Bourgogne Rouge

Such was the quality of the vintage that Camille Giroud winemaker David Croix said that he would be happy to see 2015 more often! A blend of fruit from Givry and Volnay, this is packed with crunchy and juicy red berry fruit. Medium-bodied with supple and succulent tannins and spicy redcurrant flavours, this is a wine which will have you reaching for the next glass. Quintessential red burgundy from a 5-star vintage and made by one of the region’s rising stars. 
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

This is a mix of Marsannay, Côte de Nuits Villages and Bourgogne Rouge from a plot called Les Chaillots. Medium purple, there is plenty of lovely juicy fruit, good velvet, a little touch of reduction. The wine is seductive yet also with a bit of muscle. Plenty here for the future.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

The 2014 Bourgogne Rouge has a simple, light-hearted red cherry and bergamot-scented nose that if full of joie-de-vivre. The palate is fleshy on the entry, nicely defined with crisp tannin, surprisingly fleshy and generous on the finish. Recommended.
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate. 31st December 2015. 

A red-purple hue with attractive fruit, flora and gentle in the mouth. There is refreshing acidity behind, but the lovely floral notes win out. High class Bourgogne. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Harvest began during the last week in September and finished just before the storm. There was less whole bunch vinification for the wines affected by hail, but Volnay Taillepieds, Pommard Rugiens, Corton Clos du Roi and the wines from the Côte de Nuits were all predominantly vinified with their stems.
 

Lovely rich purple black colour, vivid striking fruit, good weight and charm with just a trace of tannin behind. Way above its appellation. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Christian Sérafin is very happy with how 2013 worked out in the end, though yields were once again 25% below normal, even if a touch more than in 2012. The team removed rot and unripe bunches in the vineyard, then waited to pick until after the wet weekend which helped both sugar and acidity.

 

Paler in colour, this has a really classy, classic fruit on the nose. It has great acidity, cherries and raspberries abound. One to keep.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Everything is in place, most especially the haunting quality of the fruit which emerges at the back, with a heavenly perfume suffusing the palate. A must-have, if we can supply it! Drink 2019-2026.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

With lovely lifted red fruit, this is really pretty and attractive beneath, with the welcome freshness of the vintage shining through.
Jasper Morris MW,Berrys' Burgundy Director Given that the sugar levels are not high in 2011, Ghislaine Barthod expected something lighter this year. However, the wines have come out with good texture and density. While accessible in the medium term, they show an attractive freshness and energy which puts them into a different class from the attractive 2007s. Chambolle-Musigny has done well in 2011, since the style of the appellation appreciates the fresher aspect of lower alcohol levels.

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With real elegance to the nose and impressive weight for Bourgogne, it has some tannins behind for structure.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director
Christian Sérafin notes that 2011 was a surprising year, with results much better than expected. These are elegant wines even by Sérafins standards and since Frédérique, Christian’s niece, has been responsible for vinification, the wines have been showing a fresher style, with slightly suppler tannins. Christian is partly retired, though he still looks after his favourite Cazetiers vineyard, as well as conducting tastings in the cellars. There is a bit more volume available than in the 2010s.

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You are getting your money’s worth, as this includes some Beaune and Santenay La Comme 1er Cru. Pale and attractive purple in colour, the fruit and oak blend together nicely, with very pretty middleweight fruit right across the palate and a persistent finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

As far as supply is concerned it’s a topsy turvy position in 2012. Overall, Ben has made plenty of wine but some cuvées are missing this year. The best volumes are with the Chassagne-Montrachet Premiers Crus, which are always a strong point chez Benjamin. From a standing start in 2007 Benjamin has made truly exciting progress, and has grown his business a little more quickly than expected as great opportunities have come his way. Yet each year he still doesn’t seem to have quite enough wine to satisfy demand. Wines marked † are bottled under stelvin screwcap closures.

A light red purple with the most deliciously fragrant bouquet, there is a lovely mix of fruit and the savoury character typical of Gevrey-Chambertin on the palate. Already a delicious wine though with potential for further growth.
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Director

 

With lively fruit bouncing on the nose, it is unsurprising that a perfect kernel of Pinot Noir fruit follows on the palate. Pleasantly crunchy, it has some gentle tannins behind, so drink it too early.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director The Lafarge’s picked from 31st August to 6th September in 2011 and the fruit is fully ripe and balanced in every sense. Very healthy grapes were harvested that hardly required any sorting and gentle extraction has produced some beautifully fine wines which Michel Lafarge compares in quality to his 1952s. If this is the case, our suggested drinking dates would appear to be rather on the conservative side!

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A Bourgogne Rouge of brilliant concentration, tasting well above its station. This shows bouncing energy, full of fruit and fun. Great length and only two barrels made, alas.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Thibault’s two domaines, based in Moulin à Vent and Nuits-St Georges, both returned paltry yields of 16 hl/ha in 2012. Among the Côte d’Or appellations, the Hautes Côtes, Nuits and Gevrey-Chambertin suffered in particular. All of which is a great shame, given the quality of the wines which have been made. Even where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton and Chambolle- Musigny), Thibault makes the major decisions in the vineyard management. His own vines are farmed biodynamically, with ploughing by horse.

Delicious light purple, with very pretty fruit backed by good acidity. The Bons Bâtons vineyard is a favourite source for Bourgogne Rouge.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Picking began on 24th September through to 5th October, producing a tiny yield in Premeaux after heavy rain during flowering. However, Chambolle survived in places and did go through malolactic fermentation with ease, leaving Nuits-St Georges to be much later. Despite healthy fruit, the crop has been reduced severely, producing as little as 12 hl/ ha in places. Patrice uses 30% new wood on his village wines and 40% for his Premiers Crus. Wines marked as ‘Patrice Rion label’ are officially negoçiant cuvées, but in every case, except the village Chambolle-Musigny, the Rions have done all the vineyard work as well as made the wine.

If you like your red Burgundy packed with intensity but with finesse and balance, then look no further than Domaine Dugat-Py. This wine has an alluring, floral bouquet with dried violet petals, wrapping the lush dark cherry and cassis fruit. Sumptuous and rich on the palate, this is a pleasure to drink now and until 2017.

One-third domaine Bourgogne fruit is supplemented by purchased grapes from Marsannay, Ladoix and Beaune. A fine, bright, dark colour, with an immediate wealth of fruit on the nose and in the mouth, this is sumptuous and full of life. Plump yet gorgeous. Drink 2018-2025.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

This comes from 50-year-old vines just below the Vosne-Romanée appellation. The wine is completely sensuous, with peonies and rose petals abounding. This is a stunning introduction to the brilliance of Jean-Pierre Guyon. Drink 2018-2023.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With prices in Burgundy still rising, even if often for understandable reasons, the appellations Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge are great places to look for affordable wines. You get the opportunity to drink wine from a top winemaker, from vines which are adjacent to the famous villages, and which will be accessible earlier. The 2005 Bourgognes Rouges are still delicious and youthful more than 10 years later, but most wines have been drinking well for a few years now. 

The frost damage of 2016 has necessitated a different blend this year, but the result is exciting nonetheless. The 2016 cuvée includes some vineyards Thibault is now looking after in Chambolle, adding a touch of class to the mix, and giving a wine with pretty red fruit, a floral lift and surprising depth. This is not a wine of great body, but there is good length and a certain elegance. Drink 2018-2025.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

In 2001 Thibault took over an old family property in Nuits-St Georges, reclaiming the vines which had been contracted out to various share-croppers. The family jewels ( his branch) consist of Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot and Nuits-St Georges Les St Georges, to which he has added further vineyards and a few cuvées made from purchased grapes. The vineyards are certified organic and farmed biodynamically, with horses used to plough the vineyards where possible. The oak regime is not to exceed 50 percent new barrels but also not to use any barrels more than three years old. Thibault has also developed several single-vineyard bottlings of Moulin-à-Vent (Beaujolais). In summer 2017 Thibault opened a new, environmentally friendly cuverie which harnesses geothermal and solar energy and recycles rainwater. Thibault Liger-Belair is a busy man. He has his fascinating project in Moulin-à- Vent (find his Cru Beaujolais wines on page 55) as well as overseeing the forestry and manufacture of the barrels for all his wines, and experimenting with very light toasting. Overall, he is quietly satisfied with this year’s results. He continues to work with varying levels of whole bunches and is trialling a refinement which involves removing the thick, central stalk of bunches, to leave mini-bunches. He was especially badly hit by frost in the Hautes Côtes and Chambolle but elsewhere this is a relatively happy cellar.