A Slice of La Paulée's 2018 Burgundy Producer Verticals Tasting
The Fairmont, San Francisco
Tasted Friday, March 2, 2018 by drwine2001 with 626 views
Introduction
With all due respect to the producers and wines I skipped, I'm too old to power through 84 wines in one session, but here are some brief impressions of the ones that were of most interest to me. In some cases, I had a chance to confirm (or refute) my initial take by retasting from a different bottle. As always, a tremendous opportunity to taste through rare Burgundy vertical selections, and a fun, educational event.
Flight 1 - Whites (25 Notes)
Flight 2 - Reds (37 Notes)
Closing
Objectively, there were probably fewer great bottles than in past Verticals sessions (Sauzet and Vogüé being notable exceptions), and it was pretty obvious that some producers chose to show wines from vintages such as 2011 and 2004 more for expedience than out of real interest in putting together a selection of wines from their best vintages. Nevertheless, there was a lot to observe and learn.
Vintage and producer take aways for me from this tasting:
1. Avoid 2011 in both red and white.
2. Seek out 2010 whites-not a bad wine amongst those I tasted, and often stunning. It was not a particularly easy time to get a read on the 2010 reds, not surprising for a classically structured vintage such as this.
3. Do not write off all 2009 whites; some showed really well with much better acidity and verve than I expected.
4. Perhaps an even bigger surprise was how much I enjoyed the 2003 reds that were poured. I don't own a single bottle but wouldn't hesitate to try one from a list if well stored. Fresher and less exotic than anticipated.
5. High quality St. Aubin from top vintages continue to be a great bargain play in white Burgundy. Hats off to Lamy and Colin-Morey in this regard.
6. "Take it to the bank" producers for consistency-Lamy again, Bernard Moreau, Vogüé (as they should be at these prices), Fourrier
7. And finally, 2 relatively under the radar producers with fine showings-Gerard Julien and Hervé Sigaut
2012 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Interesting vertical of a 1er Cru I hardly ever get to taste. Light color. Mix of yellow apple and citrus. Not much intensity or grip.
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2009 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Light color. Bright orange notes. Very nice weight and texture with good acidity for 2009.
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2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Yellow. Citrus and oyster shell aromas. Best of the 3 wines in terms of citrus/saline/acid balance and definitely the most Chablisien. Excellent and very fresh at 10 years of age.
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2012 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Medium yellow. Pear and citrus. Broad and round, not quite enough zip or grip. I might have guessed Mâcon had I tasted this blind.
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2010 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Light yellow/green. Green apple and sea breeze nose. Vivid citrus, excellent weight, texture, and length with a convincingly mineral finish. The best of the 3 vintages poured and just a standout, prototypical Grand Cru Chablis.
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2009 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Deeper yellow than the 2010. Riper aromatics. Glycerine feel, beautiful citrus/soil interplay, fine acidity. For me, a step behind the more classic 2010 but excellent nonetheless, and an object lesson to those who write off this vintage.
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2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Magnum. Light yellow. Floral nose. Clay base, lemon, excellent acidity, long mineral finish. A beauty, although slightly behind the 2008.
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2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Magnum. Light color. Sulfur dominates the nose. Bigger wine than the 2010, good acidity, but stunted flavors and harsh finish. Certainly not in balance now and difficult to say whether the sulfur will ever back down. My least favorite of the 3 vintages.
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2008 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Magnum. Pale. Pure citrus aromas. Light to medium weight. Crisp, focused, precise, stony. Fabulous St. Aubin. As it also was 3 years ago during the Verticals tasting, my favorite of the 3 PYCM wines.
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2011 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Magnum. Yellow/green. Round, sweet citrus, lower acidity but still lots of stone and I love the soil-embedded finish. Very good but behind the 2 older vintages.
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2009 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Magnum. Light yellow/greenish color. Excellent amplitude but essentially lean and dry with great precision, cut, and stony finish. Fantastic for the appellation and a marvel for this vintage.
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2007 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Magnum. Also yellow/green color. Bright citrus and more green elements on the nose. Lighter weight, clearly higher acidity. Lean and taut compared to the '09, outstanding minerality. From this larger format, this still needs to be held for another 3-5 years to fully express itself. Excellent potential but less forthcoming now.
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2009 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Pale. Slight wood and citrus. Light, lemony, lively, and rocky. Outstanding in the context of the vintage and not yet fully mature.
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2010 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Light yellow. Ripe citrus nose. Clearly richer than the 2009 with glycerine and vanilla on the attack but a rush of acidity and a long soil finish at the back end. Very discrete use of oak. Superb Chassagne with further potential for improvement. One of the best whites of the day for me.
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2011 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Light color. Some sulfur here. Deeper pitched citrus on the nose. Round entry but still light and full of soil. Duller feel than the 2 others due to the lower acidity and my least favorite of the bunch. Not bad though.
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2009 Domaine Francois et Antoine Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Only wine tasted here. Yellow. Nice combination of citrus and soil but nondescript and lacking intensity.
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2012 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Exotic, hazelnut aromas. Medium weight and concentration. Nice soil and acidity. Better finish than attack and mid-palate, but nothing special.
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2010 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Light yellow. Laid back citrus aromas with some hazelnut. Bright citrus flavors, cinnamon. Great creamy feel with wood hardly noticeable. Long, mineral finish. Compelling, easily the best of the 3 vintages, and Grand Cru quality. Gorgeous wine.
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2009 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Medium yellow. Sulfur. Lighter and less intense than the 2010, but still some slightly leesy citrus flavors. Good acidity. Hard to get excited about this after tasting the younger vintage. Looking back at my notes, I see I liked it quite a bit more 6 years ago.
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2011 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Yellow. Round, leesy, creamy, some soil, not enough grip.
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2008 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Yellow. Some herbs and citrus. Creamy, long, citrus, clay, and excellent acidity. Outstanding and drinking beautifully now, but it didn't make me jump up and down.
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2006 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Light yellow. Bizarre nose with acetaldehyde. Rich, exotic melon. No! Did not get a chance to retaste another bottle.
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2012 Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Great Grand Cru Burgundy aromas of lees and churned butter. Not much to say except Grand Cru weight, texture, complexity, and deep citrus fruit. Certainly more than approachable and immensely pleasurable at this juncture, but I cannot believe that it will not continue to improve. OK, it may not have acidity for the ages, but this was still one of the most head turning whites poured today.
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2011 Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Light color. Leaner, more austere nose than the 2012. Sweet citrus, but much less weight, mouth feel, and intensity than the younger wine. Higher acidity. Hard to predict where this is going.
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2010 Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Light yellow. Low pitched citrus. Stricter and more structured and backward than the 2012. Not as big or rich as that wine, but I loved the way this slowly builds in intensity in the mouth and finishes long and strong. Much more reserved and classic. Needs plenty of time, but it too should be outstanding once it reaches maturity.
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