I had the chance to attend an interesting tasting yesterday. Olivier Bernstein was in town to present his wines. For those who are not familiar with him: He calls himself "Micor-Negociant", leasing some of the greatest terroirs in burgundy, including Clos de Beze, Bonnes Mares, Mazis Chambertin, Clos de la Roche and several 1ers. Still, he is doing all the work in the vineyards, too. He runs a Domaine in South-France since 2002, but in Burgundy his first vintage was 2007 and already he is described as a rising superstar by a lot of wine critics. So I was happy and curious to taste his wines.
To start with a general impression: Bernstein made the best 2009 Burgundies I tasted so far. They have the typical, dusty, warm 2009 nose, but on the palate they had a real grip, good acidity, but still, like all 2009ers plenty of silky fruit and volume. With the acidity its all in a good balance and the wines appear to be textbook burgundies even in 2009, unlike the examples from other Domaines I tasted. Olivier told me, that they harvested pretty early in 2009 (7th to 13th September) to prevent the grapes from being overripe. Seems that was the best recipe to produce great wines.
The following bottles were opened:
Gevrey Chambertin Village 2009
Dark red, like cherry. I really liked the wine – already very accessible, but still in good balance, great harmony, black fruits, the typical Gevrey Licorice, a bit of dark mushroom and wet wood. Long finish. Great depth and complexity for an village. 1er Cru level, in my opinion.
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Lavrottes 2007
For me, this was the last impressive wine of the tasting. It already shows some brick colour. The nose had something from smoked ham. The wood was dominating the fruit. Olivier told me that they used 100% new oak in the first year. Not a good decision for a Chambolle, (at least in my opinion) Still, this was a good Chambolle, elegant, but not with too much depth. Average.
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Lavrottes 2009
The 2009 in comparison was much better. Typical 2009 nose, but with Cassis and dark berrys. Round, good fruit and acidity. Hints of plum and cinnamon. Very precised, balanced with mineral notes. Silky and elegant on the palate. Five minutes with a textbook Chambolle, left me longing for more. A good wine to spend an evening with.
Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux 2009
This had more power then the Chambolle and, of course, more then the Village. Really impressive. It had all the power and the body from 2009, but harmony and elegance too. Licorice and dark berry again, dominated by cherry afterwards. Great to taste it after the Chambolle. Very understandable that the Chambolle is supposed to be the feminine wine, and the Gevrey to be the masculine counterpart. Couldn’t say which I prefer more, probably the Chambolle in a philosophical mood and the Gevrey in company of some Buddies.
Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
This wine was a bit creepy. Definetly with a lot of potential, but the acidity was dominating everything. The complexity was just a distant premonition. Lime and pepper somewhere. Maybe it was typical 2008, but I can’t judge the wine. Too much acidity. And I’m not experienced enough to tell how this wine will develop.
Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru 2009
As expected, this wine was really the climax. Dark, ruby red. Typical 2009 nose, red and black berries, generous, complex. Licorice again. Very masculine, but still silky, elegant and rich. Tight and still harmonious. Seems the contrasts are making this wine so special. Very ripe, a lot of fruits, but still great minerality. This is a real Grand Cru. I tasted the Village again, and it’s a funny comparison. Clearly, they are from the same booth, and both are beautiful, but its like comparing a matchbox car with a Ferrari.
Bottomline: These are really great wines. Still, Olivier Bernstein is not so much a man of the soil. Even if he does all the work in the vineyard, I had the impression that he is more like a wine-architect, trying to create textbook burgundies. He succeeds, these are great wines, but maybe I miss a bit the personality. Too much perfection, and not too much character.
And (even if I hate to throw in that subject again): Even if I like the wines, I’m not going to buy them. The village starts at 55,- Euros, the 1ers are more then 100,- and the Grand Crus are between 200,- (Mazis) and 320,- (Clos de Beze). I’d rather stay with a Chevillon Les St. Georges or Les Cailles for the same price of a village at Bernstein, or take a Roty Gevrey village, which is much cheaper and definetely the same quality. But maybe some of you guys have enough pocket money to buy some bottles and invite me over ;-)
