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Bouchard Père et Fils Cellar Visit, Tasting and Lunch
Beaune
Tasted June 26, 2015 by Burgundy Al with 572 views
Introduction
Bouchard is one of the great cellars to visit, given the history of the negociant and the building itself. And of course the wines are often great with a range that can give you a better indication of a vintage than a visit almost anywhere else. I can hardly imagine a better way to spend a half day.
Flight 1 - Villa Ponciago 2013 Beaujolais (3 notes)
Red
2013 Villa Ponciago Fleurie La Réserve
Tasting at domaine. Mostly black fruit with a rounded started, firms up and pick up weight in the middle. Finishes forward, ripe and fun.
Red
2013 Villa Ponciago Fleurie Les Hauts du Py
Tasting at the domaine. Also showing mostly black fruit, more firm vs Fleurie Reserve, with greater density and length. Give some cellar time.
Red
2013 Villa Ponciago Fleurie La Roche Muriers
Tasting at domaine. I liked this cuvée from the 2009 vintage when tasted at Bouchard in 2012 and like this 2013 even more. The most concentration of the three tasted, but also very balanced and texturally interesting. This should drink well young but certainly improve with time in the cellar. Worth seeking.
Flight 2 - Bouchard Père et Fils 2013 Red (10 notes)
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières
Tasting at the domaine. Black cherry aromas with woodsy spice, followed by black and red cherry flavors. Some dark chocolate and oak hints coming through today. Soft start, firms up nicely near finish.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Marconnets
Tasting at the domaine. Flinty, earthy with some intriguing smoke notes. Red cherry throughout with good spice, good balance. Soft tannins for Beaune 1er , should drink nicely young.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot
Tasting at the domaine. Lots of bright black and red cherry throughout. Floral beginning with spice emerging from middle to finish. Charming start but seems to get more dense near the finish. Good young but I think this show lots more classic Volnay nuance and charm in 5-15 years.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens
Tasting at the domaine. Black are red cherry aromas with spice hints. All black fruit with anise and black pepper on palate. Meaty and dense, a bit of new protruded right now. Firm start-to-finish with very good concentration and length. Very good potential, just needs 10+ years in the cellar.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Le Corton
Tasting at the domaine. 30% whole cluster. Red and black cherry with subtle spice. Approachable for a Corton. Firm in the middle, but softer than I'd expect for Corton.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus
Tasting at domaine. Red cherry aromas followed by black and red cherry flavors with some anise and dark chocolate. Intensity and weight pick up near the finish, which makes me think 5+ years in the cellar will bring out most persistent power and elegance. Good potential here.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles
Tasting at the domaine. All black fruit with some roasted game aromas and flavors with a meaty overall character. Fruit has good concentration while also coming across as accessible for NSG 1er from the heart of the appellation.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Noirots
Tasting at the domaine. Red berry and cherry on nose and palate with modest spice, but highlighted by lacy textures and vibrant minerality. Cellar for a few years but I think there is 90 point potential here from 2018 or 2019 forward.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots
Tasting at the domaine. Red cherry and berry on nose and palate with Asian five spice. Slightly firm in the the middle which makes it seem slightly backward, then the fruit and spice re-emerge triumphantly at the finish with power and great length. Very good 92-93 point potential here. Worth seeking out.
Red
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Tasting at the domaine. Black and red cherry on nose and palate with meaty character and serious density. Anise and black pepper throughout. Backward right now, but expanding and powerful on long finish. This will need considerable cellar time for a 2013, but I think it has 93-95 point potential.
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Flight 3 - William Fèvre 2013 Chablis (6 notes)
White
2013 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Montmains
Tasting at Bouchard. Apple and some lemon with good energy and tension. Prototypically Chablis. Good.
White
2013 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
Tasted at Bouchard. Subtle floral hints to start. Green and yellow apple aromas and flavors with precision. Also coming across as leaner and chiseling style of Chablis. Slightly less weight vs Montmains.
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White
2013 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros
Tasting at Bouchard. Apple with some lemon peel, moderate density. Richer than the 1er Cru cuvees just tasted, but with classic Chablis minerality at finish.
White
2013 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Côte Bouguerots
Tasting at Bouchard. A big step up from the Bougros. Yellow and green apple throughout with some lemon zest. Both concentration and structure are impressive. I often find this the Fevre cuvee requiring the most cellar time and would expect this to be true in this vintage as well.
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White
2013 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
Tasting at Bouchard. Most floral wine of the Fevre lineup with lots of apple, coming across as beautifully balanced and approachable today, but with the substance and concentration to age gracefully and pick up weight. Also very good.
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White
2013 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Tasting at Bouchard. As much as i liked the Cote Bouguerots, this was the star of the table. Apple and quince throughout, with lemon and lemon peel coming through near finish. Powerful with delicious fruit, but with the structure and minerality you want in great Grand Cru Chablis.
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Flight 4 - Bouchard Père et Fils 2013 White (8 notes)
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Clos St. Landry Blanc
Tasting at Bouchard. White flowers, white fruit. Moderate weight and structure. Good young.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault Les Clous
Tasting at Bouchard. I wasn't familiar with this vineyard that is located further upslope from Tesson. Very good for its level, this shows big-scaled orchard fruit and some tropical hints with good acidity keeping it bright and energetic. Better in another year or three.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Domaine
Tasting at Bouchard. Floral start with apple and lemon and plenty of raw energy. I like this a lot, and it's exactly what I expect in Genevrieres.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Tasting at Bouchard. Much like the Genevrieres just tasted but with greater fruit density, perhaps slightly less precision. Also classic and very good.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot
Tasting at Bouchard. Apple, some peach. I like the spice best here, with signs of licorice and ginger. Moderate length, structure and power, this should drink well medium-term, perhaps from 2017.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Domaine
Tasting at Bouchard. Floral start with lots of stone and orchard fruit with spice hints. Similar flavor profile with good power and firm structure making it come across slightly more restrained. Give this cellar time. 92-93 point potential here.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet Domaine
Tasting at Bouchard. Starts lean and tight, ends with a crescendo after the wine is gone. Great length with Montrachet subtlety and class. This is always a personal favorite "value" Montrachet, with its location between DRC and Ramonet being some indication of what goes into the bottle.
White
2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine
Tasting at Bouchard. Clearly ripe and slightly opulent. Lots of spice. It's hard for any wine to follow Montrachet, but this hold its own given its concentration and substance. 92-94 point potential here.
Flight 5 - Bouchard Père et Fils Wines Served with Lunch (3 notes)
White
2011 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Domaine
93 points
I was surprised to see this on the lunch menu given its age, but it is drinking perfectly now. Lots of orchard fruit with summer flowers and hints of mint and ginger. Great harmony and persistence. Incredibly fresh with bursts of energy on finish. A great food wine now.
Red
2003 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus
91 points
Another wine I was surprised to see on the lunch menu, and another very pleasant surprise. Ripe black and red cherry with very good concentration and plenty of well integrated tannins. At a great place now.
Red
1966 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Le Corton
Two bottles were served at lunch. The first showed lots of mature black fruit, plenty of earth and very charming sweet brown spice. Beautiful mature Burgundy. It remained consistent for the 45-60 minutes in glass. The second bottle was fresher and more exciting to start but didn't remain as interesting as long.