Part II, Bouchard Pere et Fils 2009 Domaine Reds
The Domaine Reds
As charming and generous as the Chardonnays were, the Pinot Noirs from the domaine vineyards were love-at-first-sight lotharios, a combination of the fresh exuberance of youth with some surprisingly assertive suggestions of handsome maturity to come. And as always with superlative Burgundy, the ever-changing balance of the elements of fruit, earth, acidity and tannin will fascinate. Translation to less flowery prosology: This is good stuff. You should get some.
Monthélie Les Duresses Premier Cru
Just north of Meursault, just south of Volnay, and not as famous or well known as either of its neighbors, Monthélie is within the Auxey-Duresses commune, with Les Duresses Premier Cru leading the quality parade. That makes this wine a sleeper. But there’s nothing sleepy about it as it bursts forth with a gorgeous cherry-berry nose, almost but not quite Santa Barbara-ish, and avoiding the candy and rootbeer for deeper fruit tones of black cherry and the spicy tones of star anise. Light to medium body (which is why, I think, the vignerons allow it a bit more time on the vine than most) it is supple and tender and satisfying.
Beaune Clos de la Mousse Premier Cru
More full and plump than the Monthélie, with more black cherry and even more spice, but not nearly as open and ebullient. Shading from star anise to anise to black licorice as the oxygen hits it, the Beaune dries out and turns lean in the finish. There’s more austerity here, with tighter tannins and finer grain, which suggests a longer cycle of maturity. But that is fitting for this singular monopole of Bouchard.
Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot Premier Cru
One of the top sites in Volnay---and that’s saying something because Volnay conjures up instant appeal—the Caillerets hits the middle between the effusive but light Monthelie and the rich but inverted Beaune preceding. The only qualification is there is too much sweet vanilla oak showing now; hopefully that will recede and integrate as the wine ages. Sweet and pretty berry fruit with some depth and definition already; rich and sumptuous in the middle palate; and rising up to an even richer finish with some impressive elegant tannins, this wine has a lovely harmony that bodes well. I suspect it will close up within a couple of years, stay stubbornly inverted and tight, and then open back up to all its lush potential. Lucky the person who will be around when that finally happens.
Le Corton Crand Cru
The tightest, most closed, most inverted of all the domains on show; stubbornly yielding the least in its miserly fashion; the Corton grudges out some intense compacted complex herbal notes that offer intrigue. But there’s a mask of obvious oak wrapping it all up, and some tight tannings binding it---or, in other words, the normal attitude of a young Corton! With the richness of fruit from 2009 and the acids and tannins that are showing now, odds are great that this will develop into one of the memorable ones. Let’s hope that happens. And let’s hope that dense herbal streak stays intact and one days peeks out.
Beaune Greves Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus Premier Cru
It’s all there in the name. No, not the ‘Baby Jesus’ that everyone giggles at. It’s the “Greve” that really means something. “Greve” is Burgundian for gravel and signals particularly gravelly soil (in this case mixed with sand as well) that promotes excellent drainage and the concomitant severity on the vines that can generate profound fruit. Prized soil everywhere; no less in this particular spot. And Bouchard possesses this gravelly vineyard as a monopole. This rendition is full, rich, rounded, supple, going toward chewy, with tender tannins. Too much vanilla oak right now, but that’s always the case for this wine in its youth, and that should likely abate with integration. A good bet for the future: normally on a leaner frame, this is a chunkier, fleshier version which should age well.
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles Premier Cru
A knockout. Not a technical; a straight to the floor knockout. Perfume and power in a combination you don’t get anywhere but Burgundy. A powerful, intense wine of surprising depth. Underline depth. The “Cailles” in the name don’t refer to quail, but quail eggs---which is the nickname for the peculiar soil types there: smooth, rounded, egglike nodules of oolithic chalk( chalk accreted to small stones) that carpet the ground and stud the soil.
This wine has that nervy intensity, that focus and concentration and containment that can create a profound wine with the knitting of age. More blackberry than cherry. And black licorice. And black tea. But with surprisingly elegant tannins, even at this early stage. When it comes around, I would like to be around. There are good things in store for this wine, and whoever is fortunate enough to drink it eventually.
Echezeaux Grand Cru
A wine totally unlike the others on the table, and yet another testament to the Grand Cru system. We’re back to the red fruit zone here, but red fruit that is both deep and bright at the same time. Then…click…a distinct roasted fruit rises up, almost smoke-roasted, oven-cured red cherries, with all the sweet candiness gone and replaced with compact, dense, chewy, meaty, smoky fruit. Then baking spices, dry and dusty and almost but not quite tinging to bitterness as the cocoa powder kicks in. This is a cozy and cosseted enclave of Echezeaux; if you yearn for richness in Pinot Noir, this is the Pinot Noir for you. Remarkably, Bouchard possesses over 36 hectares, so there should be plenty. Cash in some bonds; stock up; live large later in life.