My first introduction to these wines was probably the 1978 vintage.
Robert Arnoux was a big man and always a pleasure to visit. After each barrel tasting we would be offered old wines to taste and they were always remarkable. Over time I bought, cellared, and drank many Domaine Robert Arnoux wines. They evolved beautifully. After Robert’s death in 1995, the domaine recorked and relabeled a lot of old vintages and offered them for sale. I still have quite a few of these in my cellar dating back to 1900.
Pascal Lachaux started work at the winery in 1985 when he was 23 years old and has been head winemaker since 1990. Pascal is the son-in-law of Robert Arnoux and the domaine was renamed Arnoux-Lachaux beginning with the 2007 vintage.
Pascal’s son, Charles, has now taken over the winemaking. To be sure, Pascal is still very much involved, but Charles has clearly assumed a path to lead the domaine into the future. We met him for the first time on our recent visit. He is an energetic, affable, and very knowledgeable young man. Charles is continuing the recent trends in emphasizing the fruit in the vinification process and also lessening the use of new oak to preserve the fruit. He is off to a great start!
Today the domaine consists of over 30 acres with vineyard holdings in Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges. The vines here consist of a lot of very old vines with some dating back a hundred years.
The 2013 vintage was described as a nervous one yet the end result was a vintage where the grapes came in with a ripeness that was not expected early on. Also, the crop here was normal in 2013 after being down some 40% of normal in 2012. So it is a great combination of quantity and quality. And, the end result is that the 2013s are terrific and not to be missed!
Tasting of 11 2013 Red Wines with Charles and Pascal Lachaux
All wines were tasted from new barrels (except for one that was bottled). Yet, despite the new wood, none of the wines showed any signs of excessive oak. Before the wine is bottled all the wines from new barrels will be blended with wines from old barrels. Village wines see a maximum of 20% new wood and Grand Crus a maximum of 85% new wood. These are really wonderful wines from top to bottom!
2013
Bourgogne (Bottle)
Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée Les Hauts Maiziéres
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets Vieilles Vignes
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Procés 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru
Latriciéres Chambertin
Echezeaux
Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru
Romanée Saint-Vivant
The Romanée Saint-Vivant has Exceptional Potential. It is made from grapes grown on 92 year old vines and is stunning! With a deep color the wine has a great floral tinged perfume with exotic nuances and hints of cherry. Supple and elegant with great fruit, balance, intensity, and depth this wine promises a long life ahead.
The Vosne Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru, Echezeaux, and Latriciéres Chambertin all are really gorgeous wines with Outstanding Plus Potential. The vines in the Vosne Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru are 80 years old. This is one of the really great Premier Cru vineyards in Burgundy and the Les Suchots from Arnoux-Lachaux is consistently of Grand Cru quality. This 2013 is very special. With a great floral tinged berry perfume it has great fruit with wonderful balance and intensity. The wine will age effortlessly for many years and provide immense pleasure. The Echezeaux is likewise loaded with fruit. The perfume has a floral blackberry quality with a tinge of spice. On the palate, the wine is elegant and very pure again with just a faint touch of spice. The Latriciéres Chambertin is made from grapes grown on 56 year old vines. It is very elegant with power and intensity. There is an exotic tinge to the beautiful cherry tinged perfume and the fruit is supple and very pure. Balanced with depth and richness this is a very special wine with a long life ahead.
The Vosne Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru, Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets 1er Cru, Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Procés 1er Cru, and Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets Vieilles Vignes all have Outstanding Potential. The Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru has a deep perfume and lots of cherry tinged fruit with a floral nuance. Structured with good backbone there is lots of fruit underneath and the wine has richness and depth. Just now a bit restrained, but it is all there. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets 1er Cru is a wine with lots of fruit and a firm underlying structure. There is a lot of blackberry tinged fruit and a nice underlying crispness. It should develop beautifully. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Procés 1er Cru has a lovely perfume and lots of supple fruit with hints of blackberry and raspberry accented by a floral nuance. There is a lot of purity and a nice crispness that gives the wine a lift on the finish. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets Vieilles Vignes is a gorgeous wine that should be a great value. It has a lovely perfume and lots of supple berry fruit. Elegant and rounded this wine should provide a lot of pleasure early on and keep well into the future.
The Vosne-Romanée Les Hauts Maiziéres and Vosne Romanée have Very Good Plus Potential. The Vosne-Romanée Les Hauts Maiziéres has a nice floral tinged perfume with a hint of spice. It is balanced with lovely supple fruit and has a nice underlying richness. The Vosne-Romanée is a lovely village wine. It has a lovely floral spice tinged perfume with supple spice tinged fruit and is harmonious and balanced with a nice finish.
Tasted from bottle shortly after bottling, the Bourgogne is really delicious with a lovely perfume. It is rounded and supple and has lots of very pure fruit. Look for this one. It should be a great value – Highly Recommended.
Domaine Anne Gros
We began tasting here in the 1980s when the domaine was known as Francois Gros. From 1988 it was Domaine Anne et Francois Gros. And since 1995 it has been Domaine Anne Gros. The domaine has old vines in most of their vineyards. The wines produced here consistently show great purity and elegance.
For over 25 years Anne Gros has been in charge of this domaine which she took over from her father, Francois. During this time she has continued to add vineyards and she is the first woman in the Gros family to be in charge of a domaine. The history of the Gros family is one of the more complicated stories in Burgundy since the domaine has been divided numerous times. Below is a graphic representation of the Gros family and its genealogy.
The 2013 harvest here was also very late with problems (such as lady bugs) which required a lot of sorting. The 2013 wines were in tank with bottling scheduled for December. We did not taste all the wines as the production of several wines was very small. The red wines are very finesseful and less structured than the 2012s. They will have early appeal as compared with other recent vintages.
Tasting of 5 2013 Red Wines and 1 2013 White Wine With Julie, The Young Daughter of Anne Gros
2013
Haut Cote-de-Nuits Bourgogne Rouge
Bourgogne Rouge
Echezeaux
Clos Vougeot Les Grandes Maupertuis
Richebourg
White Wine
Haut Cote-de-Nuits Bourgogne Blanc
The Echezeaux, Clos Vougeot Les Grandes Maupertuis, and Richebourg all have Very Good Potential. The Echezeaux is lovely and balanced with very nice berry fruit. The Clos Vougeot Les Grandes Maupertuis has very good fruit and depth with supple berry fruit and has a lot of charm. Likewise, the Richebourg has a gorgeous perfume and is supple with very nice fruit and a nice roundness.
The Bourgognes, as usual, are lovely and very pure. And the Haut Cote-de-Nuits Bourgogne Blanc is particularly fine this year with a floral pineapple tinged perfume and a lovely citrus tinge on the palate accented by faint notes of pineapple.
Domaine Armand Rousseau
This domaine had its origin at the beginning of the 20th century when Armand Rousseau inherited some vineyard land in Gevery-Chambertin. In 1909 his marriage resulted in the expansion of the vineyard holdings and the acquisition of the present domaine premises. Over the years Armand continued to increase his vineyard holdings and sell the wine to negociants to do the marketing. This was the common practice at that time. In the 1930s he decided to bottle and sell the wine from the domaine. Thus Domaine Armand Rousseau was one of the first in Burgundy to begin the practice of domaine bottling. Charles joined his father in 1945. After his father’s tragic death in 1959, Charles took over and continued the tradition. His son, Eric, joined in 1982 and is now head of the domaine and in charge of the vineyards and winemaking. Frederic Robert is in charge of the commercial aspects of the domaine.
For as long as I have been involved in wine, this has been one of the most consistent producers of outstanding Burgundy. And, for me, Domaine Armand Rousseau produces some of the best wines from Gevrey-Chambertin. The wines of Domaine Rousseau have the elegance and power that is the essence of Burgundy.
The production here in 2013 was 10% more than 2012. A comparison of the growing conditions was made to 1978. However, the 1978 wines here were not up to the usual high standard. After tasting the wines from bottle, Charles Rousseau later told us that the grapes suffered from a problem with fertilizer. The 2013s on the other hand are very pure and, in particular, the Chambertin a real stunner with the Clos des Ruchottes also being particularly fine. In fact, the Clos des Ruchottes may prove to be the best wine I have ever tasted from this vineyard.
Charles Rousseau – Clos Saint-Jacques – Eric Rousseau
There is one new wine this year. It is from the Clos Saint-Jacques vineyard. We were told that before 1920 Clos Saint-Jacques consisted of 2 parts and that later the bottom section was planted. In 2013 the wine from the three parts was kept separate. We tasted wine from the top and middle sections and the wines from these parts had an extra dimension of richness as compared with wine from the lower part. The small amount of wine from the top part is blended with some of the wine from the middle part and will be called either “En Saint-Jacques” or “Vieilles Vignes” depending on what is permitted. The production is only 50 cases. The rest of the wine will be the regular Clos Saint-Jacques bottling.
Tasting of 11 2013 Red Wines with Frederic Robert
2013
Gevrey-Chambertin
Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-Saint-Jacques 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru
Charmes-Chambertin
Mazy-Chambertin
Clos de la Roche
Ruchottes Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques “En Saint-Jacques” or “Vieilles Vignes” 1er Cru
Chambertin Clos de Beze
Chambertin
The Chambertin is really special in 2013. It is dark in color and has a deep perfume. Intense and flavorful the fruit is very pure and the wine has a harmonious balance with great underlying structure and impressive length on the palate – Exceptional Potential.
The Chambertin Clos de Beze, Ruchottes Chambertin, Clos des Ruchottes, and Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques “En Saint-Jacques” or “Vieilles Vignes” all have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Chambertin Clos de Beze has intensity and depth with a lot of very pure fruit and is flavorful with a lasting finish. The Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes has a great perfume and layers of very pure fruit. With beautiful balance and a firm underlying structure, the wine also has intensity and depth. The Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques “En Saint-Saint Jacques” or “Vieilles Vignes” has a lot of depth and richness with lots of very pure fruit and is well balanced with a long finish.
The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er cru, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazy-Chambertin, and Clos de la Roche, all have Outstanding Potential. The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er cru is especially fine and may be the best Les Cazetiers I have ever tasted here. Les Cazetiers is one of the most underrated of all the Premier Crus and it is very gratifying to see the wine here at this level. It has lots of fruit with depth and intensity and is beautifully balanced and flavorful while showing a lot of finesse. The Charmes-Chambertin is, as usual, very forward and supple with lots of fruit and a lovely perfume. The Mazy-Chambertin has an intense berry perfume, a lot of depth, and very pure fruit with a firm underlying structure. This should evolve beautifully. The Clos de la Roche shows a spice tinged berry perfume and lots of supple rich fruit with a firm backbone. Again, this should age beautifully.
The Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-Saint-Jacques 1er cru has Very Good Plus Potential. It has a lovely perfume and very nice fruit with a nice roundness and beautiful balance.
The Gevrey-Chambertin has Very Good Potential. It has a lovely perfume and is rounded with nice fruit and balance.
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue
This domaine was established in 1450 by Jean Moisson. In 1766, a descendant of Moisson married a Vogue and it has been in the same family every since. Georges died in 1986 and the current winemaker, Francois Millet, arrived the same year. Jean-Luc Pepin is the estate manager and Eric Bourgogne is in charge of the vineyards. The domaine owns about 80% (16 acres) of the great Musigny vineyard. The Musigny is made exclusively from the old vines and is labeled Vieilles Vignes. The harvest from younger Musigny vines goes into the Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru.
Francois said the 2013 harvest was on October 5 and was the latest harvest since 1987. He calls it a terroir driven vintage and he feels the purity and freshness of 2013 is at the level of 2010 yet with perhaps more structure. For me, I think that these are amongst the very best wines I have ever tasted from barrel at this great estate.
Tasting of 5 2013 Red Wines with Francois Millet
2013
Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru
Bonnes-Mares
Musigny “Vieilles Vignes”
Wow! What a group of wines. All have dark colors and amazing perfume and very pure bright fruit. The quality from top to bottom is amazing.
The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru, Bonnes-Mares, and Musigny “Vieilles Vignes” all have Exceptional Potential. The Musigny “Vieilles Vignes” is classic. It has a stunning perfume with floral berry notes and is soft, lush, and rounded with tremendous very pure floral tinged berry fruit and great balance. Harmonious and flavorful with a bright underlying crispness this is very special. The Bonnes-Mares likewise has great intensity and depth with very pure fruit. It is structured and balanced with the bright underlying crispness that is exhibited in all the wines from this domaine. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru is also an amazing wine and is one of the best Les Amoureuses I have ever tasted from barrel. Unfortunately, the production is only 100 cases. It has a great perfume and is silky and lush on the palate with seductive fruit and a compelling freshness and crispness. This is a memorable wine that should age effortlessly for many years.
The Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru has Outstanding Plus Potential. Made from fruit grown mostly on 15-25 year old Musigny vines it is a real tribute to the vintage to have the wine at this level. It is gorgeous with a great perfume and lots of bright supple fruit with flavor and intensity and beautiful balance.
The Chambolle-Musigny has Outstanding Potential. Again the vintage really show through in this village wine. It has a lovely perfume and bright floral tinged berry fruit with very nice flavors and is beautifully balanced.
Domaine de la Romanèe-Conti
The individual vineyards that comprise the Domaine de la Romanee Conti date back to Roman times. The present domaine has it origins dating to 1869 when Monsieur Duvault-Blochet acquired the vineyard of Romanee-Conti. He subsequently acquired holdings in Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux, and Richebourg. Edmond, the grandfather of the current domaine co-director, Aubert de Villaine, became the Director in 1911. And in 1933 the domaine acquired the vineyard of La Tache from the Liger-Belair family. The domaine already owned a large portion of the adjacent Les Gaudichots vineyard and in 1936 this was combined with La Tache to create the Grand Cru monopole of La Tache. In 1942, Henri Leroy became a co-owner of the Domaine and in 1950 Aubert’s father, Henri, succeeded Edmond. Aubert grew up at the domaine and became co-director in 1974. In 1966, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti took over management of the holdings of the Marey-Monge family in Romanée St. Vivant and in 1988 purchased the parcel. In 1963, 1965, and 1980 portions of Montrachet were acquired. And late in 2008 some 4½ acres were acquired in Corton consisting of approximately one-half Bressandes and one-half nearly equally divided between Clos du Roi and Renardes. In each vineyard there are sections of 60 year old vines with the balance 15-25 years. The first vintage from Corton was 2009.
Aubert says the differences between individual wines in a single vintage are the differences attributable to terroir and the age of the vines. The wines made at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are unquestionably the greatest and most consistent in Burgundy with an unparalleled track record. The wines are very long lived and do not show their full potential until many years after bottling. For over 30 years I have been tasting wines here from barrel and have missed tasting only a few times during that period. Prior to 2013, the two best years from the domaine that I have tasted from barrel were 1990 and 2009. But, it should be noted that 2 of the vintages I missed were 1999 and 2012. The wines can be consumed young, although they really hit their stride after 10 or more years and last for decades.
The yields here for the red wines were about the same in 2013 as 2012 or 25% less than a normal crop. As mentioned earlier, it was a very late harvest and Aubert told us that the wines seemed a little harsh at first but slowly developed. This long evolution holds great promise for the future of the 2013 vintage. And, with the 2013s, the 5 vintages since 2009 have been truly remarkable even for this great domaine. In fact, I don’t believe that there have ever been so many great vintages here in a row. Tasting these wines from barrel, I was completely overwhelmed by the purity, freshness, balance, and depth of the wines. Of course, this was just one tasting on one day of wines that have yet to be bottled. But, all I can say is that I don’t ever remember tasting a vintage of DRC wines from barrel that were better than these wines. These are truly remarkable!
Tasting of 14 Red Wines (7 2013s and 7 2012s) and 1 White Wine with Aubert de Villaine
2013
Corton
Echezeaux
Grands Echezeaux
Romanée Saint-Vivant
Richebourg
La Tache
Romanée-Conti
The Romanée-Conti and La Tache both have Exceptional Plus Potential. The Romanée-Conti has an intense and captivating perfume of oriental spice with exotic fruit nuances. It is silky and refined with tremendous depth and purity. Underlying the fruit is a delicate crispness and the balance and length on the palate is really impressive. Likewise, the La Tache stunning with a deep perfume of berry fruit intermingled with oriental spice and a faint floral undertone. The wine is very expressive and transparent with very pure fruit accented by oriental spice tinges and a long, lingering finish.
The Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux, Romanée Saint-Vivant, and Richebourg all have Exceptional Potential. The Echezeaux is a shining star in this vintage. The yields here were very low and the wine has an extra dimension of richness along with impressive complexity. The wine reflects the work in the vineyard and the old vines that really come forth in this vintage. It is the best Echezeaux I have ever tasted here from barrel. The Grands Echezeaux is very expressive and exudes elegance with great purity of cherry and berry fruit and very impressive depth. With great balance and style this is really delicious. Grands Echezeaux is often underrated, but it really steps up in this vintage as it did in 2012. The Romanée Saint-Vivant looks to be one of the greats from this vineyard. Extensive replanting was just completed and the wine reflects the intensity of fruit from the older vines that are as old as 60 years with an average around 45 years of age. With lots of elegance and rich, supple fruit the wine is very pure and expressive. Underneath is a bright crispness which is a perfect complement. The Richebourg is particularly notable for its great perfume and opulence. It is intense and flavorful yet retains a great harmony that carries all the way through to a finish that has really impressive length. This is one of the greatest DRC Richebourgs I have ever tasted from barrel.
The Corton has Outstanding Potential. It shows great elegance, balance, and purity with a subtle perfume and bright cherry tinged fruit with a floral undertone.
What a line up!
2012 (Bottle)
Corton
Echezeaux
Grands Echezeaux
Romanée Saint-Vivant
Richebourg
La Tache
Romanée Conti
White Wine
Montrachet
I missed tasting the 2012s from barrel last year, but Geoffrey Troy and John Brincko were very impressed (to read that article click here ). Now bottled and to be offered for sale in the Spring of 2015, the wines certainly live up to expectations with great richness, balance, and depth.
The 2012 Montrachet is one of the greatest of the long line of superb DRC Montrachets. The yield was only about ½ of normal and the wine has tremendous complexity, intensity, and depth. The perfume is stunning with floral, herbal, honeyed nuances and faint hints of white peach and tropical fruit. Very flavorful and impeccably balanced, the wine is rich, but without a trace of heaviness. The flavors are complex and suggestive of floral citrus and faint honeyed tropical fruit and the finish goes on and on. This is a wine that should evolve over decades. It is a true classic – Extraordinary Plus. The Romanée-Conti and La Tache are also both classic wines. The Romanée-Conti has a room filling perfume with floral berry notes and hints of oriental spice. It is silky and lush with great intensity and flavor and is impeccably balanced with great length – Extraordinary Plus. Likewise the La Tache has an oriental spice tinge and is impressively rich with great balance. A myriad of fruits are intermingled with floral notes and are balanced by a firm underlying structure. All in all, it is a very complete wine and is classic La Tache – Extraordinary Plus. The Richebourg and Grands Echezeaux are stunning wines. The Richebourg is a rich, full wine of great concentration and balance. It is beautifully balanced with the well integrated fruit married seamlessly and is very long on the palate. In short, to use the old expression, it is “an iron fist in a velvet glove” – Extraordinary. The Grands Echezeaux is especially fine in 2012. It has absolutely goregeous cherry tinged fruit and is rounded and supple with great elegance and concentration. This is a gorgeous Grands Echezeaux – Extraordinary. The Romanée Saint-Vivant is beautifully crafted and very pure. It has a lovely exotic tinged berry spice perfume with an underlying floral note and is beautifully crafted with lovely fruit and a faint exotic complexity – Outstanding Plus. The Echezeaux is lovely with wonderful fruit and is balanced and flavorful. It has a faint exotic tinge and is beautifully balanced and flavorful with a nice underlying structure – Outstanding. The Corton is made with only the fruit from old vines. It has a really gorgeous perfume and is very open and expressive. The fruit is accented by a faint spiciness and the wine is supple and beautifully balanced – Outstanding.
I have visited this Domaine many times over the years, but this was my first visit in the last few years. This domaine owns all but a tiny portion of the Grand Cru vineyard Clos des Lambrays. The Clos des Lambrays is a large vineyard of nearly 22 acres that dates back to the 13th century. With a change in ownership in 1979 oenologist Thierry Brouin took the helm. In 1981 the Clos des Lambrays was designated Grand Cru. It was sold again in 1996 with Thierry staying on. But, earlier this year it was sold yet again. This time the buyer was LVMH, the large conglomerate.
This year we decided to pay a visit to see what was transpiring. We met with Thierry who told us he had signed a 5 year contract with 3 years to find a successor and 2 years to stay on as a consultant. And, so begins a new chapter. The history here has been fascinating so it will be fascinating to watch its evolution. The 2013 Clos des Lambrays showed a lot of elegance with the 2012 showing more richness. The production in 2013 was 25,000 bottles versus 15,000 in 2012 and 35,000 in 2014.
Tasting of 2 Red Wines with Thierry Brouin
2013
Clos des Lambrays
The Clos des Lambrays has a lovely floral tinged perfume and very pure fruit. It is elegant and refined with great finesse and balance – Very Good Plus Potential.
2012 (Bottle)
Clos des Lambrays
The 2012 Clos des Lambrays has a gorgeous floral tinged berry perfume. It has lots of fruit on the palate and has depth and structure. The potential is here for improvement with additional bottle age and the wine should enjoy a very long life – Outstanding.
Domaine Dujac
I first became acquainted with the wines of Domaine Dujac in the early 1970s when I acquired some bottles of a “new” Burgundy by the name of Domaine Dujac. They were from the 1969 vintage, and I was tremendously impressed by the style of the wines which I felt most closely resembled the wines of Domaine Romanée-Conti more than any others that I had tasted at that time. I still have 1969 Bonnes-Mares and, although I have not opened a bottle for many years, the last one was superb and I am sure the wine is great today. Eventually, this experience and subsequent vintages such as 1976 and 1978 led me to taste at the Domaine starting in the early 1980s. Since then there have been many wonderful wines produced here.
Jacques Seysses, a former investment banker, acquired the 10 acre Domaine Graillet in 1967 (a very good year indeed as it was the year Laurie and I were married). The first vintage was 1968 which was one of the worst Burgundy vintages of that era. Thankfully, it was followed by the very good 1969 vintage. In the last few years, the domaine has transitioned to the new generation. Jacques’ son, Jeremy, and his wife, Diana, are in charge vineyard management and winemaking. Jacques is “retired,” but is still very much involved with the domaine and is an invaluable counselor and adviser.
Jeremy Seysses said the crop here was about 13% less in 2013 than in 2012 although there was a tighter range in the individual vineyards.
Tasting of 14 2013 Red Wines (3 negociant wines) with Jeremy Seysses
2013
Morey-Saint-Denis – negociant
Chambolle-Musigny – negociant
Gevrey-Chambertin – negociant
Morey-Saint-Denis
Chambolle-Musigny
Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er Cru
Charmes Chambertin
Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru
Echezeaux
Clos Saint Denis
Clos de la Roche
Bonnes-Mares
The Clos Saint Denis has Outstanding Plus Potential. It’s hard to say that too many Grand Cru Burgundies are under appreciated. But, if I had to pick one that is a personal favorite and seemingly often under appreciated, I would say it is Clos Saint Denis. This is a gorgeous example. The wine has a great floral berry tinged perfume and is very elegant, supple and rounded. With great finesse, it is also flavorful with lots of depth and fruit accented by a subtle spiciness. This is a gorgeous wine that should age beautifully for a very long time.
The Bonnes-Mares, Clos de la Roche, Echezeaux, and Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. This is a lovely group of wines all showing very pure fruit and wonderful balance. The Bonnes-Mares has a lovely perfume and is structured with an underlying crispness. It will take some time to develop and will last a very long time. The Clos de la Roche has a lovely perfume with tinges of floral spice and is rounded with a tinge of crispness on the finish. The Echezeaux has a gorgeous perfume and is very finesseful with depth and richness. The Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru is a large holding and the 2013 production is 575 cases. It has floral nuances and is beautifully balanced with a wonderful combination of richness and elegance.
The Charmes Chambertin and the Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Charmes Chambertin has lots of floral tinged fruit and a firm underlying crispness. The Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru has supple fruit with a faint floral nuance and is balanced with a nice crispness on the finish.
The Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er Cru has Very Good Potential. It has nice spice tinged fruit and is flavorful with a firm underlying structure.
The Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint-Denis village wines have nice color and a lovely perfume with good backbone. They have early appeal. The negociant village wines from Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, and Morey-Saint-Denis are very similar. They are lighter in style with nice fruit and also have early appeal.
Domaine Faiveley
This domaine was founded by Pierre Faiveley in 1825. A negociant business evolved over many years to a firm that now is mostly involved with their own production. In fact, today Domaine Faiveley is one of the largest landowners in Burgundy with vineyard holdings totaling over 300 acres including some 26 acres of Grand Crus and 60 acres of Premier Crus. I first tasted here with my friends in the 1980s. Over the years I have visited several times, but this year was my first visit in many years. Historically the Faiveley Burgundies have been very long lived. I can remember tasting great bottles of Faiveley Burgundies from the 1920s at over 50 years of age. In fact, bottles of 1923 Faiveley Richebourg and 1929 Faiveley Musigny are two of the greatest Burgundies I have ever tasted.
Today the firm is led by Erwan Faiveley who has been increasing the firm’s vineyard holdings and also has renovated the equipment and facilities. He is joined by General Manager Bernard Hervet and Technical Director Jerome Flous. In recent years the emphasis has been on capturing more fruit in the wines which makes them more approachable at an earlier age. Our visit this year was most impressive. The 2013 wines are gorgeous across the board.
Tasting with Bernard Hervet of 15 Red Wines and 3 White Wines
2013
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Chaignots 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint Georges 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Des Issarts 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Combe de Orveau 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru
Echezeaux
Clos de Vougeot
Latricieres Chambertin
Mazis Chambertin
Chambertin Clos de Beze
Chambertin Clos de Beze Les Ouvrées Rodin
Corton Clos Des Cortons Faiveley
White Wine
Bienvenues Batard Montrachet
Batard Montrachet
Corton Charlemagne
The Chambertin Clos de Beze Les Ouvrées Rodin has Exceptional Potential. The production of this wine was 125 cases. The grapes come from a plot of 60 year old vines with special exposure within the Clos de Beze. The wine has a great combination of elegance and intensity. It has a deep color and a stunning floral berry perfume with exotic nuances followed by layers of fruit on the palate. The balance is impeccable and the finish has tremendous length.
The Corton Clos Des Cortons Faiveley, Chambertin Clos de Beze, Mazis Chambertin, Latricieres Chambertin, and Clos de Vougeot have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Corton Clos Des Cortons Faiveley is a monopole (single owner) vineyard of some 7 ½ acres in size. It is one of only 2 Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy bearing the name of its original owner (the other is Romanée-Conti). The appellation was approved in 1937 and today the vineyard has vines dating back to that time. The 2013 is a wine of great intensity, purity, and grip. It has a deep color and a complex floral perfume showing spice and plum. On the palate there is spice tinged blackberry fruit and the wine has a lot of depth with a good backbone and a long finish. This is a wine that should age beautifully for a very long time. The Chambertin Clos de Beze production was 375 cases. It has a dark color and a lovely berry perfume with floral spice notes. The wine is well integrated and beautifully balanced and very flavorful with lots of spice tinged fruit. The Mazis Chambertin is a powerful wine with intense fruit. The color is dark and it shows a lovely berry perfume with a touch of spice. Structured and flavorful with loads of very pure blackberry fruit it is beautifully balanced and long on the palate. The Latricieres Chambertin is produced from a combination of 3/4s very old vines and ¼ younger vines. It is a harmonious wine of great elegance and finesse yet with intensity and flavor. With a deep color, the wine has a gorgeous perfume showing floral berry notes. On the palate, it is beautifully balanced with very pure fruit showing a nice suppleness with an underlying crispness. The Clos de Vougeot comes from 3 plots within the Clos. The production was 75 cases. The wine has a dark color and a great perfume with a myriad of fruits accented by a very faint floral spice tinge. It has lots of very pure fruit and is supple and rounded with a long finish. This is a wine of great elegance and appeal.
The Echezeaux, Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru, Chambolle-Musigny Combe de Orveau 1er Cru, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Des Issarts 1er Cru, and Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint Georges 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Echezeaux production was 100 cases. It has a deep color and a lovely floral berry perfume. Very nicely balanced with lovely berry flavors showing floral spice nuances the wine has nice underlying crispness and a long finish. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru production was just over 60 cases. The wine has a deep color and a lovely floral perfume. It is supple and soft with a lot of elegance and very pure floral tinged fruit. The Chambolle-Musigny Combe de Orveau 1er Cru is a monopole (single owner) vineyard. It was declassified from Musigny in the 1970s. It is surrounded within the Musigny vineyard and consists of very old vines. The 2013 production was just over 60 cases. It is a terrific wine with a dark color and a deep spicy plum tinged perfume. Intense with rich fruit, the wine is lush and supple and has a lot of flavor interest with beautiful balance. The Domaine Flaiveley Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru holdings are just under 9 acres or over 40% of the vineyard. The production in 2013 was 40% below average and the wine is gorgeous. The color is dark and there is a deep perfume of berry fruit with just a tinge of spice. On the palate, the wine has a lot of very pure rich fruit and is beautifully balanced with intensity and depth. The Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Des Issarts 1er Cru is a monopole (single owner) vineyard. It is situated near the Clos des Ruchottes of Rousseau and is just over an acre in size with ½ old vines and ½ younger vines. The 2013 production was 250 cases. It is very special. With a dark color, the wine has a deep berry perfume with just a hint of floral spice. It has lots of very pure fruit and is beautifully balanced with intensity and depth. The Nuits-Saint- Georges Les Saint Georges 1er Cru has a dark color and deep spicy perfume. It is rich and concentrated with a myriad of black fruits and soft underlying tannins. Very impressive, this wine should be very long lived.
The Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru, Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru and Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Chaignots 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru has a deep color and lovely spice tinged berry perfume. It has lovely berry fruit with a touch of spice and is supple, rounded, and very pure. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru has a dark color and deep berry spice perfume. It has lots of rich spice tinged fruit with a good underlying acidity and should develop beautifully. The Nuits-Saint- Georges Aux Chaignots 1er Cru has a dark color and a deep blackberry perfume. It has lots of supple blackberry fruit with lovely balance and a nice underlying crispness.
The Corton Charlemagne, Batard Montrachet and Bienvenues Batard Montrachet have Outstanding Potential. The Corton Charlemagne has a pale yellow color and a lovely floral citrus perfume. It is very elegant and pure with lovely fruit showing citrus spice tinges and is beautifully balanced. The Batard Montrachet has a pale yellow color and a lovely floral perfume with a honeyed nuance. It is elegant and crisp with very pure fruit and a nice underlying crispness. The Bienvenues Batard Montrachet has a pale yellow color and a deep floral citrus perfume with a tinge of pineapple. It is elegant and bright with a nice crispness and lovely pure citrus and pineapple tinged fruit.
Domaine Francois Lamarche
This domaine has a history dating back over 200 years. Now under the direction of the 6th generation of the Lamarche family, the crown jewel is La Grande Rue. La Grand Rue is a vineyard of just under 4 acres that is surrounded by La Tache, La Romanée, and Romanée-Conti. It was only designated Grand Cru status in 1989.
The 2013s here show less intensity as compared with the 2012s. They are wines of elegance and finesse.
Tasting of 12 2013 Red Wines with Nicole Lamarche
2013
Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
BourgogneBourgogne Haute Cote de Nuits
Vosne-Romanée La Croix Rameau 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cras 1er Cru
Echezeaux
Clos de Vougeot
Grands Echezeux
La Grande Rue
The La Grande Rue has Outstanding Potential. It is a wine of elegance and finesse, yet there is depth and structure underneath. It has a nice floral berry perfume with just a faint exotic nuance and has lovely floral berry fruit with a tinge of spice. Rounded with a firm underlying structure and a nice crispness on the finish, additional bottle age will likely be of great benefit.
The Grands Echezeux, Echezeaux, and Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Grands-Echezeux has a deep color and a nice floral perfume. There is a lot of fruit rendered in a very finesseful style with some underlying crispness. The Echezeaux is similar with a deep color and a nice floral berry perfume. It shows a nice berry fruit with a floral spice note and a crisp finish. The Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru has a lovely perfume and with very nice spice tinged fruit and is balanced with nice crispness on the finish.
The Clos Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru, and Vosne Romanée La Croix Rameau 1er Cru all have Very Good Potential. The Clos Vougeot has a deep color and a nice floral berry perfume. It is finesseful with good fruit and a nice crispness. The Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru has a very nice color and a lovely perfume with rounded berry fruit and a nice crispness on the finish. There are only 50 cases of the Vosne- Romanée La Croix Rameau 1er Cru. It is lovely and finesseful with nice fruit and a balanced crispness.
The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cras 1er Cru has a nice color and perfume with berry fruit and good grip. The Vosne Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru has a nice color and perfume with crisp berry fruit. The Vosne-Romanée has a lovely perfume and very nice fruit with a crisp finish. The Bourgogne Passetoutgrains (this is made with 1/3 Gamay), Bourgogne, and Bourgogne Haute Cote de Nuits have lovely fruit. The Passetoutgrains is very fruity and bright. The Bourgogne is supple while the Bourgogne Haute Cote de Nuits has a nice crispness.
Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg
This Domaine was created in 1933 with the marriage of Jean Gibourg and André Mugneret. Their son, George, became an opthamologist. But, he joined the domaine at a young age and began purchasing vineyards in his own name. Over time this created Domaine Georges Mugneret.
On our early visits to Burgundy we visited Dr. George several times. He was a wonderful man. And, even though we spoke no French and he spoke very little English, we had a famous time. After all, these two languages can be blended into the language of wine. And, I’ll never forget setting in his office with my very good friends and Contributing Editors, Ed Lazarus and Geoffrey Troy, and chatting after our tasting. Dr. George left and after a short time reappeared with a bottle in hand. It was a 1949. Dr. George had brought a 1949 because we were talking about how much we liked that vintage. But, after all these years, I am not entirely sure about the vineyard, although I think it was Clos Vougeot. However, I do remember that it was a great wine.
Sadly, after a long illness, Dr. George passed away just before the harvest in 1988. His only children, Marie-Christine and Marie-Andrée, were not involved with the domaine at that time. Marie-Christine was married and working as a chemist along with her husband. Marie-Andrée, 9 years younger, had just entered school to study enology. The 1988 harvest was a challenging one and the vinification was also difficult. It was quite a year to join the family business, but Marie-Christine did just that and along with her mother, Jacqueline, and a little help from their friends, they pulled it off. In 1992, after she finish her schooling, Marie-Andrée joined her sister as the domaine entered a third phase. And, I think Dr. George would be very proud. The ladies are doing a great job of making superb top quality Burgundies of class and breed. The wines are simply delicious and they age beautifully. If you love Burgundy, and if you don’t already know these wines, what are you waiting for?
The 2013 crop here was about 30% more than the 2012 crop which was only about 50% of normal. The 2013 harvest was late and began in October in the middle of a rain. This made picking difficult, but the water was removed on the sorting table. The malolactic fermentation took a year to finish and finished during the 2014 harvest! Wines from this domaine are consistently superb and these 2013s are no exception with great purity and finesse.
Tasting of 7 2013 Red Wines with Marie-Christine
2013
Bourgogne
Vosne-Romanée
Nuits Saint Georges Les Chaignots 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes 1er Cru
Echezeaux
Clos Vougeot
Ruchottes-Chambertin
The Ruchottes- Chambertin has Exceptional Potential. Beginning in 2012 Ruchottes-Chambertin has included a portion of grapes from younger vines which are now 13 years old. The 2013 production was 200 cases. The 2013 is a great expression of richness and bright fruit. It has a stunning perfume and is very elegant and seamless with great fruit and purity. The richness is there as is the length with a wonderful balance. This is a really gorgeous wine!
The Clos Vougeot and Echezeaux are also very special with Outstanding Plus Potential. The production of the Clos Vougeot totaled 125 cases. It has a great perfume and intense fruit with great purity and elegance. There is also a nice underlying structure that should carry this wine for a very long time. Poor flowering in Echezeaux resulted in less berries and a crop that was 50% of normal. The production was 100 cases. The wine has an intense color and a deep perfume followed by intense fruit on the palate. Supple, rich, and rounded with great purity, this is a wonderful Echezeaux.
Vosne-Romanée, Nuits St Georges Les Chaignots 1er Cru, and Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes 1er Cru all have Outstanding Potential. The Vosne-Romanée is a gorgeous village wine with lovely fruit, lots of flavor and great purity. It is balanced with a nice underlying structure and has impressive richness. The Nuits St Georges Les Chaignots 1er Cru has lots of floral tinged fruit and is very expressive and pure. With a bright underlying crispness this is a wine of great class and finesse. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes 1er Cru is brimming with floral tinged fruit and is supple and rounded with purity and a nice bright crispness on the finish.
The Bourgogne was not yet blended when we tasted. We tasted a representative blend of 3 different barrels. It showed lovely supple fruit and was rounded and balanced with a lot of charm. This should make a lovely bottle at an affordable price – Very Good Plus Potential.
Domaine Georges Roumier
Georges Roumier founded this domaine and began producing wine in 1924. The first domaine wine was bottled here in 1945 making it one of the earlier properties to begin estate bottling. Since 1990, Christophe Roumier, George’s grandson, has been in charge of the domaine. Christophe’s reign has established this domaine as one of the best, and most consistent, in all of Burgundy. Christophe prefers old vines and low yields and very traditional vinification methods. We began tasting from barrel here in the early 1980s and in the years since have consistently found this domaine’s wines to be among the best of each respective vintage.
The 2013 crop here was 30% less than average exactly the same as 2012. Christophe says the vintage was saved by a small crop which produced fully ripe grapes. As usual, the 2013 wines here are lovely.
Tasting of 8 2013 Red Wines and 2 2012 Red Wines with Christophe Roumier
2013
Chambolle-Musigny
Morey Saint Denis Clos de la Bussiere 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Combottes 1er Cru
Charmes Chambertin
Ruchottes Chambertin
Bonnes Mares
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru
The Bonnes Mares and Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru are gorgeous wines with Outstanding Plus Potential. The Bonnes Mares has a great floral tinged berry perfume and loads of very pure supple fruit with lots of intensity. This is a lush wine with structure and balance and will be very long lived. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er cru is stunning. It has an intense perfume and lots of very pure supple fruit showing berries and cherries with floral undertones. The wine has elegance and intensity with impeccable balance and a long finish.
The Ruchottes Chambertin has Outstanding Potential. It has a deep color and an intense berry perfume. With lots of fruit, the wine has richness and depth with great balance.
The Charmes Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru have Very Good Plus Potential. Only 75 cases of the Charmes Chambertin were produced. It has a nice perfume and lots of supple fruit. Rounded and balanced it has early appeal, but will keep for an extended time. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er cru is made from grapes grown on vines averaging 40 years of age. With a deep color it has a lovely perfume and is supple with lots of fruit. The wine is harmonious with elegance and finesse and has great appeal.
The Chambolle-Musigny Les Combottes 1er Cru, Morey Saint Denis Clos de la Bussiere 1er cru, and Chambolle-Musigny have Very Good Potential. All have deep colors and lovely supple fruit. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Combottes 1er Cru has a lovely floral tinged perfume and is balanced with a lot of charm. The Morey Saint Denis Clos de la Bussiere 1er cru has a floral spice perfume and is rounded and lush with plum like fruit. The Chambolle-Musigny has a lovely floral perfume and is very elegant and pure with nice structure and length.
2012 (Bottle)
Chambolle-Musigny
Bonnes-Mares
2012 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny
Deep in color with a great perfume this Chambolle is loaded with supple fruit and has a lot of charm. It has nice richness and a lovely finish – Highly Recommended Plus.
2012 Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares
Deep in color with a stunning floral berry tinged perfume this wine has a lot of richness and depth with great supple fruit. It is balanced and structured with a long, lingering finish – Outstanding Plus.
Domaine Hudelot-Noellat
Some 50 years ago Alain Hudelot began acquiring vineyards including part of his father’s holdings in Clos Vougeot. In 1963 he married the grand daughter of Charles Noellat and, after much legal maneuvering, the domaine was expanded. Alain’s grandson, Charles Van Canneyt, returned to take over the domaine in 2008 assisted by Vincent Mugnier. This domaine has holdings in some of the best vineyards and recent vintages have been consistently at a high level with great wines made in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and now 2013. Charles is doing a great job and these are wines to buy!
Production in 2013 was at about the same level as the small 2012 production. The wines are once again stunning across the entire range. Don’t miss these wines!
Tasting with Charles Van Canneyt of 12 2013 Red Wines
2013
Chambolle-Musigny
Vosne-Romanée
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Bas de Combes
Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Murgers 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru
Clos de Vougeot
Romanée Saint-Vivant
Richebourg
The Romanée Saint-Vivant has Exceptional Potential. This wine has a stunning floral perfume with exotic nuances and has lots of exotic tinged supple berry fruit. The balance is impeccable and there is depth and richness with a long finish. The production of Romanée Saint Vivant was about 220 cases. This is a long distance runner!
The Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, and Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Richebourg production was 135 cases. It has a gorgeous berry perfume with hints of floral spice and has lots of fruit with a faint tinge of spice. The underlying structure is there somewhat masked at this point by the fruit and the wine has impressive length. The Clos de Vougeot here is consistently top rate and this 2013 is no exception. The production was 300 cases. The wine has a dark color and a deep perfume with berry, plum, and spice nuances. With lots of rich supple fruit on the palate, it is rounded and balanced with a long finish – classic Clos de Vougeot. The Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts 1er Cru production was only 65 cases. It has a dark color and gorgeous floral perfume with hints of plum and spice. Supple and rich, the fruit is a combination of plums and berries and the wine is beautifully balanced with a long finish.
The Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru, Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru, Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er Cru, Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Murgers 1er Cru, and Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru production was 250 cases. It is a beautiful wine with a deep floral spice tinged perfume and lots of floral tinged fruit on the palate. With great elegance and flavor it is balanced with a lingering finish. Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru production was 175 cases. It has a lovely perfume with lots of berry fruit and has a lot of elegance and finesse. The fruit is very pure and there is depth and richness with a lovely balance. This is an impressive Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Murgers 1er Cru. It has a gorgeous perfume and lovely fruit with great underlying structure. A wine of elegance yet with lots of flavor this should be a good value. The Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er Cru is consistently one of my favorite under the radar Burgundies. It always has a Chambolle like elegance and charm which I love. This 2013 is typical. The production was 250 cases and the wine has a gorgeous floral berry perfume. It is supple and lush with great floral tinged fruit and is beautifully balanced with gorgous flavors and a lovely crispness on the finish.
The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Bas de Combes, Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny have Very Good Plus Potential. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Bas de Combes has a deep perfume with a tinge of exotic spice. It is structured and flavorful with very good fruit and balance. The Vosne-Romanée is a gorgeous village wine with a lovely berry perfume and a myriad of fruit flavors. It is supple and rounded with nice depth and richness and has a lot of charm. Likewise, the Chambolle-Musigny is also a really lovely village wine. It is supple and rounded with floral tinged fruit and shows a lot of finesse with very nice flavor and balance. These wines should all represent really good values.
After Our Tasting of the 2013s We Drank the Following 2012s with Dinner the Next Night at Le Bistro
2012 (Bottle)
Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er Cru
Clos de Vougeot
Romanée Saint-Vivant
2012 Domaine Hudelot-Noellat Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot 1er Cru
Very nice color with a deep intense floral perfume this wine exudes charm and has great appeal. The balance is lovely with supple fruit accented by floral undertones. Tinges of cherry are also accented by a touch of spice and the finish is impressive. This is a consistently under rated wine that really delivers – Outstanding.
2012 Domaine Hudelot-Noellat Clos de Vougeot
Year after year Domaine Hudelot-Noellat makes a gorgeous Clos de Vougeot. This 2012 is an example. The color is deep and the perfume is gorgeous with a floral tinge. Lots of supple fruit is accented by an exotic tinge and the wine is balanced with intensity and depth – Outstanding Plus.
2012 Domaine Hudelot-Noellat Romanée Saint-Vivant
Deep in color this wine has a gorgeous perfume with berries and spice showing exotic nuances. With lovely fruit and great elegance and finesse there is lots of fruit and flavor, but it does not really begin to open until it is in the glass for some time. Decanting would be a good idea for this wine if it is consumed now. However, the wine is just a baby and cries out for many years of age. Be patient. This will only improve with time – Outstanding Plus.
Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier
The origins of this domaine begin with Francois Mugnier who was also known as Frederic. In 1856 he established a liqueur business in Dijon. Later he bought several vineyard parcels from the Marey-Monge family and in 1899 purchased the Chateau de Chambolle Musigny from them. The succession passed to Frederic’s son and grandson and then to a nephew, Jacques-Frederic, in 1944. The liqueur business was sold (if you like art deco advertising posters, and I do, there are several great ones from Mugnier) and the vineyard holdings were divided among several members of the family. Those were rented to a negociant under long term contracts. The vineyards were under varying arrangements for many years. Then in 1984, Frederic Mugnier, the son of Jacques-Frederic, changed professions and took over winemaking and management of the domaine. At that time, there were some nine acres of vines all situated in Chambolle-Musigny, including nearly 3 acres in Musigny which represent the second largest holding after Comte Georges de Vogue.
After tasting the 1985s, we began our visits which have continued each year since. Over the years we have tasted many fabulous wines here. Because the grapes had mostly gone to negociants, there were virtually no old wines at the estate when Frederic arrived. I had a few bottles of 1949 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Clos Vougeot. One year I took a bottle to Frederic as a gift. He generously said he would keep the wine until Geoffrey Troy and I could join him for dinner. The next year Geoffrey and I had dinner with Frederic and his wife, Josceline, at the Chateau. It was a fabulous evening. The 1949 Clos Vougeot was magical. Like many great old Burgundies, the color was very pale. But that simply does not matter. The perfume was stunning and the wine was like silk with incredible flavors. Frederic and Josceline were thrilled and a bit emotional. They had never tasted the wine. The Clos Vougeot parcel had been sold shortly after this wine was made. Frederic commented that the parcel was poorly located at the bottom of the slope and that perhaps some Musigny had been added! No matter. The wine was ethereal. Frederic then left for a few minutes and returned with two old bottles. They were 1945 Musigny Blanc from the domaine, two of the very few bottles that remained. One had a very low fill, but the wine was great. The low fill bottle was even a bit better than the other. Interestingly, they both had a little petillance which undoubtedly contributed to the freshness of the wines. They were simply amazing and among the greatest White Burgundies I have ever tasted.
Frederic believes in keeping things simple and that less is more. Age of the vines and the condition of the soil are the most important factors. He also believes that typical Burgundy vintages are always completely different. His goal is to always make wine that reflects the vintage. Therefore, Frederic likes every vintage for its unique character. And, Frederic is always quick to point out that he is less interested in making great wine every year than he is in making good wine every year. This, again, speaks to the wide diversity in Burgundy vintages. I love this approach. Vintage comparisons are difficult to make at a very early stage and the evolution of the wines over time often yields surprises both good and not so good. Frederic’s approach is to not to try to chose a favorite vintage or to try to make wine that is the same. His goal is simply to farm the vineyards in a natural way and let nature take its course. Once the grapes are harvested, then the job is to make the wine with minimal intervention. BRAVO! The wines made here are, for me, consistently some of the best in Burgundy.
Yields in 2013 were down a bit in Chambolle-Musigny and up a bit at Clos de la Marechal as compared with the short 2012 crop. Frederic told us that the harvest was the latest since he began in 1984. He was surprised by the texture and depth of the wines which he attributes to fully ripe grapes. One of the attributes of the vintage was the low yields. He also compares the vintage to 1996 in terms of acidity with a difference in the texture and fruit. Other things that are different between 2013 and 1984 are more work in the vineyards (where they are now using 3 times the number of workers as before), greater selection after picking, and less new oak. This makes wines that are more natural to the terroir which is his mission. The 2013s here reflect the terroir and show the great purity and depth that is characteristic of the best 2013s.
Tasting with Jacques-Frederic Mugnier of 6 2013 Red Wines, 1 2013 White Wine and 3 2012 Red Wines and 1 2012 White Wine
2013
Chambolle-Musigny
Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru
Bonnes Mares
Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuse 1er Cru
Musigny
White Wine
Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale Blanc 1er Cru
The Musigny has Exceptional Potential. The wine has a great floral perfume with a myriad of fruits. It is loaded with very pure fruit and has a lot of intensity and depth with a balanced suppleness. There is a firm underlying structure to this wine and its evolution should reveal an extra dimension of complexity.
The Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuse 1er Cru has Outstanding Plus Potential. This is a gorgeous wine that defines elegance. It has a gorgeous floral tinged perfume and is silky and rounded with layers of very pure fruit with a bright intensity. A one word description here would be delicious!
The Bonnes Mares and Nuits Saint Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Bonnes Mares has a lovely perfume showing plum and berry fruit. It has lots of fruit on the palate and is rounded and balanced with depth and richness. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er Cru is once again a beautiful wine with elegance and lots of flavor. It shows a floral berry spice perfume and has very pure fruit with a spice tinge. Beautifully balanced, this is really lovely.
The Chambolle-Musigny and Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er cru have Very Good Plus Potential. Both of these wines show a lot of very pure fruit and elegance. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru has a nice floral berry perfume and is rounded with lovely pure fruit showing a nice underlying crispness. The Chambolle-Musigny is a gorgeous village wine. It has a lovely floral tinged cherry berry perfume and is supple and rounded with a nice crispness on the finish.
The Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale Blanc 1er Cru has Outstanding Potential. The Nuits Saint Georges Clos de la Marechale Blanc is made from a small plot of vines in the solely owned (Monopole) Clos de al Marechale vineyard. It is a gorgeous wine year in and year out and always is very expressive young yet it will age effortlessly for many years. The 2013 seems even more precocious than usual. It has a light a yellow color and a great pineapple citrus perfume. Very elegant and flavorful there is lots of very pure spice tinged fruit showing hints of pineapple with a nice underlying crispness.
2012 (Bottle)
Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale 1erCru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru
Musigny
White Wine
Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale Blanc 1er Cru
2012 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er Cru
With a deep color this wine has a lovely berry perfume. It has lots of berry fruit with richness and depth. Balanced and very flavorful there is also a nice crispness that gives the wine an extra dimension of freshness. This wine should age beautifully – Outstanding.
2012 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru
This is a really lovely wine. With a deep color, it has floral spice tinged perfume and shows rounded fruit with a nice underlying crispness – Highly Recommended Plus.
2012 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Musigny
Showing a deep perfume of berry fruit with floral spice tinged nuances and hint of green olive, this is a wine that should be very long lived. It has impressive fruit and richness and great structure with a long finish – Outstanding Plus.
2012 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale Blanc 1er Cru
With a light yellow color this wine has a lovely floral perfume with a tinge of almond and citrus. Supple and rounded with lovely pure citrus tinged fruit showing a floral nuance, it has a lot of elegance and a long finish accented by a nice crispness – Outstanding.
Domaine Leflaive
The Leflaive family has been in Burgundy for more than 400 years. The expansion of the domaine began in 1905 when Joseph Leflaive inherited five acres of vines. Phylloxera and odium diseases plagued Burgundy in the late 19thcentury and many owners sold their land. This provided an opportunity for Joseph and by 1926 he had increased the domaine to 50 acres. In 1953, Vincent and his brother, Jo, took over the domaine after their father’s death. Vincent was instrumental in advancing the quality of the wines and expanding the domaine. In 1991, he acquired a very small parcel of Montrachet (0.2 acres). Vincent passed away on the eve of the 1993 harvest. Subsequently, Vincent’s daughter, Ann-Claude, assumed control. In 1990 she began biodynamic principles in the vineyards and by 1997 the entire domaine was converted.
For many years Domaine Leflaive has been the greatest white wine estate in Burgundy with wines that are very age worthy. Wines back into the 1970s can be gorgeous and I still have some in my cellar that are drinking beautifully. However, like many White Burgundy producers, in recent years there have been some incidences of Premox (premature oxidation) with the wines. They have said previously that there have been some problems mostly with some 2002s and 2004s. They attribute those problems to the corks and the cork supplier was changed in 2007. But, in recent years we have had problems with the 2008s. Some of the problems may have been due to storage, but it is not entirely clear what is causing the problems. At this point the jury is still out.
This year we again tasted with Eric Remy. Eric joined Domaine Leflaive as assistant winemaker in 2003 and became the winemaker in 2008. Today he is in charge of all wine operations at Domaine Leflaive. Eric told us that the crop in 2013 was up sharply from the severely reduced crop of 2012. The vintage produced wines of great elegance and finesse. Eric believes the top wines will take 10 years to show their full potential.
Tasting with Eric Remy of 10 2013 White Wines
2013
Bourgogne Blanc
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 Chevalier Montrachet, Batard Montrachet, and Bienvenues Batard Montrachet all have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Chevalier Montrachet has a lovely perfume with hints of peach and citrus with a floral tinge. It has a lot of finesse and elegance with well defined fruit and a nice crispness. The Batard Montrachet is rounded with very nice fruit and a lovely perfume. It shows a floral citrus complexity and has very good length. The Bienvenues Batard Montrachet has attributes of the Chevalier and Batard with elegance and a nice crispness along with a rounded texture and nice richness and balance. The evolution of these 3 wines should be quite interesting.
The Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru and Puligny-Montrachet Les Combottes 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru has a nice roundness and lovely fruit. It shows a floral complexity with a touch of spice and has a nice crispness on the finish. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Combottes 1er Cru had a small production and shows lots of fruit with depth and elegance. The fruit is very pure with hints of peach and citrus and the wine is beautifully balanced.
The Puligny-Montrachet Le Clavoillon 1er Cru, Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres 1er Cru, and Meursault sous le Dos d’Ane 1er Cru all have Very Good Plus Potential. The Puligny-Montrachet Le Clavoillon 1er Cru has very nice fruit showing hints of peach and citrus with a nice underlying crispness. It is elegant and refined with nice balance. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres 1er Cru has nice roundness and flavor with very good fruit showing a nice crispness on the finish. The Meursault sous le Dos d’Ane 1er Cru is more forward. It shows a lovely apricot tinged perfume and has lovely pure fruit accented by a floral citrus tinge. Harmonious and well defined this is a wine with a lot of charm.
The Puligny-Montrachet has Very Good Potential. It shows a lovely floral tinged perfume and has lovely citrus tinged fruit. Rounded with a nice crispness underneath this is very elegant and well balanced.
The Bourgogne Blanc is quite subdued at this stage in its evolution. After bottling, it will be interesting to taste again as this is usually a really fine Bourgogne Blanc. Just now it has a faint floral tinged perfume and is bright and crisp with citrus tinges.
Domaine Liger-Belair
This domaine has a long and storied history. The beginning of the Domaine dates back to 1815. In the next 116 years the members of the Liger-Belair family expanded the vineyard holdings to include some of the most prestigious in Burgundy –- La Romanée, La Tache, and La Grand Rue, as well as portions of Malconsorts, Chaumes, Reignots, and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée, Les Saint Georges and and Vaucrains in Nuits-Saint Georges, Clos Vougeot in Vougeot, and Chambertin in Gevrey-Chambertin as well as others. In 1933 a death in the family forced a sale of the properties to comply with French inheritance laws. This resulted in the loss of La Tache and La Grand Rue as well as other vineyards. However, two members of the family were able to purchase La Romanée as well as portions of Vosne-Romanée 1er Crus Reignots and Les Chaumes and a few other parcels. Since there were no family members to manage the estate, the vineyards were turned over to local vignerons and sales to negociants. The production of La Romanée and Vosne-Romanée Les Reignots 1er Cru were marketed at various times by Leroy, Bichot, and Bouchard Pere & Fils.
From the 1970s my friends and I became acquainted with this domaine through the various bottlings of La Romanée which we loved. We bought and drank a lot of them as far back as 1915. I still have some very old bottles in my cellar. The wines can be remarkable! When we first started going to Burgundy we would often visit at Domaine Forey Pere et Fils where we would visit with Règis Forey and taste wines from barrel. Here we would taste not only his wines which included Echezeaux and Vosne-Romanée Les Gaudichots 1er Cru, but also La Romanée and Vosne-Romanée Les Reignots 1er Cru (Les Reignots is situated just above La Romanée). These latter 2 vineyards were farmed by Règis and he made the wines. After they were in barrel they went to Bouchard Pere & Fils where they were bottled and marketed. Domaine Forey is situated between Domaine de la Romanée Conti and the great chateau of Domaine Liger-Belair. We would visit Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Forey Pere et Fils as well as many other great domaines in the village of Vosne Romanée. But, Liger-Belair was always a mystery since there was no wine being made there. Little did we know that one day this would all change.
In 2000 Louis-Michel Liger-Belair assumed control of the domaine when he took back about 3 acres of vineyard in Vosne-Romanée La Colombière, Clos du Château, and Les Chaumes 1er Cru. In 2002 he took back another 3 ½ acres or so consisting of the great La Romanée vineyard and a parcel of Vosne-Romanée Les Reignots 1er Cru. The production was split with Bouchard Pere & Fils through the 2005 vintage when Liger-Belair assumed full control. In 2006, he rented over 12 additional acres including a large parcel of Echezaux, Vosne-Romanée 1er Crus Les Suchots, Les Petits Monts and Les Brûlées, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Cras, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges. In this period since 2000, the wines of Liger-Belair have been very consistent and very successful. Louis Michel has done an amazing job in running all aspects of the domaine from farming to marketing and this domaine is now the source of many of the greatest wines in Burgundy. It is an amzing story. From a great beginning that lasted over a hundred years to a period of obscurity that lasted the better part of another century, it has once again claimed a place of prominence. Located in the shadow of Domaine de la Romanée Conti across the street, Domaine Liger-Belair now, once again, stands tall in the land of giants.
The yields in 2013 were less than 40% of normal which was even a bit less than 2012. And, the 2013 wines are yet another great success here with great purity of fruit and lots of depth and concentration. They are lovely across the entire range with the Grand Crus and 1er Crus truly remarkable.
Tasting with Louis-Michel of 11 2013 Red Wines and 1 2007 Red Wine
2013
Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée La Colombiere
Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château (Bottle)
Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Cras 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Les Brûlées 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru
Echezeaux
La Romanée
The La Romanée is stunning with Exceptional Plus Potential. It is a very seductive and appealing wine that has tremendous depth and richness along with a gorgeous suppleness. The color is dark and the perfume is intense and very engaging with floral nuances accented by hints of oriental spice. And, on the palate, the fruit is very pure with subtle hints of spice. A seamless wine with great length on the finish, this is classic!
The Echezeaux has Exceptional Potential. The 2013 vintage seems to have particularly blessed the Echezeaux vineyard and this wine has impressive concentration and depth. The color is dark and the perfume shows subtle floral spice notes. With lots of very pure supple fruit, the wine also has great style and balance. This is really gorgeous.
The Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru, Vosne-Romanée Les Brûlées 1er Cru, and Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru have Outstanding Plus Potential. It will be fascinating to follow their evolution to see the changes over time. Just now the differences are very subtle. All have dark colors. The Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots 1er Cru has a deep perfume with lots of rich supple blackberry fruit. It is rich and balanced with flavor and intensity. The Vosne-Romanée Les Brûlées 1er Cru has a great perfume and is also loaded with fruit that suggests blackberries and black cherries. There is depth and richness and the wine is rounded with great balance. The Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru is a real success with a great plum and berry perfume accented by floral nuances. It is supple, lush, and rounded with lots of fruit and bright underlying crispness.
The Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru, Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru, and Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Cras 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. Once again, all of these wines have dark colors and the differences are very subtle. The Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru has a lovely floral berry perfume with intense fruit showing a bright crispness. It is well balanced and offers the promise of great charm and elegance. The Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru has a lovely floral perfume with lots of supple fruit. It is rounded and seductive with depth and a nice underlying structure. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Cras 1er Cru has a lovely berry perfume with a floral nuance and lovely very pure fruit on the palate. It is structured and flavorful with a well balanced underlying structure.
The Vosne-Romanée La Colombiere has Very Good Plus Potential. This is a lovely wine. The color is dark and the perfume shows blackberry fruit. The blackberry fruit carries through on the palate and there is a nice underlying crispness. It should round out nicely with some bottle age.
The Vosne-Romanée has Very Good Potential. This is a very nice village wine. It has a deep floral tinged perfume and lovely fruit on the palate showing depth and richness with an underlying crispness.
2013 Domaine Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château
This wine was bottled 2 months before our visit to preserve the fruit. It is an elegant very pure wine with a lot of charm and early appeal. It has a very nice color and a lovely faintly floral perfume. The fruit is bright with a nice freshness and the overall impression is one of delicacy and charm. This is lovely wine for early consumption, although its ability to age might surprise – Highly Recommended Plus.
2007 (Bottle)
La Romanée
2007 Domaine Liger-Belair La Romanée
This is a beautiful wine that has really blossomed. It has a deep color and a lovely floral spice perfume. Elegant and silky the wine has gorgeous flavors with faint oriental spice nuances and really delicious cherry tinged fruit. It is harmonious and balanced with a long lingering finish. I would expect that this wine will continue to develop for many years and keep for decades – Outstanding Plus.
Domaine Marquis d’Angerville
The history of this revered domaine dates back to the earliest times of the Dukes of the House of Burgundy. In 1507 this area was identified as the one abandoned by the Dukes of the House of Burgundy. Today Domaine Marquis d’Angerville is in almost exactly the one described in 1507. In 1804, Baron Du Mesnil acquired the Clos des Ducs. Also, around the Clos des Ducs were parcels of the famous vineyards of the 12th century Dukes of Bourbon (Taillepieds, Caillerets and Champans). In the second half of the 19th century, the estate of Clos des Ducs is passed on to Eugene du Mesnil, the son of Baron du Mesnil, and great uncle of Shem, Marquis d’Angerville, who is the grandfather of the current owner. A phylloxera epidemic ravaged the vineyards in the late 19th century and he does not take possession until almost 20 years later.
Shem, Marquis d’Angerville, begins the restoration and replanting of the property in 1906. He bases this on strict adherence to historical practices and becomes a strong advocate of “authentic wine”. He practiced non-interventionist winemaking which he learned from his father and believed in doing as little as possible to the wine. His dedication to quality and natural wines causes him to separate his business from the traders in Beaune and seek other ways to sell his wine. By necessity, he becomes on of the first producers in Burgundy to bottle and sell the wine from the estate. This includes marketing in the United States. Shem Angerville passed away in 1952 and his son Jacques assumed control of the domaine. He, like his father was a strong advocate of quality and traditions and was an ambassador not only for his domaine, but for the village of Volnay, and the area of Burgundy. He was involved with many organizations. And, amongst many other things, he helped create the University Institute of Vine and Wine in Dijon and was a founding member of the International Academy of Wine. His dedication to quality and authenticity lead him, along with Baron Leroy, to create the National Institute of Appellations of Origin (INAO). Jacques d’Angerville died prematurely in July 2003. He vinified 52 vintages and dedicated his life to his domaine, Volnay, and Burgundy. An iconic figure, he will be forever remembered not only for his wines, but for helping to preserve the great legacy of Burgundy.
After Jacques death, the Angerville family wanted to continue the great tradition of the domaine. Guillaume d’Angerville, the son of Jacques, left his career in investment banking and returned to take over the domaine in 2003. He is assisted by his brother, Guillaume d’Angerville, an agricultural engineer, who worked with his father for 15 years and has stayed on as a consultant. With Guillaume d’Angerville in charge there have been subtle but important changes in the last few years to improve the consistency and purity of the wine even more. These include such things as introducing a sorting table and a more delicate way of crushing the grapes. Recent vintages, although challenging and very small, have shown a very high quality. The estate is in good hands and it can be assured that the great traditions of this amazing property will be continued into the future.
With my friends, I first started going to this domaine in the 1980s when we first met and tasted wine with the Marquis d’Angerville. He was a wonderful and gracious man. I remember tasting the 1990s here and marveling at the quality. I still have some in my cellar and they are remarkable today. In recent years, the domaine has been ravaged by Mother Nature and has produced only 50% of a normal crop in the 4 vintages from 2010 to 2013. And, for the first time in the storied history of this domaine, there was no profit in 2012. The production in 2013 was 40% of normal. In 2014 production was up slightly but still only 60% of normal. The wines here have been consistently brilliant through this difficult period and the 2013s continue to trend. Quantities are very small, but if you can find them, these are wines to buy!
Tasting with Guillaume d’Angerville of 9 Red Wines and 1 White Wine
2013
Volnay
Volnay 1er Cru
Pommard Combes-Dessus 1er Cru
Volnay Clos des Angles 1er Cru
Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru
Volnay Caillerets 1er Cru
Volnay Taillepieds 1er Cru
Volnay Champans 1er Cru
Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru
White Wine
Meursault Santenots 1er Cru
The Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru, Volnay Champans 1er Cru, and Volnay Taillepieds 1er Cru have Outstanding Plus Potential. They all are gorgeous wines with deep colors and lots of intensity. It will be interesting to see them evolve over time. They all should be very long lived. The Volnay Clos des Ducs 1er Cru is a monopole (one owner) vineyard with history dating back to the earliest days of Burgundy. This 2013 has a lovely spice tinged berry perfume and has lots of fruit and is structured with impressive length on the finish. The Volnay Champans 1er Cru comes from a portion of the vineyard with ideal position on the slope and a different soil composition. It has a gorgeous berry perfume with a kiss of spice and lovely fruit with a firm underlying crispness. Structured and balanced the wine also has richness and depth. The Volnay Taillepieds 1er Cru is more open with a gorgeous black cherry tinged perfume and lots of floral spice tinged fruit showing a faint exotic quality. It has lovely balance and a lot of charm.
The Volnay Caillerets 1er Cru, Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru, Volnay Clos des Angles 1er Cru, and Pommard Combes-Dessus 1er Cru all have Outstanding Potential. They all have deep colors. The Volnay Caillerets 1er Cru has a subtle Perfume and is rounded with lots of fruit and intensity showing a nice underlying crispness. The Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru has a lovely floral berry perfume. It has very nice pure fruit with a tinge of spice and is rounded and flavorful with a nice crispness on the finish. The Volnay Clos des Angles 1er Cru has a lovely floral perfume. It has a really nice expression of berry fruit and lovely balance with a nice underlying crispness. The Pommard Combes-Dessus 1er Cru is a small parcel and the wine is not imported to the US. It has a lovely berry perfume and is balanced with lovely fruit and a bright crispness,
The Volnay is a lovely village wine with Very Good Potential. It has a very nice color and a lovely berry perfume. Rounded and supple with lovely fruit, the wine is balanced with a nice underlying crispness and a lot of charm.
The Volnay 1er Cru sample was from a small parcel which will be blended with wine from several other 1er Cru vineyards. It has a lovely perfume and lots of very pure fruit with black cherry nuances and is harmonious and balanced. Based on this, the blended wine should be quite special.
The Meursault Santenots 1er Cru has Outstanding Potential. The grapes for this wine come from a vineyard between Volnay and Meursault located on a steep slope. It is a beautifully balanced wine with a very distinct character. The color is light yellow gold and the perfume is floral with very subtle citrus spice nuances. Very flavorful with lovely citrus tinged fruit showing subtle hints of peach and floral undertones, the wine is rounded and supple with a bright, stony crispness on the finish. It should age beautifully.
Domaine Méo-Camuzet
Domaine Méo Camuzet was founded in the early 1900s by Etienne Camuzet who was a member of the French Parliament from 1902 to 1932. He acquired plots of many great vineyards including Richebourg and Clos de Vougeot. He owned the Chateau itself as well as vines around the Chateau. He donated to Chateau to its present owners the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. The vineyards were passed on to his daughter, Maria Noirot. After her death in 1959, she left her holdings to a distant relative, Jean Méo, who was then a member of General de Gaulle’s staff. Jean Méo retained his career and the vineyards continued to be rented to various people who cared for them and made the wine. One of those people was the late great Henri Jayer who from 1949 to 1988 cared for some of the vineyards and crafted superb wines. Henri Jayer began bottling his share during this time and the balance was mostly sold to negociants. The Underground Wineletter was the first publication to review the great wines of Henri Jayer beginning with the 1978 vintage (to read about the Henri Jayer wines click here). In 1985 Domaine Méo Camuzet began selling some wine under its own label directly from the cellars. Around this time we began to hear more about Méo Camuzet. And after 1988, Méo Camuzet progressively took charge of the vineyards as the contacts with the vintners expired. At the end of the 1980s, Jean Méo’s son, Jean-Nicolas, assumed control and for about 10 years Henri Jayer acted as advisor.We soon went to Méo Camuzet to taste and our first visit there was with Henri Jayer. We soon met Jean-Nicolas who has been in control ever since. He has not only directed the domaine, but has also increased production by starting a negociant business. There are many great vineyards in this domaine and the wines can be stunning, including those back to the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The crop here was about 20% of normal. The wines show lovely fruit and are beautifully balanced.
Tasting with Peer Reiss, Jean-Nicolas’s assistant, of 12 2013 Red Wines and 1 2013 White Wine and 1 2012 Red Wine
2013
Bourgogne Rouge
Marsannay
Fixin Clos de Chapitre 1er Cru
Nuits Saint Georges Aux Murgers 1er Cru
Nuits Saint Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru
Vosne Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru
Corton Clos Rognet
Clos de Vougeot
Echezeaux
Vosne Romanée Les Brûlées 1er Cru
Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux 1er Cru
Richebourg
White Wine
Haut Côte de Nuits Blanc Clos Saint-Philibert
The Richebourg has Exceptional Potential. It has a deep color and a very complex perfume with floral berry fruit and subtle exotic nuances and a tinge of spice. The wine has very pure spice tinged fruit and great depth and intensity and is beautifully balanced.
The Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux and Echezeaux have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux has a lovely floral perfume with hints of cherry fruit. On the palate it shows a lot of very pure fruit with a spice tinge and has an outstanding freshess. The Echezeaux is especially fine this year. It has a gorgeous floral perfume and has lots of very pure beautifully balanced fruit. The wine has an extra dimension of richness and should evolve over a very long time.
The Vosne Romanée Les Brûlées 1er Cru and Clos de Vougeot have Outstanding Potential. The Vosne Romanée Les Brûlées 1er Cru has a lovely floral berry perfume tinges with spice. It has a firm underlying structure overlaid with lots of spice tinged berry fruit. This should round out beautifully with several years bottle age. The Clos de Vougeot has richness and a lot of charm. With a lovely floral tinged berry perfume it has lots of very pure supple fruit with just a tinge of spice and is beautifully balanced.
The Corton Clos Rognet, Vosne Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru, Nuits Saint Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru, and Nuits Saint Georges Aux Murgers 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Corton Clos Rognet has a nice floral tinged perfume and very pure floral tinged fruit with a nice underlying crispness. The Vosne Romanée Les Chaumes 1er Cru has a lovely floral perfume and is supple and rounded with lovely very pure fruit. The Nuits Saint Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru has a deep exotic tinged perfume with lovely spice tinged plum like fruit. It has a lot of richeness with a very firm underlying structure and should soften with several years of bottle age. The Nuits Saint Georges Aux Murgers 1er Cru has a lovely plum and berry perfume with lots of well defined fruit flavors showing plums and berries with a touch of spice. With lovely balance this wine has a lot of charm.
The Fixin Clos de Chapitre 1er Cru and Marsannay have Very Good Potential. The Fixin Clos de Chapitre 1er Cru has a very nice spice tinged floral perfume and lovely spice tinged berry fruit with a nice underlying crispness. The Marsannay has a nice berry perfume and lovely berry fruit with a nice crispness on the finish. The Bourgogne Rouge has a very nice color and a lovely perfume. It also has nice fruit with a bright underlying crispness and has a lot of early charm.
The Haut Côte de Nuits Blanc Clos Saint-Philibert has Very Good Potential. It is consistently a lovely wine that is also a very good value. Made with 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Blanc, the wine is light yellow in color and has a lovely floral perfume with hints of pineapple. Elegant, supple, and rounded with pineapple tinged fruit accented by a touch of citrus, this is a very pure wine with a nice crispness on the finish.
2012 (Bottle)
Corton Clos Rognet
2012 Domaine Méo Camuzet Corton Clos Rognet
With a deep color this wine has a gorgeous floral berry perfume. Soft with lots of supple berry fruit it is beautifully balanced with lots of flavor and a long finish. It should age beautifully – Outstanding.
Domaine Ponsot
The origin of this domaine began in 1872 when William Ponsot purchased vineyards in Morey Saint Denis, including a parcel of Clos de la Roche. In 1920, his nephew, Hippolyte Ponsot, succeeded him and was joined by his brother Henri. During this period additions were made in Clos de la Roche and in 1934 the decision was made to bottle the entire harvest at the estate. This was a very uncommon practice at this time since most growers sold their grapes or wine to negociants who would do the bottling and marketing. A few years later, Hippolyte Ponsot was one of the leaders of the AOC certification for wines in Burgundy.
In 1942, Jean-Marie joined his father Hippolyte who retired in 1957. Jean-Marie pioneered the clonal selection of vines in Burgundy in the early 1960s. During this period more vineyards were also added. As mentioned previously the first parcel of Clos de la Roche was purchased in 1872 and the first domaine bottling was 1934. Since 1936 Clos de la Roche has been greatly expanded from just under 10 acres to over 33 acres today. Today Domaine Ponsot is the largest owner of Clos de la Roche with holdings of about 8 acres all situated in the original plot that existed prior to 1936.
Laurent Ponsot joined the family domaine in 1981 and under his direction more vineyards have been added. Since 1982, Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes, Griottes-Chambertin, Clos Saint Denis, and Chambertin are made under an agreement with Domaine Chezeaux. Domaine Chezeaux owns the vines and Ponsot farms the vineyards and makes and bottles the wine. The production is then split between Domaine Ponsot and Domaine Chezeaux on the basis of 2/3 for Ponsot and 1/3 for Chezeaux. When the wine is bottled the casks are blended for each wine. Then Ponsot corks go in 2/3 of the bottles and Chezeaux corks go in the other 1/3. So, except for the labels, the wines are exactly the same. More recently, he has added Clos Vougeot Cuvée Vielles Vignes, Corton Charlemagne, Corton Bressandes, Corton Cuvée de Bourdon, and Chambertin Clos de Beze.
Laurent is an iconic personality! After learning that fraudulent bottles of old Ponsot wines were going to be offered at a U.S. auction, Laurent personally came to the auction and demanded that the wines be withdrawn. Since then he has been a leader in taking precautions to prevent fraud. These include such things as labels with watermarks like bank notes, embossed bottles, seals between the glass and capsule, and a unique code on each bottle that can be matched against a list on the internet to verify the authenticity of the wine. Beginning with the 2011 vintage he added an electronic chip that can monitor the temperature and for the 2012 vintage the bottles have a chip that will record a 15 year history of the temperature and also tell the location of the wine! So make no mistake. Laurent is very serious about putting the wine fraud crooks out of business. Don’t mess with Domaine Ponsot!
In terms of winemaking, Laurent is the exact opposite if those who use all new oak and, in the extreme, double new oak. He believes in using no new oak. In fact, entering the barrel room here is like going into a senior citizens home for barrels. He jokes that his youngest barrel is 50 years old. And this is not too far off from reality. He is emphatic that Burgundy does not need new wood to achieve complexity. This is based on the theory that the nutrients in the grapes come through the roots and the wood structure of the vines and that this imparts some of the unique complexity of Burgundy. He also believes in old vines which produce less quantity and more concentrated wines. (The average age of vines here is 50 years!) And the wines speak for themselves. Year after year, the wines of Domaine Ponsot are among the best in Burgundy!
The yields here in 2013 were about 10% less than 2012 and over 40% less than the average yield of the last 20 years. Like the 2012s these 2013s are remarkable.
Tasting with Laurent Ponsot of 8 2013 Red Wines and 3 2013 White Wines
2013
Morey St Denis Cuvee des Alouettes 1er Cru
Corton Bressandes
Griottes-Chambertin
Chapelle-Chambertin
Chambertin Clos de Beze
Clos de Vougeot Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
Clos St Denis Cuvée Très Vieilles Vignes
Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
White Wine
Saint-Romaine Cuvée de la Mésangs
Corton Charlemagne
Montrachet
The Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes has Exceptional Potential. Made from grapes grown on vines that average over 65 years of age and situated in the original Clos de la Roche vineyard, this is consistently an excellent wine. This 2013 is yet another great example. Dark in color the wine has a stunning perfume of berries and plums with floral nuances and a faint kiss of spice. It has lots of fruit and intensity with a myriad of fruit flavors accented by faint floral nuances. Beautifully balanced with a long lasting finish this is really stunning.
The Clos St Denis Cuvée Très Vieilles Vignes, Clos de Vougeot Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, Chapelle-Chambertin, and Griottes-Chambertin have Outstanding Plus Potential. At this point in time, this looks like a real horse race. It will be interesting to watch the evolution of these four wines over time and have another look after the wines are bottled. The Clos St Denis Cuvée Très Vieilles Vignes is made from vines that are 109 years old and during this time only about 12% of the vineyard has been replaced! This is another wine that is consistently great. At the time of our tasting it was the most backward of all the Grand Crus. It is dark in color with a subtle perfume. On the palate it shows a lot of very pure fruit with concentration and intensity and a firm underlying structure. No question, it is a great wine. The question is how great? The Clos de Vougeot Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is open and expressive. With a dark color it has great perfume with plum like fruit and floral nuances. On the palate there is lots of very pure plum and berry fruit accented by faint floral notes. The wine is supple and rounded and beautifully balanced with a lot of depth and charm. The Chapelle-Chambertin is made from grapes grown on 25 year old vines. The 2013 production was 175 cases. It has a dark color with a gorgeous cherry and berry perfume. Lots of very pure layer fruit suggests berries and cherries with a faint spiciness. Elegant, beautifully balanced, and with lots of depth this is really lovely and quite forward. The Griottes-Chambertin is made from grapes also grown on 25 year old vines. Always intensely fruity, this 2013 is a real charmer. It has a stunning black cherry perfume and lots of black cherry fruit on the palate. A faint floral spiciness adds complexity and the wine has gorgeous balance with intensity and depth.
The Chambertin Clos de Beze has Outstanding Potential. The production of this wine was 50 cases. It has a dark color and a lovely spice tinged perfume and is elegant and balanced with very pure fruit and nice underlying crispness. This is a wine that should age gracefully over many years
The Corton Bressandes and Morey St Denis Cuvée des Alouettes 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Corton Bressandes has a dark color and a lovely floral perfume. It is bright and crisp with very nice floral tinged berry fruit will round out over time. The Morey St Denis Cuvée des Alouettes 1er Cru has a dark color and a deep plummy perfume with a floral nuance. It has lovely supple plummy fruit and is rounded with a nice crispness on the finish.
The Montrachet has Outstanding Plus Potential. It is light golden yellow in color with a honey tinged perfume showing a citrus nuance. Very rich and flavorful the wine is structured with very good underlying acidity and has a long lasting finish.
The Corton Charlemagne has Outstanding Potential. Light golden yellow in color the wine has a floral, pineapple, citrus perfume and is lush and rounded with lots of fruit showing a faint tropical quality. It very flavorful and has lots of early appeal.
The Saint-Romaine Cuvée de la Mésangs has Very Good Potential. This is a somewhat unique and intriguing wine. It has a light yellow color and a lovely floral, honeyed, almond perfume. On the palate is elegant and finesseful with honeyed, almond and citrus nuances and a nice crispness on the finish.
Bouchard Père et Fils
The history of this negociant dates back to 1731. In 1995 Champagne Joseph Henriot acquired the property consisting of an extensive inventory of some 1,000,000 bottled wines including 2000 bottles of pre phylloxera wine, the largest vineyard holdings in the Cote d’ Or, the buildings and winery, and the name and brands. This looks to have been one of the greatest acquisitions in the long history of Burgundy.
Since Joseph Henriot acquired the property there have been major investments made in the property and vineyards with the focus exclusively on the wines of Burgundy. These include a new winery facility in 2005 and significant increases in vineyard holdings. The major vineyard acquisitions were Domaine Ropiteau, a major Meursault estate, in 1996 and William Fevre, one of the most important domaines in Chablis, in 1998. Today Bouchard continues to be the largest land owner in the Cote d’Or with 325 acres of vineyards, including 30 acres of Grand Cru and 185 acres of Premier Cru.
Historically Bouchard has had three types of bottlings:
1) Negociant – primarily buying grapes rather than juice or completed wines
2) Exclusive – where they do not own the land, but handle the wine including bottling and marketing
3) Domaine bottled from owned vineyards.
Today the majority of their production is Domaine bottlings, but negociant bottlings can go up to nearly 50% of the total.
We have tasted here for many years and, with the exception of premox problems with some vintages of their white wines, the wines have been consistently at a very high level. In recent years Bouchard has consistently reduced their use of new oak giving the wines a purer expression of fruit. Since 2013 Frederic Weber has been the winemaker after previously working as assistant winemaker for some 10 years. The 2013 vintage is characterized as a “rare vintage” in the sense that it was not only a late vintage, but one with a lot of variability in the weather and temperatures. However, the end result was very positive as the wines show lovely balance with a lot of purity and freshness. The white wines here are compared to the 1988s. The red wines may be similar, but with more fruit. The 1988 white wines took a long time to round out, but they proved to be very long lived and can be delicious today. The 1988 red wines also have taken a long time to come around. Those that have retained their fruit are very fine. The 2013 wines here, both red and white, show a lot of promise. They are wines to seek out!
Tasting of 12 2013 Red Wines and 12 2013 White Wines with Frederic Weber and Luc Bouchard
2013 Red Wines
Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils
Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Lavieres 1er Cru
Beaune Marconnets 1er Cru
Beaune Grèves De L’Enfant Jésus 1er Cru
Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 1er Cru
Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru
Le Corton
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru
Echezeaux
The Echezeaux and Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Echezeaux has a dark color and a lovely floral berry perfume. It has gorgeous very pure fruit and is supple and rounded with an exquisite balance and a lingering finish. The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru is a great example of the potential from this often underrated vineyard. The production here was only 25 cases versus normal production of 100 cases and the intensity is clearly evident. With a deep color the wine has a lovely spice tinged berry perfume. There is a lot of depth and lots of spice tinged berry fruit with richness and beautiful balance.
The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru, Le Corton, Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru, Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 1er Cru, and Beaune Grèves De L’Enfant Jésus 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru is made from grapes grown on 40 year old vines and yields were low in 2013. The wine has a dark color and a great plum like perfume with floral accents. It is rich and full with lots of spice tinged plum and blackberry fruit and a long finish. The Le Corton has a lot of elegance and great style. It has a deep color and a lovely floral berry perfume with a touch of spice. Silky, supple, and rounded it has lovely fruit and is flavorful and balanced with a lot of finesse. The Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru is a lovely wine with very pure bright fruit and a lot of elegance. It has a deep color and a lovely floral perfume with cherry and berry fruit. Flavorful with a nice underlying crispness and a long finish this wine should age beautifully. The Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 1er Cru is a vineyard of just over 8 acres and was the first vineyard purchased by Bouchard Père & Fils in 1775. The name of the Carnot family, from whom the vineyard was purchased, still appears on the bottles “Ancienne Cuvée Carnot”. This is consistently an excellent wine that is very long lived. This 2013 is really lovely. It has a deep color and a lovely floral tinged perfume. The fruit is very supple and the wine has a lot of elegance and finesse with depth and richness. It should evolve beautifully over a long period of time. The Beaune Grèves De L’Enfant Jésus 1er Cru is consistently one of the best Beaune Premier Crus. The vineyard is a Bouchard Père & Fils monopole (sole owner) and has been owned since 1791. It is situated in the heart of the large 80 acre Beaune Grèves vineyard. Beaune Grèves De L’Enfant Jésus is capable of aging for a very long time. I have had a bottle of 1959 in the last 10 years which was delicious, but have not tasted any thing older. In the Bouchard cellars they have bottles of 1865 Beaune Grèves De L’Enfant Jésus which they say is delicious to drink today! The production here in 2013 was down 30%. The wine is gorgeous. It has a deep perfume and a great floral tinged berry perfume. Very pure and elegant there is also an extra dimension of elegance and fruit with an exotic nuance. Deceptively forward there is a great underlying structure and this wine is destined for a very long life.
The Beaune Marconnets 1er Cru and Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Lavieres 1er Cru have Very Good Potential. The Beaune Marconnets 1er Cru has a lovely perfume with hints of cherry fruit and a faint floral spice undertone. It is elegant and rounded with very nice fruit and an underlying crispness. The Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Lavieres 1er Cru has a deep color and a lovely floral berry perfume. It is soft and rounded and rather lush with nice fruit and a lot of charm
Negociant
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru
Chambertin-Clos-De-Beze
The Chambertin-Clos-De-Beze has Outstanding Plus Potential. It has a deep color and a lovely perfume with spice tinged berry fruit and a touch of fresh mint. Very pure and balanced with lots of cherry and berry fruit, the wine is very flavorful and quite rich with a well integrated underlying structure and a long finish.
The Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru has Outstanding Potential. It has a deep color and a nice floral perfume. With lovely very pure floral tinged berry fruit, the wine is flavorful and beautifully
2013 White Wines
Domaine William Fèvre
Chablis Vaulorent 1er Cru
Chablis Bougros Côte Bouguerots Grand Cru
Chablis Bougros Côte Bouguerots Grand Cru
Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru
Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru
The Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru and Chablis Bougros Côte Bouguerots Grand Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a light yellow color and a floral citrus tinged perfume. With early appeal, it is rounded and supple with a lot of very pure citrus tinged fruit and has a lot of elegance. The Chablis Bougros Côte Bouguerots Grand Cru has a pale yellow color and a lovely floral tinged perfume. It has very pure fruit with a citrus tinge and hints of flintiness. Rounded and flavorful with lovely very pure fruit and a nice citrus tinged crispness, this is a really lovely Chablis.
The Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru and Chablis Bougros Grand Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru has a pale yellow color and a lovely perfume. It has elegance and very nice citrus tinged fruit with a nice crispness on the finish. The Chablis Bougros Grand Cru is similar. It has a pale yellow color and a lovely perfume. With very nice supple fruit the wine has elegance with a nice crispness.
The Chablis Vaulorent 1er Cru has Very Good Potential. It has a very pale color and a lovely faintly floral perfume. Very pure, bright, and crisp there is a lot of freshness and the wine has a lot of early appeal.
Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils
Beaune Clos Saint-Landry 1er Cru
Meursault Genevières 1er Cru
Meursault Perrières 1er Cru
Corton-Charlemagne
Chevalier-Montrachet
Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte
Le Montrachet
The Le Montrachet has Exceptional Plus Potential. Domaine Bouchard owns about 2 ½ acres of the nearly 20 acre Montrachet vineyard and is the third largest owner. The Montrachet vineyard is almost evenly divided between Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. The Domaine Bouchard parcel is entirely on the Chassagne-Montrachet side where it is known as Le Montrachet. Recent vintages of Bouchard Montrachet have been stellar. This 2013 is reminiscent of the 2010 with perhaps even more elegance and purity. It is in short, the definition of elegance and power in a great White Burgundy. Pale yellow in color, the wine exhibits an extraordinary perfume with floral, citrus, and white peach nuances accented by a faint honeyed nuance. Very pure with great fruit and intensity, there is a faintly honeyed lemon lime complexity accented by freshness and crispness. The finish is long and lingering and all this Montrachet needs is time. Hopefully, premox will not surface to deny this great wine its full potential.
The Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte has Exceptional Potential. This wine is made from vines in Chevalier-Montrachet that are an exact extension of Montrachet and was, at one time, classified as Montrachet. It bears the name of the small house (La Cabotte in French) that sits in the vineyard. As is typical, there is an extra dimension of depth in this wine as compared with the Chevalier. Pale yellow in color the wine has a gorgeous floral peach tinged perfume accented by faint hints of citrus and spice. And, it has great purity and elegance with lovely pure fruit. There is a lot of richness and flavor, but the wine retains a very harmonious balance of fruit and crispness. Long on the finish, this is really gorgeous and should age beautifully.
The Chevalier-Montrachet has Outstanding Plus Potential. Domaine Bouchard owns about one-third of this great Grand Cru. The first parcel was purchased in 1838. This 2013 is really lovely. It has a pale yellow color and a lovely perfume with floral pineapple tinged nuances. It is elegant and finesseful with a lot of fruit and elegance and has a long finish.
The Corton-Charlemagne, Meursault Perrières 1er Cru and Meursault Genevières 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Corton-Charlemagne is made from grapes grown on the Aloxe-Corton side. It has a pale yellow color and a very nice perfume. On the palate there is lovely fruit accented by tinges of pineapple and citrus. It has an underlying crispness and is balanced with a nice finish. The Meursault Perrières 1er Cru has a pale yellow color and a lovely citrus tinges perfume with just a faint hint of mint. Structured with lovely fruit and crispness, the wine is flavorful and has very nice balance. The Meursault Genevières 1er Cru has a pale yellow color and a deep floral perfume with hints of peach and citrus and a faint exotic tinge. With lush supple fruit the wine has depth and is beautifully balanced.
The Beaune Clos Saint-Landry 1er Cru has Very Good Potential. It has a pale yellow color and has a nice floral perfume with hints of lime. Very elegant and finesseful with lovely fruit showing hints of pineapple and lime, there is also a nice crispness which gives the wine lift on the finish.
Pierre Yves Colin-Morey
Pierre Yves is the eldest son of Marc Colin. He was the winemaker at his father’s domaine from 2001 to 2005 and set up a negociant business with his wife Caroline Morey in 2001. In 2006 he left his father’s domaine and now concentrates on white wines both as a negociant and grower. The domaine has some 10 acres of vineyard located in St. Aubin and Chassagne Montrachet. Pierre Yves does not differentiate between wines made from purchased grapes or barrels and estate grown grapes. All the wines are treated the same.
In a very short time, he has established a reputation for making some of the best white wines in Burgundy. His wines are very pure and have great elegance and breed. His Saint Aubins are real values. Saint Aubin is situated in the hills just above Chassagne Montachet and Pierre Yves crafts wines from here that are the equal of many Chassagne Montrachet Premier Crus. His domaine Chassagne Montrachets are also consistently at a very high level. And his Grand Cru negociant wines are consistently outstanding.
Production in 2013 was down even a bit more than the severely reduced levels of 2012. Pierre Yves compares the vintage with 2007 with the grapes being less ripe and having more acid than 2012.
Tasting with Pierre Yves Colin-Morey of 19 2013 White Wines Including 6 Saint-Aubins Tasted From Bottle
2013
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ancegnieres
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes 1er Cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Baudines 1er Cru
Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs Gain 1er Cru
Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru
Meursault Narvaux 1er Cru
Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru
Meursault Genevieres 1er Cru
Meursault Les Perrieres 1er Cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er Cru
Batard Montrachet
Chevalier Montrachet
Corton Charlemagne
The Chevalier Montrachet has Exceptional Potential. Pale yellow in color it has a lovely plural perfume with hints of peach and a faintly honeyed nuance. With great style and elegance the wine has lots of honey tinged citrus and peach with beautiful balance and a long finish.
The Corton Charlemagne, Batard Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er Cru have Outstanding Plus Potential. The fruit for the Corton Charlemagne comes from fruit grown on the Aloxe Corton side. The fruit on the vines on the other side was destroyed by hail. The wine has a pale yellow color and a lovely floral perfume. Very pure and elegant yet with richness and depth it is beautifully balanced with a nice crispness on the finish. The fruit for the Batard Montrachet has come from the same source since 2004. The wine has a gorgeous floral perfume with a tinge of pineapple. Beautifully balanced with depth and richness it has great style and a lot of finesse. The Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er Cru is gorgeous with 2/3s of the fruit coming from 75 year old vines and 1/3 coming from 25 year old vines. It has a lovely perfume with hints of peach and has lots of very supple fruit. With elegance and lovely honeyed citrus nuances this a wine of great distinction.
The Meursault Les Perrieres 1er Cru, Meursault Genevieres 1er Cru, Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru, Meursault Narvaux 1er Cru, and Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. All have pale yellow colors. The Meursault Les Perrieres 1er Cru has a citrus tinged perfume with floral notes and a hint of peach. It is elegant and supple with very pure fruit and a nice crispness. The Meursault Genevieres 1er Cru has a lovely perfume with peach and floral notes. It is elegant and finesseful with very nice fruit showing a citrus tinge. The Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru has a gorgeous perfume with hints of peach and apricot. On the palate it has peach and apricot tinged fruit with a nice citrus crispness. The Meursault Narvaux 1er Cru has a deep floral perfume with hints of peach. Balanced, flavorful, and rounded with lots of supple fruit and a nice crispness this is a really lovely wine. The Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru is made from grapes grown on 70 year old vines. It is a wine with richness and style. A perfume showing floral citrus tinges carries through on the palate with lovely fruit and a nice roundness accented by a crispness on the finish.
The Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs Gain 1er Cru, Chassagne-Montrachet Les Baudines 1er Cru, and Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. All are pale yellow in color. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs Gain 1er Cru has a nice floral citrus perfume with a tinge of spice. It is rounded and supple with nice fruit and a citrus tinged finish. The Chassagne-Montrachet Les Baudines 1er Cru has a nice floral perfume with a tinge of citrus. It is very elegant and rounded with lovely citrus tinged fruit. The Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chenevottes 1er Cru has a lovely floral tinged perfume and rounded fruit with hints of peach and citrus. It is very elegant and stylistic with a nice underlying crispness.
The Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ancegnieres has Very Good Potential. It has a nice floral herbal perfume with hints of citrus. Very pure with citrus tinged fruit and a faint hint of peach it is nicely balanced with a crisp finish.
2013 (Bottle)
Saint-Aubin L’Blanc
Saint-Aubin Le Combe 1er Cru
Saint-Aubin Perrieres 1er Cru
Saint-Aubin Champlots 1er Cru
Saint-Aubin La Chateniere 1er Cru
Saint-Aubin En Remilly 1er Cru
These 2013 Saint-Aubins had just been bottled when we tasted them. They were a bit closed and I expect will be more forward by the time they reach the market. At this stage of their evolution the differences are very subtle. They are lovely wines that have elegance and style and should be good values.
2013 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin En Remilly 1er Cru
Pale yellow in color this wine has lovely citrus tinged floral perfume. It is rounded, yet very crisp and bright with floral citrus nuances and a distinct crispness – Highly Recommended.
2013 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin La Chateniere 1er Cru
Pale yellow in color this wine has a nice perfume with faint hints of floral citrus. It is crisp and bright, even racy, with very pure citrus tinged fruit and should round out nicely with a bit of bottle age – Highly Recommended.
2013 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Champlots 1er Cru
Pale yellow in color this wine had a nice citrus tinged perfume. It has very nice citrus tinged fruit with a stony nuance and a nice crispness – Highly Recommended.
2013 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Perrieres 1er Cru
Pale yellow in color this wine has a nice floral perfume with a hint of almond. With citrus tinged fruit it is crisp and very pure with a nice finish – Highly Recommended.
2013 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Le Combe 1er Cru
Pale yellow in color this wine has a nice citrus tinged perfume and is bright and crisp with a very faint floral citrus undertone – Highly Recommended.
2013 Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin L’Blanc
This wine has a pale yellow color and a nice perfume. It is soft, round, and delicate with some crispness on the finish.
Remoissenet Père et Fils
This firm was founded in 1877 and was headed by Roland Remoissenet for some 30 years. In 2005 he retired and sold the firm to New York financiers, Edward and Howard Milstein with minority interests held by Maison Louis Jadot and Toronto based Halpern Enterprises. Included in the sale was a very large inventory of reportedly over a million bottles. Bernard Repolt, formerly President of Louis Jadot, is now the director. Under the new regime things are on the upswing. The white wines are consistently very fine and the red wines have shown steady improvement with some really lovely wines both red and white in recent vintages.
The production here in 2013 was about at the same level as 2012. Bernard thinks the 2013 white wines resemble the 2008s with the red wines being more like 2010. And, like has been the case for recent vintages, the 2013s here are at a very high level of quality. However, quantities of many of the wines are very small. Nonetheless, they are worth a search to find!
Tasting of 11 2013 Red Wines and 7 2013 White Wines with Bernard Repolt
2013 Red Wines
Beaune Greves 1er Cru
Beaune Marconnets 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Echanges 1er Cru
Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Trio 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1 er Cru
Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots ler Cru
Clos Saint Denis
Clos Vougeot
Charmes Chambertin
Chambertin Clos de Beze
The Chambertin Clos de Beze, Clos Vougeot, and Clos Saint Denis, have Outstanding Plus Potential. The production of Chambertin Clos de Beze was less than 40 cases. It has a deep color and a lovely cherry berry perfume with a hint of spice. A gorgeous beautifully balanced wine with lots of fruit and a lot of richness, it will age effortlessly for many years. The Clos Vougeot production was 75 cases. It is very special. With a deep color the wine has a floral tinged perfume with a myriad of fruit flavors. Multi-faceted with complexity and depth it is supple and rounded with beautiful balance and a long finish. The Clos Saint Denis production was 25 cases. It is really lovely with a deep color and a great floral perfume accented by cherry and berry fruit. Very pure, the wine has lots of floral tinged fruit and is supple and rounded with elegance and depth.
The Charmes Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru, and Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Charmes Chambertin production was just over 60 cases. It has a deep color and a lovely cherry and berry perfume. Very fruity, rounded, and supple it is very pure and has a lot of depth. This is a precocious wine that can be enjoyed young or for many years into the future. The Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru production was under 40 cases. The wine has a deep color and a lovely floral tinged perfume. On the palate, it is very pure, rounded, and silky with lovely balance and flavors. This is a really elegant and charming wine. The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru production was 50 cases. It is another wonderful Les Cazetiers. A underrated vineyard, Les Cazetiers seems to have been particularly blessed in 2013. The wine has a very nice color and a lovely perfume with floral berry notes and a touch of spice. It is beautifully balanced with a lot of very pure fruit and has richness and depth wrapped in a very finesseful package.
The Chambolle-Musigny Les Echanges 1er Cru has Very Good Plus Potential. The wine has a very nice color and a gorgeous cherry perfume. A very elegant Chambolle with a lot of charm, it is harmonious and seamless with a lot of early appeal.
The Gevrey-Chambertin Trio 1er Cru, Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er Cru, Beaune Marconnets 1er Cru, and Beaune Greves 1er Cru have Very Good Potential. The Gevrey-Chambertin Trio 1er Cru production was 75 cases. It is a blend of grapes from small parcels of three Premier Cru vineyards. The color is very nice and the wine exhibits a subtle berry perfume. With lots of very pure fruit, the wine exhibits a nice suppleness with an underlying crispness. The Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er Cru production was 50 cases. It has a very nice color and a lovely floral tinged perfume. There is very pure fruit accented by floral tinges and the wine has a good backbone with crispness on the finish. The Beaune Marconnets 1er Cru has a very nice color and a lovely berry perfume with a tinge of spice. It has very pure fruit and is balanced with a nice suppleness. The Beaune Greves 1er Cru has a very nice color and a lovely berry tinged perfume. It is very pure and bright with berry fruit accented by a faint spiciness and a nice underlying crispness.
2013 White Wines
Chassagne-Montrachet La Maltroie 1er Cru
Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru
Meursault Charmes 1er Cru
Meursault Genevrieres 1er Cru
Batard Montrachet
Corton Charlemagne
Montrachet
The Montrachet and Batard Montrachet have Outstanding Plus Potential. The Montrachet production was 50 cases. The wine has a light yellow color with a lovely floral perfume accented by peach and citrus. It has lots of fruit with a faint honeyed citrus nuance and is nicely balanced with a long finish. There is only 25 cases of the Batard Montrachet. It is very special. With a light yellow color the wine has a great perfume with subtle hints of peach and apricot showing a citrus tinge. With lots of very pure fruit the wine has lots of richness and depth and is beautifully balanced with a long finish.
The Corton Charlemagne, Meursault Genevrieres 1er Cru and Meursault Charmes 1er Cru have Outstanding Potential. The Corton Charlemagne has a light yellow color with hints of pineapple and peach with a tinge of citrus. It has lovely fruit and is nicely balanced with purity and a nice underlying crispness. The Meursault Genevrieres 1er Cru has a light yellow color and a lovely floral perfume with hints of pineapple and citrus. With lovely very pure fruit the wine is refined and balanced with elegance and charm. The Meursault Charmes 1er Cru has a light yellow color and a lovely floral perfume with faintly honeyed nuances and tinges of citrus and spice. It is supple and rounded with lovely fruit and flavor and shows a nice underlying crispness.
The Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru and Chassagne-Montrachet La Maltroie 1er Cru have Very Good Plus Potential. The Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru has a light yellow color and a lovely floral citrus spice tinged perfume. It has a lot of elegance with very pure fruit showing tinges of citrus and spice and has a nice crispness on the finish. The Chassagne-Montrachet La Maltroie 1er Cru has a light yellow color with a lovely floral spice tinged perfume. It has very pure fruit and is supple and rounded with a bright crispness on the finish.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2013 Harvest Report
How Burgundy is Tasted from Barrel
A Simple Explanation of Burgundy
6 comments for “ALONG THE BURGUNDY TRAIL – VINTAGE 2013”
Gevrey-Chambertin is just south of Dijon, a little over 3 hours away. I can feel a weekend away coming on, once the weather gets better!
Hi Andy,
Getting to Gevrey is a good start! Have fun!
In Vino Veritas,
John
Thanks John and greetings from your Luxembourg outpost. This great and amazingly thorough article, which I shall read properly later. It has some excellent advice around the the 2013 vintage, about which I have been “nervous” too. I read your stuff to gain some expertise. Of late I’ve been playing safe: as I said to “my” sommelier” a few weeks ago, when looking at his offers of that week: “I’m looking for some 2009 or 2010”. “Aren’t we all!” he responded. Next time, I will have a sniff around his 2013 Bourgogne stock!
Thanks Andy. Nice to hear from you. The 2013s will be heading your way soon. I think you are in for a real treat. As I said, carefully selected, there will be some wonderful wines. Having said that, I too love the 2009s and 2010s. But, don’t forget the 2011s. Many of these are really lovely. Take another look at my article. I just drank a Frederick Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Esrournelles St. Jacques last week (to read my article on those wines go to http://www.undergroundwineletter.com/2013/04/domaine-frederic-esmonin/) that was just delicious and I am sure will age gracefully for many years. Then there are the 2012s many of which are also great with even perhaps a bit more richness. So as Burgundy lovers we are blessed with many wonderful wines even though the quantities are low and the prices high. But, if you can find them and afford them, they are stunning! Happy Hunting!!
In Vino Veritas,
John
Dear folks
Great article on some of my new favorite producers. Pierre yves Colin Morley. Has been on my radar for a couple if years and had a chance to taste the 2011 barrel samples. Of course I then bought as much as I could afford especially as premox has not been a problem. Also had the pleasure of tasting with Bernard at remoissenet. He seems to have done a great job restoring the old vitality to the name. I also recently had the pleasure of trying a 1949 remoissenet grand echezaux and was totally overwhelmed at what a lovely fresh outstanding wine it was. Definetly in my top 10 burgundy tastings of all time going back 25+ years and many bottles. Camille Giroud is another producer I am glad to see on the rise. I have had some of the older wines from the 60s and 70s which retained their freshness. It is nice to see they are trying to recreate this.
Thanks for the article. Nice to see and read from someone with your experience who looks at each vintage as a joy and mystery to explore and see these ” farmers” can produce from their crops of grapes. It’s why we love burgundy….because it is
Thanks
Glen neale
Gneale@pshift.com
Sent from my I pad
Thanks Glen,
Pierre Yves is for sure one of the best producers of White Burgundy to come along in recent years. And, you are correct Remoissenet and Camille Giroud are both making really good wines today. Thankfully, Burgundy is really alive and well now with many great producers who can craft great wines even under challenging conditions. That, indeed, is the magic of Burgundy!
In Vino Veritas,
John