2012 La Paulée de San Francisco Grand Tasting

Westin St. Francis, San Francisco, California
Tasted Saturday, February 25, 2012 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 2,108 views

Introduction

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singing Tastevins at La Paulée (photo by Gary Chevsky)

Since March 2000, when the first of these events was held in New York City, Daniel Johnnes has organized a weekend of Burgundy events called La Paulée, named after the grand gala held in Meursault every year in celebration of the harvest. The event now occurs annually in New York and every other year in San Francisco.

I attended the three-hour grand tasting session this year, as I have the last two occasions when it has been held in San Francisco. There were fewer producers pouring at the $300 a ticket event this year--27 versus 35 in 2010. The decline in participating producers may have had something to do with the vintage being showcased this year--2009--which has been such a successful vintage that many domaines quickly sold out of their production.

As has been the case with the prior La Paulée events, there were also a host of local restaurants represented, offering small bites designed to accompany the wines on hand. Those restaurants included A16, Boulevard, Frances, Jardiniere, Michael Mina, Piperade, Quince, RN74 and The Slanted Door.

Because the offerings were dominated by the delicious 2009 vintage and so many excellent producers, many of whom were pouring wines from their top appellations, there was truly an abundance of great wines at this event. Producers responsible for one or more wines that I rated 94 points or higher were Ballot-Millot, Bonneau du Martray, François Carillon, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Faiveley, Fourrier, Michel Lafarge, Comtes Lafon, Ponsot and La Pousse d'Or.

My top wines of the tasting, with ratings of 94 points and higher, are:
2009 Ballot-Millot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - 94 points
2009 Ballot-Millot Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - 95 points
2009 Ballot-Millot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - 97 points
2008 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - 94 points
2009 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - 95 points
2009 François Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières - 94 points
2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - 94+ points
2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Bâtard-Montrachet - 94 points
2009 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - 94 points
2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - 95 points
2009 Domaine Fourrier Griottes-Chambertin Vieille Vigne - 97 points
2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes - 94 points
2009 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - 94 points
2009 Domaine Ponsot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - 94 points
2009 Domaine Ponsot Clos St. Denis Très Vieilles Vignes - 94+ points
2009 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - 95+ points
2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru En Caillerets - 94 points
2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or - 94 points

For my detailed tasting notes and further comments on selected producers, see below:

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Flight 1 - Ballot-Millot (4 Notes)

These very fine whites from this Meursault-based producer were some of the best wines of the tasting. Their Les Perrières was one of my highest rated wines of the tasting, and definitely the greatest '09 white Burgundy I've tasted so far. Charles Ballot took over as winemaker of this 30-acre domaine in 2000, and claims to be the 15th generation of the family involved in winegrowing and winemaking. To keep yields low they employ strict pruning rather than green harvesting. They also use relatively small amounts of new oak, no more than 25%. They try to encourage a long, slow alcoholic fermentation, to keep the lees moving, because they don't use bâtonnage. The whites are kept in barrel for a year, and then racked into tank for six months before bottling. The domaine's Les Perrières vines are over 40 years old; their Les Genevrières vines are the oldest of all, at over 65 years.

Flight 2 - Bonneau du Martray (2 Notes)

This domaine, which has been passed down through one family since the time of the French Revolution, consists of 27.4 acres centered on Corton. About 23.5 hectares are made up of the great white grand cru Corton-Charlemagne, and the rest is red Corton. Different plots are vinified separately, spending an initial year in barrel and then going into stainless steel for some months before blending and bottling. Since Comte Jean-Charles le Bault took over in 1994, yields have been reduced.
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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 3 - Bouchard (4 Notes)

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Bouchard Père et Fils started back in 1731, and over the decades and generations that followed, the domaine amassed a staggering number of prime vineyard parcels, ultimately becoming the largest vineyard owner in the Côte d’Or. In 1995, the company was sold to Champagne-based entrepreneur Joseph Henriot. Some of the monopoles (single-owner vineyards) they own include Clos de la Mousse, Grèves Vigne de L’Enfant Jesus and Clos St-Landry. I wrote a rather strongly worded post last year here http://www.rjonwine.com/burgundy/criminal-stem-inclusion-bouchard-2009/ about the high levels of stem inclusion in Bouchard's 2009 reds. The one '09 red in this flight, the Clos de la Mousse, was consistent with what I had previously tasted, and complained about. The two '09 Meursaults, however, were quite lovely, as was the '08 Corton-Le Corton.

Flight 4 - Carillon (François) (4 Notes)

François Carillon is the son of Louis Carillon, whose white wines were long among the best of Puligny-Montrachet. With the 2009 vintage, the domaine was divided between François and brother Jacques. François's portion is 16 acres, and he is continuing his family's strong tradition. These were terrific, minerally, complex wines, all of which deserve some years of bottle age before they can be enjoyed to their fullest. For my post on a visit by François to Palo Alto's Vin Vino Wine last year, including video clips of him talking about the division of the domaine with his brother, click here: http://www.rjonwine.com/burgundy/louis-carillon-puligny-montrachet/

Flight 5 - Colin-Morey (Pierre-Yves) (4 Notes)

In 1995, Pierre-Yves Colin took over the winemaking at his father’s Domaine Marc Colin. In 2001 he established a negociant business with his wife Caroline Morey called Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey. In 2005, after the harvest, he left the family domaine entirely, taking his 14.8 acre share of vineyards with him. Pierre-Yves avoids battonage (so as to help prevent premature oxidation), and does not encourage malolactic fermentation. As another measure against premox, the domaine's bottles are sealed with wax over corks that are not treated with peroxide. Most of the wines are kept in barrel on their lees for up to 18 months. These are excellent wines, for which Pierre-Yves is fast gaining a strong reputation.

Flight 6 - de Montille (6 Notes)

Flight 7 - Drouhin (4 Notes)

Flight 8 - Faiveley (5 Notes)

I have been really enjoying Domaine Faiveley’s richer, earlier accessible wines under Erwan Faiveley’s regime, starting with the ’06 vintage, and really showing in ’07, with renovations to the cellars and changes in vinification under General Manager Bernard Hervet. For more background on the changes at Faiveley, see my 2009 report.
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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 9 - Fèvre (3 Notes)

I had tasted a number of the 2009 Fèvre Chablises half a year ago, and these showed as well or better than those. The acidities are the best I've yet tasted on Chablises from this vintage, which was a relatively ripe one.
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Flight 10 - Fourrier (4 Notes)

This domaine, previously known as Fourrier-Pernot, has been going for four generations. Jean-Marie Fourrier took over from his father in 1994 after completing six-month internships with both Henry Jayer and Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. The domaine is blessed with very old vines, and Jean-Marie practices very low intervention winemaking. He does entirely destem (following the practice of his mentor Jayer). He uses manual punch downs two to four times a day, but no pumpovers. He uses a minimum of new wood--20% for all the appellations. The wines are kept in barrel for about 16 months, with no racking, before going into tank two months before bottling. The results are most impressive--among the greatest young red Burgundies I've ever tasted.
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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 11 - Giroud (Camille) (4 Notes)

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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 12 - Gouges (Henri) (4 Notes)

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Flight 13 - Hospices de Beaune (4 Notes)

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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 14 - Jadot (4 Notes)

Flight 15 - Lafarge (Michel) (4 Notes)

It was a treat to see Michel Lafarge at this event. He looks about 20 years younger than his true age, somewhere in his mid-80s. He joined his father in wine production in 1949, and his son Frédéric joined him in 1978. They have farmed biodynamically since 2000. No new oak is used on the whites, and very little--usually only 15% on the top appellations--on the reds. The reds were very strong and should age beautifully.
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photos by Gary Chevsky

Flight 16 - Lafon (3 Notes)

This domaine, which has long produced some of Burgundy's greatest white wines, is now farmed biodynamically. Dominique Lafon, who has been in charge since 1985, is lucky to have inherited some of the best vineyard sites in Meursault and Volnay, as well as a .8 acre slice of Le Montrachet. The Charmes was particularly impressive.
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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 17 - Leroux (Benjamin) (4 Notes)

Flight 18 - Méo-Camuzet (4 Notes)

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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 19 - Moreau (Bernard) (4 Notes)

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Flight 20 - Ponsot (4 Notes)

This domaine dates back to the 1870s. Laurent Ponsot, pictured below, has been the winemaker since the early 1980s. He has a very idiosyncratic approach to farming and winemaking. The latter is highly non-interventionist, including letting the grapes ferment as long as they wish with very little temperature control. No new wood is used--in fact many of the barrels are 10 or more years old. The Clos de la Roche, from the domaine's very large 8.28 acre parcel of this great grand cru, was particularly complex and delicious, but it's an amazing line up over all.
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photos by Gary Chevsky

  • 2009 Domaine Ponsot Corton-Bressandes 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

    Medium dark cherry red color with pale meniscus; lovely, floral, tart strawberry, saline nose; delicate, tart strawberry, mineral, floral palate; needs 4-plus years; medium-plus finish 92+ points

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  • 2009 Domaine Ponsot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    Medium red color with pale meniscus; lovely, tart strawberry, mineral, dried roses nose; tasty, elegant, tart strawberry, mineral palate with medium acidity; needs 5-plus years; long finish

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  • 2009 Domaine Ponsot Clos St. Denis Très Vieilles Vignes 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru

    Light medium red color with pale meniscus; lovely, tart strawberry, savory, mineral nose; tasty, accessible, very detailed, tart strawberry, tart cherry, mineral, roses palate; needs 3-plus years; medium-plus finish 94+ points

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  • 2009 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    Medium garnet red color with pale meniscus; appealing, light roses, tart cherry, tart red fruit nose; tasty, sappy, tart cherry, roses, mineral palate with medium acidity, and depth and grip; needs 4-5 years; long finish 95+ points

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Flight 21 - Pousse d'Or (4 Notes)

This domaine, with vineyards that originally belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy, has been owned by Patrick Landanger since 1997. He had no prior winemaking experience, but has been his own winemaker since 1999, with the help of vineyard consultants and oenologists. He has purchased additional choice vineyards over the past several years, and built a six-level gravity flow winery, to eliminate the need for any pumping. I am usually a fan of the top appellations of this domaine, and the 2009s are showing very well.
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photo by Gary Chevsky

Flight 22 - Roulot (Guy) (4 Notes)

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photo by Gary Chevsky

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