Hill Rag

Wine Guys: Burgundy Heaven

by: Jon Genderson

Going to France for the sole purpose of tasting wine seems like a very cushy job, right? If only it was so. Centered around the town of Beaune, the Grand Jour de Bourgogne is a week-long tasting where producers from each village gather in each other’s cellars (or the “town hall”) to taste their current wines. Since there are more than seven villages in Burgundy there are between two and four tastings a day, not to mention cellar visits with producers we are already doing business with and those I met at the tastings. It worked out that I tasted about 400 wines a day. Everything from young, tannic wines to wines that coated your mouth and made you pucker. It was really difficult work. How can I taste so many wines in one day and know what I was drinking? I had to spit everything. I never swallowed a drop all day. It is the only way to taste. The only drinking on this trip occurred after the tastings were over, where I had the wonderful opportunity to dine in Michelin starred restaurants and order rare, mature Burgundies, which were perfectly cellared. Many of these dinners were followed with Marc de Bourgogne, making it hard to get up the next morning for more tasting.

I managed to find several producers whose wines we will be purchasing, three who have never exported to the US before. I also learned quite a bit about the vintages that are currently available and what is coming down the pike. Most producers were showing their 2004’s, both red and white. The White Burgundy from 2004 is exceptional. In general, the wines are full-flavored with excellent acidity and balance. Most of the better wines will benefit from 1 to 5 years in the cellar. The reds from 2004 are more variable. The vignerons called it a “challenging” vintage. Cool weather and rain prevented some of the Pinot Noir from fully ripening resulting in wines that are very tannic. There are a handful of excellent 2004 reds but they will require 15 years of cellaring or more. It is my recommendation to skip the 2004 vintage for red and concentrate on the still available 2002’s and 2003’s and the future release of the excellent 2005 vintage.

France suffered some of the worst weather imaginable in 2002. Heavy rains in Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley and the Languedoc made producing wines quite difficult. Burgundy suffered a drought. It did rain on and off from August 26th thru September 10th but than perfect weather ensued until harvest. Growers who waited for physiological ripeness to occur produced excellent wines with wonderful ripeness and balance. Many consider this the best year in Burgundy since 1990.

The 2003 vintage in Burgundy is very unique. It started out with a spring freeze that greatly reduced yields. It was the hottest vintage on record and was a year of drought and blazing sun. These factors led many growers to produce poor wines. The best growers however managed to produce their best wines since the 1990 vintage. I first heard of the uniqueness of the 2003’s from Pierre Meurgey, proprietor at Maison Champy. He told me shortly after the harvest that the wines were more like Rhone’s than Burgundy. From the richness, dark color and spice of his wines, I agree. Many vignerons made wines resembling Russian River Pinot Noir with strawberry/cherry fruit flavors but no spice. These wines will mature sooner than the spicy ones. I found many great 2003’s in Burgundy and will be importing them this spring and fall. There are also a lot of great wines here now but hurry, it was a very small crop.

The 2005 vintage, tasted in barrel, has all the makings of another truly great vintage. Near perfect weather conditions seem to have produced great vintages for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, a rarity. Warm weather (not as hot as 2003) and just a little rain in August produced near perfect grapes. It was another vintage where winegrowers claim that the wines make themselves. The whites’ posses richness and balance, the reds abundant fruit and balance with structured tannins. I can’t wait to taste these wines next year.

Wines to Try

Whites

Bertrand Ambroise Bourgogne Blanc 2004 ($19.99)
Crisp and full flavored with bright apple, pear and vanilla. Perfect for shellfish or just drinking on the deck.

Bertrand Ambroise Haut Cote de Nuits Blanc 2003 ($24.99)
I fell in love with the bright apple and pear fruit of this full bodied White Burgundy. Rich and complex with apple and butter flavors, toasty oak and a five minute finish, this is an unbelievable value in White Burgundy.

Claude Chevalier Ladoix Blanc 2003 ($29.99)
Ladoixs vineyards abut Corton Charlemagne and this lovely 2003 offers up Cortons mineral profile along with pear and toast. Perfect with shellfish or by itself.

Dubois Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2004 ($24.99)
This is an unheard of price for a Grand Cru Chablis. Full bodied and full flavored with crisp butter, fruit and oak. It’s just delicious!

Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2003 ($11.99)
Matrot’s Meursault are quite renowned and this 2003 Bourgogne is delicious in the ripe 2003 vintage. Flavors of apple and butter are wrapped around a solid core of fruit.

Vocoret Chablis 2003 ($19.99)
A lovely wine with body, richness and flavor. Medium-bodied, fat, and lush, it is a plump wine of delightful purity. Minerals, slate, and hints of toast are found in its expressive character.

2002 Red Burgundy

Gille Nuits St. George “Les Brulees” 2002 ($39.99)
Classic Nuits St. George with great depth of flavor, power and length. Pure and medium to full-bodied, it displays plums, cassis liqueur, and black cherries in its powerful, deep character. This well-balanced wine has a stunning finish that’s crammed with fruit. It is suave, and extremely long.Girardin Clos de la Roche 2002 ($99.99)
Candied black cherries, cassis, and roasted oak scents can be found in the nose of this full-bodied wine. Armed with admirable depth and intensity of fruit, this delicious wine offers lush layers of dark fruits finishing with great structure and length. It will drink beautifully in 4-5 years.

Patrice Rion Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes..Reg ($89.99)
An outstanding wine, the nose is full of black cherries and raspberries. Full and palate coating with sweet Pinot Noir fruit leading to a soft and seamless finish. Just delicious!

Patrice Rion Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru La Clef du Sol ($79.99)
Elegant with ripe dark cherry and strawberry fruit flavors wrapped around a solid structure enabling the wine to live for many years.

Patrice Rion Nuits St. George 1er Cru Clos des Argillieres ($79.99)
It bursts from the glass with spices and violets. Big, lush, and pure, its spicy personality offers copious quantities of cinnamon-laced red cherries. This medium-bodied wine is sweet, juicy, fruit-driven, and displays a long raspberry as well as oak-laced finish.

2003 Red Burgundy

Champy Bourgogne Signature Pinot Noir 2003 ($24.99)
Typical of the 2003 vintage, this “lesser” Appellation has excellent depth of fruit, ripe cherry and strawberry flavors and good body. It blows away anything from the states for $20.

Champy Chorey-Les-Beaune 2003 ($29.99)
Very ripe cherry and dark berry fruits are balanced and soft in this delicious Red Burgundy. This is another super value to introduce you to the wonders of Burgundy.

Champy Beaune 1er Cru Le Champs Pimont 2003 ($49.99)
Wow, the fruit is so intense it’s almost like liquor. Bright cherry and dark berry fruit flavors are seamlessly integrated into the rich structure of this hedonistic wine.

Claude Chevalier Cotes de Nuits Village 2003 ($24.99)
This wine come from vineyards are just outside of Chevalier’s Corton vineyard. It is dark, rich and spicy with blackberry and black cherry flavors. Very special!

Claude Chevalier Ladoix 1er cru Corvees ($31.99)
The vineyards of Ladoix are situated next to Corton and contain similar flavors. Cassis and blackberries are prominent in this suave and spicy Ladoix. Big in body, fruit, spice and soft tannins, it is delicious now and will be really something in 2-3 more years.

Jadot Chambolle Musigny Les Feusselottes ($84.99)
An uncommonly rich, sweet, provocative wine with terrific fruit intensity, and an exciting fragrance of fruit, flowers, and spice. It is a medium-bodied, graceful wine with well-integrated, unobtrusive tannin. Delicious!

Patrice Rion Savigny-les-Beaune 2003 ( $29.99)
Another great value. Cherries, raspberries, and notes of plums can be found in its plush, supple personality as well as in its persistent finish. This medium-bodied, velvety-textured wine can be drunk over the next 3-5 years.

Jon and Rick Generson are the owners of Schneiders on Capitol Hill.


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Wine Guys: Burgundy Heaven

by: Jon Genderson
Going to France for the sole purpose of tasting wine seems like a very cushy job, right? If only it was so. Centered around the town of Beaune, the Grand Jour de Bourgogne is a week-long tasting where producers from each village gather in each other’s cellars (or the “town hall”) to taste their current wines. Since there are more than seven villages in Burgundy there are between two and four tastings a day, not to mention cellar visits with producers we are already doing business with and those I met at the tastings. It worked out that I tasted about 400 wines a day. Everything from young, tannic wines to wines that coated your mouth and made you pucker. It was really difficult work. How can I taste so many wines in one day and know what I was drinking? I had to spit everything. I never swallowed a drop all day. It is the only way to taste. The only drinking on this trip occurred after the tastings were over, where I had the wonderful opportunity to dine in Michelin starred restaurants and order rare, mature Burgundies, which were perfectly cellared. Many of these dinners were followed with Marc de Bourgogne, making it hard to get up the next morning for more tasting. I managed to find several producers whose wines we will be purchasing, three who have never exported to the US before. I also learned quite a bit about the vintages that are currently available and what is coming down the pike. Most producers were showing their 2004’s, both red and white. The White Burgundy from 2004 is exceptional. In general, the wines are full-flavored with excellent acidity and balance. Most of the better wines will benefit from 1 to 5 years in the cellar. The reds from 2004 are more variable. The vignerons called it a “challenging” vintage. Cool weather and rain prevented some of the Pinot Noir from fully ripening resulting in wines that are very tannic. There are a handful of excellent 2004 reds but they will require 15 years of cellaring or more. It is my recommendation to skip the 2004 vintage for red and concentrate on the still available 2002’s and 2003’s and the future release of the excellent 2005 vintage. France suffered some of the worst weather imaginable in 2002. Heavy rains in Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley and the Languedoc made producing wines quite difficult. Burgundy suffered a drought. It did rain on and off from August 26th thru September 10th but than perfect weather ensued until harvest. Growers who waited for physiological ripeness to occur produced excellent wines with wonderful ripeness and balance. Many consider this the best year in Burgundy since 1990. The 2003 vintage in Burgundy is very unique. It started out with a spring freeze that greatly reduced yields. It was the hottest vintage on record and was a year of drought and blazing sun. These factors led many growers to produce poor wines. The best growers however managed to produce their best wines since the 1990 vintage. I first heard of the uniqueness of the 2003’s from Pierre Meurgey, proprietor at Maison Champy. He told me shortly after the harvest that the wines were more like Rhone’s than Burgundy. From the richness, dark color and spice of his wines, I agree. Many vignerons made wines resembling Russian River Pinot Noir with strawberry/cherry fruit flavors but no spice. These wines will mature sooner than the spicy ones. I found many great 2003’s in Burgundy and will be importing them this spring and fall. There are also a lot of great wines here now but hurry, it was a very small crop. The 2005 vintage, tasted in barrel, has all the makings of another truly great vintage. Near perfect weather conditions seem to have produced great vintages for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, a rarity. Warm weather (not as hot as 2003) and just a little rain in August produced near perfect grapes. It was another vintage where winegrowers claim that the wines make themselves. The whites’ posses richness and balance, the reds abundant fruit and balance with structured tannins. I can’t wait to taste these wines next year. Wines to Try Whites Bertrand Ambroise Bourgogne Blanc 2004 ($19.99) Crisp and full flavored with bright apple, pear and vanilla. Perfect for shellfish or just drinking on the deck. Bertrand Ambroise Haut Cote de Nuits Blanc 2003 ($24.99) I fell in love with the bright apple and pear fruit of this full bodied White Burgundy. Rich and complex with apple and butter flavors, toasty oak and a five minute finish, this is an unbelievable value in White Burgundy. Claude Chevalier Ladoix Blanc 2003 ($29.99) Ladoixs vineyards abut Corton Charlemagne and this lovely 2003 offers up Cortons mineral profile along with pear and toast. Perfect with shellfish or by itself. Dubois Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2004 ($24.99) This is an unheard of price for a Grand Cru Chablis. Full bodied and full flavored with crisp butter, fruit and oak. It’s just delicious! Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2003 ($11.99) Matrot’s Meursault are quite renowned and this 2003 Bourgogne is delicious in the ripe 2003 vintage. Flavors of apple and butter are wrapped around a solid core of fruit. Vocoret Chablis 2003 ($19.99) A lovely wine with body, richness and flavor. Medium-bodied, fat, and lush, it is a plump wine of delightful purity. Minerals, slate, and hints of toast are found in its expressive character. 2002 Red Burgundy Gille Nuits St. George “Les Brulees” 2002 ($39.99) Classic Nuits St. George with great depth of flavor, power and length. Pure and medium to full-bodied, it displays plums, cassis liqueur, and black cherries in its powerful, deep character. This well-balanced wine has a stunning finish that’s crammed with fruit. It is suave, and extremely long.Girardin Clos de la Roche 2002 ($99.99) Candied black cherries, cassis, and roasted oak scents can be found in the nose of this full-bodied wine. Armed with admirable depth and intensity of fruit, this delicious wine offers lush layers of dark fruits finishing with great structure and length. It will drink beautifully in 4-5 years. Patrice Rion Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes..Reg ($89.99) An outstanding wine, the nose is full of black cherries and raspberries. Full and palate coating with sweet Pinot Noir fruit leading to a soft and seamless finish. Just delicious! Patrice Rion Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru La Clef du Sol ($79.99) Elegant with ripe dark cherry and strawberry fruit flavors wrapped around a solid structure enabling the wine to live for many years. Patrice Rion Nuits St. George 1er Cru Clos des Argillieres ($79.99) It bursts from the glass with spices and violets. Big, lush, and pure, its spicy personality offers copious quantities of cinnamon-laced red cherries. This medium-bodied wine is sweet, juicy, fruit-driven, and displays a long raspberry as well as oak-laced finish. 2003 Red Burgundy Champy Bourgogne Signature Pinot Noir 2003 ($24.99) Typical of the 2003 vintage, this “lesser” Appellation has excellent depth of fruit, ripe cherry and strawberry flavors and good body. It blows away anything from the states for $20. Champy Chorey-Les-Beaune 2003 ($29.99) Very ripe cherry and dark berry fruits are balanced and soft in this delicious Red Burgundy. This is another super value to introduce you to the wonders of Burgundy. Champy Beaune 1er Cru Le Champs Pimont 2003 ($49.99) Wow, the fruit is so intense it’s almost like liquor. Bright cherry and dark berry fruit flavors are seamlessly integrated into the rich structure of this hedonistic wine. Claude Chevalier Cotes de Nuits Village 2003 ($24.99) This wine come from vineyards are just outside of Chevalier’s Corton vineyard. It is dark, rich and spicy with blackberry and black cherry flavors. Very special! Claude Chevalier Ladoix 1er cru Corvees ($31.99) The vineyards of Ladoix are situated next to Corton and contain similar flavors. Cassis and blackberries are prominent in this suave and spicy Ladoix. Big in body, fruit, spice and soft tannins, it is delicious now and will be really something in 2-3 more years. Jadot Chambolle Musigny Les Feusselottes ($84.99) An uncommonly rich, sweet, provocative wine with terrific fruit intensity, and an exciting fragrance of fruit, flowers, and spice. It is a medium-bodied, graceful wine with well-integrated, unobtrusive tannin. Delicious! Patrice Rion Savigny-les-Beaune 2003 ( $29.99) Another great value. Cherries, raspberries, and notes of plums can be found in its plush, supple personality as well as in its persistent finish. This medium-bodied, velvety-textured wine can be drunk over the next 3-5 years. Jon and Rick Generson are the owners of Schneiders on Capitol Hill.