Tasted in Pernand with Christine Gruère-Dubreuil, pictured with daughter Cleméntine, 19 November 2020.
Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Père et Fils
Rue Rameau
21420 Pernand-Vergelesses
Tel: +33 3 80 21 55 43
www.dubreuil-fontaine.com
More reports for Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine
Christine on 2020:
“The earliest vintage we have ever made, harvesting from 20 August, finishing 27 August – we began on the 24 August in 2003. Some of the grapes did resemble 2003 on the vines, small plenty of drier grapes but in the end, we have something with much more balance and a certain acidity too. Not much volume in red – we are minus 40%. Really a summer harvest – we were eating outside every day.”
Christine on 2019:
“A little more red and a little less white versus 2020 – but in total about the same volume. Also a warm year but much later starting our harvest – 11 September. We didn’t have problems with frost – again we had dryness of course, but we were mainly impacted in our volumes by the weather at flowering. One of the rare vintage with no use of sugar at harvest time. We’d be happy to make wine like this every year – I’d make a subscription for the next 10 years – Okay, with a bit more volume!”
The wines…
Excellent sometimes great wines in the cellar here in 2019 – amazingly still underrated by many buyers…
Only one red had been bottled at this stage:
2019 Bourgogne Notre Dame de Bonne Esperance
This the only red that’s been bottled at this stage.
A little width of higher-toned red fruit with a little reduction too. Nicely filling the palate with good texture and a width of red fruit. Some finishing bitters but long and mineral finishing. Good Bourgogne.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses
Three parcels, Noirets, Boutières and one, Les Fichots is 1er cru
Also high-toned but here with more depth of aroma too – good red fruit and a certain reductive style that’s common in Pernand. More volume and more energy – an extra richness of flavour but not lacking balance. Sustaining a stronger finish, long and very good.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses Clos Berthet
Less width but still high and low tones and nicely red-fruited – a good nose. Extra energy – that’s very good – mouth-watering, layered but with fine energy. Showing very well today – excellent!
2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Vergelesses
Three different parcels.
That’s also a super nose – very inviting even finer red fruit. Fresh, energetic again, just a little more density to the flavour but never heavy. Excellent again.
2019 Aloxe-Corton
A deeper, richer, nose but still with a little floral accent that lifts it higher. Bigger, more structural too – wide and mouth-watering in the finish – lovely finishing – very different but excellent and not too muscular as Aloxe can be sometimes…
2019 Pommard
Trois Follots and En Beouf
Again, deep and this time more vibrantly fruited. A tiny grain of tannin at the base here, but otherwise far from an austere Pommard. A richness of finishing flavour – sustaining a super finish. Is it boring you that this is ‘excellent’ again?
As always, a high percentage of 1er Cru in this wine.
A little extra higher-toned aromatic width. Here still with a grain of tannin but smoother and with more depth to the redder too. Fine higher-toned flavour here. That’s a lovely wine. A bigger burst of finishing energy. A great villages, slightly structural, but that will fade.
An easier nose, not the full floral perfume of some years – but in that style. Beautifully silky, structured and open – not a wine of power, but one that caresses the palate in mouth-watering style. Bravo – love this – real finesse. The finish is something of a reprise with a small grain of tannin in tow too.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
Some of the vines here touch on those from the Savigny Vergelesses.
A little narrower but also deeper nose. Supple, faintly saline – an extra density of fruit flavour here – a step up, yet to wait a little time for, but this is less effusive finishing today – super in the middle. Excellent wine.
2019 Aloxe-Corton 1er Vercots
Wider and redder fruit. A little extra concentration but a lot of energy here too – open, complex, very interesting. Absolutely delicious finishing, mixed with an enjoyable structure.
2019 Pommard 1er Les Epenots
Petit plus Grands Epenots
That’s a bit tighter than in most vintages – darker fruit and a suggestion of, rather than the big wave of, flowers. Wide, cool, energetic, silky, very faintly grained with tannin. A finish that opens wider and wider, holding very well. Less exuberant than most years – so I’ll only say excellent – usually this is my favourite wine here.
2019 Corton Perrieres
A big, almost grainy textured, dark fruit nose – faint floral freshness too. Like the Epeneots, open, cool fruit and energy. More structure to finish but a wine indeed with a similar esprit to the Epenots. Slowly fading in the finish – this has more upfront and less to finish vs the last wine, today…
2019 Corton-Bressandes
Not as forward a nose – there’s some depth, but it’s more compact above. Just a few mm more depth to the texture here, a little extra richness – not the same cool fruit, rather a rounder style. More spiced and overtly complex finishing today vs the Perrières – a lot!
2019 Corton Clos du Roi
Closer to the Bressandes than the Perrieres in style but clearly with more width of aroma. Open, clean, energetic, sophisticated in texture again. More intensity of flavour in the middle and finishing flavours.
Les Blancs:
All the whites were bottled in July – DIAM for the Bourgogne and the villages, cork for the 1ers.
2019 Bourgogne Les Crenouilles
A big and forward nose, slightly grained and with plenty of citrus. Big in the mouth, good impact, open and mouth-watering, a faint rigour today but this will fade. The most delicious part is the finish.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses
A compact nose but with good fruit freshness at its core. Nice shape, fine energy, a grain of tannin too. Wide and more insistent finishing – this needs a little time, but it’s very good, at least.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Sous Frétile
A larger nose, here with a little oak padding. A little gas but still a wine of mouth-filling volume and fine energy. Longer, some oak included in this but certainly a wine of more concentration than the villages.
2019 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Clos Berthet
Hmm, aromatically almost a dead-ringer for the previous wine – freshness and a coating of oak. Gas in here. Good freshness – a wine that’s more open and accessible today vs the Sous Frétile – a bigger, wider finish tough. Small waves of flavour that last really well. A super wine – but again have a little patience.
2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Vergelesses
Some high tones but aromatically a narrow nose of good depth. More direct yet still not lacking for width. Cool-fruited, very silky – yes some oak like the others, but less obvious in this case. A super mouth-watering finish – easily the best so far – excellent but still have a little patience.
2019 Corton-Charlemagne
Pernand side
Not a large nose but one of width and complex interest – that’s very good! Clarity, incisive, mineral for sure and with mouth-watering citrus. A finish that grows in intensity after you swallow – always a great sign – there is oak here too but less showy than some the previous wines. Simply excellent Charlemagne…