In the opera Carmen, Don José is bethroded to the virginal, and very reliable, Micaëla. Yet all it takes for the fickle, whimsical Carmen to win his heart over is to throw a flower in his direction and describe an hypothetical evening of dancing and frolicking at Lillas Pastia’s tavern. He ignores his dear old mother’s wishes, goes to jail for dereliction of duty and ultimately kills Carmen out of jealousy, ruining his life. Yes, she was a great temptress and it rocked his world, but was it worth the hassle?
If Carmen weren’t a gypsy from Seville, but rather a fair skinned lady from the outskirts of Dijon, I might compare her to red Burgundy. Burgundy’s whites, from Bourgogne Blanc to Meursault Perrieres, have been giving me reliable, consistent enchantment ever since I’ve started exploring them, but my record so far with the region’s reds is one of many overpriced bottles of (more often than not) tart Pinot juice with one glorious exception - a 2010 Amiot-Servelle which threw a flower at me and spoke of a tavern in Beaune. It counts as one of the most extraordinary wine experiences in my life. The problem is finding another needle in the haystack without selling a kidney.
I felt this Pousse d’Or had very good acidity - definitely on the high side, though not unbereable - and a well integrated, expressive nose of cranberry, orange peel, grapefruit, wax and earthiness. The acidity should give it plenty of further life, and I feel like I’ve opened it at the start of its optimal drinking window - not closed down, but with further mountains to climb. Here’s the funny part: I had this very same wine this year and felt it was more balanced, and ‘ready’ then, but decided not to post a TN since I believed the stemware wasn’t ideal for the wine to show at its best (I was at a friend’s). Hoping for a better showing this time around chez moi, I found myself once again underwhelmed, and under the impression I was tasting the cold climate cousin of an old cooperative Dão. Is this bottle variation? Am I insane? Was my decant too long? Burgundy threw a flower at me and I won’t kill it, but I might just kill my bank account.
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But Tomás situation remains unfortunate. It can indeed be funny in Burgundy how wide the swing is between hits and misses. Sometimes they just don’t show so well–and I myself would not be opening any 2010’s now. And they are always subtle wines when compared to most others, but when you get one that works its memorable and it can open the door to appreciating the less forthcoming ones more.
2010 is going through the usual burgundy dance where it opens and closes and sometimes all you get is an acidic wall.
Great great vintage but I am leaving mine idling in the cellar
Maybe you just don’t like Burgundy, there’s no shame in that! In fact, possibly you should count yourself lucky.
Pousse d’Or sometimes gets criticized as monolithically fruity or lacking in complexity, which occasionally I can understand, but I do find them to be a reliable producer in producing at least solid wines, and Clos de 60 Ouvrees is one of their top premier crus. In fact along with Bouchard they are a producer I point people to as a good bridge to Burgundy for people who like pinots from other wine regions. So if you don’t like them that’s a sign. Maybe it’s just that 2010 is shut down, 2009 has always been more accessible.
I’ve only had the 2002 Clos des 60 Ouvrées, but in general the current regime at Pousse d’Or tends to be on the rich side. I think I think the acidity present in 2010 would be a fantastic addition to their profile.
I have a few Pousse D’Or wines from 2010 that I got for very good prices, including this one. I’m happy to hold given it’s a strange time for 2010s and they are still very young at age 10. They aren’t the wines Gerard Potel used to make — he was a real master — but I think it’s a bit unfair to judge at this stage.
I would say that, rather uncontroversially, the wines I like the most are balanced and have a reasonable degree of complexity. Like most on the forum, I definitely dislike really boozy, overoaked wines - though it’s more that they bore me rather than they nauseate me, I suppose.
My problem with the red Burgundy duds I’ve encountered has more to do with the fact that (newsflash) there is no bang for your buck: with the price tag they carry, I expect a mid palate complexity which simply isn’t there. That is my problem and not Burgundy’s, which has no problem selling its wine production. Then there’s the added issue of these being finicky wines, very much conditioned by dumb phases and time frames, to the point where (due to my lack of experience) I really can’t tell if there is greatness in the making or not when confronted with a poor showing. But, as I said, all it took was that gorgeous, intricately layered Amiot-Servelle to convince me of the reasons behind the collective fever around these wines. I wonder if that one, too, would have disappointed me if I had opened it a few weeks before or after.
As for Pinots from elsewhere, my only experience is with domestic ones, and I have never found one I’d like to keep buying. They are slightly more translucent, and much more expensive, versions of the wines which are rendered far more successfully by Portugal’s native varietals (which are perfectly adapted to their corresponding terroirs).
Which Portugese wines would you suggest? I probably prefer translucent, but I also have tried quite a few dry wines from Portugal and haven’t found any that have taken me away from Burgundy or my preferred style of domestic Pinot Noirs. I’d be very interested to see some new wines from Portugal though.
Had this wine in its early days and it leaned new world, or as much new world as old so was pretty disappointed by it.
On the vintage, I’ve found about half of the 10’s I’ve opened (1ers and even GC’s) to be pretty precocious and showy, and of those that aren’t, most at least show some of their charms. It’s not always a “by the book” vintage anyway, and the ripeness/readiness across various wines and producers is highly variable. But as much as we want 10’ to be a classic, I see it more of a modern classic. Some big surprises toward early drinking anyway. DRC Grands Eche and Ponsot CdlR to name a couple.
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