2009 Red Burgundies: Thibault Liger-Belair, Gouges, J.M. Boillot, Matrot, Mongeard-Mugneret
Vin Vino Wine, Palo Alto, California
Tasted Saturday, May 14, 2011 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,407 views
Introduction
Nearly every year, Danny Haas of Vineyard Brands presents at Palo Alto's Vin Vino a sampling of red Burgundies from the current vintage from his producers. In years with high scores and positive advance press for the vintage, these events are often the only consumer tasting Danny does, as the wines are already expected to sell out. 2009 is another vintage with great press, so this is the only consumer tasting Vineyard Brands is doing with most, if not all, of these wines. We tasted 15 wines from seven of Vineyard Brands' important Burgundy producers. The only major producer left out was Vincent Girardin, who produces many more bottlings than the producers represented here. There is likely to be another event with Danny devoted to Girardin's wines at Vin Vino in the next few months.
This was a great opportunity for me to taste through more of the 2009 vintage, from producers whose wines I try most every year. I'd only sampled about forty 2009 red Burgundies prior to this tasting, including some absolutely stunning barrel samples of Faiveley premier and grand crus that I reported on here: http://www.rjonwine.com/burgundy/2009-faiveley-jacques-prieur-christian-moreau-olivier-leflaive/. The 2009 vintage was blessed with a sun-filled summer and fairly even temperatures that never got too hot. Most producers were able to harvest much earlier in September than usual, under sunny skies. From the wines detailed below, and what I've tasted before, I can see why the 2009 reds have been getting such great advance press. Most of these had sumptuous fruit and sweet tannins. There wasn't the obvious structure in some of these that the 2005s had, but the tannins are there, albeit sweet and wrapped luscious fruit. I've indicated below what I think are the likely drinking windows for most of these wines. About half of these were barrel samples. The standouts for me in this tasting were the Thibault Liger-Belair wines. I was also delighted to see that Gouges, whose 2008s indicated a switch to a more accessible style continued in that vein with their 2009s.
Here's Danny Haas with his introductory comments about the vintage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDC7Pi_Wc-Y
Flight 1 - Boillot (J.M.) (2 Notes)
Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot has some wonderful premier and grand cru white Burgundy vineyards. Their red holdings are primarily in Pommard, with a small amount of Volnay. The reds are destemmed and aged for 13 months in barrels, half of which are new, followed by an additional six months in tank. The Les Jarollieres vines are 70 years old. The Jarollieres should be quite tasty with a couple years of bottle age.
Flight 2 - Henri Gouges (2 Notes)
I've not been a big fan of Gouges's wines in the past. In prior years, including 2005, I found them unbearably tannic and lacking charm on release. Nonetheless, the 2008s I tasted a few weeks ago, and now this pair of impressive '09s, are making me take another look at this major Nuits St. Georges producer. Something is happening, presumably in the vinification process, that's resulting in less tannin being extracted these days than in the past. The grapes are destemmed and vinified in cement tanks. The wines then go into barrels, at most 20% new, for 18 to 20 months, and are only racked once. The Clos des Porrets St. Georges is a monopole, known for its black fruited wines, and this sample was a delicious example of that.
Flight 3 - Matrot (2 Notes)
2009 is the first vintage with the name of Thierry and his wife Pascale on the label: Domaine Thierry & Pascale Matrot. Vinification changes here depending on the nature of the vintage, but the reds are always destemmed. The La Pièce-sous-le-Bois, from the Domaine's 1.43 hectare parcel, is a particularly complex and wonderful '09, with good aging potential.
Flight 4 - Mongeard-Mugneret (3 Notes)
Mongeard-Mugneret is a controversial producer, whose wines usually don't fare too well with critics. The wines do, however, have a following here in the Bay Area, and sell well at Vin Vino. I've liked them from some vintages, especially with some bottle age that has allowed the oak component to integrate. Unfortunately, the oak was pretty dominant on these 2009s for me. The Clos Vougeot was, nonetheless, quite appealing.
Flight 5 - Moreys (Vincent and Thomas) (2 Notes)
Domaine Bernard Morey ended with the 2006 vintage, Bernard's vineyards being divided up between his sons Vincent and Thomas. Vincent is married to Sophie, who brought her own substantial vineyard holdings to the marriage, so that Domaine Vincent and Sophie Morey now have 20 hectares, including a tiny parcel of Batard-Montrachet. Thomas Morey's wines tend to be racier and more angular than those of his father and brother, perhaps in part because he avoids the frequent battonage that they use. I really liked the delicacy of Thomas's Grèves. Both brothers use 50% new oak on their reds. These are both well priced relative values for the vintage.
Flight 6 - Thibault Liger-Belair (4 Notes)
These were flat out gorgeous wines from Thibault, who is the cousin of Vicomte Liger-Belair. His vines are certified organic and farmed biodynamically. The grapes are destemmed and raised in oak, up to 50% of which is new, with only one racking. Thibault is the largest owner of Les Saint Georges with 2.1 hectares. His Richebourg parcel was planted in 1936. All four of these wines are highly ageworthy, and will be glorious with several years in bottle. The Aux Réas, a village level wine, comes from a well placed parcel on the southern slope of the vineyard and is a particularly good value.
2009 J.M. Boillot Volnay 1er Cru Carelle Sous la Chapelle 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Dark ruby color; roses, floral, tart red fruit nose with a touch of brett; odd entry, tight, tart red fruit, cranberry, sous bois, mineral, angular palate; needs 1-2 years; medium finish
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2009 J.M. Boillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Jarollières 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
Dark ruby color; sous bois, green herb nose; tight, tart red fruit, tart cranberry, mineral, green herb palate; needs 2 years and should go 8-plus; medium finish 90+ points (from 70-yr-old vines)
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