True (romantic) Burgundy lovers have to suffer ..

Never fall in love with the wrong woman - or with Burgundies
It makes you pay high prices and never ever feel really happy.
The crazy thing though is that you never ever regret - on the contrary - you feel encouraged to pay even more ..

2001 Dominique Laurent, Mazis-Chambertin, Grand Cru
Mazis is always lighter than I would expect. From 2001 and already showing signs of full maturity (while stored impeccably)? Odd! The real good thing about this wine is its nice freshness and fruity tannins (also thanks to unfiltered bottling). It's like if you would be on a Burgundy diet: you're happy with whatever they serve you as long as there is some typicality. I truly like this - maybe for its sophisticated simplicity and approachability. My personel rating: 16/20. (much too expensive though)

2000 Dominique Laurent, Ruchottes-Chambertin, Grand Cru
This one was kind of reductive right after opening but changed quickly with airing. Nice sweet fruit reflecting typical terroir notes and recalling sour cherries. Good lenght on the finish thanks to good concentration. The tannins though are ok but not of premium quality, tasting somehow like cardboard (obviously typical to the vintage). This wine is on a quality level where it starts to become really interesting. My personel rating: 17/20. (too expensive though)

1999 Dominique Laurent, Nuits-Saint-Georges 'La Richemone', 1er Cru
Usually I don't like Nuits-Saint-Georges too much because of their rustic tannin structure. This wine is even more tannic than I ever would have expected. Poor wine being victim to ugly oak treatments Luckily there is plenty of excellent fruit to compensate. While undrinkable right after opening this evolves to be a nice drinking experience after 36 hours of airing. Nevertheless there is a whiff of green oak which I don't like at all - recalling some mediocre Bordeaux from the 80ties. My personel rating: 16/20. (much too expensive though)

Cheers,
Rainer

Isn't D. Laurent the house that was doing the 200% new oak treatment? That's brutish with any grape, let alone great Pinot!

marco

Never fall in love with the wrong woman - or with Burgundies
It makes you pay high prices and never ever feel really happy.
The crazy thing though is that you never ever regret - on the contrary - you feel encouraged to pay even more ..

I could not agree more, Rainier. However, I do have regrets, and I am much less willing to pay high prices for Burgundy than I was at one time. Some of the most stellar wines, and many of the most disappointing wines I have ever tasted have been red Burgs. Someone had the saying "There are no great wines, only great bottles" in their sig file. From my limited experience, nowhere is that more true than in Burgundy.

What is "200% new oak treatment"? How can you have more than 100%?

-Paul W.

Isn't D. Laurent the house that was doing the 200% new oak treatment? That's brutish with any grape, let alone great Pinot!

marco

I've heard talk about Laurent's heavy oak treatment (Paul: I believe it's fermentation in new barriques, then aging in another batch of new barriques) - haven't had any of his wines young, but a 99 Chambertin Clos de Beze some time ago was outstanding with the oak beautifully woven in.

Salil is correct, 200% refers to switching to a second set of "new barrels." Not on every wine,but the bigger ones. Overall DL supposedly tends towards a "natural"/non-interventionist style of winemaking, but the oak generally leaves me cold. Actually his basic Bourgogne and low level wines don't have that oak, and I prefer them.

Salil is correct, 200% refers to switching to a second set of "new barrels." Not on every wine,but the bigger ones. Overall DL supposedly tends towards a "natural"/non-interventionist style of winemaking, but the oak generally leaves me cold. Actually his basic Bourgogne and low level wines don't have that oak, and I prefer them.

Basic Bourgogne made by great producers in great vintages (e.g. 1999, 2002, 2005) can easily outperform Grand Cru wines from lesser vintages. And they are much cheaper anyway - but sometimes difficult to get hold of. My favourite example is Joseph Roty's 2005 Bourgogne rouge (was sold at USD 25 here in Switzerland).

Basic Bourgogne made by great producers in great vintages (e.g. 1999, 2002, 2005) can easily outperform Grand Cru wines from lesser vintages..

Just a little bit of hyperbole!

Outperform might be too strong of a word if you ask me. Provide pleasure in the right circumstances is more accurate.

But they won't show the terroir breed of the Grand Cru, which is what you're paying for. Not pleasure.

Basic Bourgogne made by great producers in great vintages (e.g. 1999, 2002, 2005) can easily outperform Grand Cru wines from lesser vintages..

Just a little bit of hyperbole!

Outperform might be too strong of a word if you ask me. Provide pleasure in the right circumstances is more accurate.

But they won't show the terroir breed of the Grand Cru, which is what you're paying for. Not pleasure.

Your differenciation is absolutely correct. I also have to admit that there are much more Grand Cru bottles in my cellar than basic Bourgogne

The few Laurents I've tasted all had too much oak for my palate. Notice, I'm not an oakaphobe.

Basic Bourgogne made by great producers in great vintages (e.g. 1999, 2002, 2005) can easily outperform Grand Cru wines from lesser vintages. And they are much cheaper anyway - but sometimes difficult to get hold of. My favourite example is Joseph Roty's 2005 Bourgogne rouge (was sold at USD 25 here in Switzerland).

The 2005 Pressonnier? Do you still have a few bottles? I'd love to retaste it sometime! Thanks for these TNs, although I must admit I'm baffled to hear you own any Laurent Burgundies - picked from Brancaia's leftovers bin? Cheers!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Basic Bourgogne made by great producers in great vintages (e.g. 1999, 2002, 2005) can easily outperform Grand Cru wines from lesser vintages. And they are much cheaper anyway - but sometimes difficult to get hold of. My favourite example is Joseph Roty's 2005 Bourgogne rouge (was sold at USD 25 here in Switzerland).

The 2005 Pressonnier? Do you still have a few bottles? I'd love to retaste it sometime! Thanks for these TNs, although I must admit I'm baffled to hear you own any Laurent Burgundies - picked from Brancaia's leftovers bin? Cheers!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Indeed, I think I still have some basic Roty wines to share with you - No worries, I haven't started to collect Laurent Burgundies. I was just curious to try these 3 bottles since Raymond Silvani recommended them. Best, Rainer