LA GRAND RUE DINNER - Iggy’s, Hilton Hotel, Singapore (8/10/2019)
This was a really interesting tasting generously put together by YL. It was a rare chance to do a mini-vertical of La Grand Rue and figure out what makes this monopole belonging to Francois Lamarche and family tick.
Interestingly, when the other top-rated vineyards of Vosne-Romanée were being classified in the 1930s as the AOC system was introduced, La Grand Rue’s owner Henri Lamarche did not apply for Grand Cru status, and La Grande Rue therefore was classified as a Premier Cru. Henri apparently did not think that a Grand Cru classification would add much to an already famous vineyard - except maybe to raise his tax rates. By the time the Grand Cru classification took off, it was too late. Thankfully, Henri’s son, Francois finally succeeded after a long and persistent campaign to reclassify the vineyard as Grand Cru in 1992, chiefly on the ground that it shares the same soil band as its neighbours.
It is fantastic terroir though - a narrow strip of prime Vosne-Romanee soil, running in the east-west direction down the fall-line of the Grand Cru slope, between La Tâche and “les Gaudichots” to the south, and separated by a narrow road from Aux Reignots, La Romanée, Romanée-Conti, and Romanée-Saint-Vivant to the north; it also borders “aux Champs Perdix” up-slope to the west.
By all means,La Grand Rue should be producing some of the best wines in the world, but it had somehow always underperformed. Even with Francois Lamarche’s daughters taking over in the early 2000s and quality seeing a great uptick, the wines are still valued far less than those of their illustrious neighbours.
So what did we learn? The pre-2000s La Grand Rue were indeed patchy. The Vosne character was always there - with rich dark berry and cherry fruit, a deep earthiness, and wafts of wood spice - but the wines often seemed a little lean and mean. A far cry from the sleek, voluptuous wines produced by many of Lamarche’s neighbours. Quality certainly saw a great uplift throughout the 2000s though. The wines kept the nice Vosne character, but started showing like real Grand Crus, with a greater lushness and presence to them. Nice enough for me to start seeking some of them out.
It would be very interesting to try this experiment again 10 years down the road, this time with wines from 2005 and younger. Hopefully, these will reveal the true potential of La Grand Rue.
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2012 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
I liked this, maybe not quite as much as a 2012 Leflaive Pucelles we had alongside, but it was very commendable indeed. The nose on this was more subtle, with tighter notes of white fruit, mineral and a hint of exotic spice at the edges. Quite attractive though. The palate had a very nice shape to it, with a rich snap of red apples and a hint of berry fruit on the attack leading into a powerful, spice infused midpalate. There was a nice decent sense of cut and definition to this, with a good seam of bright acidity and minerality tracing its way into a decent finish. Neither as deep or generous as the Leflaive, and it lacked a bit of the elegant presence of the other wine, but this was quite nice indeed. (92 pts.) -
2012 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Excellent. What a lovely nose this had. Pure Leflaive Pucelles, with a lovely flinty, earthy minerality underlying a ripe bouquet of yellow fruit, touched with little floral and sweet cream accents. The palate was drinking well, with a
of ripe, fleshy apple on the attack, and riper yellow fruit notes on the midpalate, all this underlined by a lovely, chewy minerality that stretched away into a long, flinty finish infused with a nice spiciness. Superb length and good depth to this. Decently balanced too, if just a bit shorter on the tension and acidity than a solid 2012 Marc Morey Referts served alongside - this had just a hint of fat around the waist. Otherwise, just lovely. (93 pts.)
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1998 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
Rather rustic. The nose had a slightly dusty smell to it, which blew off a little with time to show a bit of paint varnishy volatile acidity, some red fruit, a bit of savoury meatiness, and a nice waft of woody spices. Not bad, but it did take awhile for the nice aromas to come out. The palate was not great. The structure was still very present, with teeth-coating tannins and a burst of bright acidity on the attack just about coating the palate, along with rather less than elegant notes of dark cherries, earth and spice lingering on the finish with bit of bittersweet bramble. There was Grand Cru girth on this, and a quite a bit of power, but it really lacked finesse. Not a bad wine, but disappointing for a Vosne Grand Cru. (89 pts.) -
1997 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
This was the nicest of the trio of 1996, 1997 and 1998 Grand Rue. The nose had a lovely Vosne character to it, with notes of sweet dark cherries, earth, meat and fragrant Vosne spices. The palate, while not as fine as the top Vosne Grand Crus, was actually really quite pleasant, with velvety tannins and decent acidity forming a solid backdrop for snappy flavours of red cherries and darker berries and a nice touch of spice. Decent finish, good balance, if just a little lacking in oomph and depth for a Grand Cru. A pleasant drink though, and showing well now. (91 pts.)
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2000 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
This was quite nice - a real step up from the Grand Rues of the mid-1990s. The nose had a nice sweet ring of red cherries, rosemary, dried earth and fragrant spice - really nice. The palate was at a really nice place too, with clear, pure flavours of red cherries, berries and sweet spices laced with fine, slightly powdery tannins and juicy acidity, all drifting into a slightly herby, minty finish. Not mindblowing, but certainly a pleasant and yummy wine. (92 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
The best of the Grand Rue vertical - this was a lovely drop. I liked the nose, with its deep pull of ripe dark cherries, bits of earthy forest floor, and drifts of wood spice. Nice. The palate was clearly the finest amongst all the wines in the vertical we had - silky tannins, lovely integrated acidity, with pure, transparent notes of red cherries and berries, a kiss of earth, and a nice of Vosne spice, all pulling away with a good show of Grand Cru depth and strength. Good finish too - grippy, yet precise, with a nice bit of orange peel and spice lingering on the backpalate. Really good stuff, drinking so well now. (93 pts.)
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2002 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
This was pretty good. Not quite as fine as the 2001 Grand Rue, but certainly one of the better wines in the vertical. The nose had a rather funky note of earth, meat and forest floor, along with nice draws of dark cherries, blueberries and spice. The palate had a nice shape to it, with velvety tannins and fine acidity, and then solid, but still transparent flavours of dark cherries, blueberries, a bit of earth and spice leading into a midlengthed finish. It lacked a bit of persistence and intensity at the end, but otherwise a nice wine. (92 pts.) -
2003 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru
A solid wine. The nose had a very 2003 sweetness to it, with really ripe red cherries lined with bits of dried earth and spice, maybe even a bit of dried flowers. The palate was surprising lithe for a 2003, especially after the ripeness on the nose, with deep flavours of cherries and darker blueberries seasoned with little sprinkles of spice and dried fruit zest. A little tight and grippy with 2003 tannins, but these have started to fade a bit and allow the quality of the fruit to show. Overall, pretty good, if not quite as giving and delicious as the 2001 or 2002. (92 pts.)
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