Burgundy Wine Tasting 2004
Set 3 - Four More

We had the final four wines with a plate of assorted cheese. Cheese is a perfect pairing for red wine, because the cheese tends to mellow out the tannins of the wine, making it more smooth and drinkable. Because we'd already eaten food up until this point (of course) and were now tasting the wine with cheese, you need to take these following reviews with a small grain of salt. Undoubtedly any tannins in these wines were mellowed by what had come before :) I will try to re-taste these wines at a later date on their own.

Maison Antonin Rodet Domaine des Perdrix Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru 2001 ($70)
Smooth, fruity and rich, hints of cherry and earth with medium tannins and a nice finish. In talking about the 2001 vintage, Bertrand explained that "2002 suffered to be after 2001 - a vintage following a great vintage is always underestimated". This wine won a number of awards for its quality.

Domaine Rene Engel Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2000 ($65)
Gorgeous nose of rose petals and flowers. Rich with red fruit flavors and berry flavors, a medium-light, juicy mouthfeel and gentle spice finish. Bertrand explained that "2000 was a difficult vintage - the weather wasn't typical, but a little bit of botrytis [noble rot] greatly helped the vintage." Still, he felt that the 2000 vintage ended up a bit weak in body and opulence.

Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru 2000 ($60)
Delicate and elegant, with light berry flavors

Maison Louis-Latour Chateau Corton Grancey 1999 ($60)
Medium mouthfeel with spice and pepper, with a fresh, bright acidic flavor - juicy berries and medium tannins - and a long finish. Quite nice and juicy. Bertrand explained of 1999 that "all those great vintages, after their early years come to be a bit shy - look for this to be very brilliant in the future."

Antoine then talked about the recent white vintages. 1999 was a minerally vintage. 2000 was a very good vintage for whites, with good terroir flavors and maturity due to the noble botrytis. 2001 depended on when you picked the grapes - for some growers, this is one of their favorite vintages, with well balanced fruit. Others had difficult weather for harvest time and the grapes suffered as a result. One terroir never behaved the same as its neighbor.

Antoine moved on to talk about the philosophies of vine growing. Different families of vine growing use natural elements to explain the natural growth of their plants - fire, earth, moon, water. A good style and great expression of terroir comes from a balance of those elements. The balancing is done plot by plot and is very risky, as any change in climate or temperature can throw things out of balance.

For example, he only uses organics for spraying the vines and fighting disease. If you use copper and sulfur you get very nice results but you have to be very careful with the weather - if it rains you have to spray again quickly. Some people will spray too much - costing a lot of money and damaging the environment. To run a winery well, you have to care about the health of the vineyard, about the health of the wine and the health of the consumer, plus the health of the environment around you. Instead of indiscriminately spraying for everything constantly, he goes into his vineyards twice a week and checks all of the vines. That way he can carefully choose exactly what to spray, where to spray it, and use the minimal quantities necessary.

This is only the beginning, though. "The efforts you make in the vineyards have to be followed up in the vinification," he pointed out.

Ironically, while some say that international competition is bad, Antoine was quick to point out that "Burgundy quality is improving - let's thank international competition for that. There is no fortune for anyone who relies on the name of the village that they live in - and THAT is good news!" Wine drinkers always demand quality from present wines - they will not buy bad wine just because the label is famous. The Burgundian winemakers have to have a sense of risk - to be brave enough to wait for full maturity of the grapes, risking a rainstorm or frost.

Antoine talked further about the issues of fame. "If people are knocking on your door praising yoru wine, why would you research new methods? I think we have the elements for making the best pinot noir in the world, but we can't be asleep. Those who do not improve will not survive." Burgundy is still learning much about the best techniques for vine managment, and uses the trials and tribulations around the world to hone their own systems. "We can only make good wines if we have good grapes. The two areas we are most improving in are in control of the quantity of grapes, and to be brave enough to wait for full maturity before harvesting."

Many US wine drinkers are familiar with pinot noir, but are uncertain about Burgundy wines. Be sure to find a Burgundy wine that comes well recommended by your local wine shop, and give it a try! You might find that in Burgundy, pinot noir shows its best flavors and is your new favorite red. In the meantime, if you're in the Boston area, be sure to look up the Mistral restaurant. The food was exceptional and went perfectly with the wines served.

Main Burgundy Tasting Page

Learn More about Burgundy
Learn More about Pinot Noir

Master Wine Event Listing