Just emerged from a feeling of relief that Jancis didn’t feel the 2011s were as horrible as reviews at the time were suggesting, when my in-tray is hit with the association of the 2008 burgundy vintage with a ‘nightmare’. OK, I get the fears of the vignerons at the time, but here we are 14 years on and, well, how have the wines turned out? Not so well, it seems; I wonder if high-acid vintages have the effect of polarising the wine community. How do others feel - notably about the 2008s?
3 Likes
Is there a list of wines that he tasted? (Not a subscriber)
3 Likes
Really strange report. Doesn’t jive with what I have tasted. Yes, the wines remain young, but not flawed in any way.
1 Like
I’m also not either a Vinous or Jancis subscriber. Nightmare? Really? I wonder what he thinks about '04! I’ve had some very nice '08s recently, Simon Bize SLB Marconnets and Drouhin-Laroze Gevrey AC. Sure, a little higher in acid, but enough other stuff to balance it out.
I haven’t had an '11 red yet that hasn’t been touched by more pyrazines than I care for.
3 Likes
“Nightmare” was a term one of the winemakers Martin spoke with used to describe the vintage, referring to the various weather-related issues they had in 2008.It wasn’t Martin’s description of the wines he tasted.
8 Likes
Not hijacking Nigel’s thread, but an’ 11 Pavelot Dominode 2 years ago, had none. I’m quite sensitive to it, so actually only bought this 6 and a few Drouhin’s I wanted to keep an allocation of, otherwise avoided all '11’s.
I’m not a sub either, but would be interested in what '08’s he tasted. I’ve only had a Dujac MSD (Domaine) in 2018 which was very solid for its level. A great food wine. I have some better Dujac’s and Chevillion’s waiting to be opened.
2 Likes
I opened a Chevillon LSG not that long ago, still super young. Opened a lot the next day.
1 Like
Some of the scores he gave to some awfully big wines (Vogue Musigny, MG Ruchottes) might say they were Martin’s words too…
1 Like
I remember near release John Gilman spoke relatively well of the '08’s and I’ve enjoyed the few that I recently opened: a D. Bachelet Cote de Nuits Village and a Felettig Chambolle.
4 Likes
I like many 08s
2 Likes
As an example, 2008 Rousseau Charmes has been lovely lately. I was a bit surprised by the piece - didn’t reflect what I thought was perceived wisdom. Neal gets lots of respect from me, but this was somewhat surprising.
2 Likes
They made you look with that inflammatory title, so I suppose that counts as a win for them
1 Like
I don’t like his burgundy reviews at all.
3 Likes
I like a ton of 08s. It’s a bit of a minefield; there are some lean, acidic wines. But those who succeeded did so wildly. For example, Dujac’s 08s are breathtaking.
2 Likes
Seems like clickbait to me. While I don’t think that 2008 was a great vintage, “nightmare” is ridiculous. Most 2008s I’ve had have been fine (not great, not terrible).
2 Likes
As has already been pointed out, “nightmare” was just a description that one winemaker had for the year of trying to grow grapes and make wine, not an assessment of the vintage by Neal. Also, he simply reported on wines that winemakers opened for him when he requested that they open a 2008 last fall. It wasn’t intended as a comprehensive review of the vintage.
I’m not yet totally convinced about Neal as a burgundy reviewer, but I do really appreciate the fact that he is pretty honest about his impressions, and doesn’t over-score wines.
3 Likes
Ha! Many denizens of this board loved 2008 burgundy young and proclaimed them proper wines to demonstrate terroir, especially compared to the “super-ripe” 2009 vintage.
If any board member thinks I am making fun of them, maybe I am a little bit, but I’m mostly making fun of myself. I was part of that crowd.
I no longer believe 2008 is better than 2009, but I still enjoy them.
4 Likes
My favorite Tremblay Chapelle is her 2008.
Opened a 2008 Bize SLB Bourgeots with salmon tonight and it was dee-licious. Couldn’t be happier. No pyrazines, to my Yak Palate. Just delicious burgundy delight. Yum.
I still remember going to the Paulee Grand Tasting in NYC for the 2008 vintage. It was the most heterogeneous tasting I have attended. Some wines were all structure and had no middle, no fruit. Others had more fruit and were really nice. I tended to buy the wines I liked (well, duh) and so have liked a good bit of the wines I have bought (although I haven’t opened a bunch of them). But, I could easily imagine a tasting of wines that were not very good.
Without knowing what wines someone is talking about in a vintage like 2008, the comment would seem to be useless.
2 Likes