WTN: Remarkable red Burgundies from "minor" vintages

Some of these French pinots noirs are proving very good, from 1990s vintages originally labeled generally lackluster or short-lived. I first noticed this earlier in a 1998 blind tasting. More recently I opened other wines and was pleasantly surprised. Just as several recent blind tastings of 2005s in bottle have been surprisingly disappointing. Dinner tonight in a promising new bistro (the wine director* invited people to bring in wines, and tonight was Pinot Noir night) reconfirmed what I found in other bottles of (the last two of) these wines. These are rough notes from memory. A 2000 Lamarche Echézeaux opened as a first red was unfortunately corked -- you could still smell a bold fine wine underneath.

1997 Roumier Morey-St.-Denis "Clos de la Bussière" (Premier Cru, Monopole), brought by another diner, with duck confit and hoisin-cranberry sauce, steamed bun, cucumber and scallions (in sort of a "deconstructed" -- Jenise! -- Peking Duck by the east-Asian chef). Solid and even young with long mineraled flavor. Great with the confit.

1997 Domaine Bertagna Clos St.-Denis (Grand Cru) with the end of a pan-seared salmon course, and cheeses. A developed, earthy, truffly nose. Rich, long flavors of dark berries and spice. (When this wine was tasted young, seven or so years ago, some fellow tasters derided the oak but in a pattern familiar from Groffiers, what was woody or over-toasted young has become complex spice, well integrated.)

1994 Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits-St.-Georges "Clos de Forêts St.-Georges" (Premier Cru), with cheeses. 1994 L'Arlots were widely available and moderately priced -- like a 2005 Bourgogne Rouge now from a name producer -- so I bought and stored some at the time. Pulling them out recently I had modest expectations. Surprise! Vivid concentrated Pinot fruit -- anise and sassafras strong in the aroma, and coffee. One diner said rightly it's a simpler wine than those above, with a faintly unusual paraffin-wax smell, but all agreed it's delightful, very true pinot.

* Christine Tran, formerly fine-wine dealer at the "Wine Club" retailer in Santa Clara, California.

Interesting notes, Max. I generally avoided '97s because of the low acidity, but it's hardly surprising that certain better producers were able to produce wines of character even in that year.

Mark Lipton

p.s. I just scored a single bottle of a 2001 Anne Gros Vosne 1er at a charity auction. Any thoughts on how this wine should be doing? (Sorry, I don't recall the vyd)

I'm not sure why 1997 is considered a minor vintage in Burgundy. The reds are reportedly very variable but I have been lucky so far in opening bottles which give a lot of pleasure in a hedonistic vein but with enough acidity to prevent their being soggy.

Of course, this style does not please everybody and the wines may not make very old bones.

I'm not sure why 1997 is considered a minor vintage in Burgundy. The reds are reportedly very variable but I have been lucky so far in opening bottles which give a lot of pleasure in a hedonistic vein but with enough acidity to prevent their being soggy.

Of course, this style does not please everybody and the wines may not make very old bones.

I'm with you, I have enjoyed a number of 1997s for pretty much the same reason, including wines from Delarche, Jadot, Guillemot, Faiveley and Rene Leclerc. I agree that they probably won't be long distance runners, but they were good wines to have around while waiting for 93, 96 and 99. I haven't had any in the past year or so, how are they tasting now.

I'm not sure why 1997 is considered a minor vintage in Burgundy. The reds are reportedly very variable but I have been lucky so far in opening bottles which give a lot of pleasure in a hedonistic vein but with enough acidity to prevent their being soggy.

Of course, this style does not please everybody and the wines may not make very old bones.

I'm with you, I have enjoyed a number of 1997s for pretty much the same reason, including wines from Delarche, Jadot, Guillemot, Faiveley and Rene Leclerc. I agree that they probably won't be long distance runners, but they were good wines to have around while waiting for 93, 96 and 99. I haven't had any in the past year or so, how are they tasting now.

I reviewed two Jadot 1er Crus from N-S-G and Beaune for last month's Jadot theme in Wine Focus. Both were excellent with the "Damodes" having at least a ten year drinking window and the "Couchereaux" probably another five. Both wines scored 90 points. You can read my notes via these links -

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?t=11005

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?t=10878

Roumier is one of my favourite Burgundy producers and regularly over-delivers with his wines from "off' vintages, particularly at the village level. I'm still working my way through a mixed case of Chambolle-Musigny's from the mid-nineties. Have not been disappointed with one yet, especially, considering the modest price I paid for them. Roumier's two top wines - Musigny and Bonne Mares can be hard to find and hellishly expensive. I noticed reading somewhere not-so-long-ago that Christophe gained access to small parcels of Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru "Charmes" and "Ruchottes" through a sharecropping agreement. It will be most interesting to see how these stack up to his big guns from Chambolle and Clos du Vougeot.

I'm not sure why 1997 is considered a minor vintage in Burgundy. ... I have been lucky so far in opening bottles which give a lot of pleasure in a hedonistic vein but with enough acidity to prevent their being soggy...

Soft, ripe, and early-maturing were written characterizations of the vintage on release, and the market priced them relatively low. I remember also a wine-at-a-glance article in a general magazine, late 1990s, with advice on gifts for wine lovers. It said 1994s were not much sought by Burgundy fans.

I was pleasantly surprised how solid and deep the wines above all proved to be.

Thanks for the notes. The wines sound very nice. I have enjoyed many of the 97 I have tried. I also enjoyed some of the prices I paid.

Jason

I'm not a particular fan of 1997, but as always in Burgundy it comes down more to producer for me. I also quite enjoyed the Clos de la Bussiere, though it was clearly too young 3-4 years ago. I went through quite a few of Roumier's village Chambolle (and Mugnier's, also) that I really enjoyed. Lafarge's village Volnay was good, too. I'd much rather have a '97 from a producer I like than a '99 from a producer I don't. That being said, I'd rather have the '99 Roumiers or Lafarges than the '97s.

I've also really enjoyed the '97 Roumier Musigny , and the Mugnier was no slouch last month.

I am one who has found Bertagna good but maybe too woody (Mark L., who might recall a '99 1er -I forget which- at my place). Good to know it integrates.

I've had fewer good '94s than '97s, but a few have shone as real bargains (Lafarge Chateau de Clos des Ducs).

Producer, producer, producer.