Dominique Laurent

I had some wines today double blind from 1999 though 2006 from Dominque Laurent.
These wines were tremendous. I loved them.
No overt oak.
The wines were very red fruited and intense like DRC or Rousseau. Impressive.
Is my palate starting to go?

( I know the answer here. These wines were just darn good! )

Iā€™m a fan, though I havenā€™t had anything more recent than '96!

Iā€™m a big fan of their 96ā€™s and 99ā€™s, have not had many of the recent wines though. They tend to have an undeserved reputation as being over-oaked.

Worst thing Laurent ever did was talk about his ā€œmagic barrels.ā€ The hyperbole did more damage to his wines than the actual oak regimen.

They donā€™t appear to be imported any longer so I suppose this is all just for historical curiosity.

Iā€™ve not had many Don, but those that i have had, have not been over oaked per seā€¦

I see that www.premiercru.net has some 2010s on ā€œprearrivalā€.

Had a 93 Charmes a couple of months back that was excellent.

'Have a friend who is every bit as enthusiast as you about this producer.
Every once and a while we have dinner and he brings the wines - and often apologies for them.
'Glad you enjoyed - not for me.
Best, Jim

Having worked for a Laurent importer I got to taste many of his wines. 01 Grands Echezaux put a big smile on my face.

A 99 Vaucrains is in the queue in a couple of weeks while on a camping vacation.

Thatā€™s the thing-I love his wines from bottom to top but so often when I open them for friends they donā€™t want to show themselves. Iā€™ve come to realise that the extreme high toast they can sometimes show is a reduction phenomenon and the ā€˜Fourrier shakeā€™ can work miracles, much better than extended decanting.

Interesting thread. As you know, from early on the Laurentā€™s were rated highly by Steve Tanzer but not frequently reviewed by Burghound, Gilman, or others to any great degree. Tanzer is really the only writer I am aware of that continues to consistently review the Laurent wines, but since he does not really do retrospective tastings I am not sure what he thinks of how the highly praised wines have aged over the years. The wines have usually been well-priced, except at the highest level, and they have not held much value on the secondary market and perhaps that is why you do not see many older vintages offered. it is interesting to hear from some dedicated Burgophiles on these boards that they have been generally quite pleased with how a number of the Laurent wines are drinking now, and that, at least in their experience, the supposed ā€œoakinessā€ of the wines has not been an issue.

I would love to hear from others as to their Laurent experiences.

Martin Scott brings them in for NY/NJ/CT
The issue is that there isnā€™t much wine that comes in. We buy and sell a decent amount of wines.
The Suchots TVV is stunning, as is the Fixin Hervelets. I think only Gelin is making better Fixin.
There is also a crazy old vine Bourgogne Rouge (marked with roman numerals, itā€™s like 1926 or 1928 planted?) that they make that is also a steal.

The wines I had were the 99 Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques, 2005 Charmes Chambertin and a 99 Corton Dr. Peste Hospice elevaged by Laurent. All were better than good.

The 05 Charmes is showing so much right now. I guess that high toast and extra oak is a way to get the 05 vintage kickstarted. The most forward 05 I have tasted. I was shocked by this one.

Their Richemone is delicious!

The Laurent Charmes is really outstanding, up there with the best. Iā€™ve been greatly enjoying the Hospice Corton Dr. Peste 98 recently.

Don,
Any idea who he bought the St. Jacques fruit from?
He does not own land there.
Best, Jim

Hi Don,
Havenā€™t had many Laurent, but recently had the 02 Beaumonts and the 02 RSV. Loved them both, and it encouraged me to buy some 09ā€™s. Plan on opening the 02 Richebourg with some Berserkers in a couple of weeks. Will report back on that.
Looking at my notes, you and I had a 93 Mazis at Mitchā€™s mini-Paulee.

HDH has a few of the 05 Charmes. Going to give it a shot but will have to wait for cooler shipping weather. Pretty attractive pricing for an 05 GC. I have a feeling the style will be up my alley.

Probably Esmonin. Laurent and Sylvie Esmonin have been a couple for a long time.