2002 Beaune and Volnay Premier Crus

San Francisco
Tasted Friday, October 27, 2023 by drwine2001 with 94 views

Introduction

The red wines were opened but not decanted in the morning, meaning that the Beaune and 2 Volnay flights had received approximately 3, 4, and 5 hours of air respectively. Since various people had contributed wine, this wasn't a completely blinded event, but the four wines in the 3 red wine flights were bagged, numbered, and served blind in the order that the notes describe.

Flight 1 - Starters (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - Beaune Premier Crus (4 Notes)

  • 2002 Albert Morot Beaune 1er Cru Bressandes

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

    Light ruby. Strong wintergreen aroma. Earthy black cherry, thin, tart mid-palate, saline, tannic finish. This was somewhat coarse to me and the balance didn't really please. I much preferred the Teurons that followed.

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

  • 2002 Albert Morot Beaune 1er Cru Teurons

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

    Ruby. Ripe red berry fruit that is purer and deeper than in the Bressandes. Medium weight, citric twist, excellent acidity. Rich and excellent flow through the mid-palate, then a serious, dry, tannic finish. Right on the cusp of maturity needing some years to fully resolve. The best of the 4 Beaunes for me.

    Incredibly impressive on the second night. Sweet, sappy black cherry fruit and soil which was not so apparent yesterday as well as a touch of gaminess. This completely outperformed the more iconic wines in this line up.

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

  • 2002 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot

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

    Ruby with slight browning. Perfumed with a fennel note, dark red and black fruit. Medium weight, some sap, dry finish with more soil than tannin. Not great length but complex and lively. This too could use a few more years to soften.

    Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus

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

    Light ruby. A small amount of mustiness that blew off. Grippy leaner style with more obvious oak and a dry, tannic finish. The fruit is still alive, but the soil has a stronger imprint. I think recent vintages of this are more refined and better balanced than this.

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

Flight 3 - Volnay Premier Crus (4 Notes)

  • 2002 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or

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

    Light red core with fading rim. Forward warm spice and floral aromas. Medium to light weight. Naturally sweet red fruit, supple and flowing yet restrained due to outstanding acidity and a soil-inflected finish. This was delicious, immediately impressive, and just about fully expressed. Everyone who was familiar with Pousse d'Or wines from this period was delighted by the absence of an oak signature. To me the most "Volnay" wine of this first Volnay flight.

    Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2002 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrées

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

    Light ruby center with lighter outer half. Heady ripe berry and spice aromas. Slightly bigger and denser than the Pousse d'Or but this still dances across the palate. More obvious oak, green notes, and tannin than its relative. I found this less finessed and less ready, but others preferred this to the other monopole wine. Nevertheless, very good and potentially better than this if it absorbs the wood.

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

  • 2002 Jean Boillot & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets Flawed

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

    Corked and completely undrinkable. A real shame since this wine has provided much joy for not many dollars over the years.

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

  • 2002 Coche-Dury Volnay 1er Cru

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

    This bottle had a depressed cork with with obvious seepage, so this was opened shortly before pouring without the 4 hours of air that the other wines in the flight received. Pale red. Delightful, sinuous nose with lots of cherry. This is quite a disconnect from the palate, which is medium bodied and saline with a strong soil imprint, vanillin oakiness, and not a lot of fruit. Given the concern about the cork, it was not obviously oxidized. Pretty mixed up wine that confused but did not satisfy. The first Coche Volnay I've ever had so difficult to put this in context.

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

Flight 4 - More Volnay Premier Crus (4 Notes)

  • 2002 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans

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

    Ruby, lighter outer third. Subtle fruit and perfume with a sharper fennel tone that sticks out. Quite rich and larger scaled than the 2 other d'Angerville wines in this flight. Pliable, sweet entry, earthy fruit, high acidity, medium length finish. This steadily improved while it was in the glass.

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

  • 2002 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds

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

    Light ruby with lighter outer quarter. More cherry and spice on the nose without the green element of the Champans. Medium to lighter weight. Beautiful interplay of fruit, spice, and a touch of menthol in the mouth. Light, earthy, and mineral with a tart, tannic finish. Already excellent but a good 5 (?) years away from maturity.

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

  • 2002 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes Flawed

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

    Light ruby core with gentle gradation. A really odd combination of ripe fruit and a disconcertingly dominant garlicky/peppery stink that did not go away. Better on the palate, but still all soil and tannin without fruit to support flesh. This had gorgeous fruit and none of these off notes the only other time I tried it 10 years ago, so I have to think that this bottle was defective.

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

  • 2002 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs

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

    Brighter ruby, watery rim. Lovely, beautiful poised aromatics with a balance of fruit and herbs. Medium weight. Subtle, complex, gently sweet, excellent acidity, low remaining tannins, and a long, lingering finish. Less overtly mineral than the Taillepieds. What can I say? As good as the exalted reputation of the site. The most Burgundian nose and the most complete wine of the day. A great way to finish up the red wine portion of the tasting.

    Even better the second night-lacier, spicier, fresh strawberry fruit. A great Volnay.

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

Flight 5 - Something Sweet (1 Note)

  • 2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    Opened 2 hours before serving. Light golden. A discrete, lighter weight, less sweet Première Trie from Huet. Combination of red apple and pear, no botrytis, moderate intensity. Not unctuous at all but very enjoyable, fresh, and clean.

    Two nights later, it is still quite fresh with more cinnamon and finishing Clos du Bourg soil, but now it is easier to sense a dip in concentration in the mid-palate. In the final analysis, I think this is an excellent but not great Huet 1ère Trie wine.

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

Closing

I think people were pleasantly surprised with how well these wines showed and how vigorous most of them were at age 21. Not surprisingly, the Volnays were of overall higher quality than the Beaunes, finer and sweeter although not uniformly more delicate. The tasting really challenged the notion that for the Côte de Beaune, 2002 is a charming, ephemeral year since a good number of the wines did not want for "seriousness" or significant remaining aging potential. I'm really happy to have a few of these left in my cellar to enjoy over the near to intermediate term.

×
×