One great and one not so great bottle from the last couple evenings…
2014 Ghislane Barthod Chambolle 1er Charmes:
This is showing a hint of reduction on the nose, which doesn’t interfere with the otherwise lovely aromatics of cherry liqueur, rich earth and an interesting bread-y note. Nose shut down over an hour or so then returned later… In the mouth this wine is a light-midweight, though I figure some of that is due to the fruit hiding a bit right now and it will come out of its shell later. Really well balanced and lacy smooth in texture with crunchy red strawberries and cherries, rocky/mineral infused earthiness with a lovely acidity that is not too intrusive. Significant tannins on the finish, which is long and really lovely. This dances across the palate and begs you to take another sip. Great wine, no doubt that in time this will be fantastic, but forget about it for a while.
2000 Jean Grivot Vosne 1er Beaux Monts:
From 375. Not a good showing unfortunately… Some red fruits on the nose that is also marred by rubber scents and light heat. Decent concentration and more red fruits on the palate but pretty simple overall, fairly smooth but not trademark Vosne silk. This feels over-extracted and over-worked, and that shows up especially on the finish which is somewhat bitter and rough. Pretty poor.
This was my first experience with Barthod and I just went and spent way too much money on a couple mixed cases. Haven’t ever really connected with Grivot, but was reading that more recent vintages have been better…don’t think I’ve tasted the Richebourg though.
You will not regret your investment in Barthod. Back in days when DRC and Roumier flowed like water, I foolishly overlooked the Barthod wines. The more of them I have- the more I come to love them. They are top flight.
I cannot speak to the 2000 Grivot Beaux Monts, but Guy Accad had a very heavy hand here in the mid to late 90s. From 2001 on, I was a big fan of the wines for a time- but found with age they came off a bit heavy in many cases. Not the case for the Richebourg- which perhaps by its nature was better suited to the larger scale style, but when the price got bizarre in 2010 I stopped buying that one altogether. And eventually when I did a major downsizing, all the early to mid 2000s Grivot I had went out the door. I still occasionally taste young ones at release and looking back over the past 30 years my biggest reservation is that there does not seem to be a point where a very clear direction manifested itself consistently over time. Add in the ridiculous asking prices (and ever changing importers as the wines do not sell well here) and I am sorry to say that Grivot is now a bit of an afterthought to me despite some great successes (notably the gorgeous 2001 Richebourg and one of the strongest 2003 lineups.)
Thanks for the timely note. Barthod is hard to find here and ever since a stunning village Chambolle ('08 IIRC) I have been on teh hunt for more. managed to snare a bottle of '14 Beaux Bruns which I am looking forward to cracking.
Grivot is an enigma - 96 Clos Vougeot is the toughest wine I have ever come across. I still have halves that i am scared to open. I did buy some '05 Pruliers the other day, but if they are as chewy as the CV, it will be my last foray.
Tom, thanks so much for the thoughtful insight. Definitely plan to seek out more Barthod and hopefully find some earlier examples that are more in their drinking windows now. That said, I wish I was around when the Roumier and DRC were flowing like water 1990 Roumier BM and 1996 DRC Richebourg + RSV are definitely some of my best wine experiences ever.
Interesting notes about the Grivot importers, didn’t realize that… Also good to know about the 2003 lineup, just based on prevalence on lists, that’s a good bit of info to stash away for the future.
Kent, glad it was helpful. Yea, Barthod is not super plentiful here either, but possible to find. I remember drinking an '02 Grivot that was also tough as nails and not very enjoyable.
How tastes and experiences with Burgundy differ! I had a 14 Grivot Clos de Vougeot out of magnum a few months back that I thought was the red wine of the night, whereas I have yet to drink a good bottle of Barthod, and it’s not for lack of trying. Somehow Barthod’s wines show either too much acid or extraction for me, sometimes in the same vintage. Yet several of my friends swear by her wines.
A Grivot Vosne les Reignots 2000 was fabulous a few years ago… but his wines can be “difficult” at times. I bought a lot of Grivot until 2011 and stopped because of pricing coupled with having to balance NSG and VRs with all Suchots and Reignots alloc being wholly cut… hard to swallow…
Barthod wines are super although some 1er crus need quite some time to open. Had a super Chambolle les Cras 2011 with 3 hours decanting a few days ago… while Bourgogne and Village are usually much more approachable.
A very interesting experience with Barthod – I have yet to taste a bottle where I thought extraction could be a problem. Is there a specific cuvée that comes to mind?
Both a recent village Chambolle and a Chatelet were both jammier than I’d have thought from a Chambolle. Which is odd, since my usual experience from Barthod is quite different (an 05 Fuees - admittedly, an 05 - was all acid).
Yea, taste is a funny and fickle thing to be sure. I have pretty much no experience with the Barthod wines, but this certainly didn’t make me think of a heavily extracted style. I guess I generally don’t associate over-extraction with jamminess, but rather bitter darker tannins and a sense of “artificial” concentration for lack of a better way to put it.
To be fair, this is in context of Chambolle, where I’m neither looking for nor expecting concentration. I’m also not suggesting she’s a modern producer - those wines just tasted overly ripe to me; I think that is a more accurate term.
Understand and appreciate the conversation. I’m definitely going to be seeking out some of her wines that are more ready to drink, as everything I bought is definitely not, so it will be interesting to see.
If yoiu want some drinking Barthods, the Bourgogne (bons batons) and the Chambolle villages both drink beautifully young (hard to resist but also drink well aged…) and box well above their rank. 1er crus take a long time or you need to decant…
Grivot lower levels also drink very well young now he has changed style
1990 Roumier BM and 1996 DRC Richebourg + RSV are definitely some of my best wine experiences ever.![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}