Some thoughts on Red Burgundy Vintages

[PappaDoc]

I've tasted drunk over 100 different 05 Red Burgs from Bourgogne Rouge, Village, Premier Cru, to perhaps 25 Grand Crus. Most from the best producers in their Communes. I've found most have the Hallmark "Black Fruit" profile, as did Chris, Schildknecht, and most other Burg lovers. I find many of 05s have gone to sleep now. I've had the chance to taste many of the same wines three or four separate times over a two year period, taking brief notes and comparing those notes.

About two weeks ago Zachys Vice President, Andrew, and Zachys Burgundy Buyer, Ned, hosted the Sales Staff to a tasting of White Burgundies from 04,05,06, 07, and 15 06 Red Burgundies from 2 Bourgogne Rouge, 4 Village wines, 4 Premier Crus, and 4 Grand Crus. This was my take on the tasting I sent the next day.

" This was the most informative Sales Dinner to date. The two phase method of Whites at the bar and Reds at the table was perfect.

Serving similar wines in pairs to contrast the difference in winemakers and vineyard crus was most illustrative.

As Ned said the wines showed best with food. The proteins and fats of the meats bound with the tannins and acids to soften both and make the fruit shine brightly.

Every wine was a classic example of its pedigree, transparently revealing it's sense of place or origin. This is one of the best attributes that 06 Red Burgundies have to offer.Mostly bright red fruit flavors, snappy, crunchy fruit that contrast with the 05s Black fruit profiles.Most producers bottled early to highlight the ripe fruit mid pallet and lower tannins.


While the 05 Red Burgundies are the best I've ever had, in some cases that richness and power can blur and almost be Californian in the sweetness and amounts of extracts that would normally be found in a warmer climate. Not a chance of anyone mistaking the 06 Red Burgs for anything other than textbook examples of Burgundy at its' best.

As seen last night, many 06 Reds will drink beautifully now and most will be "Open for Business" in the next three to five years. The Grand Crus will take a little longer as seen with the 06 Griotte Chambertin from Jadot, in comparison to the 06 Griotte from Joseph Drouhin we poured a few months back (Oct 14th) at an in store evening tasting. Then again, Drouhin strives for elegance and that style is best suited for Griottes.

As always, The Grand Finale was an embarrassment of riches rivaling a Gucci fireworks display. I was glad I had only sipped up to this point, the Grand Cruz were show stoppers.

My personnel favorite Grand Cru, Gritted Chamber (6.65 acres) was trumped by a very suave Close de la Roche from Raphet, a classic Bonnes Mares with an unending finish from Douching Larose and a sweeter fruited Bonnes Mares from Domain & Selection (Made by Posit recently getting critics rave reviews) Validating Needs statement that Bones Mares is the "Complete Grand Cru". A term I've read that interprets as "Round/spherical" A perfect Sphere can be subjected to any pressure without it breaking or revealing flaws because it is equal in all its' parts at the same time. You can feel the wine in all parts of your mouth at the same time. No part seeming stronger than the others. Perfect balance, like a soap bubble.

I was also highly impressed with the Morey St Dennis "Close Salon" Fourrier (one of the hottest producers "re-discovered" in the last ten years or so and the Echezeaux "Les Treaux" Tardy.

This Tasting/Dinner will cost me at least one, perhaps two paychecks. I have been slowly buying the 05 Red Burgs and I'm now near two mixed cases (along with two cases of assorted 05 White Burgs). my 06 purchases will be the Joseph Drouhin "Les Petits Monts" as Ned said its' located a bit higher then the Grand Cru "Richebourg" it has all the attributes of Vosne Romanee, strikingly earthy/spicy a beautiful fragrance, my notes said "Buy!","Buy","Buy!" that means BYE,BYE, paycheck. Others I'll buy, Chambolle Musigny "La Combe d'Orveau"- Bruno Clavelier,and the Nuits St Georges "Les Boudots" - Jean Tardy, and for quality value the 06 Chambolle Musigny-Bertheau Ned put in the "20 of our top Red Burgundy Values" tasting. That was the same tasting that revealed what the 05s had been holding back for the previous 6-12 months after arrival.

Lastly, Ned was in a form most of us don't see too much of. He's usually too busy stocking, shuffling wines placements, to give answers more than "It's good", "Read the review", "Ask Ernie" :>)

Ned was totally engaging seeking comments from us all to make certain we understood what he spoke about at each step. This got all of us exchanging comments with our tablemates, encouraging us to ask questions for more clarity. Examples being the pairings of similar wines to illustrate the differences between producers and vineyards within the same commune (Village)

Ei The Nuits St Georges "Les Boudots" from Jean Tardy that demonstrates its finesse caused by it almost contiguous location to Vosne Romanee "Les Malconsorts" having the hallmarks of the spice and earthy quality so distinct in Vosne Romanee. The placement of Savigny Les Beaune "Aux Gravins"-Pavlot with the Pernand "Ille de Vergellesses" Rouge-Chandon de Briallies two top notch producers, the Chandon emphasising elegant suppleness for all its weight (another wine I wrote "Buy!").

Ned revealing the "Insiders" secrets of Burgundy, one can only gain through many visits and great contacts, such as the Wassermans.

Great job Ned! "

For me the 05s are big wines that will be able to age longer than the 1990 vintage, 90 was a critics "Love Affair" with all the extract and size, but alot of 90s are cracking up, short of like Steroid Baseball Players. The 93s had better balance with structure to age and are just revealing their best qualities. The 05s are so acidic I wonder if any will mellow out. I drank three different 95 Premier Cruz this year, and only one had the fruit to match the acids, and I love acidity. The 96s are mostly still closed, although half of what I opened in the last year were great. The last Great Vintage I drank was the 1985. Every 85 I drank in the last 5 years was outstanding! My history of drinking Burgundy began with the 85 vintage and I was naive enough to think that's what Burgundy would always deliver. Ha! Ha! Very expensive lesson to learn the truth.

Since Jackdaws Birth year is 71, we drank a couple of dozen 71s from various retailers that had the wines well stored from release. The 71 and the few 78s I've had compete with the 85 as the best "True Burgundy" Vintages in my experience. I think highly of the 99s, especially Volnay and Corton, the Cotes d Nuits 01s are excellent (hail in the Cotes d' Beaune ruined many wines) 02s are touted as excellent, I only have a couple, and the 2000s, 97s, and 98s are undervalued and quite tasty.

So back to the 06 Reds. Perfect transparency, It's easy to distinguish one vineyard from its' neighbor form the same producer provided that winemaker hasn't put 200 % new oak on the wines. That's no small feat in the 05 Vintage.

The 06s are 20-40% less than the 05s and can be enjoyed now and may not close down in many cases.

I'm going to buy two cases of mixed Premier Cru and a couple of cases of Mixed Bourgogne and Village level wines from my favorite producers. I look forward to tasting more 06s at Trade tastings and at Zachys.

I'll post some more detailed notes on 06 Red Burgs in the near future. Two I just bought this weekend were the "Cotes de Nuits-Villages" from Bachelet $29.99 ( I've already drank two btls, its a perfect example of Bachelet from old vines) and Pernand-Vergelesses Permier Cru "Ile Des Vergelesses" from Domaine Chandon De Brailles ( a Producer known for pure, unadulterated, Burgundies, this is also considered the best of the five Premier Crus in Pernand-Vergelesses), this one is not cheap, $50.00 but with the 25% sale $37.50, and Burghound gave it a great review. It was one of the wines poured at the Burgundy Dinner at Andrews home.

On an aside, most of my French Clients drink second label, or Petit Chateau Bordeaux. When they purchase Burgundy it is usually Savigny of Pernand. I've asked the folk I know well and the reply is usually "value to quality"

The 05s are hedonistic wines and a great pleasure to drink when "open for business'' , the 06s are "Classic Red Burgundy"

[Winona Chief]

Great report - thanks for sharing! I've enjoyed the 2006 village Burgs I've had in restaurants from the wine list.

Chris Bublitz

[JimHow]

Wow! Who needs Burghound!
New Hampshire has all the same suspects in stock that they had last year, the prices are about the same. I picked up a few bottles of 2006 d'Angerville Volnay Premier Cru Champans and 2006 d'Angerville Volnay premier Cru.

[William P]

Thanks PappaDoc. Very useful in helping determine my next wine buying moves. Say hi to JackD.

[stefan]

Great report, Pappa!

It was clear from the tastings in Jim's room that it was time to let the '05 Burgs rest. Ditto for the '05 St Innocents; that is why I brought the '06 Anden and the 7 Springs Special Selection to DC and left the '05s at home.

stefan

[jal]

Thanks John, I may drop by this weekend to get me some Burgs. Will you be around?

[Chasse-Spleen]

Thanks for the report, Pappa! I just want to add that one of my students is a wine director at a major restaurant (he's also a Frenchman who's been in the restaurant biz his whole life from the time he was old enough to peal potatoes) and he feels that '06 red Burgundy is "very forward" and of a high quality with "a lot of fruit." My plan is to just try some basic '06 Bourgognes for now and see how I like them. I've seen Voillot and LeClerc around and will give them a shot in the not too distant future.
-Chris

[PappaDoc]

Jacques,

I'll be there Sat, I look forward to seeing you.

Chris,

Every 06 Red Burg I've tried is excellent. Then again I've only tried about 25 and most were from good producers. It's the purity and freshness that stands out, with ripe fruit that's not over ripe but crunchy with snap. Sort of sweet tart without the sugar. There are a lot of wines in the $20- $40 range to choose from. Just use "Winesearcher" to find the best prices.

[aimeedogdogdog]

Thanks for the report, PappaDoc! It sounds like what I am looking for. I would try to taste some '06s.

Werner

[Claudius]

Paddadoc,
I'm sitting here with an order form for 2007s.
Do you have any insight into that vintage??
The prices are ugly thus I need some reinforcement....

[PappaDoc]

Mark,

I have only had 07 Whites which are outstanding. Paul Pernots wines blew me away, and 07 Chablis (which has had many excellent vintages since the 2000) is perhaps one of the best ever. I've only had 4 or five 07 reds, mostly Bourgognes. I'll look through my tasting sheets to see what I've tried.

Burghound gave reviews on many 07 reds in his review of 06 Red Burgundy, although they may have been barrel samples.

You get better prices then most of us in the States and Europe, I'd be concentrating on my favorite White Burgundies Producers for 07s, if I were you. I'm always jealous at the great deals you get :>)

It makes me feel like our Brothers from Canada when I see the difference in pricing, I know the US dollar is weak compared with the Australian, but man you've gotten some great deals even when the dollar was strong.

If you ever wanted to part with some of your collection, there are a lot of buyers paying crazy money for wines at Hong Kong Auctions.

Last spring a young 29 year old man from California bought 40 btls of 1990 Angelus at a 20% off sale. They ended up costing him $320.00 a btl (he wanted every btl Zachys had). I congratulated him on being able to drink a great wine for a lomg time. He laughed and told me he had a Partner he grew up with in Hong Kong that had every btl sold for $1,000 per btl. This was right after Hong Kong totally removed tax on imported wine. He told me he was shipping the btls by air.

By the way he is a Stanford Grad, very smart young man!

[PappaDoc]

Werner,

Your going to love them, you can drink them young and get a lot of pleasure. Say hi to Chris and kiss the baby for me.

Best regards,

John

[Claudius]

Pappadoc,
I'm looking at the Remoissenet 2007 indents.
There are some older wines like Corton Charlemagne et al as well, back to 94.
So maybe I'll buy a few 07 whites - I have heard Meursault did particularly well.

Can I just provide a different opinion on the Australian wine market.

Most French wines here are twice the US price - the $A is worth $US0.72 at the moment.
Several months ago it was worth the smae - $A = $US.
Our curency has also fallen against the Euro - making the indents and imports at present a lot more expensive than last year.
The Remoissenets are up 20% since last year.

So a wine that is $US50 in NYC would be $A100 here - we have a lot of taxes and the smaller size of the local market means we have little chance of getting good deals.

There are a few differences though in aged wines. Australians just won't pay for aged wines - whether Bordeaux, Burgundy or local wiens, with maybe a few odd exceptions. As it is, I can buy 1982 Bordeaux at auction cheaper than 05s. Worth that out. And Burgs can be had for relatively low prices.

In relation to local wines, they are much more expensive in NYC than here - though that is hardly surprising. Yet a few wines are cheaper in London and NYC, Grange included, as Penfolds and other makers need a global market to keep demand going.

I have sent my Carruades Lafite 2000 to auction with an expectation of $A 220-260.
I've also set to auction a load of local shirazes that I need to either drink soon or get rid of, and at the moment, I have too many to drink. Won't sell my favs like Rockford and Dalwhinnie though.

Yet US and other overseas demand for Aust wines is struggling. At the top end, the recession has affected prices and at the bottom, we have Chile, Argentina, South America and those bloody Noo Zeelunders snapping at our heels, as well as the old world. The prognosis for the short term is that more and more grapes will not be harvested, more wines will remain unsold or dumped at auctions.

[PappaDoc]

Mark,

My Wife Stephanie will tell the world I don't know _hit about finance. I'm sorry I am so wrong about currency values. You had been listing such great deals you'd been getting in the past couple of years, I was under the wrong impression that part of that "Wind Fall" was because the $A was much stronger than the $US.

I'm sorry to hear that Australia is is also being deeply affected by the worlds economic woes also. Thanks for clairifing the currency differences and Auctions lower prices on older European wines. An education on two fronts.

As far as 07 Whites, A good reason Meursault (just a thought) might out performed other Communes in the Cotes d' Beaune could be that Meursault, always the Fattest, Broadest, wines are an easy match for the high acidity in 07. The 07s do seem to have a lot of zing, but balanced like a German wine, or Loire Late Harvest Chenin Blanc. Without that "Zing" from the acidity, the wines would be flabby.

I've only had one or two 07 Meursault, and thats what gave me the thought, but will be tasting many next month at Trade Tastings in NYC. The other Communes wines were in no way shrill, just lively. They'd be perfect for Lobster dipped in drawn butter at Jims Maine Fest this Summer.

I'll post on my impressions. Thanks for the "Sunrise Semester" on wine pricing in Australia, its 6:30 AM and I'm off to work.

Best Regards,

John

[Claret]

stefan, how was the 2006 SI SS SS? I tasted a barrel of Seven Springs at the winery, and although I do not know if that barrel made the cut for Special Selection, but it was the best wine that I had from the fledgling 2006 vintage on that trip. The 2006 Elk Cove Reserve from bottle is stunning as well. In general the 2004's are much friendlier now than the structured 2005's.

My current Burgundy consumption is focused on mostly Village and minor Premier Cru's from 1993, 1995 and 1996, with 1999, 2001 and 2002 waiting in the wings.

[stefan]

Glenn, the '06 St Innocent Seven Springs Special Selection is SPECIAL even by the standards of Mark's SSs. Most everyone who tasted it in Jim's room on Saturday amongst all the '05 Burgs were impressed with it. On the other hand, no one said much about the the '06 Anden I brought to Jim's room on Friday even though it is a very fine wine. The 7S SS has that extra wow factor that makes it stand out.

stefan

[JimHow]

I really liked that special bottling, Stefan.

[Claret]

The Anden vineyard is from the oldest blocks in the original Seven Springs. The upper blocks were called Seven Springs and were last combined together in 2000, as opposed to the two seperate bottlings after 2000. I have my last bottle of the 2000 on deck.

Anden has lots of old vine structure albeit with clones that are less fashionable than today's Dijon selection. The 2002 was the most packed and structured wine from that great vintage that Mark made and it begged for decanting about 5 years ago.

My St I epiphany occured when I worked for Martin Scott wines and we tasted the awesome 2002 vintage. We were the distributors for the NY/NJ markets, and Mark led a tasting of some stunning whites and Pinot Noir that occured in a too rapid fashion, as recently popped and poured bottles were passed aroun the room without the benefit of proper aeration. But the real big moment occured when I spent a day driving around NJ tasting top accounts with Mark. We had a stellar day and sold over 20 cases. The real treat from a "work with" as the fieldride is known, is getting to consume the ends of any remaining bottles that night. Now that was a real moment, not to mention having Mark in my passenger seat eager to answer all of my questions from his decades of experience.

I only bought the Special Selection in 2006, and will probably not by any more reds from 2007 but instead I will be saving up to go long on the highly anticipated 2008s. 2008 was a very late harvest that occured from mid to late October, and the dreaded rains mostly never arrived. We were there for Labor Day weekend and everybody was saying how the vines were three weeks behind but with optimism in their eyes.

[stefan]

>>
I only bought the Special Selection in 2006
>>

Gosh, I bought cases of 7 Springs, 7 Springs SS, Anden, White Rose, Justice, and half cases of Anden SS, Momtazi, Shea, and Zenith.

stefan

[Claret]

Good haul Bill. I have 51 bottles of St I so I decided to diversify my incoming Pinots a bit and branched out into mostly Dehlinger, Rhys and Le Cadeau and give Oregon 2006 a buying break for now.

2006 was a tricky vintage due to the high heat, and some vineyards faired better than others. Fortunatley growers learned from the unprecidented heat wave of 2003 and hopefully made the proper adjustments to accomodate the vintage's challenges. It has some sure hits made in a riper style but also some out of balance misses, so one must choose carefully. Momtazi was good from barell and had a clearly different black fruit profile than usual red fruit in the St I's. I do not think that 2006 is a vintage destined for very long ageing.

[stefan]

>>
I do not think that 2006 is a vintage destined for very long aging.
>>

Probably right, which is a good thing for this old timer.

stefan

[Claudius]

John aka PD,
Not a worry.
What is driving me nuts is that the media is so entrenched in the gloom and doom.
You would think that the sky is falling in.

I'm doing so longitudinal analysis on the local economy and it isn't that bad and I don't think it will get as bad as the 1990-93 recession.
In 1992, we had 11.1% unemployment and now we have 5.7% - a big difference, though it has increased from about 4% over the last year.

Motor vehicle sales are way down, and I have to say, there looks like little room for both GM and Chrysler.
I am still shaking my head with dismay regarding how many greenbacks were lost by your financial sector in recent years - yet they still haven't reigned in their greed. My own work is pretty slow as clients are sitting on their check books. And taking forever to pay.

[JimHow]

I was mayor of Lewiston from 1990 to 1994. I agree, I don't think the economy is (yet) as bad as it was then. Back then we had 12% unemployment here in central Maine. Now I think it is like 7 or 8%. But what we didn't see back then were these monumental collapses of U.S. finance, like the car companies, and the century-old banks, and the 50% drops in markets.

[dstgolf]

All this talk about Pinot Noir would have been irrelavant to me 5 years ago. I never found anything that turned my crank. Burgundies were overe priced,horsey stinky endeavours or lacking fruit or thin with too much acid. Discovered Drouhin Pinot from Oregon about ten years ago but for some reason we see it on our shelves very infrequently however it was my first eye openner to what I liked in Pinot. Have dabbled over the years with many Californian and less Oregon wines mainly due to availability here.As stated before we can get Calera from California which we love. It isn't the Jose Canseco steroid version of pinot that I detest from California. I enjoy a more elegant nuanced drink that has more than in your face oak and dark extracted berries with high alcohol.

One that we had recently and I can't find anywhere on the net is from Willamette Valley Oregon called HK-1 Reserve with Howard Hughes Spruce Goose up front and center on the label. Don't know the winemaker but would love to source this. It was elegant smooth with nice length. Beautiful fragrant light berry fruit on the nose and nicely spiced. A very good drink that we picked up in Fort Lauderdale for or cruise. If anyone knows the producer or anything else about this one I'd certainly be greatful.

A disappointment was a Pinot from David Bruce the Santa Lucia Highlands 2004. Now this was not to our liking. Disjointed with harsh acidic almost choking finish. Some bretty notes which we detest and the semi-steroid extraction effort was off putting. Not our style and not a very well made wine.

Will have to keep an eye out for St Innocent when in USA. Are these widely available?

Danny

[PappaDoc]

Danny,

BV and Calera were the first Cal Pinot Noirs I took to . The Calera "Mills", "Jensen," "Selleck", "Reed", are all excellent vineyards. I've never mistaken these wines for Syrah, as I have with some other over extracted fruit bombs I'v drunk.

[stefan]

>>
Will have to keep an eye out for St Innocent when in USA. Are these widely available?>>
>>

I saw them on the shelf in DC, Danny. There is no distributor for them in Texas. The Special Selection bottling is only for St Innocent wine club members.

Last night we drank '06 St Innocent Anden, Seven Springs, and White Rose. We all agreed that the White Rose is best for drinking now as it is fuller and the aromatics are better now. Anden and 7 Springs are similar, with the 7 Springs showing more promise for aging.

stefan

[Claret]

I bought and tasted my first Domainne Drouhin Oregeon(DDO) wine in the early to mid 1990's. It was a PN from their first vintage 1988, and while I felt at the time that is was a decent wine, I did not have an epiphany moment. I believe that this vintage was made from purchased fruit. This was only my first or second wine from Oregon.

When I tasted at DDO 2 years ago, I enjoyed all of the wines which ranged from good plus to pretty damn good. One only has to look at their neigboring vineyards such as Domaine Serene and White Rose to gain a sense of a very good hillside terrior. The Authur Chardonnay was tasty in a Burgundy way, and the Laurence reserve Pinot was a homerun.

Ironically after tasting at DDO, I went literally across the road to Domaine Serene. I can recall a woman who was in her 50's releating to the pourer at Serene about how she just tasted this vile wine across the street. I asked her what wine she was referring to, and she said "that French wine, the red one". I had also tasted the 2004 Drouhin Village something?, and while it was clearly made in a leaner more acidic style, it was acceptable to a European palate which she did not have.

Tasting at Serene is interesting. Some will love it while other may be offput by the experience of a potentially stuffy vibe. The tasting room is well appointed and they are proud of their wines, which is partially built into the prices. The tastings are a bit pricey, but the view is pretty nice. Oh,and I did generally like the wines here including some Syrah.

White Rose IIRC is just down the hill a bit and is a rustic experience with wines that were good and somewhat eccentric, as opposed to very good or great. Mark does a much better job with the fruit.

This area has a strong confluence of good volcanic soil, altitude and exposure. A Grand Cru section of the Willamette Valley if one were to exist.