It sounds like they let the wines get too reduced, and should have racked them. Hopefully they don’t compound, then they will never lose that funk. That said the Havens wines right before they went out of business, were some terribly sulphury wines. Impossible to sell (the company I worked for represented them.) Six or seven years in the cellar did the trick, so you never know. There is always hope!
It’s good to know that extended cellar time may help, as I have some bottles of the Fixin left. On the other hand, we finished the Marsannay tonight and it was a really pretty wine, with all traces of reduction gone. Absurdly gluggable.
Katrina, my experience is that a lot of 2011s on the lower end are precisely this way; really pretty, early drinking Burgundy.
Dean, what is your impression of the 2013 Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Clos St.-Jean Rouge?
I just typed a rippin’ tasting note (well, to the extent that I am capable of such a thing) about the 2010 Domaine Rollin Pere et Fils Pernand-Vergelesses Les Fichots, along with some information about the domaine, and then poof it was gone. It’s late. The wine is very Rollin (precise and detailed) and very 2010 (purity of fruit is really lovely). Rollin might get my vote for the under-the-radar domaine in Burgundy.
I echo the Prudhon disappointment, though I had better luck with the '11 En Remilly than with the '10 which was over saturated with oak.
Also just recently had my Auxey Duresses White epiphany the other day, bottled under screw cap no less.
Neal Rosenthal recently picked up Domaine du Clos des Rocs, which is situated in the tiny Pouilly-Loche appellation (32 hectares total), just to the east of Pouilly-Fuisse. Pouilly-Loche wines enjoy a good reputation in France, but very little of it makes its way over here. The wines have a reputation for being leaner and more precise than those from Pouilly-Fuisse. The domaine follows organic methods, hand harvesting, native yeasts and other such practices which tend to yield wines of purity. The 2014 Macon-Loche En Pres Foret ($20ish), which is raised largely in steel, is a clean, fresh, direct wine with enough concentration and delineation to be quite satisfying. The 2012 Pouilly-Loche Les Mures ($30ish), from 40 year-old vines growing in lime-stone soil situated right next to the domaine’s Clos des Rocs monopole vineyard, is a big step up. The aroma is citrus infused, and the white/yellow fruit on the palate has a deep mineral core with a bright lemon/tangerine note. The acids are brisk and the wine lingers on the palate. For those looking to avoid any pre-mox risk and not interested in drinking white Burgundy before maturity, this may be a domaine to check out. This wine was WOTN among a bunch of samples I threw at my dinner group earlier this week. I will have a look at the domaine’s Clos des Rocs monopole shortly, which comes from 70 year-old vines and is known to the most saline and mineral wine of the portfolio.
2013 Paul Pillot Bourogone Blanc is already delicious and well worth seeking out. It is bright & mineral-inflected with good flesh.
2013 Jean Fournier Marsannay ‘Trois Terres’ V.V: A selection of old vine Marsannay parcels planted in 1935, 1939 and 1943 respectively. This is deeply coloured and quite dense. It has deliciously creamy black cherry fruit and a touch of spice. There are some florals and plenty of mineral and earth. The wine has chalky structure and bright, crunchy acidity on the finish.
glad it was good–you certainly don’t want Fournier’s disease: Fournier's disease - PubMed
Sounds nasty Alan.
Never heard of Fournier, domaine or disease. Thanks for the note, Jeremy; sounds good. The 2012 Jean-Marc Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Champs Gains Rouge last night was yielding very little on the nose even with coaxing. It’s bright and sappy on the palate, but the soil-driven black cherry fruit is quite firm and taut. I believe that all the constituents are there for quite a satisfying bottle, but it will need a fair bit of time. Morey’s Santenay Grand Clos Rousseau, at least at this early stage, is a fair step up.
2014 Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Cichee (Village A.C.) Nose of green fruit and oyster shells carries through to mineral-laden medium body of good acid/fruit balance and a long finish. Not particularly complex or concentrated (compared to the Grand Crus), but it’s a good wine for $27.
had the 2013 rully premier cru en vauvry from cossard and was really impressed. normally rully is too lush and round for my taste but this was very linear with fantastic acidity. the nose was straight out of chablis with sea shells and salinity. it really reminded me of a good montee de tonnerre. the balance was perfect and the level of ripeness was to my taste. all in all a very fine and pure wine of modest appellation. it is the best rully i have tasted and also the only cossard wine i have actually enjoyed drinking. it was far superior to his 2010 puligny i had in the winter. however i still feel his wines are overpriced.
Had the 14 version of the Drouhin rully 1er cru for the first time this week. This has been our house white wine since the 09 vintage and the 14 is by far the best vintage we’ve tried. Really super stuff. £16/bottle in the UK but available with 25% off at the moment.
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The 2012 Joseph Roty Marsannay Les Ouzeloy has a lovely dark fruit aroma, and a rich core of really beautiful black cherry fruit with some soil notes. There is no denying the fruit purity of the wine, and there is no obtrusive oak; however, for my palate, it is lacking the clarity and energy I seek in Burgundy. The wine is certainly of high quality, just not my cup of tea. Without intending to be pejorative in any way, I believe that this wine would be ideal for new world Pinot drinkers transitioning to Burgundy as the richness and roundness of the fruit will remind them of “home” and the soil influences will have then firmly in Burgundy. I would like to taste this wine again in 15 or 20 years as I expect it will stretch out and become more interesting to me.
Ok it’s white but 2013 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey St Aubin Les Pucelles is flat out lovely juice. Just a village wine from St-Aubin but could easily pass for Meursault. Good volume and chalky texture. Bright and energetic.
Sounds really good, Kent. I had hoped to see notes about both red and white here.
Ghislaine Barthod is certainly not off the beaten path, but I don’t recall seeing any notes here about her Bourgogne Rouge "Bons Batons." Well, the 2012 version is among the best Bourgogne Rouge to ever glide across my palate; and that is just what it does is “glide.” As one goes up the Burgundy hierarchy, the wines don’t always possess more power/concentration, but they are finer, broader, more nuanced and persistent, and the texture more luxurious. This wine has a deep core of red cherry fruit; it is fragrant, clean, fine, transparent and persistent on the palate; pretty as picture. It’s $40, but at least top tier villages-level wine. As I enjoyed this over dinner last night, I was kicking myself for not holding back any of my 2012 Barthod allocation; I had so little and there was so much demand, I let it all go. ![[head-bang.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/b1cd199e4b2b2988b5107c3c9598fd28dc92a776.gif "[head-bang.gif]"){kind=small}
The fresh-from-the-domaine 2000 Domaine Pavelot Savigny-Les-Beaune Peuillets last night was pretty much just what the doctor ordered after a long week of meetings and the tragic news out of Paris. There were no fireworks here, but the wine has entered a window of maturity where I expect it will remain for at least another decade. The wine is dark crimson with no bricking. It took a few minutes for a little funk to blow off and then some additional time for the nose to open and show darkish fruit and a distinct iron/mineral component, with a little sous bois action creeping in. It has the sweet, pretty 2000 fruit on the palate lifted by some good acids and still grippy tannins, and finishes with the same iron/sous bois note found on the nose. My wife and I seldom finish a bottle at dinner, but this went down easily as we sat around the dinner table for a couple of hours with our teenage boys and their friends discussing how peace (and a stop to climate change) might be achieved in the world.