Community Tasting Note

• COWineLover wrote: 91 points

  November 7, 2020 - Opened without decant and poured 45 minutes before consuming. Light ruby color. Aromatically this has a predominant strawberry, sous bois, bing cherry, and cinnamon. On the palate this has good vigor with prominent acidity that lashes your tongue with cinnamon and cranberry before shifting to a noticeably tannic mid palate. This settles down for a strawberry influenced finish. Nice length with a subtle spice.
  
  A good Village level wine with great overall balance. While this probably benefits from more bottle time, I would drink now through 2028 to enjoy the spice and strawberry pairing.

  3 people found this helpful 2,432 views

6 Comments

• trumpet60201 commented:

  11/8/20, 5:00 AM - Hi there, I have a bunch of these in my cellar and put in drink dates through 2042 (which come from WS). WA also says to drink through 2036. I am fairly new to aging wines and drinking aged wines and I'm wondering how to know which wines will be better in the long term as opposed to losing aspects as you note in your TN. Do you think this wine will still be good after 2028 (could it get better or will it just decline after that point?), or should I change my drink dates? Any other tips on knowing which wines will be better in the long term as opposed to the short term? Thanks in advance.

• COWineLover commented:

  11/8/20, 8:26 AM - Hi Trumpet,
  
  Great question. I will share my views on Burgundy (and there are plenty). Burgundy is often considered the ultimate crap shoot in wine storage. What may be great on release may have history altered in bottle. I have experienced that personally as I am sure many other Burgundy drinkers have. It's why we love these wines - they are beguiling and mysterious.
  
  Generally, wines from the Cote de Nuits (like this wine) will age better than wines from the Cote de Beaune. My personal guide is Cote de Nuits in an acclaimed vintage can go 3-5 years more for Village, 7-10 years more for 1er, and 15+ for Grand Cru. Nuits has esteemed wines with great character and aging potential, and Beaune historically has been easier on the wallet though with great wines (Volnay in particular for me with some good values in Savigny les Beaune).
  
  I will share a personal story to try and give more context. I had some 1996 Gevrey-Chambertin (Village). The wine at 22 years was good, but the vintage in Nuits was very good. I will point you to my tasting notes for the 1996 Jean Raphet Gevrey-Chambertin if you are interested in reading several notes I posted.
  
  I like to age Burgundy, and I have Grand Crus from 2005 that I have not opened yet (waiting for 20-40). Many producers can recommend younger consumption (e.g., more vigor from acidity).
  
  My personal view is this wine will likely drink well beyond 2028. Having said that, keeping a Village wine far beyond that imposes a tax that everyone must wrestle with: the tax in managing cellar space.
  
  So bottom lining for me is this is enjoyable now and will be fresh and vibrant through 2028 for the strawberry and spice noted in my review. Thereafter it is likely to be enjoyable, but is there a need to wait?
  
  My own course of action is to enjoy my remaining 4 bottles through 2028 and keep cellar space for 1er Cru and Grand Cru.
  
  I hope this gives you some context to assess your own experience.
  
  Cheers and enjoy.
  
  Kelly

• trumpet60201 commented:

  11/8/20, 11:19 AM - Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful explanation! You raise many great points that I intend to follow. I especially need to take your cellar space point to heart as my cellar is full (mostly with wines like this). I probably should shorten the drink dates on these wines (and many others in my cellar) to make room for higher end wines that will really shine with aging. Cheers and thanks again for the useful tips.

• COWineLover commented:

  11/8/20, 11:33 AM - Hi Trumpet,
  
  I am glad you found the note to be useful. I am always happy to answer questions, or share perspective. Please reach out for any other questions.
  
  Cheers.

• Snowey commented:

  6/7/21, 1:35 PM - Love this comment back and forth. COWineLover, where in CO are you? I’m in Boulder and it sounds like we appreciate the same sorts of wines!

• COWineLover commented:

  6/8/21, 6:00 AM - Hi Snowey,
  
  i appreciate your comment. I live in the Southeast Denver suburbs, and I love Burgundy (and Left Bank Bordeaux, Northern Rhône, Piedmont, Chablis, Brunellos and Super Tuscans, and Ribera among others).
  
  My cellar is accessible to users so let me know if you have questions or recommendations on anything.
  
  Cheers!

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