Burgundy 2017

 Vineyards are the key to understanding Burgundy wines. There are four levels. From lowest to highest, they are: bourgogne (51% of production), village (38%), premier (1er) cru (9.3%), and grand cru (a tiny 1.3% of production). The vineyards stretch from Dijon south for 70km. The western end is bordered by southeast-facing hills, which are where the most prized vineyards are located. The grand cru vineyards lie in the middle of these hills. The soil is less fertile here than on the valley floor, which is a positive, and they are less prone to cool air and frost than the top of the hills.

In the hundreds of years of wine production, wine estates have been divided many times as a result of heritage rules. Consequently, many land plots are only a few rows of vines. To remain viable, wine producers have therefore bought additional wine plots when they became available. The result is a complex matrix. Most vineyards are divided into plots owned by a number of producers, and most producers own vineyard plots in a number of areas or villages.

These circumstances make Burgundy the holy grail of wine tasting. Different terroir can be experienced in wine from one producer, and comparisons between producers growing grapes on the same vineyard can be made.

There are a number of ways in which you can understand and enjoy Burgundy wines. The main villages, Beaune, Meursault and Nuits-Saint-Georges, have several commercial ‘caves’ (cellars), which open for public tastings. These are often accompanied by some educational commentary. However, the wines are not particularly special. This is suitable for newcomers not just to Burgundy, but to tasting wine in general. Then you can take a specialised tour, such as a grand cru tour, which may stop at three wineries. This tends to be expensive, but it is easy to organise. It is a bit like being the passenger in a car: when you are asked about the route you have taken, you may not remember much other than that you enjoyed it.

The most involved, and most rewarding, approach is to organise appointments with a number of Domaines. Tastings with different winemakers will give you opportunities to taste the four classification levels, and to appreciate the effects of geographic location.

Though Burgundy wineries are small, some have a stellar reputation, and annual output is on strict allocation. As a result, for the average wine lover, tastings at these properties, the foremost of which is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, are impossible to arrange. However, this does not mean tastings cannot be arranged at many wineries. I describe such a trip below. I hope the insights alluded to above will emerge.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

I am basing myself at the Ermitage de Corton, a boutique hotel just north of Beaune. I like it because it is situated halfway along the Côte d'Or, with easy access to all major villages. It is quiet, it is surrounded by vineyards, and it has a very comfortable restaurant with amazing modern French food and great service. For a five-star experience, the Hostellerie Le Cèdre in Beaune is a good choice, again with an excellent restaurant. For a quieter option, one could base oneself in Meursault, the centre of the Chardonnay area, which is a more typical French village. The Hotel Les Charmes is a good option for the more budget-conscious traveller. You can also stay in an old chateau, the Château de Cîteaux, with all the trimmings of past centuries.

                                                                    Château de Cîteaux

For my first day, I plan to explore Chardonnay, and have arranged a tasting at Domaine Jean Chartron. Its wines are available in Australia. The domaine was established in 1859 and is now in its 5th generation. It is one of the larger wineries with a well appointed tasting room,  based in Puligny-Montrachet, where most of the wines come from. In total the Domaine owns 13ha of vineyards with an average vine age of 40 years. The total annual production is around 90,000 bottles. I tasted eight wines from the stellar 2015 vintage, one Bourgogne, three Villages and four Premiers Cru. All wines are made with the same approach, with 20–40% new oak. The differences speak of the varieties of terroir in the vineyards.

The grapes were picked early in this warm vintage, and this helped maintain the freshness and vitality typical of chardonnays of this region. Still, the wines are more open than in a normal year and can be enjoyed quite young. The Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune 'En Bois Guillemain' showed crispy fruit, and surprised with its tension and line to the finish. It is an absolute steal at €15, and is certainly equal to a very good Australian chardonnay in the $30–$40 range.

It was interesting to compare the village wines from Chassagne-Montrachet with those of Puligny-Montrachet. The Chassagne-Montrachet  ‘Benoîtes', for instance, was broader on the palate, with earthy characters and minerality shining through. The Puligny-Montrachet had more of a citrus fruit character, with zesty acids, and was quite elegant.

The real excitement starts with the premiers crus. The St Aubin 1er Cru 'Les Murgers des Dents de Chien' (where do they get these names from?) is a lovely open wine. It shows more fruit intensity, and the 20% new oak is noticeable. This St Aubin premier cru is close to Puligny-Montrachet, but without the price tag – another appeal of this wine.

The three Puligny-Montrachet premier crus were fascinating. 'Les Folatières' is a generous and full-bodied wine, with pear and apple flavours, and zesty acids leading to a long and complex finish. The most exciting wine for me was the 'Clos de la Pucelle'. From 100-year-old vines, the nose is expressive, the pear and apple fruit quite concentrated. There are traces of tropical flavours, too. What excited me was the mixture of freshness and opulence in this wine. It will show its best in a few years’ time. The 'Clos du Cailleret’ has the highest reputation, and it is an excellent wine. It has extra richness on the mid-palate, which makes it grand cru-like, and a long, classy finish. However, I enjoyed the raciness of the previous wine more.

These premiers crus are all made the same way, and yet their fruit profile, richness, and linearity are quite different. The different terroirs (and vine age) show through. This became even more apparent on the following day.

Day two takes me to the heart of the Côte de Nuits and pinot noir, to Vosne-Romanée. I first meet with young winemaker Maxime Cheurlin, of Domaine Georges Noëllat. He has been the winemaker since 2010 and, I suggest, with the 2015 wines, will rise to superstar status in Burgundy. The Domaine is small and the tasting takes place casually in the wine cellar. The portfolio of wines is expanding, and he has now 10ha under control, producing 45,000 bottles per year. We are tasting 2015s from the barrel. The wines are one week away from bottling. The tasting starts innocently enough, with the Nuits-Saint-Georges Village, a fresh and quite acidic wine.

The first 1er cru is the Chambolle-Musigny ‘Les Feusselottes’. This is a new wine for Cheurlin. This wine includes 15% stems – most wines are 100% destemmed. The vibrant cherry and pomegranate fruit blends with a limestone minerality. The wine has a classy finish and is delightful drinking. The Nuits-Saint-Georges ‘Les Boudots’  is quite different. This is a concentrated wine, still fresh, but quite large in its mouthfeel, and masculine.

The last four wines are fascinating expressions of the Vosne-Romanée terroir. They all get 100% new oak treatment, but the fruit is so strong that the oak does not shine through at all. The ‘Petit-Monts’ is a vibrant wine, fresh and lean, with linearity and a long finish. By contrast, ‘Les Beaux Monts’ is more juicy, generous and broader, with an expanding finish. The two vineyards are only a couple of hundred metres apart, but Petit-Monts twists a bit further east – its wind direction and humidity are different, says Cheurlin.

There is a similar difference between the two grand crus. The ‘Échezeaux’, which includes some stems, is very dark and intense. The rich fruit of forest berries and redcurrant delivers a powerful, but also smooth and silky mouthfeel, leading to a minerally driven long finish. This is an outstanding expression of the 2015 vintage. The ‘Grands Échezeaux’ is more closed at this point, not as big, with predominantly blue fruit notes. There are spices and earthy minerality. This wine has great depth and complexity, which will only unfold fully over time – it is another outstanding creation.

Cheurlin talks a lot about freshness in his wines. His 2015 wines are profound, but also silky and seductive. He intends to bring some to Australia later this year.

My second tasting of the day, at Domaine Armelle and Bernard Rion, could not have been more different. The differences start with the cellar door, which is located off the main route through Burgundy, D974. There are more visitors and there is an emphasis on selling to the public rather than tasting. Rion controls 7ha on 15 plots, and produces 30,000 bottles per year. I am tasting wines from the 2014 vintage.

The two village wines, from Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée, are quite simple and do not offer much depth. The 1er cru, 'Les Gruenchers' from Chambolle-Musigny, is still quite closed. It has a floral nose and red cherry flavours; it is a female wine in character. In contrast, 'Les Murgers' is quite a masculine wine, darker and more intense, with added meat flavours, but the mouthfeel is not great. The best 1er cru I tasted is 'Les Chaumes' from Vosne-Romanée. This wine is still austere, but displays darker fruit and more length on the palate.

The Rion wines did not match Domaine George Noëllat in any way. They were quite lean by comparison and much simpler. What is the reason, given that the wines stem from the same region? I could think of three reasons. One, while the regions are the same, the actual vineyards are less favourable terroirs. Two, the 2015 vintage was warm and delivered generous wines, while 2014 was 'classic', which in plain English means cool and lean. Three, maybe the vineyard management (yield management, for a start), and winemaking are different.

Although I tasted at only two Domaines today, the experiences were not only enjoyable, but also quite intriguing.

On the following day, my first destination is in the north of the Côte de Nuits, in Fixin. I first visit Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet (previously Domaine Berthaut). This is a winery where the effects of long-term family ownership are very evident, and very positive. Seven generations have operated the Fixin vineyards – and premier cru plots in Gevrey-Chambertin acquired after World War II. Then Denis Berthaut married Marie Andrée Gerbet. She had vineyards in Vosne-Romanée. Their daughter, Amelie, has been managing the winery since 2013 and now has a wonderful portfolio of vineyards – including the Vosne-Romanée properties since 2015. She has modernised the winemaking style from the slightly old school of Domaine Berthaut, and I was looking forward to this tasting. The tasting room is small, but comfortable, a bit like a living room. 

It turned out to be a disappointment. Amelie was not available, and nor were the 2015 wines. In fact, I could only taste four wines, none of them premier cru. The 2014 Bourgogne ‘Hautes Côtes de Nuits’ is a simple wine, and the fruit from this cold vintage does not stand up to the acidity. The 2012 Fixin Village, a blend from four vineyards, is quite lean and hard, with sour cherry and redcurrant flavours dominant. The 2012 Fixin ‘Les Clos’ is a single vineyard village wine, and is certainly a step up. The colour is deeper, and the wine is more elegant. Finally, there is the 2008 Fixin ‘Les Crais’, another single vineyard village wine. This is another very lean wine, with mouth-plucking acidity. There is a lot of minerality here and good length, before strong tannins take over.

I got the impression that these wines had to go in order to make room for Amelie’s new regime and new start. However, I question how sensible a strategy it is to present such a portfolio to a wine writer.

The second tasting was of an all together classier calibre. At Domaine Trapez, the deal is different. You book a set menu, including a wonderful beef bourgogne, and choose from a variety of wine tasting packages to go with it. The setting is a beautiful room, with a big fireplace located at a country estate, not the winery. On this day, three tables were catered to.

Trapez has 14ha in Elsass and 14ha in Burgundy, where it produces 80,000 bottles. It has operated its vineyards biodynamically since 1996. Of all the wineries in Burgundy, it is perhaps the one most committed to biodynamics.

The grand cru rieslings were very impressive, but the focus here is on Burgundy. Of the five pinot noirs tasted, four were from the challenging 2014 vintage. Has Trapez managed to produce more impressive 2014s than the others I have tasted so far from this vintage? The first wine was the Gevrey-Chambertain ‘Ostrea’, a village wine. It is made from vines that are up to 100 years old and uses 50% new oak. The wine has a bright crimson colour, and is quite open and smooth. The red cherry flavours blend well with the quite noticeable oak. This is the most pleasant village wine from 2014 I have tasted so far.

The Gevrey-Chambertain ‘Capita’ is a blended 1er cru from three vineyards, which is in itself quite unusual. It is made with whole clusters and 70% new oak. Again, the wine is quite open and smooth, but the colour is darker and the wine more concentrated. Red and dark cherry fruit dominate in this quite forward, well-balanced wine.

The Chapelle-Chambertin is a step up to grand cru level. The wine is starting to open up, with red and dark berry flavour and silky tannins. It is quite a feminine wine, and not as long in the finish as the next wine: the Latricières-Chambertin. This wine is still very closed. The red forest berries develop along the palate with a great line and an expanding finish. This Latricières is not a big wine; it is sinewy and definitely needs airing. I liked this wine a lot.

Finally comes the jewel in the crown, ‘Le Chambertin’. I am offered the 2004. Le Chambertin is said to be one of the top wines of the village, and of Burgundy as a whole. The 2004 Le Chambertin is quite developed, with garnet colour and violets and licorice on the nose. On the palate, the wine is very balanced and smooth. The dark cherry fruit is now dominated by secondary flavours, in particular licorice, and minerality. It was certainly an interesting wine, but I did not really warm to it.

Overall, these wines showed that interesting and good quality wines were made in 2014. Without debating the effects of biodynamic farming, the Trapez wines certainly had energy and great detail.

Following the tasting and lunch, we were invited to visit the cellars from the 1800s, but if you want to see really old cellars, visit Château Meursault, which has cellars from the 14th century.

The final day offered a lot of interest, even though the tastings were in the less fancied areas just north of Beaune. The first stop was at Henri de Villamont. This is a larger winery, with an annual production of 200,000 bottles of Burgundy. However, only 50,000 come from owned vineyards in Savigny-lès-Beaune and Chambolle-Musigny; the rest is sold as negociant. The estate consists of several buildings and includes one of the largest cellars in Burgundy.

The 2015 Savigny-lès-Beaune, from a vineyard just above the winery, is a fresh chardonnay with strong citrus flavours, minerality and good balance. The 2015 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er cru ‘Clos de Guelles’ is from a plot just above. The plot is only a few rows, and is enclosed by a stone wall (the meaning of ‘clos’). This is a bigger and more generous wine, with more complexity and oak influence (not unlike a top Australian chardonnay in its profile). Why? The soil is stonier and the vineyard is hotter, due to the heat reflection from the stone wall, which creates more depth in the wine.

I taste the equivalent pinot noirs from the 2014 vintage. The village wine is quite floral and smells of roses. On the palate, there are strawberry fruit and green leaves, found often in this vintage. The 1er cru is riper, with more intensity and a rounder mouthfeel. It is still quite closed, and the wine’s acidity is prominent.

I taste a number of other wines, the first standout being the 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru ‘Clos Saint Jean’, which has a creamy caramel nose and pear, caramel, hazelnut and fig complexity on the palate. It is a wine about texture. The second is the 2012 ‘Grands Échezeaux’ Grand Cru, a medium-bodied very balanced wine of red cherry flavours, with a good line down the palate and silky tannins.

The next winery, Domaine Chevalier in Ladoix, is small and unpretentious. The tasting, which takes place in the cellar, is a revelation. The winemaking philosophy here is to be very careful with oak and really let the vineyards speak. I liked the style a lot. I tasted a range of 2014 and 2015 pinot noirs. The 2014 Ladoix ‘Le Clou d’Orge’ showed a profile similar to many wines from this vintage: closed, quite tight and lean, and the fruit not quite standing up to the acidity. However, the 2014 Ladoix ‘Les Corvées’, from a vineyard a couple of hundred metres further south, was different. This is a riper and more generous wine, with a good structure. These wines are fruit focused, but when you come to neighbouring Aloxe-Corton, the picture changes. Even in the village wine, the fruit is darker, there is underbrush on the palate, and the finish is longer. The 2014 ‘Corton’ Grand Cru, from a sunny, low-altitude vineyard, is fruit oriented again – very elegant, with good length.

The 2015 1er crus from Ladoix are darker and more powerful, but the fruit focus remains. The 2015s from Aloxe-Corton are bigger than the 2014s, with more energy, and retain their forest floor characteristics. The 2015 Aloxe-Corton 1er cru ‘Les Valozières’ is a terrific wine, from an 80-year-old vineyard. This wine uses 25% new oak, but the wine is fresh, with dark, brooding fruit, and the expected underbrush. The 2015 ‘Corton-Rognet’ Grand Cru has matured in 50% new oak, but the oak is not noticeable. The wine tastes of prunes – it has power, elegance and silkiness, and is another outstanding wine.

And here comes the clincher. The Ladoix 1er crus are €21 per bottle; even the grand cru is only €51. I found great value for money in Burgundy! The only drawback is that the wines are not sold in Australia. Importers, put your hands up.

My final visit is to Domaine Maillard in Chorey-Les-Beaune. This village is a bit off the beaten track and the winery looks like a small industrial compound. Its positioning is somewhat different. The winery has little access to premier cru vineyards, but it has amassed village vineyards from many areas, including Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Ladoix, Meursault and Pommard. It produces 100,000 bottles per year of mostly undemanding wines. I enjoyed the fruity and fresh 2015 Chorey-Les-Beaune Pinot Noir and the 2013 Aloxe-Corton 1er cru, a medium-bodied aromatic pinot noir with a flavour of black berries and a satisfying finish. Pascale Maillard, the winemaker, does not speak any English, so he asked his 14-year-old son Jules to conduct the tasting. His English was basic, but he tried extremely hard and had the wine and recommended food pairings well rehearsed. It is often the personal experiences at winery visits which make them special.

I draw a number of conclusions from this trip. The warm 2015 vintage generally produced red wines that are better than those produced in 2014. The 2015 wines are more generous and intense, and the good ones maintain drive and energy. Many of them will be available from October this year. The 2014 red wines, certainly the village wines, display a green edge, a fact that the term ‘classic’ cannot disguise, and are more acidic than the typical Australian wine drinker would enjoy.

Second, the terroir differences are striking, even between vineyards that are not more than 100 metres apart. What influences terroir includes soil, temperature, humidity, aspect and wind – these are merely the most important ones I noticed.

Third, bargains are not easy to find, but they do exist. Domaine Chevalier was the outstanding example during my visit.

Fourth, pricing ex-Domaine is attractive compared to prices in Australia, even if shipping is included. However, the vagaries of customs treatment need to be considered.

Finally, these insights can only be gained from winery visits to Burgundy, which are much easier to organise than you might think. The flip-side is that the ones that are harder to get into often offer the more exciting wines. The wineries reviewed here can all be visited, but should be booked in advance. It is often a good idea to ask your hotel to help with these bookings.