2002 Burgundy

[ctgm]

I have just been to quite a big tasting of 2002 burgundy and all i can say is that it was one of the easier/nicest tastings that I have been to due to the high quality of the wines.

Some of the producers there were:

Billaud Simon

Gerard Thomas

Philippe Chavy

JM Pillot

Michel Bouzereau

Daniel Rion

Louis Carillon

d'Angerville

Boyer-Martenot

Gerard Chavy

JJ Girard

Vincent Girardin

Bertrand Ambroise

Chandon de Briailles

Jacques Cacheaux

Louis Boillot

Amiot Serville

Rossignol Trapet

Lucien Boillot

If anyone would like any thoughts on any of the above let me know and I can try and fill you in best that I can.

[ctgm]

PS. I was talking to one of the producers who told me that his usual production of Bourgogne Blanc was 10,000 bottles but due to the climatic affects in 2003 this would be down to 1,500. So you might want to stock up whilst you can.

[klinger75]

ctgm- were these 2002's red or white?

Any impressions from these indvidual producers red wines:

Bouzereau

Rion

Carillon

d'Angerville

Serville

Trapet

Boillot

Girardin

Thanks,

Klinger

[ctgm]

ctgm- were these 2002's red or white?

Any impressions from these indvidual producers red wines:

There was a selection of both red & white

Bouzereau - as I had alrready tasted the Meursaults I didn't do so again and only had the Aligoté and Beaune 1er Cru Vigne Franches. The Aligoté had a butterscotch nose, with excellent soft lightly buttery fruit on the palate. Good soft acidity. Was quite impressed albeit that the wine was a little light but then I suppose it always is with Aligoté. The Vigne Franches had fantastic burst of berry fruit and was a really good soft easy drinker with medium & soft tannins

Rion - The NSG 1erC Les Terres Blanches was a 100% Pinot Blanc. Overall it was a little light compared to the Chardonnays. Coffee and toast on the nose and palate. Rounded and soft. My colleague tasted the reds (as these were at the end of the tasting and I was waning!). Cotes de Nuit Villages Le Vaucrain had a vegetal nose. Soft and sweet with a touch of pencil shavings. Tannic and well structured. NSG Les Grnads Vignes - boiled sweets on the nose. Quite floral. Soft but firm tannnis. Yum (!!). Vosne R 1erC Beaux Monts - Gorgeous nose, sweet, full fruit. Red berries with a touch of cream. Luscious.

Carillon straight PM - I know that this might be sacriligious but I am not a fan of Carillon or Puligny for that matter!!!! My colleague wrote Lovely - really gorgeous - almost too good! Very well balanced acidity, length, structure etc. Spice, citrus.

d'Angerville - The Meursault 1erC Santenots wasn't showing well. The nose was very closed with only a rather acidic/antiseptic note coming through. On the palate the fruit was very soft, with not a huge amount of acidity. Wasn't very well structured and I think that this needs to be tasted again. The Volnay Clos des Ducs had a really earthy nose which was carried through to the body. Very soft tannins and again not showing well so think that this needs to be tasted again.

Serville - only tasted the straight Chambolle Musigny. There was a lovely sweet, red berry fruit on the nose which was carried through onto the pallate. It had great length. Did they possibly fermnent at too high a temperature?

Trapet - passed on this one and so did my colleague as I have some samples to try in the near future

Boillot - Louis B's Chambolle Musigny I found far too sweet and extracted for me but then I do have perculiar likes. Lucien GevreyC & Les Evocelles were much more to my liking. Both were made in a forward and easily approachable style with plenty of fat rich, ripe Pinot. The Evocelles had much firmer tannins and was rounder and fuller with exceptional length. A really good wine.

Girardin: There were only 15 of his 70 or so wines here, so I will keep it brief.

- Savigny Les B les Vermots Dessous (white). Floral, sweet, spicy. Excellent acidity. A really good wine.

- Santenay 1erC Clos des Tavannes (white). Toasty oak nose - big. Quite oaky on the body but well inegrated with plenty of sweey fruit and acidity.

- Beaune 1erC Pertuisots (white) less oaked than the Santenay. Touch of bitterness but good none the less

- Mersault Narvaux - Closed nose but what's there was very elegant rather than powerful. Good sweet fruit and fine acidity.

- PM Vieilles Vignes - Less sweet than some of the others. Longish length but best not to ask my thoughts on PMs!

- Chassagne M 1erC Morgeot - Really good. Creamy, plenty of toasty oak, honey. Sweet fruit, excellent acidity & length.

- PM 1erC Folatieres - Very toasty nose. Sweet fruit almost pears on the nose. Spicy and warm on palate.

- Corton C - a big big wine. sweet fruit on nose alomst appley. Honey and pears on the body. Well balanced.

_Bienvenues BatM - Quite a bit of oak but perhaps the best integrated. Spicy and a little toasty on palate. Elegant and sexy.

The reds:

- Emotion de Terroir - don't bother. Expensive for what it is. Quite an average Pinot, with a Girardin label.

- Santenay 1erC Gravieres VV - Possibly a little tough but what was there was lovely. Not excessivly ripe fruit. Tannins firm with good acidity.

- Vosne R VV - Lots of red berries on the nose/body. Sweet full fruit. Excellent acidity and length.

- Volnay 1erC Santenots - a big forward chewy wine. Blackbnerry on the nose and spicy in the mouth. Loved this style.

- Echezeaux - Fantastic. Rasp/blackberries. Quite austere. Firm tannins and acidity should age very well.

- Charmes Chamb - Excellent fruit concentration bith red & black fruit. High glycerol, firm tannins. Balanced. Good length. Good prospects for aging.

[Andre]

Great!

Thanks for sharing.

[ctgm]

BTW the wines from Boyer-Martenot and Bertrand Ambroise were fantastic. If you do not know these producers it is well worth keeping an eye out for them.

Apparently at B-M, the sons of the owner have been abroad and have incorporated "new" techniques. Whether this is true I don't know and don't care as the wines are lovely.

One of the best wines for value for money was the Bourgogne Rouge Vieilles Vignes by Bertrand Ambroise. It was a lot cheaper, fuller and more sophisticated than the Emotion de Terroirs by Girardin. The winemaker also said that it should be good for 15 years (although they do tend to exagerate a wee bit !!!). Not sure if you can get this easily in the US but it is an excellent entry into Burgundy for those not happy spending a fortune!

[LOS]

I've never been fond of the Ambroise wines. Then again, they're imported by Bobby K, so we may get a Kacherized version here in the US. Don't think I've ever had any bottles that didn't go through import channels.

I've looked at the prices for Howard Ripley's '02 burgundy offerings, and these are alarming for those of us viewing the prices in US dollars. I may still buy some, but purchases chez moi will be severely curtailed. Those wines are going to need some serious hype to sell well in this market. The hype has already started; we'll see if it's good enough.

Edited January 15, 2004 by LOS (log)