This year, I was more than honoured to be asked to be a judge at the blind tastings to determine the young winemaking talents of Burgundy, 2017. Lots of new names and great wines here for you.

The Groupe des Jeunes Professionels de la Vigne were running their event for the 29th time this year, starting with about 80 judges and 100s of wines – all from 2015 – in Chorey-lès-Beaune in October – everything done blind. Last Friday (17 November) took the best of those for a taste-off, held at the Ermitage de Corton – 3 wines from each of 21 producers (so 63 wines), split into 7 regions – this year including, for the first time, the region of ‘Grand Auxerois’.

For the taste off, there were just two judges – myself and fabulously cheek-boned, Parisian wine-professional, Sophia Zaïme – aka MadameWine.

The system was very well thought-out, and behind the tasting that Sophia and I did was a ‘shadow tasting panel’ of winemakers ‘to help’ if the two of us simply couldn’t agree, or indeed they simply couldn’t understand our choices! Fortunately the two of us seemed to have very similar thoughts about the wines – possibly no more than two from 63 wines caused us a little more discussion – quite remarkable really! The wines were tasted ‘single blind’ i.e. we knew the basic appellation but not the climat – or producer of-course – eg Nuts 1er Cru, but not that it was a Vaucrains (for example). At the end of this report I’ll list my top 10 wines of the tasting for those of you who are interested…

That same Friday evening was a dinner in the Palais de Congress of Beaune, 400 people attending – the winemakers with plenty of nice bottles. Here among others, Sophia and I gave out the trophies to the, still unknowing, winners – all under the direction of the force of nature that was Claude Nadeau – our Mistress of Ceremonies!

Only so that you can see just how close it was, you can see my summary below – I won’t give you the tasting notes that I’d carefully attempted in French – only to be told in the end that those were for me to take away! I also (for myself) I scored each wine out of 20 – so a perfect score would have been 60/60 for the three wines. The highest scores I gave were 18.5/20 – 4 wines achieved that. The winner in each case is in bold type:

• Grand Auxerois:
  Pierre-Louis BERSAN – Domaine BERSAN (50)
  Sophie et Matthieu WOILLEZ – Domaine de la CROIX MONTJOIE (47)
  Nicolas et James FERRARI – Domaine Christophe FERRARI (52)
  Bersan delivered a Bourgogne Côte d’Auxerre and two St.Bris – I fell the Côte d’Auxerre could have benefited from a little more energy, but I thought both of the St.Bris excellent. Croix Montjoix supplied a Crémant that had very forceful bubbles and could have had a touch more sweetness or ripeness, then came two Bourgogne Vézalays the first mineral and saline that lacked some definition but the second, however, was excellent, more floral, some sucrosity and long. Finally Ferrari offered one Chablis and two Irancy – the Chablis was complex and round – lovely – but both of the Irancys were excellent, they were both deep, complex wines of great perfume – the second one much more ‘vin de garde‘ in style.
• Chablis:
  Camille BESSON – Domaine BESSON (49.5)
  Arnaud LAVANTUREUX – Domaine Roland LAVANTUREUX (52)
  Charly NICOLLE – Domaine CHARLY NICOLLE (50)
  Comparisons were made easier in this group, as all the producers offered a Petit Chablis, a Chablis and a Chablis 1er Cru. Of the Petit Chablis the Bessin and Roland Lavantureaux were very close, the Charly Nicole was left behind as it was a little heavy – probably as it was so concentrated. Then for the Chablis it was Charly Nicole and Laventureaux with two really great wines, and Camille Besson only half a point behind with a lovely wine. So it was neck and neck up to the last 1er Cru wine; the Besson was lovely, the Charly Nicole even better, but the Laventureaux was one of my top 4 wines of the tasting – fabulous.
• Côte de Nuits:
  Laurent FOURNIER– Domaine Jean FOURNIER (50)
  François AMBROISE – Maison AMBROISE (51.5)
  François GALEYRAND – Domaine GALEYRAND (54)
  In this group came my other three top wines of the tasting, and interestingly the wines clearly showed three different ‘hands’ as the styles were so different. First were the wines of Laurent Fournier, starting with a great Bourgogne and then a Côte de Nuits Villages followed by a Marsannay – super wines but really showing their structure – more vin de garde in style. Next were the wines of François Ambroise; the first two – a Bourgogne Blanc and a Côte de Nuits Villages (red) – got high scores from me but it could have been higher if they had been less reductive, the last however, a Nuits St.Georges 1er Cru was just a fabulous wine of depth and complexity which was the second of my 4 top scoring wines. Lastly were three wines from François Galeyrand; a really great Bourgogne that I scored the equal of Laurent Fournier’s, but then a Côte de Nuits Villages and a Gevrey-Chambertin that were my other two top-scoring wines.
• Côte de Beaune:
  Florian REGNARD – EARL Christian REGNARD (46)
  Alexandre PARIGOT – Domaine PARIGOT (47.5)
  Laurent GAY – Domaine Michel GAY & fils (53)
  The first wines were those of Regnard; A nice enough Bourgogne (HCdB) blanc, though showing plenty of barrel influence. A Chassagne that began tight but slowly opened with aeration then a Maranges 1er Cru that showed more structure and a good length. Parigot also started with a Bourgogne (HCdB), but this time a red one! It had good depth and texture but wasn’t the tastiest wine we encountered. The two wines that followed were very good though – a beautifully aromatic and well structured Beaune 1er and little more modest Pommard 1er. The Michel Gay wines started with an outstanding Bourgogne Pinot Noir – my highest marked wine in this section – 18. There followed an Aloxe-Corton and a Beaune 1er – both excellent and 17.5 each from me. All three of these wines I scored higher than the previous six!
• Côte Chalonnaise:
  Erell et Flavien NINOT – Domaine NINOT (53)
  Félix DEBAVELAERE – Domaine DES ROIS MAGES (49)
  Benoit ESCHARD – Domaine JEANNIN NALTET (48.5)
  We started with the Ninots, and what a great set of wines – all scoring highly – a crémant, a white Rully and a red Rully 1er cru – We were really left with an impression of confidence from this producer as they tackled three wine styles and all were beautifully executed. The wines of Rois Mages began with a pretty and floral Bourgogne Blanc – delicious but not the purity or freshness for a great score. There followed, like the previous producer, a white Rully and a red 1er Rully – the former fresh, mineral and interesting, the latter also with an engaging minerality and super complexity. Lastly the three from Jeannin-Naltet began unfortunately with an exotically fruited, modest acidity and oaky white Mercurey but the red Mercurey that followed had depth, freshness and nice structure. The last wine from them, a Mercurey 1er was an excellent wine, complex, floral and long with great structure. Like the Côte de Beaune group, before, almost zero discussion needed to choose the winner here.
• Mâconnais:
  Xavier GREUZARD – Château de la GREFFIERE (50)
  Audrey Braccini – Domaine FERRET-LORTON (48.5)
  Franz-Ludwig GONDARD – Domaine GONDARD PERRIN (48.5)
  A very close group – only one extra good wine for the winner was the difference here. We began with the Greffière wines – the first, a Mâcon rouge was saline, complex and long – lovely wine. The second a Mâcon blanc was fresh, pure and attractive – I thought a little behind the red but lovely. Lastly an excellent St.Véran that was fresh concentrated and long. The wines of Domaine Ferret-Lorton started with a Mâcon that showed very modestly – their weak link – but their two Pouilly-Fuissés were very fine – if rather oaky. Lastly came the three wines of Gondard-Perrin, starting deliciously with a good crémant, their weak link was a Viré-Clessé that whilst concentrated seemed a little too sweet and with too modest energy. Their last wine was super, another Viré-Clessé more airy, complex and energetic – long too – a super wine. In the end it was consistency that gave Greffière their win.
• Beaujolais:
  Romuald PETIT – Domaine Romuald PETIT (47)
  Didier LAGNEAU – Domaine Gérard et Didier LAGNEAU (50.5)
  Mee GODARD – Domaine MEE GODARD (50.5)
  Six Morgons in our 9 wines and another very tight decision – in fact the tightest! The wines of Romauld Petit began with a really fine Beaujolais Villages, so it was a little surprising that the Morgon that followed showed so modestly – it was a very direct wine, one to wait for, offering only some floral interest. The last wine was another Morgon in what I consider the direct, deep very young Corton-style that Morgon often produces. It was very good but again a style to wait for. The wines of Lagneau started with a Morgon and of much deeper colour than those of Petit. Fresh, pure, spicy and very silky – a super wine. Then came an equally deeply coloured Regnié – vin de garde, pure, tannic and a good complexity. The last wine was another deeply coloured affair, this time a Côte de Brouilly, again vin de garde with just a little more mouth-watering flavour. The last producer (Godard) delivered 3 Morgons; the first open, supple and with a great finish. The second more saline, fresh and complex but a less impressive finish. The last wine was easily the best in this section and the wine that swung our decision – fresh, more volume in the mouth, nicer texture, more mouth-watering and simply the best finish of any of these wines.

My top wines:

18.5/20:
2015 Domaine Roland LAVANTUREUX, Chablis 1er Fourchaume
2015 Maison AMBROISE, Nuits St.Georges 1er cru Les Vaucrains
2015 Domaine GALEYRAND, Côte de Nuits Villages Les Retraits
2015 Domaine GALEYRAND, Gevrey Chambertin En Billard

18.0/20:
2015 Domaine Christophe FERRARI, Irancy
2015 Domaine Christophe FERRARI, Irancy Les Mazelots
2015 Domaine Charly NICOLLE, Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
2015 Domaine Michel GAY & fils, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
2015 Domaine NINOT, Rully 1er Cru Marissou
2015 Domaine Mee GODARD, Morgon Corcelette

Each year the BIVB hold a number of large tastings – this year 1,130 samples were presented and were split:

Regional – 31%
Villages – 41%
Premiers – 23%
Grands Crus – 5%

The wines were supplied by domaines 84%, négoce 13% and cooperatives 3%

Of those, the BIVB selected 195 wines to represent ‘Burgundy’ at tastings all around the world – this is their annual Cave Prestige.

You can download the list of all those wines here.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make this tasting this year, but here, double-quick, are the results from the judging that took place last Friday evening – and from hundreds of wines presented – tasted by over 100 winemakers:

• 2014 Mâcon whites and reds
• 2015 Mâcon whites, rosé and reds!

Enjoy…

http://www.larvf.com/,trophees-du-vin-2012-le-negociant-de-l-annee,10337,4025185,5

Congratulations to Gregory Patriat, and of-course the rest of the team: JC Boisset is the RVF negociant of the year.

One of the most talented winemakers in th Cote d’Or – the award has found a safe home.

I little birdie tells that Alain Serveau of Maison Albert Bichot is the IWC’s white ‘winemaker’ of the year. Those are my quotation marks given that Alan probably didn’t get his hands too dirty during the process, rather I expect he provided the ‘direction’ 😉 Well done Alan – a friendly and humble man.

Apparently the Corton-Charlemagne of Bichot’s Domaine du Pavillon 2009 was the winner of both the 2011 White Burgundy Trophy and the ‘French White’ Trophy. I have to say that a bottle of the 2001 earlier this year was nothing short of tremendous!

For the reds it’s another ‘Burgundian’ winemaker – Patrick Landanger – who also scooped IWC Champion Red Wine of the year with his 2009 villages Chambolle. I really must catch up with what he’s doing in Volnay!

So that was 2006!

Not such a bad year (provided you have no association with a ‘war zone’), many good wines were drunk and they easily outweighed the number of disappointments. The 2005’s tasted throughout the year in barrel were harder to taste than (for instance) the 2002’s but really started to come together at the end of of 2006 – a great vintage for both colours that should provide a lot of fun drinking this year and beyond. The quality of the grape harvest was was patchy but many super wines will be made in Corton and further north.

My favourite post of 2006 belongs to Bert Celce of wineterroirs who took us through a tour of wine additives – quite an eye opener.

Transfer of the year in 2006 can only be the coup by Robert Parker when he hired Neal Martin for eRobertParker. It was a far-sighted move to bring the the pithy, witty writing of Neal to a new stage – it’s just a shame that Neal is now lost to those who do not pay…

My best value wines from 2006 were very easy to choose – and that despite close to 600 wines tasted/drunk during the year:

1999 Francois Gay, Ladoix and 2002 Louis Jadot, Bourgogne Chardonnay
The red punches way above it’s appellation and was a joy to all that drank it, likewise the plush rather than steely white with its coat of perfectly judged oak was often mistaken for a grander wine. Approximately 16 Euros for the red and 8 Euros for the white provide a true education in burgundian value.
 

My favourite 1er Cru wines from 2006 were the ones that really stood out from the crowd, I will choose two reds and two whites, first the reds:

2004 JC Boisset, Chambolle Charmes and 2003 Leroy, Gevrey Combottes
Both wines show a mind-bending concentration and yet balance. The Charmes is an unbelievably complex and long wine, whereas the Combottes is about its crystalline delivery. The Charmes is not cheap, but a bargain when compared to the Leroy – note that both of these wines will ‘better’ most grand crus.
2002 Bouchard P&F, Meursault Perrières + 2004 Amiot, Chassagne Vergers
If both of my red picks major on power, then here we look at subtlety and joie-de-vivre. The Bouchard is subtly concentrated but understatedly multidimensional – a wine to marvel in its many reflections. The Amiot was one of my first bottled 2004 purchases, and during the first 6 months of its life stunned in its vivacity, encapsulating all the fresh, citrus infused minerality that 2004 can offer. It’s still fun now, but already just a little less forward – my last three bottles are now sleeping.
 

The most impressive Grand Crus of 2006 are 2 reds and one white:

1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tache
This can only be described as ‘ultra-wine’, unfortunately its price is pretty much unaffordable for anyone who didn’t buy in the first 3-4 years from release. The icon of a generation.
2003 Domaine des Chezeaux, Chambertin
Because of the domaine’s metayage arrangements you will also find exactly the same wine under the Ponsot label for a few dollars more. The Chezeaux/Ponsot Chambertin is usually quite a lacy and understated wine – at least for a Chambertin – but 2003 brings extra density and a peacock’s tail of complexity to the finish. Worth an extra search.
2002 Antonin Guyon, Corton-Charlemagne
Few grand cru whites really stood out from the crowd in 2006, but this forthright ‘take me as you find me’ powerhouse won-over all who drank it this year. Well balanced, but with quintessential Charlemagne power.
 

Just in case you were interested, the best wine I tasted from barrel in 2006 was Comte Liger-Belairs’ La Romanée.

I’m already looking forward to wines yet to be drunk in 2007…

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
La Tâche
2000

I suppose February was a little early for an entry in this page, but then again it’s not every day that you get to taste La Tâche. Even from such a young vintage as 2000, there is something quite special about this precocious wine. This was tasted along with the other reds from the domaine in 2000, courtesy of Corney and Barrow> in the UK. La Tâche and Romanée-Conti were head and shoulders above the other wines, which I would ‘merely’ class as excellent, but these two were very special. Apparently La Tâche is usually the most ‘showy’ of the wines when young, and that was certainly the case for this tasting, hence, it’s inclusion ahead of the Romanée-Conti.

The Grand Cru
In the very heart of Vosne-Romanée lies this special piece of ground. La Tâche is a ‘Monopole’ vineyard of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; that is to say that they own the vineyard in its entireity, so you won’t find any other producers of this wine. As vineyards go at this rareified level, it’s actually quite a large size, covering 6.06 hectares, or 14.4 acres. From the 46 year-old vines, the domiane had a relatively high yield of 32.65 hectolitres per hectare in 2000, producing a little over 2,000 cases. If the vineyard of Romanée-Conti did not exist, this would be the finest Burgundy in the world.

The Wine
Deep cherry red colour. The nose is at first disappointingly understated and faintly spicy, but with swirling; first red cherry, then black cherry, then blackcurrant, then kirsch, hints of vanilla, then orange – something new every sniff – then the nose goes deeper, showing a little plum and coffee – frankly stunning, who needs to drink this wine? A fat, sappy palate with very concentrated fruit, tannins that are more silk than velvet and a multitude of flavours playing over your tongue – fantastic texture. The maximum interest for me right now is the aromatics, but this is exceptional wine by any measure.