Gaunoux

Ok last year I bought a ton of this stuff given all the hype. I’ve had lots of the premier cru wines from 95 and 98 and found them to be ok but nothing great. That being said they were pretty cheap so I can’t complain. I also popped a 99 Rugiens and have to say I was pretty unimpressed. I thought it was a nice but nothing earth shattering. What are others thoughts here.

I had the 99 Rugiens and liked it after lots of air.

An 01 Beaune was ok but lacking a little in the umph department even with lots of air (And Im a person who dooes neet much “umph” to be happy).

I heard the 95 never gets going even with air.

I have had some really amazing older Gaunoux ('40s-'60s). At some point after that period they began filtering and I don’t think the filtered wines reach the same heights. Of the more recent vintages, I think more age and air will help the wines shine.

I recently had the 99 Grands Epenots and 01 Rugiens. The 99 G-E was showing very well and quite tasty. The 01 Rugiens was underwhelming. I think Gaunoux are made for the long haul. I really only have 2 producers from Pommard, Gaunoux and Comte Armand. I haven’t opened a lot of Gaunoux, but at this point I prefer Comte Armand.

The younger ones I’ve had (and I’m including back to at least '93) still seemed like they need time. I have a very nice '71 Epenots last year.

Cheers,
-Robert

I have to say, I’ve not understood the recent ‘hype’ directed towards this domaine, older bottles seeming correct but not thrilling (so far!).

Thank you for starting this thread, Nick.

The puzzle for me is a number of reports of the wines being underwhelming juxtaposed against quite good scores from some of our best reviewers, meadows and gilman. Are we just drinking the wines too young?

Your welcome Brady.

I have a very proper 95 1er cru in front of me. It is backward and austere in the style of the vintage but not completely closed, and it promises great pleasure as the night evolves.It’s quite clearly not really ready to drink though.

I found the '98 Corton Renardes to be good and typical, still young.

There is more than one Gaunoux who bottles in Burgundy. People should be precise about which one they refer to.

I’m pretty sure everyone is referring to Michel Gaunoux. Envoyer Fine Wines has been bringing them in recently.

Same thing with Dubleure reds, fwiw, especially the Taillepieds recently.

I think when the wines are on. They hit hard and delicious. Envoyer has been at the forefront of pimping the producer and the prices of other retailers I think are starting to reflect the ex-domaine prices of the hype.

What does this expression mean? Promoting, hyping, providing access to? All of the above?

Envoyer is bringing in several wines that don’t get much airplay here in the states (M Gaunoux, R Ampeau, Y Clerget). Some are estates with odd release practices, so perhaps that’s why we don’t see or hear about them much. But it is a little hard to know what you are getting, and if these are really just second tier estates. when they are not prearrival, I’ve taken to having them send me one bottle to try, but I think the latest flurry of offers are all pre-arrival.

We had a wonderful visit at Michel Gaunoux in 2006. I’ve since been buying them sporadically through Envoyer and had mostly good experiences; notable successes were the Corton Renardes (i think 98) and the 98 Pommard Arvelets (great!). The village Beaune bottling is just fine for its level, but certainly not riveting.

best,

Doug

To be fair to Envoyer, they’ve been saying good things but they are the retailer - what else would they say? I think the real hype occurred when Burghound handed some of these wines mid 90s scores (not that any of us burgundy fans would be so déclassé as to pay attention to scores!)

I’ve only had the 99 Beaune AC courtesy of Mr Stimson and, while good, it didn’t strike me as an overachiever etc. It was still young and pretty primary so perhaps these are just wines that all need 20+ years, but compared to other wines of similar age and cru level the wine made me think “Good, not something to go gaga over.” And, yes, it was a lowly village Beaune, but I can’t try grand cru wines from every new producer that people start hyping.