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A few more notes

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Started 7 years ago by Will Cashman
Latest reply from stuart beaunehead niemtzow

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Will Cashman
Member

I attended a great offline in Dublin last night where we drank through a range of interesting wines (mainly non-burgundian). We had one flight of red burgundies, which I thought might be of interest.

1988 Daniel Rion Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Beaux Bruns
1990 Hubert De Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots
1990 Domaine Leroy Nuits St George 1er Cru Vignes Rondes
Served with Butter poached pheasant breast, with baby leek, roasted prune and a Bulmers and celeriac puree

This was a superb flight of wine. The 88 Rion is fading a little but was still a tasty wine. The nose was a little bloody maryish but the wine was very pleasant on the palate with a lithe structure and some red fruits, mineral and good length. It was blown out of the water by the other 2 wines though. The Montille and Leroy were 2 great examples of the ying and yang of great burgundy winemaking. The Montille was everything that burgundy should be. It was Gutsy and beguiling on the nose with a little hint of animal along with the sous bous, spice and developed fruits. The palate was incredibly fresh and clean yet complex and thought provoking and most importantly delicious. The freshness in the wine was what differentiated it for me on a night with some great wines. The Leroy was a voluptuous and seriously sexy wine. The mouthfeel and texture of the wine were mesmerizing. On the nose this is definitely burgundy but on the palate I’m not sure I could guess it as burgundy blind. It was seriously delicious though and a real treat to taste.

Thanks to Joachim, who sold me both the Rion and the De Montille.

Posted 7 years ago #
stuart beaunehead niemtzow
Member

Re: the Rion. I have and have had a bunch of Rion '88s,though not this villages Chambolle (that's what the Beaux Bruns is!). My notes say two things about them: they require very careful cleaning of the sediment (don't know what you did with the sediment, but that Bloody Mary stuff is consistent with what I'd expect it to create). Rion '88 wines, in my most recent experience, needs lots of aeration and are still in need/can benefit from more time, to my guess. They are splendid when given the right treatment. Some experienced wine people guessed that the '88 Nuits Vigne-Rondes 1er cru was the grand cru in the mix (it was an '88 Rousseau Mazy). They also thought the wines, in 2009, were all much younger than 21.

Ironically, we also had two deMontilles in the mix: the '99 and '02 Puligny-Caillerets...both were more advanced than I'd like, but not oxidized.

FWIW.

Posted 7 years ago #
Will Cashman
Member

Stuart,

You're right, looking at the photos now, the Rion Chambolle is a village wine... I had rested the Rion upright for over a week and then poured carefully but it was still cloudy with sediment. This bottle also showed signs of ullage so perhaps wasn't the best example. In fairness the wine was holding up well for a 23 YO village wine but I'm not convinced that even the best example would have been up to the level of the other 2 wines.

Pity about the two Montille Pulignys, don't you just hate this whole oxidation scenario...

Posted 7 years ago #
stuart beaunehead niemtzow
Member

Yes...hate it. Many of the wines that aren't "oxidized" are advanced and of concern, so the result is hyper-vigilance, rather than enjoyment.

Posted 7 years ago #
Joachim
Member

Ups, I really thought that the Beaux Bruns is a 1er Cru - sorry for my mistake!

Just happy that you enjoyed the wines. Its true, the Montille is really incredibly fresh, even after 20 years. And I heard that the Volnay even ages better then the Pommard.

Posted 7 years ago #
Joachim
Member

This subject with the Beaux Bruns, being a lieu dit and a 1er Cru, is puzzling me. I know that some of the vineyards have the same name and are separated in village and 1er Cru. Also I read, that a major part of Echezeaux is a former lieut dit and was just declared to Grand Cru some years ago. What is the criteria for decisions like this, for example to split a single vineyard in different Crus?

Posted 7 years ago #
stuart beaunehead niemtzow
Member

Joachim, My sense of how this happens is a combination of politics and historical tradition. All vineyards in Burgundy are lieux dits, ie, have names....even within the vineyards that are classified sometimes. (Clos de Vougeot has many.) Deciding initially what is classified what and what the boundaries are of any given vineyard is the initial job of the AOC committee. But, then, though we don't really see vineyards themselves upgraded, their boundaries can be changed to include neighboring lieux dits, by petitioning.

In Jasper Morris' new book, his vineyard descriptions often discuss how a particular vineyard (mostly the grand crus) were enlarged with the AOC to include parcels that were/are outside the walls of a clos..or abutting the traditional boundaries of the grand cru. I think Clos de la Roche is one he discusses that way.

I think the criteria for upgrading are the same as they were originally. I'm sure politics still has much to do with it.

Interestly, Daniel Rion himself, like Henri Jayer, seemed to have had a "game plan" after WWII of reviving vineyards that were fallow, usually higher up the slopes. Both used dynamite to rid them of boulders, etc. Two of Daniel Rion's best wines were/are the Vosne "Beaux Monts" and Nuits "Hauts Pruliers". The Beaux Monts is actually in a lieu dit called "Hauts Beaux Monts" that is included. The "Hauts Pruliers" is above the Pruliers. Once I was discussing the "Pruliers" with Robert Chevillon...and I asked him about "Hauts Pruliers". He claimed to have never heard of "Hauts Pruliers". At first, I thought he was kidding, but...he wasn't. I'm still not sure of the real story on that.

But, ironically, the Rion family has villages "Beaux Bruns" in Chambolle and Patrice has villages Chambolle in "Les Cras". Both vineyards have 1er cru and villages sections.
I know there are many others such as Clos de la Platiere in Pommard.

Bottom line: if it means a lot to you/anyone, it is important to read the label. Though I don't know others' "Beaux Bruns", I do know Christophe Roumier's "Les Cras", and, frankly, Patrice Rion's example is not noticeably different in quality, IMO, though it is difficult to find to buy.

Posted 7 years ago #
Joachim
Member

stuart beaunehead niemtzow said:

Bottom line: if it means a lot to you/anyone, it is important to read the label. Though I don't know others' "Beaux Bruns", I do know Christophe Roumier's "Les Cras", and, frankly, Patrice Rion's example is not noticeably different in quality, IMO, though it is difficult to find to buy.

Thanks for your comments.

But that's whats puzzling me: If its the same vineyard and same quality, why it's a different Cru? Well, probably it is politics. And I'm looking forward to read Jaspers book. Unfortunately its sold out right now, new edition in April.

Posted 7 years ago #
stuart beaunehead niemtzow
Member

Well, vineyards are not all that uniform. It is generally the lower, often flatter portions of a divided vineyard that is villages. Historically, that particular lieux dits might not have even been part of the same named vineyard. Or, the vineyard was called the one name due to ownership more than anything, and has been divided since 1789. There are many possibilities; probably each one has a different reason, I'd guess.

All AOC stuff is geographical, as you know, so the quality of the wines, per se, aren't determinative of much once the classifications are set.

Posted 7 years ago #

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