TN: Tasting with Olivier Bernstein

TASTING WITH OLIVIER BERNSTEIN - Bourbon Steak, Washington D.C. (10/21/2019)

The dinner was organized by Wilson Daniel. This was my first time tasting Olivier’s wine. i thought the wines were very good but not great.
Celebris

• 2007 Gosset Champagne Celebris Extra Brut - France, Champagne
  Slightly coiled nose displaying sweet ripe yellow fruit, lemon curd, baked apple, brioche and mineral. Very good concentration, coiled yellow citrus fruit, rich yet nicely focused, very fine medium abundant mousse, bright acidity, medium mineral and a medium to long sweet yellow fruit driven finish. It lacks the finesse of the top tete de cuvees. (93 pts.)

Corton Charlemagne

• 2017 Olivier Bernstein Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
  Medium expressive nose displaying opulent white fruit, pear, white peach, fresh lemon, honey, noticeable oak and spicy spices. Excellent concentration, deeply toned rich white fruit, very heavy and big, bright acidity, medium mineral and a medium long deeply toned white fruit driven finish. A bit too heavy for my palate. (92 pts.)

1er Crus

• 2015 Olivier Bernstein Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
  Expressive nose displaying ripe black fruit, blackberry, black cherry, a hint of licorice, sap, tree bark, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, packed ripe black fruit, silky and precise, medium acidity, earthy mineral and a medium to long ripe black fruit driven finish with sap and earth at the end. Clearly expression the 15 ripe fruit and Gevrey earthiness. (92 pts.)
• 2014 Olivier Bernstein Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Lavrottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
  Pretty floral Chambolle nose displaying raspberry, strawberry rhubarb tart, rose, sap, a hint of stem, perfume and earth. Beautifully balanced palate, very finely layers bright red fruit, silky, precise and detail, bright acidity and mineral, and a seamless long sweet red fruit driven finish with sap and rose at the end Nicely expressing the red fruit driven 14 vintage and floral Chambolle terroir. (94 pts.)

Mazis and CV

• 2014 Olivier Bernstein Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
  Expressive nose displaying luxurious black fruit, sugar glazed blackberry, black cherry, sap, stem, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of rich black fruit, silky and polished, bright acidity, earthy mineral, very fine tannins and a long sweet black fruit driven finish with sap and dark spices at the end. Excellent Clos Vougeot and my red WOTN. (95 pts.)
• 2014 Olivier Bernstein Mazis-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
  Expressive nose displaying concentrated opulent black fruit, blackberry concentrated, black cherry, licorice, dark spices and earth. Very masculine palate, layers upon layers of concentrated black fruit, unctuous and rich, good acidity and earthy mineral, noticeable fine tannins and a medium to long opulent black fruit driven finish. This reminds me the 05 Dugay Py Mazis drank three days prior but perhaps not as concentrated. It will need time. (93 pts.)

Beze

• 2013 Olivier Bernstein Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
  Appears to be correct but no fruit/completely muted. There were two bottles served and the other bottle was more expressive apparently. NR (flawed)

Yquem
Adam, RJ and I brought the Yquems.

• 1988 Château d’Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  Unbelievably expressive nose displaying opulent concentrated yellow fruit, dry apricot, apricot tart, mango, dry peach, pineapple, really strong botrytis, cream brulee, spicy spices and candied ginger. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of opulent yellow fruit, dense and oily yet beautifully balanced and weightless, medium acidity and a long rich yellow fruit driven finish with botrytis and candied ginger at the end. Although drinking perfectly, this remains very youthful and can improve for at least two more decades. (98 pts.)
• 1980 Château d’Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  I brought two halves and my bottle is muted and a bit dirty. NR (flawed)

It was fun
Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for this snapshot Kevin. The 88 Yquem is such a wonderful drink.

It is turning out to be the best Yquem of the 80s, better than the 83, 86 and 89, IMHO.

Agree about 88 Yquem . The 83 is bigger en fatter , 88 has nicer acidities .

Kevin, thanks for the notes on the Bernstein wines. I have had a couple but haven’t had the chance to do a comparison like this. One of the criticisms I have heard is that the polish on the wines makes it tough to see the terroir but a couple of your notes on the premier crus suggested otherwise. Do you have any further thoughts on this?

pretty good scores for not great wines. I’ve avoided Bernstein due to exorbitant pricing. Like Prieur-Roch.

Bernstein seems to be a bit like Dominique Laurent or Perrot-Minot where after a number of vintages the wines are getting more transparent to site vs. to vinification technique and receiving less intervention or as said above, polish.

The 88 Yquem is one of the best vintages for me. I had a 375 of the 83 last weekend and it was the best of a case I bought on release, honey and full bodied, but didn’t have the verve and spine of the 88.

The terroir is a difficult topic for me as when tasting blind, I have seldom found people making consistent correct calls. I thought the 1ers, especially the Chambolle expressed the terroir well. The producer style was very strong.

With my score inflation, 93-95 are very good wines. They are extremely expensive.

That is what I hear, i.e. improving wine making hence more pure and transparent. The only difference and perhaps a significant one is that Olivier farms the land.

Last week I attended a version of this same dinner in Houston and I’ve tasted with Olivier in burgundy. Your ‘13 Beze must have been off because it was the clear WOTN. My personal favorite all things considered is the Lavrottes, which I’ve found to be very lovey every time I’ve had it.

Someone mentioned that the other bottle was excellent. It wasn’t corked so Caveat Emptor.

Agree with both of your conclusions from Thursday. That Lavrottes was the surprise of the dinner. Very typical Chambolle.

I agree, though the 89 can come very close. Have had only one magical taste, a few years ago in London.

My last tasting was the occasion to dive into the past …

8. Sauternes : château d’Yquem 1988 (december 2019) :
DS18,5 - LG18 - MS18,5 - FM18,5 - AA18,5 - GM18 - NC18,5 - EA18 - EG18,5+
Complexité évoluée avec ces belles senteurs d’orangette, de noix de coco caramélisée, de citron vert, d’épices, de miel. Nature svelte, corsée, persistante, avec un convenable retour acide en finale. La liqueur est superbe de netteté (aucune trace iodée) mais, sur ce flacon, le vin fait plus vieux que son âge (arômes et énergie).

Rappels :
a. 3/7/2010 - visite au château d’Yquem with Sandrine Garbay :
Un 1988 (18,5/20) complexe et long, éclatant de fraîcheur, qui venge celui que j’avais ouvert il y a un mois (éteint, pb de bouchon ?).

b. 12/6/2010 :
Sauternes d’Yquem 1988 : 17/20 – 12/6/10
Costaud, fruité (dont la noix de coco) mais il ne nous fera pas vibrer. Certains lui feront le même reproche qu’au 89 (manque de verticalité, d’énergie interne).

c. 24/5/2003 - repas chez Didier Sanchez - cr par LG :
8. Sauternes - Château d’Yquem 1988 :
DS18 - PP17 – PC(15) - LG18 – VM17,5. Note moyenne : 17,5+ - Prix : 228 €
Robe brillante, juvénile.
Nez discret, essentiellement marqué par le bois et le menthol, avec des notes complémentaires d’ananas mûr et de guimauve.
Pour une fois, la bouche l’emporte sur un nez plutôt disgracieux. Très jeune, certes peu bavarde en l’état, elle possède toutefois des qualités de pureté, de finesse (on pense à la dentelle d’un Climens), d’équilibre et de persistance qui signent un grand vin en devenir, déjà délicieux et frais. Ce vin, bu plus gras, plus complexe ainsi que plus voluptueux en d’autres occasions, ne fait pas l’unanimité. Il faudra surveiller de près son évolution (sur plus de 20 ans).

d. Club toulousain In Vino Veritas - Verticale du château d’Yquem - 22/12/99 - Pas de nom de rédacteur
3- Château D’Yquem 1988 :
Note 18,5 vers 19 - Prix : 1400 Francs
La robe est brillante, très légèrement évoluée, couleur dorure d’encadrement. On devine une texture presque huileuse très brillante.
Premier nez boisé et intense, concentré, ramassé sur lui-même : fruits confits, bergamote, crème brûlée à la vanille, caramel au beurre, ananas, citron, épices, noix de coco, anis (ces dernières conférant de la fraîcheur). L’aération apporte des notes intenses de miel et de mandarine confite, mais le bouquet n’explose pas, le vin refuse de livrer plus qu’un aperçu de son extraordinaire potentiel aromatique. Le verre vide évolue vers un très riche praliné.
Si la bouche n’a (encore) rien d’explosif, elle s’avère massive, grasse mais équilibrée et pourvue d’une belle longueur (14 secondes). Le vin est certes encore un rien monolithique mais des vagues aromatiques successives (notes du nez, citron, cannelle, caramel, fruits secs et corbeille de fruits frais) lui confèrent une élégance puissante rare. La bouche est parfaite dans ses proportions mais réservée dans son expression, somptueux toucher de la matière, équilibre irréprochable, longueur colossale, flaveurs profondes de praliné et d’orange confite. Le vin finit droit et propre. Un vin de grand avenir, assurément, qui pourrait rattraper le 83.
Rating of this verticale :
1983 : 19/19,5
1988 : 18,5/19
1990 : 17,5/18
1982 : 17/17,5
1985 : 16,5/17,5
1989 : 17/16,5
1986, 1985 : 16/16,5
1981 : 16/15,5

tasted the 2013 clos vougeot blind last year and it was the oakiest red burgundy I’ve ever had. That was until the next day when someone else blinded me on the 2014 clos vougeot, which became the new front runner