A quick visit to Vosne Romanee to visit the 2 best domaines in all of Burgundy for red wines … I tasted the 2012 vintage , even when the malo’s were not completely finished in any of the grand cru’s .
According to both Louis-Michel Ligier Belair and Aubert de Villaine , 2012 was misery from start to finish . Hail , frost , too much rain , mildew , rot, you name it , it was there . At the end , vinters had the choice : take a risk and wait for optimal ripeness ( knowing this would result in outbreak of disease ) or start ( too ) early .
Both Domaines waited , and picked a small crop . After severe triage ( minus 30 to 50 % ) , they ended up with very concentrated wines . I admit being a big fan , although fans of traditional burgundy may find the wines too red , too concentrated .
At DRC , my small group of invited tasters included 1 blonde woman … for insiders , you know what that means . Bernard Noblet was thus in great shape . His comments are border line ( in many’s view , WAY overboard ) and he would probably have ended up in jail when doing this in the US . But you get used to it .
Interestingly , the Corton never sees any new wood as the domaine believes the wine isn’t good enough to take the load of new wood . I was super impressed by the St. Vivant , the Richebourg and ( believe it or not ) the Conti . The La Tache was in a difficult stage but will ultimately be great . After the barrel tasting , Noblet opened St. Vivant 1990 and 1999 . Exceptional wines . ( ps that night , I found another 1999 Romanee st. Vivant on the list of a local restaurant for 600 Euro’s… , ) . He ended with opening a white wine with great aromatics , a touch of DRC sweetness/honey . I guessed Montrachet 1999 , it turned out to be Batard 1999 . Could drink it every day . Noblet told me he prefers to taste red Burgundy first and finish with white Burgundy when doing tastings . I think he has a point !
The Vicomte Liger Belair was pretty tired when we showed up , having spend a few days in Hong Kong . His wines are simply incredible , even at Villages and premier cru level . He now has a Nuist st. Georges les Cras in his cellar … never knew NSG could be that great . From good to great , I would order his wines : VR Clos du chateau , VR Chaumes , VR Suchots , VR Brulees , VR Petits Monts , NSG Cras , Echezeaux , VR Reignots and la Romanee . But they are all great . Too bad they are so difficult to find . He also made a white NSG of which he was very proud . It was delicious , very aromatic and creamy , ready to drink . I think he wants the wine to be slightly more mineral and told me he was working on it .
So I think 2012 is a better vintage than 2011 ; more concentration and aging potential . Quantity is dramatically lower so prices will go up ( again ) . The 2011 vintage is easier , an improved 2007 , wines of almost immediate consumption. Once they are all sold , this is what they will admit … Today , they are still in the " what a great surprise the wines turned out to be so good and delicious … " mode .
Thanks Herwig. Great notes and a tantalising peek at the best of 2012. If only we could firstly get an invitation to visit and secondly distract M. Noblet thus !
Thanks! Very interesting report! I admit being a big fan of DRC , VLB and Blonde Woman!
Thanks for the further data on 2012. That is a dream set of visits.
Looking at the list of problems it is extraordinary the quality that can be achieved despite a bum serve from mother nature.
Thanks Herwig. I was recently in Burgundy and this is my exact impression. The 2011’s are very forward and already drinking great. They won’t last long in my cellar.
Not long term aging wines.
We only tasted 12’s at one domaine. A good one too but not like Liger-Belair or DRC.
The wines are very concentrated for sure. Hoping they pan out as the elevage goes on. The tannins were variable between the cuvees. Much finer in the Grand Crus but showing a slight rusticity in the lower crus. I hope they tend to be finer as the elevage goes on.
Thanks for this snapshot.
Cheers.
I just spent three days in Burgundy doing several tastings, and I concur with Herwig and Don’s notes on the overall vintage quality and characteristics.
One thing I thought was particularly interesting is that none of the vignerons I spoke with had any idea about their strategy for marketing the 2012s (at least that they were willing to share). As has been noted, quantities are going to be down 30-50% or more depending on the winery/vineyard, though quality is expected to be excellent (and certainly appeared so from the barrel tastings I did). All of the people I spoke with were scratching their heads wondering how they could possibly manage, but have preferred at this point to wait to figure it out and only deal with it when they absolutely have to (I suppose when the 11s are all sold).
How those 2012 wines will get distributed, and what the prices will be, is anyone’s guess at this point. The vignerons are in a very, very tight spot, and there are going to be LOTS of disappointed Burgundy importers, distributors, retailers and customers around the world in the not-too-distant-future…
So when we are talking low yields is this relative to 11/10 or average.
Thanks for the impressions Herwig. We tasted similar 12’s to you with Louis-Michel and they were sublime.
Yields are certainly down for 2012 and we were shocked to see how empty some of the cellars were particularly in the Cote de Beaune. The wines we tasted were indeed very concentrated but seemed to have very good balance. There will be a major shortage of wine in this year as generally the wine scribes like low yielding years. Low yielding years generally mean higher points. Punters like higher points and chase the wines. More punters chasing the wines lead to higher prices. I suspect that those out there supporting the 2011’s will get an allocation of 2012 from the few discussions we had with the vignerons of Burgundy.
Cheers
Jeremy
Good and bad news I suppose.
Lower allocations at least means some hip pocket relief, depending on how the wines end up being priced though I guess…
Aubert de Villaine told us he also expects 2013 to be a much below average vintage ( quantity wise ). The spring has indeed be very difficult , everything was delayed by almost a month . But I am not sure he is correct , he seems to be a man who is on the pessimistic side of life .
Paul,
No. It means a price hike so you end up paying the same amount but getting less…