Think Michael Jordan
No, honestly Burgundy is just different. A Gillette is right. It doesnāt follow the classic Bordeaux aging curve of a period of youth, then a long plateau of peak drinking, then a slow, steady decline. Burgundy is ephemeral, not caring whether itās owner thinks it should be drinking well.
You increase your odds by drinking in the first two years or waiting 15-20, but there are no guarantees.
I think some of this due to winemaking, and some is due to the quixotic nature of Pinot Noir.
Another thing is that normal wine logic doesnāt apply. You often see tasting notes telling readers that the wine is past peak, so ādrink up!ā Just the opposite holds true with burg. If the wine is not showing right, just push the remainder a little further back in the cellar. Drinking more now would be a blunder, waiting for its next change may be rewarded. Even lesser vintages of burg live a long time. 2000 was thought to be a vintage to drink in its youth, but the wines are delicious today, and I suspect they will be in 2031, too.
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The only rule about 2005 is that there are no rules.
Iāve had magnificent young grand crus - how backward can Clos de Tart be? But not form magnum 5 years ago!
But there are indeed more surly and closed wines than in most other vintages. A poster-child in my own cellar has been the Dubreuil-Fontaine Volnay - villages but also containing a hefty whack of 1er cru juice. A bargain for under $20 back in 2008 but a performance for most of the last years that wasnāt worth $20! I thought, 2 years ago, that it was maybe turning the corner. A bottle this weekend was young but completely open - great volume, texture and concentration - it was very tasty indeed even if still, relatively primary. Just one more data-point, but at least the latter-half of my 12-pack will recoup the value of the first-half!
IMO Mugnierās 2005s right now are all showing beautifully. I had the Musigny and the Fuees each twice in the past couple of years and found them exceptional. In general, I agree with all the skepticism in this thread toward the vintage as a while, but I also agree that what makes wine so fascinating is finding those producers who make excellent wine each year. This requires a lot of time, commitment and energy to be sure, but that is why I fell in love with wine in the first place.
Isnāt this, for the most part, true of any vintage? Itās fun to generalize about the longevity of vintage, and its helpful in broad terms, but really when you are talking about thousands of wines made by hundreds of people any sort of generalization is going to fall pretty flat (with the exception of a few extremes, like 2004). I like that people are speaking about actual wines in this thread as that is what really provides valuable information. Iām always a little bemused when I hear something along the lines of āI opened a bottle of wine that was shut down from a particular vintage, and Iāve therefore concluded that the entire vintage is currently shut down.ā
A
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Friends,
Had the 2005 BONNES MARES by F MUGNIER yesterday. Certainly a very good wine but surpisingly not up to the level of the CLOS de la MARECHALE now. A bit ācookedā by which I mean that the wine refleccts a bit the high temperature that ruled when it was picked. I supposeā¦
SINCERELY JOHAN
Delicious 2005 Jean-Claude Boisset Volnay Chanlins 1er last night. Quite dense but right in the zone.
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Dear Howard,
or LEBRON JAMES?
SincerelyJOHAN
NO WAY. Maybe Bill Russell.
Tried the 05ā Harmand-Geoffroy Mazis this week- underwhelming stinky Pinot; Leather, musty library books, bit of tomato, minus the pleasure of fruit. It tasted āoldā but without the good things I might hope for from a mature wine.
Iāve tasted more misses than hits of the 05ās so far, though admittedly these were not the blue chip bottles that some folks post aboutā¦(Bouchard enfant Jesus, Maume Champeaux, (both tasted āoldā, and not in a good way), J. Drouhin Chambolle 1er blend (decent, a balance of dark fruit and wood), Mugnier marechale- stiff and closed- havenāt given up hopeā¦)
Iām still waiting to be rapturously carried away by 05ā, so if any of you ballers out there want to pour me some Musigny, Amoureuses or good Vosne, Iām willing to be a guinea pigā¦
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im with youā¦more misses than hits for 2005 that i kind of think its going to be looked at as overrated when all is said and done.
2010 continues to be always delivering from my experience.
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Johan, I just saw you note on the 05 Clos des Lambrays from a few years ago. We had the 05 in a vertical of Clos des Lambrays during the summer and it was fantastic.
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Dear Joel,
Thank you for your instructive note. Was the 2002 included in the vertical and if so : what was it llike?
SINNCERELY JOHAN
Yes. We had the 96, 99, 01, 02, 05, 10, 11 and 12 Clos des Lambrays. The 02 showed very well.
Dear Joel,
I popped up the question because the 2002 was on the agenda in yesterdayās evening meal. Everybody agreed it was georgeous. All silky smooth, no hard tannins (they are rarely there in the CLOS). PURE FINESSE! Thanks for the advice.
SINCERLY JOHAN
As I said a couple of years ago, my favorite ārecentā vintages from Burgundy are 1999 and 2010. But, I also am really starting to like vintages like 2001, 2007 and 2017 that taste good from day one (or maybe day three as I often find these vintages to be light in barrel and then pick up weight soon after bottling or maybe a year or so later). But they also age much better than people expect. I just went to a tasting of 2007s and the wines we had were uniformly really good. Some still need more time to hit peak and none were in any danger of getting too old any time soon. Tonight I will be having with friends a 2001 Clos des Lambrays. Bet it still is really good.
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Agree with 2007 assessment. Really lovely winesā¦
Dear Howard,
Interesting remark. Did you recently tried some of the āgreaterā 2017s ? ? I definitely want to try out a 2017 since Iāve got plenty of them.
SINCERELY JOHAN
I am not sure what a greater one is. A couple of weeks ago, I had a 2017 DurochƩ Gevrey Chambertin Champs and a 2017 Arlaud Morey Saint Denis Ruchottes. Both were delicious and not closed at all. But, both were primary and far from their peak. About a year ago (May 2022), I had a 2017 Pommard Poutures from Armand Heitz that was absolutely delicious. More mature tasting than the Duroche or the Arlaud, but still will improve. TN: 2017 Heitz-Lochardet Pommard 1er Clos Poutures - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
Another data point.
2005 Domaine Amiot-Servelle Chambolle Musigny Charmes has power and presence, with a blossoming, ripe finish. Quite a dense wine, but absolutely in the zone for me. Paired well with a Webered home grown leg of lamb.
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