On Monday evening the doors of the Caledonian Club were
opened with a typically ebullient Scottish welcome for Justerini & Brooks’
‘Red Burgundy by Village’ tasting. More than 150 guests, some old friends, au
fait with the riches of our Burgundy portfolio, some uninitiated, joined us to
taste over 60 wines arranged by commune.
It was wonderful to see so many enthusiasts enjoying the
superb wines on display. Giles, our Buying Director, had carefully selected a
range of wines to show off the breadth and depth of our offering. Despite
Burgundy being flavour of the month, a label it has proudly worn for several
years now, we were still able to showcase a multitude of gems from our stocks.
Many samples hailed from 2007 and 2008 – harvests that were not without
complication. However, these unsung vintages ably display the skill of our
winemakers and the strides that Burgundy as a region has made in the past
decade or two. They are also years that are rather flattering to drink right
now! In some cases, discerning collectors had already relieved us of our 2007
and 2008 examples, so 2009, 2010 and 2011 stepped into the breach. The 2009s
and 2010s are still displaying their youthful, fruit characters and are clearly
class acts. The 2011s showed brilliant purity and silky textures and promise to
be very fine drinkers in years to come.
In the Cote de Beaune, there was a fascinating match-up
between Volnay and Pommard. Volnay, so often held aloft as being more charming
and less bucolic than its neighbour, certainly had its work cut out. The
Pommards from de Montille, in particular the Rugiens 2008, dispelled the theory
that all Pommard is rustic and requires decades of cellaring. This was without
doubt one of the stars of the tasting and narrowly eclipsed the also excellent
2008 Volnay Mitans and the 2009 Volnay Taillepieds from the same producer.
Nuits St Georges from Etienne Grivot, Robert Chevillon and
Henri Gouges all shone. This commune is so much more than a poor neighbour of
Vosne Romanee. They may be without Grand Crus (for the time being), but
Vaucrains, Cailles, Pruliers and Les St Georges are all serious contenders. For
those who find some of the prices in the Cote de Nuits a little scary, there is
still plenty of value to be had in this village.
Alas, so many Vosne wines sell out en primeur, but we were
still able to open examples from Francois Lamarche, Etienne Grivot and Bruno
Clair. The Lamarche Malconsorts and the Grivot Suchots are fabulous 1er
crus that deserve to be in the most discerning of cellars. Bruno Clair’s
excellent Champs Perdrix is a little beauty. With two barrels of Petit Monts in
the blend, this is a very fine Vosne and excellent value.
The star of the Chambolle commune was Joseph Drouhin’s 1er
cru Baudes 2008: feminine, ethereal, elegant Chambolle just as Bacchus intended
it to be. Our new boy, Perrot Minot shone very brightly on the Morey St Denis
table. Their 2010s are sumptuous and stylish and, although the prices are a bit
eye watering, they are worth every penny!
As one would expect, the Gevrey Chambertin table was a
swamped for most of the evening (hardly surprising when you have names such as
Denis Mortet, Bruno Clair, Louis Remy, Drouhin Laroze and Joseph Drouhin
exhibiting). There were two mini flights of the Grand Crus, Latricieres
Chambertin and Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze – the perfect way to
finish a tasting! In truth, impressive as the Grand Crus were, most deserve
much more time. The 2007 Latricieres from Louis Remy was delicious and
approachable, but perhaps the picks of the commune were the excellent 2008Bruno Clair Cazetiers and the magnificent 2008 Mortet Gevrey 1er cru. Denis’
son Arnaud really has emerged as one of the most talented young winemakers in
Burgundy; it’s well worth picking up some of his 2008s while you still can!
Many thanks to the Caledonian Club for being so hospitable
and to everyone who attended and helped to make it such a wonderful event.
