Bird's Eye View of 2011 Burgundy-The 2014 La Paulee Grand Tasting

Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco
Tasted Saturday, March 15, 2014 by drwine2001 with 1,077 views

Introduction

This year, the focus was on 2011. I have not covered all of the domains that were pouring wine since there is only so much time and attention. My notes from the Clos des Lambrays table were combined with other notes on this domain from additional weekend events and separated out into a freestanding tasting event.

Flight 1 (72 Notes)

Closing

So, what to make of the 2011 vintage based upon this sampling? I went into the tasting with the fear that I would find under ripeness and/or aggressive green notes in the reds since I really don't like these elements when they dominate the aromatics and flavors of Pinot. Happily, very few of these wines had this character. Overall, the reds were straight ahead Burgundy, charming, supple and delicate with average concentration and acidity, often with clear traces of their terroir, and generally built for the short and mid-term. There was surprising achievement of ripeness throughout, and even a touch of overripeness in a few wines. I rarely got the sense of depth, potential, and overall excitement that I felt last year in tasting through the 2010 vintage. In terms of vintage comparisons for the reds, 2007 comes to mind, but in general, the 2011s seem to have a tad more body and less acidity. As for the whites, they too were very accessible and often very good, but I think the quality and ageworthiness over time is only average since many of the wines come across as a bit soft without the electric acidity of vintages such as 2008.

Notable successes were generally no surprise. Amongst the white wine producers, Sauzet was a standout, Colin-Morey a little less so this year although still terrific. The Sauzet Chevalier Montrachet was the most thrilling white of the tasting. Angerville, Fourrier (at least above the village level), and Rousseau (if the brett doesn't expand to bite the wines) showed reds that would have held their own in more highly regarded vintages. The Fourrier Gevrey Clos St. Jacques and the Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs were nigh onto perfect expressions of those crus, but the Rousseau Chambertin was profound, mysterious, and the one wine that stole the show amongst the reds, much as the Ponsot Grand Crus blew everything else away in 2009. Finally, one notable sleeper-I had never heard of much less tasted the wines of Hudelot-Baillet. Both at the Grand Tasting and the Verticals the day before, they showed a range of beautiful Chambolles and recent vintages of Bonnes Mares.

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