The Verticals Tasting at La Paulée 2015

Colicchio & Sons, New York
Tasted Friday, February 27, 2015 by drwine2001 with 1,065 views

Introduction

Nice to be inside tasting through these wines on a cold winter day in New York. My apologies in advance for skipping a few producers and for the brief, impressionistic nature of these notes, but you can only absorb so much in a 2 hour walk around tasting. For each producer, I have noted them in the order that they were poured.

Flight 1 - Christian Moreau (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - William Fevre (3 Notes)

Flight 3 - Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey (3 Notes)

Flight 4 - Domaine Roulot (3 Notes)

Flight 5 - Domaine des Comte Lafon (3 Notes)

Flight 6 - Morey Blanc (3 Notes)

Flight 7 - Domaine Leflaive (3 Notes)

Flight 8 - Domaine Anne Parent (3 Notes)

Flight 9 - Domaine Simon Bize (3 Notes)

I think it's fair to say that these were the most uncompromising, old school wines shown today. No fluff or sweetness to be found.

Flight 10 - Domaine de Montille (3 Notes)

Impressive older wines that were quintessential Volnays

Flight 11 - Domaine Lafarge (3 Notes)

Flight 12 - Maison Louis Jadot (3 Notes)

Flight 13 - Domaine Faiveley (3 Notes)

Flight 14 - Bouchard Pere et Fils (3 Notes)

Flight 15 - Domaine Jacques Prieur (3 Notes)

Three distinctly different wines in this fascinating flight

Flight 16 - Domaine Hudelot-Noellat (3 Notes)

Flight 17 - Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair (3 Notes)

Flight 18 - Domaine Jean Grivot (3 Notes)

Flight 19 - Domaine d'Eugénie (3 Notes)

Flight 20 - Maison Joseph Drouhin (3 Notes)

  • 1995 Joseph Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Fully mature looking. Strange aromatic mix of ripe and stalky with artificial sweetness in the mouth-chaptalized? Fully resolved. Pretty forgettable.

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  • 2002 Joseph Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    Elegant, seductive red fruit with sap and a perfect infusion of wet earth throughout. At a peak now. One of the best wines of the afternoon and a great example of Drouhin at its gentle, elegant best. Pure fruit, no interference by wood or any other winemaking artifice.

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  • 2009 Joseph Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

    The most concentrated and dark of the three. Ripe cherry more than strawberry in the 2002. Despite this, it blends in soil, has no trace of oak, and retains a rare sense of restraint and elegance for the vintage. Outstanding and one of my favorite '09 reds today.

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Flight 21 - Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg (3 Notes)

Flight 22 - Domaine Méo-Camuzet (3 Notes)

Flight 23 - Domaine Lignier-Michelot (3 Notes)

Flight 24 - Domaine Hubert Lignier (3 Notes)

Flight 25 - Clos de Tart (3 Notes)

  • 2010 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru

    Dark. Obvious oak base. Closed with very restrained fruit now but a good dose of finishing minerality. Not singing today. Judgement deferred.

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  • 2009 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru

    Bigger, lusher, and sweeter than the 2010. Lots of oak, deep red and black fruit. Monolithic and not showing any complexity. Weighty but it lacked liveliness in the mouth. Could have been a high end domestic Pinot.

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  • 2003 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru

    Deep and dark. Exotic, spicy red fruit that is not overly sweet. Palate coating from its concentration rather than tons of wood. Enough acidity to maintain terrific freshness. Very long with great cling. I thought this was fabulous-by far the best of the Clos de Tarts and capable of lasting several more decades.

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Flight 26 - Domaine Fourrier (3 Notes)

Flight 27 - Olivier Bernstein (3 Notes)

Tasting his wines was a highlight of the weekend. These 3 wines were deeply colored, expertly extracted, and complex. Fantastic!

  • 2011 Olivier Bernstein Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

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

    Deep and dark. Exquisite ripeness and sap for this vintage. Gevrey mix of red fruit and soil with a great juxtaposition of great concentration and airiness. I think that this is one of the few truly great 2011s I've tried. A bolt from the blue at the very last table at the tasting.

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  • 2010 Olivier Bernstein Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

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

    Not quite as saturated as the'11. Some wood present. Less plush than the younger wine but strong acidity and soil come through. Excellent prospects for this, but I preferred the 2011. Maybe that confuses the overall potential of the 2 wines over time.

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  • 2009 Olivier Bernstein Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

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

    Crystallized red fruit, deeply saturated color. Fantastic fruit clarity and depth while remaining incredibly refined. Layered and long. So much more balance and room to grow than most 2009s. These wines from Olivier Bernstein were downright thrilling!

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Closing

Although the sample sizes were limited, here's what I took away about the current state of recent vintages:

2002-Lovely reds that are largely drinking really well now. Thinking about it, early on they showed a lot of the red fruited charm that the 2012s have, although maybe the acidity was higher. I wouldn't be upset if the newer vintage followed this trajectory.
2003-Continues to surprise with some reds that have amazing amounts of freshness despite their ripeness (see Clos de Tart for example).
2004-Blech. No magical evolution here.
2005-Still hard as nails. I keep pushing back my projected drinking windows eve at the lower levels. I think we have to take the 1988 approach and not touch them before 20 years of age.
2006-Whites continue to be a mess. Many reds are a pleasure now, even many of the bigger boys.
2007-Many of the whites seem frail. When the reds aren't too meager, they are aromatic and drinking well.
2008-My admiration for whites has only increased. Looking at my notes, the '08 was often the best vintage for producers from virtually all of the white wine regions, north to south. On the other hand, the reds are dichotomous. Those vinified in a leaner style can be punishingly acidic and devoid of fruit, but I'm impressed with how many refined beauties are out there as well and how slowly but surely they've unfolded over the last few years. I wish I owned more of the reds (only the good ones, of course!).
2009-The more I taste, the less I like, and that goes for wines of both colors. There are some profound ones when the acidity is right, but to find them, you have to wade through a minefield of overripe mediocrities.
2010-Not enough of these poured at this event to shape my opinion
2011-Whites okay but unexciting, reds range from good to disastrous when they are destroyed by greenness, and I've encountered too many of the latter to feel sanguine about the future of these red wines.

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