2014 Red Burgundy

[john_stimson]

i would second Howard’s comments. I routinely avoid sampling red burgs in the 5-10 year of age time frame (adjusted a little bit for vintage) as this is often the worst time in their development, and gives you the highest chance of being horribly disappointed. There are clearly dramatic exceptions, but as a general rule I think this applies. It’s tougher if you are just starting out and building a cellar, but if you hold off and just drink bourgogne rouge for a few years, you will be rewarded down the line.

There is also something to be said about buying in quantity. Though (especially with burgundy) not every bottle will be transcendent, I like to taste things every few years and follow their development over time – it’s part of the intellectual, cerebral side of the hobby to me.

Following this, I try to purchase at least 4 bottles of most wines, so I can taste it and have perspective on its development while having at least 3 more to stow away.

Yeah–I get it. I’m down to buying 3-4 bottles at most of a wine. But for red burg, most of the time I’d rather sample them at 10, 12,15, and 20 years than 2-4-6-8, then be out before the wine has really had a chance. For a while I would try one like you’ve suggested at 5-6 years, but much of the time I was a little sorry that I did. Luckily, I’ve been doing this long enough that I have plenty in these age ranges to do this.

[Tom_Reddick]

Appreciate this thread. Thanks to lots of work travel and then COVID, I have a serious backlog of young wines I have been meaning to sample- among them 2014 Roumier Charmes and 2014 Rousseau Ruchottes.

Has anyone had either lately, or at least something from the same producer and vintage? Given what I am reading here, I am tempted to potentially put these bottles back in the deep reaches with their brothers rather than give them a try.

[Jeremy_Holmes]

Whilst I reckon the '14’s have tightened a little over the past 12 months, they are still generous, giving and utterly delicious. I reckon the may move along a similar trajectory as the '00’s, which never truly shut down and have offered so much pleasure over a couple of decades.

[jason_stein]

David, I’ll eat my words a bit here. Just opened a 14 Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle that was hard as nails. Still a pleasant wine, but very tightly wound.

[Howard_Cooper]

i would second Howard’s comments. I routinely avoid sampling red burgs in the 5-10 year of age time frame (adjusted a little bit for vintage) as this is often the worst time in their development, and gives you the highest chance of being horribly disappointed. There are clearly dramatic exceptions, but as a general rule I think this applies. It’s tougher if you are just starting out and building a cellar, but if you hold off and just drink bourgogne rouge for a few years, you will be rewarded down the line.

There is also something to be said about buying in quantity. Though (especially with burgundy) not every bottle will be transcendent, I like to taste things every few years and follow their development over time – it’s part of the intellectual, cerebral side of the hobby to me.

Following this, I try to purchase at least 4 bottles of most wines, so I can taste it and have perspective on its development while having at least 3 more to stow away.

Another way to do something similar is to buy multiple vintages of the same wine and organize a vertical. Really gives you a great sense of the character of a vineyard and how the wine changes as it gets older. I love doing verticals.

[jason_stein]

i would second Howard’s comments. I routinely avoid sampling red burgs in the 5-10 year of age time frame (adjusted a little bit for vintage) as this is often the worst time in their development, and gives you the highest chance of being horribly disappointed. There are clearly dramatic exceptions, but as a general rule I think this applies. It’s tougher if you are just starting out and building a cellar, but if you hold off and just drink bourgogne rouge for a few years, you will be rewarded down the line.

There is also something to be said about buying in quantity. Though (especially with burgundy) not every bottle will be transcendent, I like to taste things every few years and follow their development over time – it’s part of the intellectual, cerebral side of the hobby to me.

Following this, I try to purchase at least 4 bottles of most wines, so I can taste it and have perspective on its development while having at least 3 more to stow away.

Another way to do something similar is to buy multiple vintages of the same wine and organize a vertical. Really gives you a great sense of the character of a vineyard and how the wine changes as it gets older. I love doing verticals.

Agreed, I try to amass verticals of everything I like.

[Ian_Dorin]

David, I’ll eat my words a bit here. Just opened a 14 Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle that was hard as nails. Still a pleasant wine, but very tightly wound.

A wine I buy every year, and has been tight since release.

FWIW, I tend to buy producers that have some level of stem inclusion, and those wines have been crazy hard since release. I’m being patient for sure. Not sure if it’s a common thread, or a coincidence, but an observation worth sharing.

[jason_stein]

David, I’ll eat my words a bit here. Just opened a 14 Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle that was hard as nails. Still a pleasant wine, but very tightly wound.

A wine I buy every year, and has been tight since release.

FWIW, I tend to buy producers that have some level of stem inclusion, and those wines have been crazy hard since release. I’m being patient for sure. Not sure if it’s a common thread, or a coincidence, but an observation worth sharing.

Me as well! I’ll be waiting on the rest of my bottles for a while, and that’s to say nothing about the 14 chambolle charmes…

[jason_stein]

Opened a 2014 d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air.

A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in December. I think if you drink these wines now they are best served without air.

14 Meo VR and 14 Dujac MSD on deck for tomorrow night.

[Chris_Barton]

I had a 14 Dujac MSD maybe 6 months ago and it seemed pretty reserved. I have another though so hoping it shows!

[jason_stein]

Tasted single blind:

14 Meo VR

Really dark and brooding at first, but came out of its shell after an hour. Beautiful dark sweet fruit, partially integrated oak, really chewy. Notably dense on the palate. Lacking that Vosne spice that I love but very pleasant nonetheless.

14 Dujac MSD

Much more lifted and elegant than the Meo. A streak of refined oak courses through the nose, pleasant and not overpowering. Deep red fruits and bramble. Also pretty grippy, and improved with air. Much more lifted and spicy on the finish.


Bottom line is, these wines are still young but not unyielding. With some air they blossom, and clearly have long lives ahead of them.

[Chris_Barton]

Just opened a 2014 Dujac MSD tonight and was a very nice bottle. Had lilting floral aromatics, a bit of ivy like earthyness, faint spice, and super pure cranberry/cherry fruit. Silky, graceful texture. Not a ton of grip for me, but sneakily long. Got way better over the course of a few hours. I only had two of these and drank the last a year ago, this one was WAY more expressive and enjoyable. Fingers crossed it’s a good sign for the 14’s!

[Howard_Cooper]

Opened a 2014 d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air.

A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in December. I think if you drink these wines now they are best served without air.

14 Meo VR and 14 Dujac MSD on deck for tomorrow night.

If you find 2014s to be closing up, why are you and others still opening them. When I find that wines from a vintage are closed, I stop opening bottles from that vintage (instead opening other vintages) and let the bottles sit a few more years.

[jason_stein]

Opened a 2014 d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air.

A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in December. I think if you drink these wines now they are best served without air.

14 Meo VR and 14 Dujac MSD on deck for tomorrow night.

If you find 2014s to be closing up, why are you and others still opening them. When I find that wines from a vintage are closed, I stop opening bottles from that vintage (instead opening other vintages) and let the bottles sit a few more years.

I’ve spoken about this on other threads, but I have found the 14s to be mixed. Some are very open currently, while others need time. I as a rule taste upon purchase a bottle of wine I buy multiples of so I have a reference point for their development – I’m not downing, for example, multiple bottles of d’Angerville 1er, I just got the bottles in and wanted to try one.

[Howard_Cooper]

Opened a 2014 d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air.

A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in December. I think if you drink these wines now they are best served without air.

14 Meo VR and 14 Dujac MSD on deck for tomorrow night.

If you find 2014s to be closing up, why are you and others still opening them. When I find that wines from a vintage are closed, I stop opening bottles from that vintage (instead opening other vintages) and let the bottles sit a few more years.

I’ve spoken about this on other threads, but I have found the 14s to be mixed. Some are very open currently, while others need time. I as a rule taste upon purchase a bottle of wine I buy multiples of so I have a reference point for their development – I’m not downing, for example, multiple bottles of d’Angerville 1er, I just got the bottles in and wanted to try one.

I can easily see opening a couple of bottles - for example, your d’Angerville and Fourrier - for just the reasons you state. In fact, I have done the same thing this year with 2012s and have found several to be drinking quite well.

But, once you have found a number of 2014s to be closed, why keep opening more and more?

[jason_stein]

If you find 2014s to be closing up, why are you and others still opening them. When I find that wines from a vintage are closed, I stop opening bottles from that vintage (instead opening other vintages) and let the bottles sit a few more years.

I’ve spoken about this on other threads, but I have found the 14s to be mixed. Some are very open currently, while others need time. I as a rule taste upon purchase a bottle of wine I buy multiples of so I have a reference point for their development – I’m not downing, for example, multiple bottles of d’Angerville 1er, I just got the bottles in and wanted to try one.

I can easily see opening a couple of bottles - for example, your d’Angerville and Fourrier - for just the reasons you state. But, once you have found a number of 2014s to be closed, why keep opening more and more?

Curiosity, poor impulse control, and as I mentioned I have found some 14s to be open.

[MChang]

I think 17s are in their sweet spot atm. After opening that Drouhin Laroze Beze that was shut down hard, I’m staying away from 14s for at least a couple yrs.

[jason_stein]

I think 17s are in their sweet spot atm. After opening that Drouhin Laroze Beze that was shut down hard, I’m staying away from 14s for at least a couple yrs.

For the most part I agree, but 17 Arnoux-Lachaux Hautes Maizières was shutting down pretty hard about 2 weeks ago

[Greg_K]

Opened a 2014 d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air.

A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in December. I think if you drink these wines now they are best served without air.

14 Meo VR and 14 Dujac MSD on deck for tomorrow night.

If you find 2014s to be closing up, why are you and others still opening them. When I find that wines from a vintage are closed, I stop opening bottles from that vintage (instead opening other vintages) and let the bottles sit a few more years.

Depends on the depth of your cellar, I suspect.

[Howard_Cooper]

I think 17s are in their sweet spot atm. After opening that Drouhin Laroze Beze that was shut down hard, I’m staying away from 14s for at least a couple yrs.

For the most part I agree, but 17 Arnoux-Lachaux Hautes Maizières was shutting down pretty hard about 2 weeks ago

Interesting. When I was at the Paulee Grand Tasting in March (seems like 100 years and another lifetime ago now) the 2017s were really friendly - wide open and easy to drink. And, they had so much more to offer than when I tasted them from barrel in Burgundy in the summer of 2018. I was thinking this might be a vintage that never closes. Too bad.