i.e. << $200.
It seems obvious to me that Charlie actually said it was _la me_illeur and Todd simply refused to waste such a great wine on someone who gets his las and les mixed up.
There were times when the wisdom was that people who cannot enjoy village wines are not worth of getting and drinking Grands Crus. But that times are long gone.
Jeremy, I just had a very plush 2002 Pousse d’Or Clos des 60 Ouvrées and, lo, this thread reappears. The Pousse was excellent, but a bit one note. I would imagine the Vaucrains to be a bit more complex than a Pousse, but your note scares me a little with all this plush and silky talk.
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Stuart–I know this may come as a shock (I’m sure it doesn’t, because this discussion has been had many times before on this board), but some folks don’t like their burgundies to be plush and silky, and liqueur-like notes tend to scare some folks away. (that’s why I own much more 2008 and 2010 than 2009. who knows–I may be proven wrong (reading Jeremy’s notes in the other thread gives me pause) but we’ll see.)
Not sure why it would “scare” someone to have that overall effect. It really is a description of the quality of the fruit and concentration more than anything else. It says nothing about the underlying structure-- to me anyway.
Of course, there are people with all kinds of “preferences”. Like with most things, diversification is always good. And, since many people consider what Jeremy described as an ideal, it sounds silly that that “scares” people away, even if it’s not their ideal. But, what Jeremy described is what “great” vintages are all about in Burgundy, IMO. You are lucky if you eschew them for the lesser ones because your taste? takes you there-- or whatever it is that takes you there. The competition for those bottles is less.
FWIW, I would never describe 2002 Vaucrains as plush and silky, much soft or flabby, if that is where folks’ imaginations are running. Plenty of tension and grip in the fine acid/tannin structure of the wine.
I’m sure the wine was/is great. Jeremy is an experienced and reliable taster, and i certainly trust his report. I was just trying to clarify Paul’s post in light of Stuart’s response. There’s a lot of love for 2002 Chevillon in this thread, somewhat in contrast with what some of the posters felt in a thread on this board from last Novemberish (sorry I don’t have it at my fingertips at the moment), in which some of the posters felt that the estate may have picked too late. Doesn’t sound like an issue with this particular bottle.
Stuart,
The note read great the first time around, but when the thread was resurrected with me just drinking a plush Pousse with strong notes of cherry liquor, well yes, alarm bells went off. I found the Pousse rather boring. Funny, because about 2 years ago I drank a 2002 Pousse d’Or Santenay Tavannes that seemed a bit too much on the lean side!
Well, Paul, if that was all that was going on: plush/velvety/liquer like…it would be boring. Might as well drink some Cassis like they make in Burgundy. But, I never found the 2002 vintage, anywhere I tasted it, lacking in backbone or acidity to keep that fresh and, ultimately, let it age into something more complex.
I think that is a good description of the fruit quality of the 2002 vintage; I found it pretty exotic and unusual for Burgundy vintages in barrel and on release. From my limited sampling, it is not near peak yet, though.
Though I remember the wines were great there in 2002, I would note that this was the second vintage that Bertrand and Denis Chevillon had taken over from their father. And, Bertrand’s comment to me in 2001 told me they were going their own route. I asked him whether they missed their father’s input. He said, surprisingly (as usually the next generation respects the previous one, particularly where that generation put them “on the map”): “Everyone gets his turn”. Bertrand is a little irreverent in general, but this really surprised me. So, maybe they had different ideas in 2002 from their father’s. I just know that they were overwhelmed by the demand for that vintage. When I put my order in, he said to Denis “Everyone wants this vintage”…like he would have been happier if I had said “no thanks” and waited for 2003 (which I didn’t care for; too alcoholic to my taste). Luckily, I didn’t take the hint-- or feel his pain. But, I remember that he was a distribution rookie then, though the brothers both had longtime roles there. But, I have no reason to believe that they picked too late. “Overripe” is not a word I associate with 2002 reds.
We had the 2002 Les Saint Georges from same producer last weekend. It was a star and my favourite among some pretty good GCs. 2002 was a Premier Cru vintage, and Chevillon shows it.
“I tried to bring this wine to an event with C Fu but he said the wine was ‘lame’” C Fu needs a little more experience.