Frederick Wildman Burgundy Portfolio Tasting

All of the 2010s except for the Christian Moreau Chablis were barrel samples, so take all of the notes on this vintage as very tentative, preliminary impressions.

• 2009 Famille Vincent Pouilly-Fuissé Château Fuisse Tête de Cru

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  Nice, round wine. Touch of oak. Good balance. Not too heavy for an '09.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Famille Vincent Pouilly-Fuissé Les Brûles Château de Fuissé

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  Sulfury. Light, lean, simple fruit, high acid, not great feel.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light color and weight. Typical oyster shell aromatics. Lovely.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  A bit of sulfur. Light weight (in fact, virtually the same as the Vaillons). Delicate in the mouth with florality, bright acidity and some wood toast at the end. Pretty but it lacks some intensity for a Grand Cru.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Big, rich and lower pitched, like a Cote de Beaune rather than Chablis. Less distinctive Chablis characteristics and some noticeable wood but very powerful on the finish. Good in a powerful mold.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Olivier Leflaive Chablis Les Deux Rives

  France, Burgundy, Chablis

  Woody base. Simple citrus fruit, medium weight. Pretty generic and uninspiring.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Sétilles

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  Very good Bourgogne-excellent amplitude and depth, good mouth coverage, mix of lively citrus and earthy finish.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2007 Olivier Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Charmes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Textbook Meursault. Hazelnut scents, medium weight, great acidity. Fine and elegant.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Olivier Leflaive Rully 1er Cru Les Cloux Blanc

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully 1er Cru

  Bland and simple. Pass.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Olivier Leflaive Meursault

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Sulfur on the nose. Light and bright but little Meursault character. Too much toasty oak on finish for its amount of concentration.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Olivier Leflaive Chassagne-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

  Leesy and floral. Harmonious feel with lighter body. Gentle, earthy finish. Excellent village wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Olivier Leflaive Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Marc Récolte du Domaine

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  More citric with more convincing acidity and greater volume than the village Chassagne. A beauty.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Olivier Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Leesy and lower pitched than the prior wine. Medium weight, muted palate. This was the most difficult barrel sample to assess, but tonight it did not distinguish itself as Grand Cru.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Potel-Aviron Fleurie Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  Light tart cherry with good bite. Nothing too ripe about this one.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2010 Stephane Aviron Chénas

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Chénas

  Bigger, blacker fruit, more structured than the Fleurie. Very good.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Stephane Aviron Juliénas Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Juliénas

  Typical Gamay light weight. Lively with herbs and pepper outpacing the fruit at this point as is also the case with other 2010 Beaujolais I've tried.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Domaine Jacques Prieur Meursault Clos de Mazeray

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Rich with toasty oak and overtly tropical fruit. Surprisingly blowsy for an '08.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Domaine Jacques Prieur Volnay 1er Cru Santenots

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Very pale, almost rose. Tart, little fruit and an abundance of wood. Poor.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Faiveley Mercurey Clos Rochette Blanc

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey

  Simple, ripe, pleasant and easy to drink even now.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Faiveley Meursault 1er Cru Blagny

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Cloudy. Medium weight. Very solid Meursault with some spiciness.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Faiveley Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Lactic, lemony, brisk acidity, medium weight. Promises to be refined and complex.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Faiveley Pinot Noir Bourgogne Joseph Faiveley

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Thin and dominated by wood. Nothing more to say.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Round, good volume. Red fruit and earth. Lots to it for a village wine, but as with all of the reds from this producer tonight, you have to be able to tolerate a prominent oaky underpinning.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2006 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Light color. Funky, earthy aromatics. Light bodied, tart to the point of austerity, lots of wood sticking out. This seemed over the hill and out of balance.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Faiveley Volnay 1er Cru Les Fremiets

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Pretty irresistible wood assault again, but nice black/red fruit mix and a Pommard-like tang.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Porêts Saint-Georges

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Complex gamy and anise aromas. Medium weight. Subtle blend of fruit and earth. Great acidity. Wonderful balance here that suggests both early accessibility and intermediate aging potential. Unlike the others tasted, the wood is invisible. My favorite red wine of the night.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Realizing that this was a woefully incomplete sampling, I walked away with the following conclusions:

Prieur-Only 2 wines, but both grossly disappointing
Olivier Leflaive-Probably the best and most consistent range of wines; exciting potential in an understated, elegant style
Faiveley-While their vinification may have changed to allow softer wines, I really don't like the amount of wood in them.