La Paulée 2019 Grand Tasting of 2016 Burgundy

Pier 60, New York
Tasted Saturday, March 9, 2019 by drwine2001 with 470 views

Introduction

This was a highly selective sampling of roughly half the wines poured, focusing mostly on Premier and Grand Cru wine from producers that interested me the most. The order reflects how the producers' tables were lined up at this walk around tasting.

Flight 1 (62 Notes)

Closing

My impression from this limited sample is that 2016 had divergent results for the white and red wines of the region. In red, it reminded me of 2010 in its consistent excellece across appellations. Perhaps not as many head turning wines, but plenty of outstanding bottles. What I really liked was the expression of site that it allowed and the range of attractive flavors and aromas. Unlike some vintages, there was not predominance of red fruit versus black fruit, warmer versus cooler, or open versus more structured. You could find any of these qualities in some of the wines, depending upon site, producer, and vinification style. This is as it should be rather than "Everything from vintage X shows these characteristics".

For the whites, I thought it was a different story. The concentration and intensity were very good, certainly not exceptional, and I found myself wishing for more acidity and tension in most of the wines I tasted, even in the small number of Grand Crus. This seems like an average, serviceable set of white wines that are enjoyable but not great. They should be drunk early rather than held for any significant amount of time (not that anybody should be burying white Burgundy these days from any vintage).

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