Burgundy 2012 Day 6: Visit to Francois Bertheau
Chambolle-Musigny, Burgundy
Tasted Friday, October 26, 2012 by Paul S with 695 views
Introduction
Over the past few years, Francois Bertheau's wines have become a mainstay in our modest cellar in Singapore, and his is one of the very first few addresses that were pencilled in when we drew up our visiting schedule this year. Indeed, this was one of the few more established winemakers we chose to revisit in the midst of a trip that was all about trying to uncover hidden gems.
It was good to see Francois again, with his unique mix of wit and seriousness, shyness and genuine hospitality. I always think that you can see a bit of the winemaker's character in his or her wines, and that is certainly the case here. The wines chez Bertheau are certainly not for those who seek out power and richness in their Pinots. Here, one gets wines of elegance and finesse, often lacy, almost ethereal in their purity and lightness, yet always delicious and hauntingly pretty . To my mind though, this is what Chambolle is all about, and there is no higher praise than to say that when "Chambolle-Musigny" is mentioned, it is often the memory of one of Francois' wines that comes to mind, rather than those of Mugnier, Roumier or Comte de Vogue.
We tasted through his small collection of 2011s. As always, the line-up was beautiful from the humble village all the way into the stunning Bonnes Mares. While I do not think the current vintage is quite as good as the stellar 2010s, maybe lacking a little of the superb cut and drive of the earlier year, it is certainly not too big a step behind. These are wines well worth going out of one's way to search out, especially given that production in 2012 was significantly lower and will prove hard to find.
2011 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
From barrel. A lovely Chambolle village, this had a such a pretty nose of strawberries and cream with lovely floral accents on the side. Like the nose, the palate had lovely, pure notes of strawberries and cooked cherries surrounded by a nice waft of violets flowers. There was tons of finesse here, with limpid acidity and fine tannins leading into nice, lacy finish. A beautiful village wine. This will be lovely from the moment it is bottled, but also has the bones to age over the short to medium-term (89-91pts)
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2011 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
From barrel, this was very nice. In the glass, it showed glorious wafting scents of strawberries, raspberries and cream, with a lovely ring of roses and violets - what a nose! The palate was beautifully drinkable too, with sappy strawberries and pure cherry notes. It was a bit sweet, slightly jammy, but a fine, clear structure and lovely integrated acidity lifted it nicely on the midpalate and all the way into a firmer, every so slightly drying finish. A really elegant wine. Unlike the earlier vintages where this bottling was in a different league from the straight Chambolle, this was not that big a step-up from the village. Still though, a really nice wine that should drink well young and over its first decade or so. (90-92pts)
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2011 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
From barrel. Now, this I thought was very good indeed. It had a deeper nose than either the Chambolle village or the 1er Cru that preceded it, with a bit of earth and some spice bedded under lovely smells of stewed strawberries and raspberries chased by perfumy violets and roses. Beautiful. The palate showed greater depth as well, with lovely gummy fruit in the shape of sweet cherries and strawberries underlined by some meaty inflections. I really liked the feel of the wine, with its bright acidity and fine but slightly grippy, almost chewy tannins leading into a pretty finishes, where earth and spice notes were met with flowers and orange peel accents. Such a pretty wine, yet not lacking for substance, this will be lovely young, but would really benefit from at least 6-7 years in the cellar. (92-93pts)
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2011 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
From barrel. A lovely wine no doubt, but excellent as it was, this did not quite blow me away in the same way the 2010 did last year. Perhaps this needs some time yet - it was certainly a reductive when drawn from the barrel and into our glasses. Even with some air, the nose remained a little tight, with hints of meat and earth playing around a core of cherry aromas with some floral hints. This definitely lacked the exuberant perfume of previous vintages at the moment. The palate was impressive though. It was very mouthfilling, showing a good amount of supple muscle for an Amoureuses, with fine tannins forming a velvety lining for lovely flavours of strawberries, with deep floral tones and a nice bit meat and mineral on the midpalate. A wine of great finesse, Like the nose though, there were times when this came about rather tight, and it did clamp up a bit at the end, with some rather stubborn notes of darker cherries seasoned with a touch of spice. It had really good length though, with a solid amount of grip. On the current showing, I think this will take 10 years at least to hit peak. At the moment, the lovely Chambolle 1er Cru Charmes is showing almost as well as its more illustrious brother, something rather unusual Chez Bertheau. (92-93pts)
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2011 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Bonnes Mares 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
From barrel. This was gorgeous. The aromatic profile here was completely different from any of the wines that preceded it. This was as lifted and expressive, but while the earlier wine were all red fruit scents and floral perfume, this was a lot darker-toned, more leaning towards Morey, with sweet blueberries and blackberry aromas, meat and earth, spice and herbs, with a nice lift of fresh cut flowers and a touch of oaky vanilla cream notes. A wonderful nose in its own right. The palate was beautifully textured, with creamy, velvety tannins running underneath really pure flavours of blueberries and boisonberries. There was certainly some sweetness here, but it was wonderfully balanced, with bright acidity leading into the midpalate, where the fruit was shaded with delicious flavours of earth and mineral, just before the wine pulls away into a powerful, yet super-fine finish with a glorious waft of floral notes and a nice spicy counterpoint. Gorgeous stuff. Give this 10 years and it should be amazing. (93-95pts)
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