2011 White Burgundy
Learn more about 2011 White Burgundy
Careful vignerons who judged their picking dates intelligently have produced a healthy crop of delicious white wines in the 2011 Burgundy vintage, with some flesh on the palate and good acidity, very nicely balanced for medium term ageing.
They have the fresh aspect of 2007 wines but a little more weight. We can report very good results from Mâcon and Chablis as well. Another clear character of the year, for both colours, is how well the wines reflect the characteristics of their appellations and indeed their vineyards. There is certainly admirable precision offered by many wines this year.
Read here the 2011 Vintage Report on Red Burgundy wines.
The Weather
A moderately severe winter, though without the deep freeze of the previous year, ended early and a fine spring was ushered in from the middle of March. The wind patterns were unusual, blowing mainly from the north (the benchmark wind on Palm Sunday), cool and dry – or veering right round to the south, warm and dry. The flowering in the white wine vineyards was more successful than the reds.
The first flowers were seen as early as May 10th, almost exactly the same as in 2007, and properly looked after vineyards were bursting with health. There was a long term fear for the build up of drought problems however, especially if the season was to develop along 1976 lines.
But, as in 2007, May was a little cooler than April and with a few more showers, occasionally storms. The village sages were talking of a hot and stormy summer – apparently the magpies were nesting close to the houses which they do when storms are in the offing! Useful rain followed in early June rapidly followed by a hosepipe ban which immediately brought more rain and questions as to whether this could be the same deteriorating pattern as 2007.
The sun came back with a vengeance at the end of June, flirting with 40°C, and causing some grilling of the grapes. The first week in July was dry too, bringing thoughts of 1976 back into view. When it rained, solidly and evenly without stormy side effects on Thursday 7th July, the growers were thrilled but further rain over the next few days was less welcome and the whole month of July proved to be cooler and wetter than usual.
Overall the season was less stormy than expected apart from minor hail in Corton-Charlemagne (20th May), Gevrey-Chambertin (23rd July) and Puligny-Montrachet, plus one really devastating storm in Rully on 12th July following a more minor attack in June. August began clear and sunny but the July pattern of showery days returned with temperatures below or approaching the seasonal norm. There was little sustained rain except on Friday 26th with many growers starting to pick the following week in the good weather which returned.
Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer
Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.
Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.
Prices:
Bottle
£19.95
Jasper Morris MW,Berrys' Burgundy Director Sylvain has become a superb purveyor of interesting white wines which deliver both quality and value for money, with the two Ladoix Cuvées being particularly noteworthy. He is also softening his style of red wine vinification. All the wines age for up to 18 months in his gloriously cool stone vaulted cellars in Chorey-lès-Beaune and from 2011, all of Sylvain Loichet’s own vineyards are certified AB (Agriculture Biologique) organic.
Bottle
£27.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl3cs
The Clos du Roy is one of the top vineyard sites of Marsannay, and this wine is in its optimum drinking window now, displaying aromas of apricot and toast, with a lovely finish of stem ginger and cleansing lime juice.
Bottle
£28.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl2cs
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director This is an exciting new discovery for us: David Moreau has taken over part of his grandfather’s domaine in Santenay and has produced wines there since the 2009 vintage. Prior to that, he had worked with Olivier Lamy and Domaine de la Romanée Conti, as well as doing a stage in New Zealand at Neudorf. David made significant changes in both viticulture and vinification compared to the ancien regime. The vineyards were almost all planted in the 1960s so he has old vines to work with. They are mostly pruned by cordon royat to minimise vigour, and the land is either ploughed or left with grass depending on the circumstance of a given plot.
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl2cs
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate. 29th August 2013.
Bottle
£33.75
Bottle 12 x 75cl14cs
Bottle
£55.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl4cs
Bottle
£62.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl6cs
This superb domaine continues to grow in reputation. Domaine de la Vougeraie was created in 1999 when Jean-Claude Boisset of the Boisset group decided to group together all the vineyard holdings of his various négociant companies acquired over the years. The name comes from the significant holdings – and indeed Jean-Claude Boisset’s home – in the village of Vougeot. No expense is spared in production terms. Winemaker Pierre Vincent’s style is for lighter colours and very sensual wines.
As ever, this has a nose of great distinction. It is very fine, with some delicate floral notes, and has fabulous harmony with almost sweet fruit. Lemon-scented, it also shows spring flowers and white peaches before a fresh finish and excellent precision. This is a wine of great appeal when young, but it should also keep very well indeed.
Bottle
£85.00
Magnum
£175.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl2cs
Magnum
£175.00
Magnum 3 x 150cl6cs
Jeroboam
£350.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director During the last year, Etienne de Montille, who has run Château de Puligny-Montrachet for the last decade, bought out the previous owners. 2012 will therefore be the first vintage of the new regime and also the first which will be fully certified organic after completion of the necessary three years. In 2011 the Château has produced a good crop of white wines, with old-fashioned low alcohol levels in both the reds and whites: wines originally found to be around 12% abv have been adjusted to 12.5% abv, anything above that was untouched.
Bottle
£255.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl6cs
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Nicolas Potel has installed the négociant arm of his business on the Savigny side of town which gives him plenty of space for making and maturing the wines, along with logistics and office needs, while keeping his Domaine de Bellene operation completely separate in Beaune itself. The selling point here is consistent competence mixed with attractive pricing.
Bottle
£450.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
This is a scintillating and electric wine, with real density of fruit and brilliant length. Somehow it manages to be both silky and steely at the same time .
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Director
Etienne de Montille thinks he has made brilliant 2011s and we are inclined to agree with him. They have freshness, balance, low alcohol, good acidity, excellent fruit and wonderful tannin integration. Picking began on 27th August and continued through to the 9th September as individual vineyards ripened. The fruit has attractively ripe flavours while rarely getting beyond 12.5% alcohol and Etienne chose to include slightly fewer stems than in recent vintages, except for the top Cuvées. Certain wines are available in magnum and double magnum formats, please contact us if they are of interest to you.
Jeroboam
£485.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl1cs
Showing a fabulous light green tint in the glass, this wine has a fresh and stylish nose, with some depth to it. Lovely weight shines through on the palate, with the fruit sitting on a proper substratum of stones, all in excellent balance. This is a very distinguished Corton-Charlemagne.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
Etienne de Montille thinks he has made brilliant 2011s and we are inclined to agree with him. They have freshness, balance, low alcohol, good acidity, excellent fruit and wonderful tannin integration. Picking began on 27th August and continued through to the 9th September as individual vineyards ripened. The fruit has attractively ripe flavours while rarely getting beyond 12.5% alcohol and Etienne chose to include slightly fewer stems than in recent vintages, except for the top Cuvées. Certain wines are available in magnum and double magnum formats, please contact us if they are of interest to you.
Jeroboam
£495.00
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Ladoix is found clustered around the hill of Corton and Loichet has produced a really complex wine with lots of energetic aromatics, floral characters and a balance of wood spice, lemon zest and minerality.
Laura Atkinson, Private Account Manager
Do not worry if you have never heard of Ladoix, this will be a superb introduction to this little-known appellation. Sylvain Loichet’s 2011 has a fine pale colour, a really fabulous nose and magical class, we won’t quite say a poor man’s Corton-Charlemagne, but even so this is eye-catchingly fine. Fruit, weight, balance, purity, long mineral finish – all of those.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director The model here in Fichet’s ultra-meticulous cellars, near the Hôpital de Meursault, is for the wines to spend one year in wood, with bigger barrels for the lesser appellations, and then for them to be racked into tank for the second winter. We adore Fichet’s style of pure, energetic Meursault while even his Bourgogne Blanc tastes like a superior appellation.
Nothing heavy-handed here. Fichet brings his customary finesse to this rich and refreshing Meursault. Nutty oak sublimely supports the fruit in a lingering finish.
Edwin Dublin, London Shop Assistant Manager
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director The lower sugar levels of 2011 suit the Drouhin style and most wines came in at no more than 12.5%, but with a good acid balance. A small percentage of stems were used in 2011, according to the Drouhin’s positive selection method, and grapes deemed worthy of whole bunch fermentation were chosen on the sorting table. We have added two new selections this year, a beautiful village Savigny and a new contract for Drouhin, Chambertin Clos de Bèze. The wines have put on weight in barrel and most will be bottled by the end of 2012. Look out for the very fine whites this year as well.
Bottle 6 x 75cl2cs
Fine Wine Team
This vineyard is superbly located on limestone soil. It has a magical, really classy nose with floral notes on top of weighty fruit. The wine displays brilliant energy, crystalline purity and a great finish. Bravo.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine irector
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Though 2011 has the reputation of being a large vintage for white wines, this was not the case at Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard, where many vineyards produced little more than 30 hl/ha. Caroline Gagnard has converted the vineyards to organic farming and the quality of the grapes is evident in this superb range of wines. As ever, this is an outstanding source of Chassagne-Montrachet.
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager
The fruit of this exceptional Corton is tightly wound on the palate but has too much flesh to be called lean. With some gun flint notes, a touch of spice, excellent body and length, it should develop really well. All is in proportion here. Bravo!
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director
Patrick began the harvest on 23rd August, evidently an exceptionally early date, but he notes that the wines taste as if picked a month later. They are very expressive of terroir differences, as exemplified by the contrasting Clos du Cromin and Tillets cuvées. There are few growers as skilled in the cellar as Patrick is, and it shows in the quality of this fine range of 2011s.
Gary Owen - Private Account Manager
Somewhat softer and rounder than Les Tillets, this wine has a little more weight on the mid-palate, reflecting its position on the lower slopes, alongside impressive fruit and length.
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Director
There are three new cuvées from Antoine Jobard this year: a Meursault not previously bottled, a newly purchased Puligny Premier Cru, and a barrel of Meursault Perrières grown by a friend and exchanged for some Jobard Poruzots. The harvest began on 29th August with healthy grapes, very few treatments having been needed in the vines, which were picked around 12.2% with correct yields around 50 hl/ha. This is a superb address for Meursault which ages with distinction.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director There is a quiet evolution taking place in the Sauzet vineyards, with a steady movement towards biodynamic farming. The proportion of purchased grapes is also diminishing, partly because the domaine has been able to purchase some of the vineyards they were already working with. The cellar work, overseen by Gerard Boudot with his daughter and son-in-law, Emilie and Benoît, continues to be immaculate. Yields were correct in 2011, albeit well below 2009 and the wines are simply excellent.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director There is a quiet evolution taking place in the Sauzet vineyards, with a steady movement towards biodynamic farming. The proportion of purchased grapes is also diminishing, partly because the domaine has been able to purchase some of the vineyards they were already working with. The cellar work, overseen by Gerard Boudot with his daughter and son-in-law, Emilie and Benoît, continues to be immaculate. Yields were correct in 2011, albeit well below 2009 and the wines are simply excellent.
A text-book Chassagne; a perfect balance of fleshy fruit and crisp acidity with a twist of minerality on the palate. Not as famous as Meursault or Puligny, but for me, the village that produces some of the most drinkable wines in Burgundy, especially when they’re this good.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
This is textbook Chassagne. The wine has an attractive floral, charming nose, a lovely steely body with good solid substance behind and excellent length.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director 2011 delivered a correctly sized crop in white wines but again a shortfall in red. Olivier Lamy feels that the poor weather in August was, in fact, helpful as it preserved freshness in a very precocious year. Olivier has renewed his barrel cellar over the last few years, moving to the larger demi-muid size but, now this process has been achieved, the proportion of new oak has been reduced.
The bouquet has a tingly quality with lightly grassy notes interspersed with the richer character of the Chardonnay and a touch of vanilla oak. It is rounded, curvaceous and full of generous fruit all the way to the finish with a glossy texture throughout. Voluptuous indeed! Drink over the next twelve months.
Jasper Morris, Burgundy Buyer