Burgundy 2013 first impressions

WINE TALK
41

I don’t really have any defined categories Antoine, I just use a lot of adjectives.

42

Anymore updates or feedback on 2013 particularly Chambolle ?

43

here gives many impressions;
http://thefinewinereview.blogspot.ch/
also here

44

Interesting. I’ve read 3 assessments of the vintage in the last couple weeks. See,s like its a nice vintage but nothing superlative. 08 like.

45

One thing for sure that it will not be 08 like: price [wow.gif]

46

True. No respite for the consumer. First offerings out of London look like '12 (or even a little higher). Ouch. But you have to take some to stay on the lists for the coming '14s (plentiful vintage, good weather conditions).

47

So if you don’t get screwed in 13 we refuse to screw you in 14 ? Got it. Hehehe

48

True Dat, Nick!

I think '05 was the last vintage I can remember when you could still “walk in off the street” and get an allocation of the hard to get stuff.

You had to buy the '06s, '07s, '08s to get to the '09s and '10s. You had to take the '11s to get to the 12s but the 12s were no bargain!!! And now you have to take the '13s in order to get the '14s which will come out at an all time high (no doubt) even though there’s some real volume produced.

Hard to win at this game anymore, deck is stacked against the consumer/drinker.

49

I’ve been reading Neal Martin’s reviews on 2013. They seem to along the lines Bill, Nick and others are indicating in this thread. He agrees with me about 2013 Fourriers. His overall take is:

For sure, 2013 was a tumultuous, challenging vintage for the Côte d’Or. They endured deep lows and times of despair but in the end, against all expectations, they’ve ended up on a high. It is no surprise that from their point of view, 2013 is an incredibly emotional vintage. The worried, fretted, toiled, labored, struggled and fought for these wines and in the main part, clutched victory from the hands of defeat. If I scored wines on effort, there would be a slew of perfect scores. Unfortunately I score wines according to what is in this glass. Yet spending so much time in dark dank cellars discussing the vintage with them, I can empathize with what it takes to create even half-decent Bourgogne Rouge. Though 2013 might not quite be a “classic” vintage, the pedigree of 2005, 2009, 2010 or 2012, it is a fascinating, intellectual vintage full of intrigue and I think they will be an absolute joy to gauge how they mature. They’ll be surprises on the way.

50

Thanks Roman for the link to Claude Kolm reviews [cheers.gif]

51

Peter…hmmmm, I do not know if I should agree with you that ***I think 05 was the last vintage :…
“walk in off the street” and get an allocation of the hard to get stuff.


In Quebec, Canada one needed to buy 2004s to get to the 2005s…also [cheers.gif]

I need to tell that to Stuart ( and or Paul )… [stirthepothal.gif]

52

John Gilman has just produced an introduction to his notes on the 2013 vintage that is very positive. There is more to come. Here’s a quote:


Une Belle Surprise:
The Good to Truly Exceptional 2013 Burgundy Vintage

… it seems quite clear that the potential to make absolutely superb wines in 2013 in the Côte d’Or was here in this vintage, and the most talented (or lucky) vignerons have made absolutely magical wines in this vintage. Will they ever reach the same lofty heights of the greatest recent vintages, such as 2005, 2010 and 2012? Perhaps, but only time will be able to answer that question. However, there is no denying that
many producers whom I visit … are utterly thrilled with how their 2013s have come out - not to mention surprised - and the Burgundians themselves (excluding Chablis) are already ranking 2013 extremely highly and are certainly open to the possibility that 2013 may well rank right up there in the fullness of time with other great recent vintages. …

53

So what is the word on Chablis?

54

Seriously - I doubt that

open to the possibility that 2013 may well rank right up there in the fullness of time with other great recent vintages <<<

C´mon - what I´ve tasted is - in several cases - a positive surprise reg. the weather and autumn conditions in 2014 … and some really fine wines have been produced - but even in the most successful domaines the quality is definitely behind vintages like 2005, 2009, 2010 (2012 - we´ll see) … and perhaps on par with 2011 … which means is a fantastic effort …

But in some other cases the wines were clearly only decent, medium ripe, a bit hollow, slightly astringent and bitter - and correct to good, but hardly exciting …
Please, remain with your feet on earth - the 2013s are the vintage currently for sale … sure the winemakers are excited if they made good, very good, even fine wines out of a - nearly - catastrophic vintage … but to compare the results with close to perfect vintages is really hard stuff !!!

I would not buy anything without having tasted the wines myself … or at least other wines of the same producer … and you liked the results (single tasting bottles excluded)

55

Hi Gerhard, your keep ‘your feet on earth’ comment is presumably aimed at John Gilman (not a guy notorious for flights of fancy, I would have thought), not me. The accumulation of critics’ views is interesting, and overall a bit more positive about the vintage than you seem to be. My view is mainly informed by my limited number of barrel tastings of better producers, that I’m confident to stick with the better wines from those producers. Pricing, with limited volumes, will be another issue however …

Alan, re Chablis, another quote from Gilman:

In Chablis, the region got pummeled by a torrential rainstorm on Saturday, the 28th of September, and then it just kept raining, with temperatures soaring at the same time to tropical heat levels for a couple of days, which caused such an immediate and vicious outbreak of rot that there was nothing for growers to do but just get out there in the mire in the vines and try to bring in as much fruit as quickly as possible. … The two days of scorching heat and humidity not only sent sugars soaring and acids plummeting in Chablis, but the skins of the grapes quickly moved from golden to brown. Almost everyone in Chablis had been waiting to just get over the finish line in terms of sugar accumulation when the rain hit on the 28th and the soaring temperatures quickly followed, with the notable exceptions of Patrick Piuze and Domaine William Fèvre, who had decided to start earlier … and just try and bring in clean fruit. For those who waited, which was the majority in Chablis, disaster had struck and the vines were rampant with fast-spreading rot and grapes began to give up their acidities in dramatic fashion over the course of just a couple of days. So, they ended up with higher sugars and relatively good fruit tones, but with much lower acids than normal, and strikingly fruit-driven wines, as the minerality seems to have simply disappeared along with the acids in the rain and tropical heat of harvest time.

I’m pleased I have a reasonable order of 2013 Patrick Piuze en primeur …

56

Was offered Hugh Johnson 2015 for Xmas. Looking at overall vintage ratings:
Red Burg: 2013: 5 to 7 (2012 8-9, 2011: 7-8, 2010:8-10…) even 2003 and 2004 are “better” (6-7) so the worst rating in the whole table from 2000
White Burg: 7 to 8 (2012, 2011 and 2009: 7 to 8, 2010 8-10) so a good vintage
Chablis: 6 to 8, only better than 2003 so a difficult vintage

Clearly, Hugh does not agree with Gilman. But everybody is free and has own tastes. In any case, need to taste before purchasing as it is clear that there are always great wines in complicated vintages. I find Claude Kolm detailed assessment very interesting as guidance (before tastings).

Ref keeping allocations for 2014, given prices and much higher volumes in 2014, I shall not commit funds to keep allocations

57

I have not been following John Gilman’s burgundy reviews for many, many years as I do not agree with some of his views and reviews on producers.

That being said, I love to read the information which he often posts here.

I am still learning many things about Burgundy wines; but what he said above does not make any sense to me as a bungundy lover when he is trying to compare 2013 with 2005…etc…etc…

What he said above, remind me why I have not been following his views on burgundy wines for so many, many years as I know that I am not a 3 years old child.

So in a way, I understand what my friend Gerhard is trying to say [cheers.gif]

58

Merci… champagne.gif

59

Howard,
right - and sorry, I wasn´t completely clear in my quoting - sure I meant John Gilmans comments … and my concerns are only reg. the red wines - for the whites I´m quite positive, although I have far less tasted than reds.
Sure there are excellent (red) wines produced in 2013 - but not even by all the usual suspects … there were definitely some disapointments, and it is also no great surprise that e.g. a Musigny, La Romanee or Richebourg is among the successes, but overall and on a lower level I simply cannot agree with an estimation that “2013 may well rank right up there in the fullness of time with other great recent vintages” … -
there was simply too much of slight unripeness, astringency and hollowness detectable … even if the wines further fill out in the barrels as usual …

(… and if one thinks about the exspected prices … [shock.gif] )

Moreover it definitely was a very demanding vintage for the producers - and even if the stars are capable of dealing with such difficulties, I doubt that 2nd and 3rd rank producers had the (financial) possibilities to select only the best grapes and make the difficult but necessary choices to make only fine wines.

We´ll talk further about this matter when the wines are in bottle and on the market.

60

Just for clarification, while I’m also a fan of Gilmans, he has been known to hype vintages he loves. Not a slam but just an observation.