My first article on the 2018 Red Burgundies was published shortly after our visit to Burgundy tasting the wines in barrel at 15 different producers last November (to read that article which I sub-titled “A Legend In The Making” click here). Notes on those wines will be published soon. In the meantime, some 2018s are arriving. They include great wines from a long time favorite producer Domaine Frédéric Esmonin. Notes on these wines are listed below. The wines are stunning.

Domaine Frédéric Esmonin

 

This small domaine in Les Estournelles, Gevrey-Chambertin has approximately 10 acres of vineyards. The production of each wine is very small with the average production of each of the vineyard designated wines varying from around 75 cases to 300 cases. Most of the holdings at this Domaine have old vines. Prior to 1987 the wines were sold to negociants such as Leroy and Jadot. Some of the very great wines of the 50s from Leroy are believed to have come from this Domaine. Those wines can still be remarkable today. In the very early years of Domaine bottling in the 80s and 90s, the Domaine Frédéric Esmonin wines seemed to lack consistency. But, for many years now they have been at a high level of quality. This is an under the radar Red Burgundy producer that is making consistently lovely wines at reasonable prices. I have been writing about and recommending the wines from this domain since the 2009 vintage and the wines have always been beautifully balanced and delicious to drink. I had already been tasting, buying, cellaring, and drinking Frédérick Esmonin wines for many years prior.  This is consistent with my advice to continue to buy the wines you like each year. Having said that these 2018s from Domaine Frédéric Esmonin are really special. And, as an extra added bonus in today’s wine world, the retail prices for these 2018s are not too much higher than the 2009s. Great Wines at Great Prices – That’s a Win/Win.

The wines of Frédéric Esmonin are imported by Atherton Wine Imports San Jose, CA

 

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits
This Bourgogne has a deep ruby color, lovely black cherry tinged perfume and very pure cherry flavor on the palate with a nice underlying crispness.– Highly Recommended Plus.     $27

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Côte de Nuits-Village “La Bellevue”
This is a lovely village wine with a deep ruby color and a lovely floral tinged perfume with cherry undertones. On the palate it is rounded, elegant, and supple with black cherry fruit and is beautifully balanced with good length on the finish – Outstanding.    $35   Best Buy

 

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin. This village wine is produced from several different vineyards. Dark ruby in color with a lovely black cherry perfume this is a lovely beautifully balanced wine with lots of fruit and flavor with a nice underlying crispness – Outstanding.        $42

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur. The vines in Clos Prieur are over 60 years old. This is a relatively unknown wine with more class and breed than anyone would suspect. It is a real sleeper and a great value. And it is capable of aging for a very long time (I had a few bottles of the 1949 that were delicious right up to my last bottle which I had some 10 years ago). Dark ruby in color the wine  has a great exotic tinged cherry and plum perfume with floral undertones. With lots of very flavorful and beautifully balanced fruit on the palate the is a really delicious Burgundy that is a great value – Outstanding Plus.     $45

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Jouises” Vielles Vignes
Dark ruby in color with  gorgeous exotic tinged floral perfume showing black cherry undertones the wine has lots of very supple and flavorful fruit with exotic nuances. It is also beautifully balanced  and  showing beautifully now, but with an long life ahead – Outstanding Plus.    $55

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Haut Pruliers
A lovely Nuits-Saint-Georges this wine has a deep ruby color and a lovely perfume with a faint hint spice. Very nice floral tinged fruit with a kiss of spice is very expressive on the palate and the wine is beautifully balanced and very flavorful – Outstanding.       $55

 

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles St. Jacques 1er Cru. The vines here are over 55 years old. The wine has a dark ruby color and great floral perfume with black cherry nuances. With lots of faintly spice tinged blackcherry fruit this is a delicious Burgundy with great balance and appeal. It is delicious to drink now but will age effortlessly for many, many years – Outstanding Plus.        $85

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St. Jacques 1er Cru. The vines here are also over 55 years old. Dark ruby in color this wine has a gorgeous exotic floral tinged black cherry perfume. On the palate it is beautifully balanced with lots of  fruit showing an exotic underlying nuance. Again, this Burgundy is delicious to drink now but will age beautifully for decades – Outstanding Plus.      $85

 

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Mazy-Chambertin. This Mazy is produced from a very small plot of vines that are over 60 years old. It is stunning! The wine has a dark ruby color and a gorgeous blackberry and black cherry perfume with lot of concentration and fruit on the palate. Beautifully balanced with a long lingering finish this Burgundy is a joy to drink now, but be very long lived and evolve over many decades – Extraordinary.       $185

2018 Frédéric Esmonin Ruchottes-Chambertin. This Ruchottes is produced from a plot of vines that are also over 60 years old. It has a dark ruby red color with a great faintly exotic tinged black cherry perfume with an underlying spice nuance. Very flavorful and brimming with fruit there is an underlying exotic spice complexity and the wine is impeccably balanced with a long lingering finish. Again, a great joy to drink now but will evolve and keep for many decades into the future – Extraordinary.      $185