Recently, I tasted two bottles of 2006 white Burgundy: Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet from Domaine Ramonet and Les Enseignères from Coche-Dury.
The 2006 vintage posed considerable challenges for white Burgundy, characterized by heat and a notable presence of botrytis. Yet, this bottle of 2006 Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet has emerged unscathed by oxidation, offering a compelling surprise. The bouquet unfolds with an opulent array of white flowers, while the palate, generous in texture, harmonizes richness with unexpected vibrancy, culminating in a finish that is both expansive and refined.
The bottle of Coche-Dury Les Enseignères provided a truly fascinating experience. The initial impression was marked by pronounced alcohol and hints of premature evolution. Yet, after three hours of aeration, a vibrant acidity emerged, and the advanced notes seemed to recede. Conventionally, once a wine exhibits signs of advancement, the trajectory is considered irreversible—yet here, decanting appeared to defy expectation. The interplay between oxygen and wine remains an enduring enigma.
2006 Burgundy provokes echoes of 14th century Italian Architects: We may have lost over half of the Peer Group to The Plague, but the rest are doing Phenomenal work .
On the interplay between an aged, initially observed-as-flawed white wine blossoming into something special? Well, there’s The Watch and there’s Observing the time. Anecdotally, some of us have had experiences with strange phenomena, but that’s different from a total analytical understanding.
Off the dome, I’m happy to tag some folks to see if we can get their thoughts on the development of that '06 Coche Les Enseigneres. @Jeremy_Holmes & @Brad_England & @Alex_Valdes are guys that come to mind on experiences with aged Coche. @Mike_Evans has a really good gift of explaining older whites, and a go-to expert on a lot of things, but especially aged Loire or Austrian whites. I could tag dozens of people, but those are a good start.
And @William_Kelley is our renowned expert, particularly in both palate detection & the ability to incorporate a dozen subjects into something cogent. He’s not always available, but maybe he’ll have the time to share something on aged Coche or aged White Burgundy in general.
On the one hand you have the complexity of redox chemistry, where some of the reactions are reversible and exist in a dynamic equilibrium; and on the other, you have the complexity of how we perceive aromas in the presence of other aromas. In this case, there’s likely also the variable of temperature, as the wine presumably warmed up over the time that you were following it. I have certainly witnessed wines do this, but whether it’s to do with the wine’s chemistry, or how we perceive aromas, or both, I’m not really sure.
My experience with 2006s from Coche (where they performed a rigorous sorting to limit the impact of botrytis) is that they mostly taste younger today than a decade ago (when they seemed fully mature). I think a perfect bottle would have showed pristinely from the beginning, so this example is likely an example of the tug-of-war between an inherently robust, reductively made white and oxygen ingress through the cork over time.
Indeed, our perception of various phenolic compounds can change at different stages. Even in such a difficult vintage, Coche-Dury can still produce wines of remarkable refinement.
Very interesting! I recall having the 2006 Meursault ~12 years ago, followed by the 2006 Puligny the next day. I was very, very underwhelmed. I felt both were flabby and a bit advanced. I turned down buying a bottle. More fool me :)!!!
Had more or less the same experience (I wouldn’t go as far as you, but definitely thought of 2006 as the weakest vintage of the decade for Coche) at more or less the same time. So I was all the more surprised when someone poured a great bottle for me recently.
So, the advanced feelings could be the result of different phenolic compounds expressing themselves, and under oxidation, this might lead to a reversible outcome, for example, appearing youthful again.
On the other hand, if it’s premox or oxidized, that would be irreversible?
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