2009 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru (6/26/2020)
Forest berry and cherry fruit, moss, florals and spice on the nose, with some Pernand-Vergelesses brambly notes. Midweighted, graceful, sappy and fresh on the palate with a stemmy softness and textural note, finishing with some cooling spice and earth-moss tones. There is a softness and graceful side to this coupled with hidden depth and subtle power. Outstanding and with better than average lift for an '09. Outstanding. (92 pts.)
Thanks for the note. Would you say this has overcome the tight phase already? I’m not familiar with the producer yet, but waiting for a 2005 Clos du Roi to arrive, which I’m looking forward to.
Tomas, I think it is in its early “drinking well” phase and will likely improve some and then stay delicious for a long time.
I would think the '05 Corton is going to be very tight for many years still. Corton takes a long time to come around and '05 is a very slow maturing vintage. I remember from another thread you mentioning this bottle, but I would hold that bottle for many years. I don’t think it is going to offer up very much right now. I think this is an excellent producer and still quite affordable in the global sense of Burgundy. I would recommend you try to find the les Vergelesses or better yet Ile des Vergellesses bottling and try that. I think you will enjoy it much more. Good luck!
I am a fan of the wines of Chandon de Briailles and have visited there twice. Interesting that a 2009 premier cru is always showing nicely from them, but I guess it should not be surprising because of the rich nature of the vintage. I remember the first time we tasted there in 2007, enjoying the very young wines we tried but not knowing what to make of them because they were so tight. So, a night or two later, we saw a bottle of the 1999 Ille de Vergelesses at a restaurant in Beaune and decided to try it because I thought it would help me understand what I had tasted. I really liked the 1999 (even if it was at the time still a bit young) and that wine was not as old as the 2009 you tasted (and it was Ille de Vergellesses, not Les Vergelesses so yours should mature faster). Thanks for the note.
I know Chandon de Briailles has a reputation for being somewhat stern and slow to come around, but the few examples I’ve had - admittedly the lower end of the Pernand and Savigny lineup - have all been elegant and pure-fruited. Glad to hear this one was singing.
Tomas–I regard Corton’s as 20 year wines, in other words I don’t expect all of them to hit their stride until that time. Plus Chandon wines sometimes take a little longer to come around, and 2005 has so far been a vintage that is slower to develop than many. So it could be that your wine will be closed and holding some things back when it arrives. On the other hand, I had the 2002 Chandon Corton Bressandes 4 years ago, and it was showing well and was one of the best wines of a 2002 Corton tasting. So here’s hoping you’ll be in luck.
They typically use a fair bit of whole cluster, so the wines do mature slowly, but I always find the bottlings from Pernand and Aloxe-Corton to be enjoyable at a point well before peak. The “drinking well” early phase Todd references.
Great producer and one that punches well above their price point. In 2001, I put the 1999 Ille de Vergelesses on the list at the restaurant I worked at. At full mark up in a downtown restaurant with a future James Beard award winning French master chef…it was $72.
In 2008, I went in to say hello and grab a bite and they still had it on the list. Every other Burg was over $100 and most over $250. Easy decision.
Good to know that ‘02 Corton Bressandes was so good, looking forward to it. I absolutely adore the ‘93 Corton Bressandes, still a few bottles left in the cellar.
Thanks for the note on ‘09 Les Vergelesses, somehow I didn’t buy any Chandon in ‘09 vintage.