Tasted in Beaune with Jean-Pierre Confuron, 13 December 2016.
Chanson Père et Fils
10 Rue du Collège/r Paul Chanson
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 25 97 97
www.vins-chanson.com
Jean-Pierre on 2016:
“In 2 to 3 words, what was left was very nice. Chablis actually produced well as did the Mâconnais. There was a gross deficit in Marsannay and Chambolle. But because of the low volume, the grapes that were left had real concentration, and offer something exceptional. Whites – let us see, to really catalogue I think you need to see after 2-3 years in bottle, live info during elevage is almost always inaccurate…”
Jean-Pierre on 2015:
“For once, an easy vintage. No maladies – all is in bio and we had perfect grapes with a little maturity blockage towards the end, so we worked the harvest from the 6-16 September. Still, low yields as not a lot of wood from the previous years of hail. This could easily be the vintage of the century for Beaune 1ers – I’ve done 25 vintages and never seen such grapes – strength 10, they were monstrous. 1929 had similar concentration. I think the whites may be as good and that would be even rarer.
“The domaine, from 40+ hectares, made about 23 hl/ha, but the yields were nearer 15 hl/ha in Beaune – and that from over 20 hectares worth of vines…”
The wines…
A great set of reds – like always, definitely not for early consumption – vins-de-garde – but they have everything. I noted lots of menthol flavours/aromas here in this vintage.
2015 Nuits St.Georges
Two suppliers, multiple parcels representing 4.5 ha. Still on lees, not been racked.
A deep nose, perfumed too. Supple, lots of concentration here, and super depth of flavour. Waves of flavour, decent acidity. That’s a big villages! Still some vibration of flavour in the finish. Super stuff.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin
A single contract for 4 hectares of vines between Gevrey and Brochon.
A brighter, more floral nose. A little more tannin, more energy too. Long, mouth-watering flavour – intense, a little salted. Another large-scaled wine.
2015 Domaine Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Dominode
Fresh, faintly herbed nose. Ooh, fresh, linear wine, a little drying and phenolic too, yet bursting with flavour. A vin-de-garde for sure. Almost menthol in the finish. Super, but wait, wait…
Deep colour. Reduced. Very quickly an overt florality. More weight, riper, darker fruit, a drag of tannin, more energy, spicy. Menthol, licorice – love the complexity here!
2015 Domaine Beaune 1er Teurons
A deep, dark nose. Starts narrow but widens, complex, alive, nice layered flavour. This will be super.
2015 Domaine Beaune 1er Clos du Roi
Deep, open opulent red fruit – but still with freshness. Hmm, plenty of tannin but cushioning rather than drying. A fine wave of fresh flavour. Easily the easiest to appreciate today – so far…
Three plots, top middle and bottom, east of Bouchard.
Deep, spicy red fruit, fresh, spicy fruit on the palate too – ingraining, really fine depth of flavour here, always faintly drying with the concentration. Great Grèves
2015 Domaine Beaune 1er Clos des Marconnets
Hmm – open, inviting, weighted aroma. Full, textured of-course, faintly salted, fresh, drying, complex and interesting in the mid-palate. Before slowly fading with a mix of herb and flowers. Perhaps here too, a very faint menthol…
As all, deeply coloured. More mineral, floral top notes a top to bottom aromatic, rather than wide. An extra floral dimension to dark fruit. Extra long too. Brilliant – but wait of course.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Perrières
Today, a little too high-toned to start. But in the mouth this is silk and mineral, with really great mid-palate flavour too. It also finishes fabulously!
2015 Charmes-Chambertin
Modest colour vs the Beaunes, the whole-cluster element is more noticeable too. Wide, lithe, mobile and complex.
2015 Clos de Bèze
Faint reduction, but the nose becomes wider, fresher and more complex. A little gas. A big presence, a growing energy and complexity, super long! It has all it needs…
Les blancs…
Very nice indeed – and a different opinion on whether early or late harvesting was key to getting freshness…
2015 Domaine Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Hautes Marconnets
Deep, pungent, a little phenolic – super inviting! Large in the mouth, with fine texture, concentration and muscle. Modest energy today – except in the finish where it is playing and changing. This is lovely but very young – I hardly say that about whites! Yum!
Here is quite a muscular nose, fresh, a little herb and rippling ripe yellow citrus fruit. A more overt freshness, weight, but complex changing weight that is more than modestly mineral. Bright finishing, mineral, saline, long. Super wine! Hard to believe that this was quite late harvested – “It’s the work with the lees, not the date of harvest!” says Jean-Pierre
2015 Corton-Vergennes
A deep nose, guarded above, but clearly with some saline elements. Ultra-wide, weighted, silky texture. Saline minerality coming ever to the fore. Really a wine that changes as it moves over the palate and rewards you for doing so. Only in the finish would I say as delicious as the last – but it’s such a baby… yum!