2014 Red Burgundy

[MaxSemler39]

A recent thread on the greatest white burgundy vintage of the 21st century emphatically declared 2014 the winner.

That result made me curious - why the relative lack of love for the 2014 reds? What was it about the growing season that caused chardonnay to "outperform" pinot so significantly? Or... does 2014 pinot not get enough love?

Is it possible to imagine a vintage in Burgundy that produces "once in a century" reds and whites??

[D@vid Bu3ker]

Different grapes. Different outcomes.

2014 reds are delicious, but not at vintage of the century levels.

[Ron Erickson]

Different grapes. Different outcomes.

2014 reds are delicious, but not at vintage of the century levels.

Only 7 years per decade can qualify....

[Mark Y]

Is it possible to imagine a vintage in Burgundy that produces "once in a century" reds and whites??

2010?

[Howard Cooper]

A recent thread on the greatest white burgundy vintage of the 21st century emphatically declared 2014 the winner.

That result made me curious - why the relative lack of love for the 2014 reds? What was it about the growing season that caused chardonnay to "outperform" pinot so significantly? Or... does 2014 pinot not get enough love?

Is it possible to imagine a vintage in Burgundy that produces "once in a century" reds and whites??

Drink some 2014 reds and whites and come back and tell us what you think. Tasting is the only way to answer this. Please let us know your conclusions.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

14 reds are great and probably underrated. They’re just in a run of very good to great vintages.

[D@vid Bu3ker]

Is it possible to imagine a vintage in Burgundy that produces "once in a century" reds and whites??

2010?

Two issues. One is that 2010, while very fine in white, is not the best of even the last 20 years. And then there’s the “once in a century” thing. 2010 in red is wonderful, but it’s hard to believe that it will be a once in a century vintage, unless the next 80 vintages turn to overripe shit.

[Mark Y]

Is it possible to imagine a vintage in Burgundy that produces "once in a century" reds and whites??

2010?

Two issues. One is that 2010, while very fine in white, is not the best of even the last 20 years. And then there’s the “once in a century” thing. 2010 in red is wonderful, but it’s hard to believe that it will be a once in a century vintage, unless the next 80 vintages turn to overripe shit.

Hahahah ok true. I kinda ignored the “last me ever, first name greatest” part. More 2010 had really really good whites and reds. Not the best of any century but superb all around vintage.

[Gaudissabois Johan]

Friends,

Stop looking for "the vintage of the century". Stick to years that give pleasure on an early basis (97, 2000, 2001, 2007...). According to Alix Millot :
also 2010,11,12 and 13 are so-called "easy" vintages...Great domaines will always deliver quality whatever the vintage. There may be a difference from year to year but still... What's the point of having a 2005 where you buy wine for your grandchildren???? (I am not going to let them have it. The bastards....)
PS: haven't got any grandchildren...

SINCERELY JOHAN

[Howard Cooper]

Friends,

Stop looking for "the vintage of the century". Stick to years that give pleasure on an early basis (97, 2000, 2001, 2007...). According to Alix Millot :
also 2010,11,12 and 13 are so-called "easy" vintages...Great domaines will always deliver quality whatever the vintage. There may be a difference from year to year but still... What's the point of having a 2005 where you buy wine for your grandchildren???? (I am not going to let them have it. The bastards....)
PS: haven't got any grandchildren...

SINCERELY JOHAN

97??????? With exceptions (like Jadot), not my favorite vintage.

[Peter Chiu]

Friends,

Stop looking for "the vintage of the century". Stick to years that give pleasure on an early basis (97, 2000, 2001, 2007...). According to Alix Millot :
also 2010,11,12 and 13 are so-called "easy" vintages...Great domaines will always deliver quality whatever the vintage. There may be a difference from year to year but still... What's the point of having a 2005 where you buy wine for your grandchildren???? (I am not going to let them have it. The bastards....)
PS: haven't got any grandchildren...

SINCERELY JOHAN

[Peter Chiu]

So far......2014 red is still delicious ( at age 7 now ) and it may not close-down. Another 2007 red ?

[Gaudissabois Johan]

Friends,
97 had to be drunk early and was surely not a great vintage but one giving early pleasure. Only Jadot???? I know at least 20 domaines to be added to a shortlist of wineries delivering absolutely gorgeous wines. But I think most of them were not built to last... Who cares?

SINCERLY JOHAN

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

Friends,
97 had to be drunk early and was surely not a great vintage but one giving early pleasure. Only Jadot???? I know at least 20 domaines to be added to a shortlist of wineries delivering absolutely gorgeous wines. But I think most of them were not built to last... Who cares?

SINCERLY JOHAN

97 is pretty much terrible compared to the vintages in the 2009-2019 range and the prices reflect that.

The only vintage that is as bad is 11 and that’s arguable.

[D@vid Bu3ker]

So far......2014 red is still delicious ( at age 7 now ) and it may not close-down. Another 2007 red ?

To my tastes the Mugneret Gibourg wines have shut down.

[Greg K]

Friends,

Stop looking for "the vintage of the century". Stick to years that give pleasure on an early basis (97, 2000, 2001, 2007...). According to Alix Millot :
also 2010,11,12 and 13 are so-called "easy" vintages...Great domaines will always deliver quality whatever the vintage. There may be a difference from year to year but still... What's the point of having a 2005 where you buy wine for your grandchildren???? (I am not going to let them have it. The bastards....)
PS: haven't got any grandchildren...

SINCERELY JOHAN

97??????? With exceptions (like Jadot), not my favorite vintage.

Yeah, pretty much every 97 I've had recently is considerably past its prime (to the extent they had any).

[KenL.]

Not as knowledgeable on red Burgundy as others. I’ve only opened village wines for 14’s so far. Haven’t had a bad one yet. Unlike the 13’s which I found disappointing compared to 12’s. Looking back, going big on the14 Verdet closeout was one of the best deals I’ve gotten.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

Friends,

Stop looking for "the vintage of the century". Stick to years that give pleasure on an early basis (97, 2000, 2001, 2007...). According to Alix Millot :
also 2010,11,12 and 13 are so-called "easy" vintages...Great domaines will always deliver quality whatever the vintage. There may be a difference from year to year but still... What's the point of having a 2005 where you buy wine for your grandchildren???? (I am not going to let them have it. The bastards....)
PS: haven't got any grandchildren...

SINCERELY JOHAN

97??????? With exceptions (like Jadot), not my favorite vintage.

Yeah, pretty much every 97 I've had recently is considerably past its prime (to the extent they had any).

The only ones I’ve enjoyed have been jadot/gagey CSD which was great.

I have one Lignier la riotte left which I imagine I should open sooner than later.

[Andrew K.]

What's the point in talking about how 97 wines are showing today when the point of the post was about early drinking pleasure? Now if you're talking about 97 wines you had in the early 2000s that were terrible, that's a different story.

[c fu]

So far......2014 red is still delicious ( at age 7 now ) and it may not close-down. Another 2007 red ?

i've had many a shut down 2014. 2013 on the other hand seems far more generous now

[J. Galang]

So far......2014 red is still delicious ( at age 7 now ) and it may not close-down. Another 2007 red ?

i've had many a shut down 2014. 2013 on the other hand seems far more generous now

Nice, opening a 2013 Domaine Dujac MSD tonight for dinner. Re: 2014's, love the reds as well, particularly for the pricing compared to current vintages. Quality wise it is definitely more classic than 2015' and 2018's. It just doesn't get more hype as it is right next to 2015's which was a more heralded year "according to the critics". If you are able to get 2014's from good producers at good prices (close to release pricing), I would not hesitate as current Burgundy prices just keep going up.

[Greg K]

So far......2014 red is still delicious ( at age 7 now ) and it may not close-down. Another 2007 red ?

i've had many a shut down 2014. 2013 on the other hand seems far more generous now

I agree, over the past 6 months a number of the 2014s have been fairly shut down. 2013 is just an uneven vintage to me - never quite know what I'm going to get, so I don't open them.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

So far......2014 red is still delicious ( at age 7 now ) and it may not close-down. Another 2007 red ?

i've had many a shut down 2014. 2013 on the other hand seems far more generous now

Agree, drouhin Laroze Beze recently was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

What's the point in talking about how 97 wines are showing today when the point of the post was about early drinking pleasure? Now if you're talking about 97 wines you had in the early 2000s that were terrible, that's a different story.

I don’t think 97 wines were ever good.

[jprusack]

any experience with 2014 volnay from d'angerville and lafarge? i see 2014s well priced from this vintage...only vintage with lower prices is 2011.

i know there was bad hail but from top producers in their top plots...anyone care to comment?

[Howard Cooper]

any experience with 2014 volnay from d'angerville and lafarge? i see 2014s well priced from this vintage...only vintage with lower prices is 2011.

i know there was bad hail but from top producers in their top plots...anyone care to comment?

I very much liked d'Angerville's 2014 Taillepieds when I tasted it at the Paulee a few years back.

[Peter Chiu]

Thanks for for news that many 2014 red are shut down. I will hold them for a while - and will open more 2017.

I did a few pair-tastings of 2013 vs 2014 when they were at around age 4 to 6. I had a slight preference- - more concentration - for 2013 ( for example Damoy Chambertin) . maberbin) f.

[Peter Chiu]

any experience with 2014 volnay from d'angerville and lafarge? i see 2014s well priced from this vintage...only vintage with lower prices is 2011.

i know there was bad hail but from top producers in their top plots...anyone care to comment?

I very much liked d'Angerville's 2014 Taillepieds when I tasted it at the Paulee a few years back.

d'Angerville's....are very pricey in Quebec, Canada. Around 100% more.... .

[Greg K]

any experience with 2014 volnay from d'angerville and lafarge? i see 2014s well priced from this vintage...only vintage with lower prices is 2011.

i know there was bad hail but from top producers in their top plots...anyone care to comment?

I’ve had a few bottles of 2014 d’Angerville, and they’re pretty wines. Not sure I’d open a Ducs, but the other wines have been open for business. The winemaking under Guillaume has, imho, been a lot more conducive to the wines being pleasurable young and than his father’s.

[erikportanger]

I adore the 2014 red burgs I’ve had so far. The most recent was a Dujac Fils chambolle, which was charming with crunchy red fruits. Before that I cracked open a Fourrier CSJ, which was super expressive and frankly fabulous. It was so intense it almost felt slightly exotic at first before settling down slightly, but remained very exuberant throughout. Based on these admittedly limited experiences, the 14s seem like a great buy vs other heralded vintages given their relatively low prices..

[Robert Grenley]

I know this is slightly off-thread, but on the subject of somewhat less heralded vintages, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the 2016 reds. It was felt to be more classic but got a bit lost in the critical hype over the 2015’s (and maybe some early hype on the 2018’s). I had decided that I was not going to buy any more new vintages (based on quantity of wine in the cellar and my age and the escalating pricing...ok, I bought from a couple of producers), and I didn’t really get a chance to taste any.

[Chris Barton]

I had a 2014 D'Angerville Fremiets last night that was really expressive. Very good but still a little angular.

I love 14s and have drank more of them than any other vintage as I started buying when they were released. I've always liked their clarity and tenor. Now that they've lost some their baby fat they can occasionally feel a little slender where earlier on they had a little more immediate charm. They are in an idiosyncratic place where some wines seem a bit closed and some are still awake as they are developing. Some have even come around a bit as I had a 14 Dujac MSD roughly 18 months ago that was pretty boring and then another 6 months ago that was great. Still 14 has been my north star in learning/understanding Burgundy.

2016 has been my favorite recent vintage other than 2010 and to me shares some of it's amazing balance and vibrancy, more filled out than 2014 or 2017 but nowhere near 2015 or 2018. I'm trying to buy what 2016s I can...

[J Henson]

After a hiatus from Red Burgundy drinking, I rediscovered my enjoyment of it with the 2014 vintage, and in particular, the 2014 Domaine Felettig Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées that I drank at Restaurant Le Soufflot in Meursault in the summer of 2018. From my hotel the next morning, I ordered a case of it. I really like the cool tones of the 2014 vintage.

[Marshall Manning]

Had a 2014 Julien Cruchandeau Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Les Cabottes last night, and it was really nice. Pure, pretty fruit, still a bit of structure (enough to handle the Morgan Ranch sirloin and tri-tip), and a nice earthy quality. The fruit sweetened up a bit with airing, and while it's in a good spot right now, it's still on the young side. I tend to like a lot of the prettier vintages in Burgundy, though.

[Brady Daniels]

I know this is slightly off-thread, but on the subject of somewhat less heralded vintages, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the 2016 reds. It was felt to be more classic but got a bit lost in the critical hype over the 2015’s (and maybe some early hype on the 2018’s). I had decided that I was not going to buy any more new vintages (based on quantity of wine in the cellar and my age and the escalating pricing...ok, I bought from a couple of producers), and I didn’t really get a chance to taste any.

2016 is another classic vintage that I suspect will give great pleasure over many years. The few I’ve tried recently haven’t been overly giving, but I’d bet they’ll open up in five to ten years to provide great deliciousness.

Definitely pick them up if you find good prices, though I’m still more focused on the 17’s.