Community Tasting Note

• David Paris (dbp) wrote: 92 points

  December 8, 2022 - Bought on release 15 years ago and this is my first bottle of 8 to open... the early writers had me burry this one deep. The initial aromas on a pop and pour are absolutely gorgeous, and certainly showing wonderful development at this stage, offering plenty of mushrooms, earth and sous bois, but it blossoms like a beautiful flower even with the smallest pour. Really, a gorgeous nose and one that makes me think: This is why aged Burgundy! Palate is completely harmonized, perfectly in balance with a killer attack of acidity and tannin, just a hint of the mushroom, but it's primarily vibrant bright red tannic raspberries... an absolute gorgeous wine on the palate. Finish is still tremendously structured, robust, and nearly hard, showing massive piles of acidity and still fairly gritty tannins. This is still coupled with complete beauty and harmony, though, so I'm not offended, because it's still offering wonderful bright red fruits that are the lingering flavor minutes later despite the tongue still feeling the tannin as well. It does make the mouth water for more, though. This wine is at a beautifully elegant entry point of its evolution... I am indeed happy I waited so long for the first one, as this is just now entering what I'd call an early, but long peak drinking window. I'll continue drinking these for a couple decades. Surprisingly, I think this drank best on a pop and pour, and lost some of its complexity after a 3+ hour slow o and later into the night and the next day. This was poured alongside a 2017 Pierrick Bouley Volnay 1er Cru Santenots, and I believe the winemaking style with Pierrick has shifted so much you can hardly tell they're related. This is still very old school and required all this time to get to this point, whereas the 2017 was completely approachable (and quite a bit softer) at its young age.

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4 Comments

• drwine2001 commented:

  12/9/22, 1:32 PM - I have not yet broached my bottles, so I appreciate this detailed, thoughtful note. I do wonder how much of the difference you described between the younger and older bottles can be ascribed to vintage characteristics rather than change in winemaking style.

• David Paris (dbp) commented:

  12/9/22, 2:59 PM - Very true that the vintages (and vineyards) are very different here... My comment on style I guess has more to do with my drinking of many vintages going back to the 90s, as well as conversations with Réyane and Pierrick that I had during a visit at the winery in Volnay in 2018. There's no doubt that Pierrick has changed many things both in the vineyard (going organic, lower yields) and the winery, and while I do believe Pierrick is most certainly still firmly in the traditional camp, there does seems to be a very intentional action to "improve" the wines and make them more approachable in their youth (not so "old school"). How it lands is up to every taster's palate! The press has written about this shift quite a bit, as well (The Wine Advocate, Allen Meadows, and The Fine Wine Review have written about the shifts). So... I think it's all the things, including the vintage and vineyard (I find their Clos des Chenes is always a more structured wine) difference as well, and I could have done a better job of noting that.

• drwine2001 commented:

  12/9/22, 4:58 PM - dpb-Thanks for your considered perspective. That all makes a lot of sense.

• tomandlu commented:

  1/8/23, 8:58 PM - I popped a bottle tonight and mine was far more closed than what you experienced. The quality and balance was there in spades, though.

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