If you’ve never had a Burgundy, any Burgundy…buy a bottle from either the 2000, 2001, or 2002 vintage that is a 1er Cru level wine. Then save your bottle for another 10 years.
I’d look for a premier cru 2002 or 1999 grand cru. I’m sure plenty of people here would be willing to sell you a good example for a nice price.
Ditto. I’d drink several bottles of “Bourgogne” from several producers first so you could appreciate yours more and learn a whole lot along the way. Find out which vineyards each producer makes their “Bourgogne” from before drinking.
In the meantime, not only is yours not ready, it will age superbly because 2005’s are well balanced generally. Some of them seem like they’ll last forever. Not because they’re huge or tannic, just so harmoniously balanced.
Agreed, there’s a smooth flatness to it on day two. Not oxidized. OTOH an Aussie or California red can benefit greatly from that day two smoothing.
Village level from 2005 might be ready, but odd are against a Premiere Cru being in it’s window.
If Premiere Cru is what you’re seeking, something from 2000, 2001, or even 2002 would be a better experience, particularly from the Cote du Nuits. Chambolle-Musigny, either the general Premiere Cru bottling or the single vineyard Les Amoureuses (if you don’t mind shelling out the quid) or Les Charmes will suit. Because the soil is alluvial yet has almost no clay, the wines are lighter bodied and take less time laying down to resolve.
dunno about that. among many examples of great red burgs on day two, a 2006 comte armand clos des epeneaux was completely mute and shut down on day one so we stuck it in the eurocave to investigate the next day. it was absolutely dynamite the following evening with a strongly perfumed nose and a succulent, giving palate. don’t producers keep bottles open for days and sometimes weeks in their cellar anyhow?
Good advice.
Here is the issue with 2005- the best wines are effing incredible, at least the few I have had. But they are also very singular, and very much creatures of vintage more than terroir. The best examples I can point to are Roumier Chambolle and Bonnes Mares because up until the 2007s, when prices really took off, I have tasted either or both of those in just about every vintage at release since I started tasting wine. The scale of the Chambolle was huge- easily a match for any Roumier Bonnes-Mares I have ever had. And the Bonnes-Mares itself was off the charts. From the perspective of volume, it was a Leroy grand cru level experience.
To the OP- I think you do yourself a great disservice to form your initial impressions of Burgundy with a vintage like 2005 because whether you like what you see or not- it is going to give you, in some respects, a very unrealistic picture of what to expect in the range of more typical vintages have to offer. If you are planning or willing to try some other vintages along the lines of what Kirk suggests in the near future as well- then I think it would be fine to open your 2005. It is a producer where I would expect you can have nice results now. I am just advising caution against trying the 2005 by itself and making major future decisions based on that.
Hi Tom, interesting view on 2005 Roumier; where would you put the 2005 CM Les Cras based on your rating of the 2005 CM? For some reason I have the 2005 CM Les Cras but not the village CM in the cellar
thnx Brodie
Tom nails my impression of 2005. I started with 42 mixed cases, I’m certainly below 20 now!
Vogüé Bonnes-Mares (so far always better than the Musgny), Clos de Tart - even from magnum - incredible - who would have thought? Lots of villages Volnay - unyielding, clearly tight. Feel free to reverse that trend with bottles in your cellar. There are no downright bad 2005s, only a tinge of disappointment versus our (not always realistic) expectations for this vintage. It’s also true that expectations may come to nought, so I look in fairly regularly - Pierre Bourée’s 2005 Clos St.Jacques was simply great last week - so why not Combottes?
Personally, I don’t get the ‘an acid vintage’ comment. 1996, some 1998, certainly some 2008s - yep here you shouldn’t be acid-averse - but 2005 would not be on my acid-radar - my intensity-radar, yup…
Bill, that is also my experience with Volnay - any idea why this is the case?
On a side note, my experience with 2005 has been mixed - on the lower end (producer wise and terroir wise) I have tasted some remarkable successes, even from producers I didn’t even know, but on the higher end, wines have overall been very thight.
That’s a Pommard. They’re bulletproof like a Howell Mountain Cabernet . I leave them open for a week.
2005 is not on my acid radar. It’s on my balance radar. I can’t speak for the above Volnay, Pommard, Cote de Beaune. For 2005 Cote de Nuits I see a large placid lake that’s been there for 1000 years with no ripples, nothing showing. Just perfect and implacable and endless, quietly. 2005 Hudelot-Noellat RSV is my favorite example of this impression. 1986 Mouton gives me the same shivers. I can’t think of anything else analogous. It’s my private impression for my palate.
In my experience Volnay often takes longer than other areas to come around. Certainly if we’re talking d’Angerville.
Find a Pavelot. Recently found one to be approachable from 05.
Another option - while I know many people will disagree with me I see nothing wrong with drinking recent release Burgundy before it has shut down. I had a really beautiful 2016 Rollin Pernand Vergelesses rouge last week (just the village wine).
The wines are different from when they come out the other side but to my mind no less wonderful.
Was it a villages wine or a premier cru?
If I was going to do that, I would recommend a 2017. They seem pretty wide open today. No, you won’t get more than a sense of the wonders of a mature Burgundy, but you will have a very tasty wine. One recommendation would be a villages level wine (Vosne Romanee or Chambolle Musigny) from Hudelot-Noellat. Of course, trying one of these from say 2012 would be even better. And trying a 2012 and a 2017 of each of these two villages wines at the same time side by side with friends would really be educational.
PC Savigny, but have to look in my notes as to which one. Young, but surprised at how well it was drinking.
I have both villages and pc Savigny from Pavelot. Will have to start opening the villages ones. Thanks.
No, will still be quite structured, better in 5+ years.