I couldn’t resist it, yesterday I opened up one of my wines of the year from last year and was very happy with the result. Equally priced is another of my wines of the year last year and I just had to pull the cork! David Croix suggests aeration as the wines are bottled with plenty of carbon dioxide, but in this case the bottle was open for about 30 minutes then poured, no more.
2005 des Croix, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose is pungent with creamy, mineral, ripe and soft red fruit – it’s like a grand cru – an okay start then! The palate is not quite so silky smooth as the Morgon, but the concentration is undoubted, neither is the quality of the creamy fruit that pushes, long, long into the finish. The creaminess seems to have an oaky base, so I’d personally let this slumber a while despite its ‘come hither’ demeanour – just like you would any 1er cru. Its modern-styled and with a decent dose of oak, but ignoring the Leroy 2004 Bourgogne (appellation chimera) this could be the best bourgogne I’m ever likely to buy!
Rebuy – Yes – 12 is unfortunately not enough!
There are 15 responses to “2005 des croix bourgogne pinot noir”
That’s a new producer to me. Any background info Bill??
Here you go Kent
https://www.burgundy-report.com/wp/?page_id=465
Bill,
A very very enticing note! I can find that wine locally for €22. Do you think it is a buy at this price?
Someone’s making a very good profit there Will, there is sufficient value in the wine – no doubt – but at that price I’d probably only buy 6!
Cheers
Hello Bill-what an enjoyable site you have and thanks for the
2005 des Croix, Bourgogne Pinot Noir tip. I tasted his 2006`s which were exciting -I note that BBR-Berry Brothers and Rudd have the 2005 des Croix, Bourgogne for £13.95 per bottle(for unsplit orders of 12)delivered.
Bill,
Unfortunatly by the time alot of wines make there way to Ireland they have passed through many hands, each taking a small profit. The end result is a hefty mark up but by the sounds of your note this one is worth paying for.
Cheers,
Will
Bill,
You say you couldn’t resist trying this wine but surely 05 bourgognes and (from the earlier post) beaujolais cru (even Morgon) are in their drinking windows now. How long do you think they have? And do you have any experience of these wines “shutting down” for a period like their more august grand and prem. cru brethren?
Ed
In general Ed, I’ve seen a lot of tight 05’s versus where they were in barrel or early post-bottling – so earlier than you might expect from a new vintage. This particular wine has the density one might expect of a 1er cru from any other recent vintage so I would also expect to tighten – though no sign yet – and live for 15+ years. What this wine also has is plenty of oak – not the astringent texture you get on the finish of a young wine, more the creamy, approaching vanilla, flavours and aromas. These typically take about 1-2 years in bottle to be absorbed. So whilst I might open another bottle or two this year, for my taste they will be far better from 2010…
A more general discussion could revolve on why people think a bourgogne should be ready before a grand cru – it’s still pinot, one is just less concentrated than the other and made from inferior raw materials. Probably the youthful fruit of a young bourgogne is a nicer drink than 90% of more mature 6 year-old bottles?
Cheers
And re. your previous post: what do you imagine is the life span of the bigger (i.e. Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent) beaujolais cru of 05?
Well Ed, I can hardly count Beaujolais as a specialism…
I’ve read of many 30+ year-olds delivering the goods, so why shouldn’t this be any different? 2005 was as good in BJ as in the Côtes. Seriously though, I’m surprised by how much this has ‘improved’ in one year yet I’m sure 10+ years is in this bottle without doubt…
Just a note to thank you for this recommendation. I grabbed a few bottles and tried one last night. Fantastic wine for a Bourgogne, as good as any I’ve tasted. I paid $25 and that’s pretty standard in NYC for Bourgogne from quality producers. Thanks again for the tip.
I echo the above sentiments-a cracking Bourgogne-I actually rarely buy straight Bourgogne-too many average disappointments-but this reminds me of Michel Lafarge’s superb Bourgogne 83-85 and 90…….yup its been that long!!!
I just opened this bottle of Bourgogne to enjoy with a pork tenderloin from the grill. My wife just brought this wine back from a trip to Paris. I assumed this would just be an average bottle of wine. What a surprise!! What a lovely bottle of wine. Nice raspberry/blackberry nose. Great balance of oak/vanilla in the nose and taste. As noted above, it reminded me of the premier crus I have tasted in the past.
Bill, have you or any of your readers tried the ’05 Domaine des Croix Beaune AOC? It is my understanding that it includes a fair amount of declassified Beaune 1er Cru from a small parcel des Croix owns in Les Teurons. Is this correct? Based on the great buzz for the Bourgogne, I suspect that the Beaune AOC would be a good buy at $34/bottle ($US). Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Hi David – no sorry. But given that even the Bourgogne had a little 1er in it (from memory) I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that was the case. The price sounds a steal – I’d by anything that he produced from 05 that I sofar tasted.
Cheers