2009 Burgundy from Frederick Wildman: Faiveley, Jacques Prieur, Christian Moreau, Olivier Leflaive
Clift Hotel, San Francisco, California
Tasted Wednesday, February 2, 2011 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 2,459 views
Introduction
Wildman's Web Bond and his lovely fiancee Laura
I have enjoyed a lot of good '09 Beaujolais in the last few months, and a small array of '09 Burgundies, but this was my first broader look at '09 Burgundies from some very good producers. Frederick Wildman & Sons, Ltd., is the distributor for Burgundy producers Domaine Faiveley, Armand Rousseau, Jacques Prieur, and Olivier Leflaive; Chablis-based Christian Moreau; Macon-based Château Fuissé; and Beaujolais producer (with a famous Burgundian partner) Potel-Aviron. Armand Rousseau's bottles, unfortunately, didn't make it to this event due to weather problems (they ultimately arrived for the event's Chicago version a week and a half later), but there were some real standout red Burgundies from Domaine Faiveley in this tasting, as well as some good (if sometimes a little ripe) Chablis and white Burgs in this lineup, along with more impressive '09 Beaujolais. I also had a preview of several of these wines, from Faiveley, Jacques Prieur and Potel-Aviron, at a special tasting with Web Bond at Beltramo's the night before, so the notes below are a composite of both the trade tasting at the Clift Hotel as well as the pre-tasting at Beltramo's.
It should be noted that the red Burgundies rated below, and many if not all of the Premier and Grand Cru whites, were barrel samples. The '09 Beaujolais and white Bourgognes offered at the tasting had already been bottled, but this was really just a preview of the red Burgundies and most of the white Burgundies. There is always the possibility in such a situation that producers may select from their best barrels, or a blend of their best barrels, when showing them like this for buyers and critics. I'm extremely suspicious of this practice when a single barrel sample bottle of '09 Bordeaux from an estate that produces thousands of cases is sent to Robert Parker, for example, who responds with a 100 point rating (as he did multiple times for '09), since I've had producers taste me on different barrels of wine from the same vintage and found huge variation in the quality and appeal of different barrels. In the case of the wines we tasted at this event, however, the quantities produced from these single Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards are already quite small--sometimes only one barrel or so--so I'm much less concerned about the possible selection of unrepresentative barrel samples for these kinds of wines. For more detail on the producers, and tasting notes, see below.
Flight 1 - Christian Moreau (5 Notes)
Fabien Moreau
Domaine Christian Moreau owns 12.5 hectares of parcels in some of Chablis's greatest vineyards. Vines average 45 years old. Vinification is in stainless steel, temperature controlled tanks, followed by aging in older barrels, with a small percentage of new. Christian started the project--separate from his family's negociant operation, J. Moreau & Fils--with his son Fabien in 2001, and their first vintage was 2002. Fabien is the head winemaker.
Flight 2 - Faiveley (14 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 here: http://www.rjonwine.com/burgundy/domaine-faiveley/ Still, I wasn't prepared for what knockouts some of these '09 Faiveley Premier and Grand Crus proved to be. The '09 Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, which I got to sample both at this tasting and the night before with Web, are two of the greatest red Burgundies I've ever tasted. Awesome job, from what appears to be a terrific vintage for red Burgundy!
Flight 3 - Fuissé and Vincent Selections (9 Notes)
Château Fuissé owns 100 parcels in the communes of Pouilly and Fuissé, including three monopoles. Oak treatment is 20-30% new, with malolactic fermentation sometimes allowed and sometimes blocked depending on the vintage. I was pretty underwhelmed by most of these, but the Le Clos and Vieilles Vignes look like okay values. Château Fuissé's owners and winemakers Jean-Jacques and Antoine Vincent also have a negociant operation under the name Vincent Selections, buying fruit under long-term contracts from growers in Macon-Villages and St.-Véran. These wines spend six to eight months in barrel.
Flight 4 - Jacques Prieur (7 Notes)
Nadine Gublin
Domaine Jacques Prieur was founded in 1956, and now owns 20.68 hectares of vineyards in prime locations, including five of the great grand crus: Chambertin, Musigny, Clos Vougeot, Corton Charlemagne and Montrachet. The Domaine is currently managed by Martin Prieur, Jacques's grandson, with owner Edouard Labruyère. Winemaker Nadine Gublin, pictured above, was the first woman to be named "Best Winemaker of the Year," by the Revue du Vin de France, an honor she received in 1997. She believes in harvesting at optimum ripeness, and that came through in these wines, which were the most reminscent of ripe California Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of any in the tasting. The wines were fairly appealing for a ripe style, but lacked the minerality and sense of terroir I find most desirable from top vineyards like these.
Flight 5 - Olivier Leflaive (7 Notes)
Patrick Leflaive
Olivier Leflaive was established as a negociant house in 1984. Winemaker Franck Grux first started making wine for Olivier Leflaive with the '89 vintage. Olivier Leflaive has also purchased some excellent parcels, including acquiring vineyards from the family's Domaine Leflaive just this past year. The holdings now amount to nearly 30 acres of vineyard in Puligny, Chassagne and elsewhere. I've very much enjoyed the house's Montrachet Grand Cru bottlings over the years, and I thought this lineup was quite respectable overall, with a particularly good Les Folatières and Corton-Charlemagne.
Flight 6 - Potel-Aviron (7 Notes)
Stéphane Aviron
Winemaker Stéphane Aviron has partnered with Burgundy's Nicolas Potel to select well situated sites in Beaujolais's communes from which to purchase fruit, searching for vines with 45 to 90 years of age. They prune to limit yields, and use traditional vinification, not thermovinification or carbonic maceration. The wines are usually aged in small oak barrels, up to 25% new, for 10 to 11 months. I found these to be concentrated, refined and very appealing Beaujolais, with serious aging potential
2009 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis
Very light green-tinged yellow color; focused, tart citrus nose; tasty, tart citrus palate; short-medium finish
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2009 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Very light green-tinged yellow color; nice lime, citrus, light oak nose; tight, tasty, minerally, lime, tart citrus palate with good balance; medium finish 90+ pts.
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2009 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Very light yellow color; ripe lemon, vanilla oak, lime nose; tasty, tight, tart lemon, mineral palate; medium finish
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2009 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Light yellow color; some oak, bright citrus, white flower nose; tasty, tart citrus, lemon, mineral, oak palate, needs 3-plus years; medium-plus finish 91+ pts.
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2009 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Light yellow color; tight, tart lemon, white flower nose; tight, tasty, tart lemon, mineral, chalk palate; medium-plus finish
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