It’s always a pleasure to see Luc Bouchard come through each year, both to see him again and to realize that it’s time for another vintage taste of the excellent burgundies of Bouchard.
On this trip he brought the 2010 vintage (as well as a couple of marvelous older vintages to check up on). It’s always a bit of a tossup making generalities about a Burgundy vintage, since in this land of micro-micro viticulture so much depends on the immediate and less so on the general---one vineyard can be fulsome and rich while the nearby vineyard can be dull and lackluster.
Still it’s safe to say that the 2010 season was benevolent and productive. While not the fruity extravaganza of 2009 and its early-drinking delights, the wines of 2010 achieved full ripeness without being overly abundant, managed to avoid alcohol excess, and turned in with fine overall acidity levels, but not overly much there either. In other words, more of a classically structure theme prevailed, with a general range of very high quality and expressiveness and some real standouts for long-term ageability.
First we got an opportunity to re-taste the in-stock Bouchard Pere Bourgogne Pinot Noir Reserve 2009 as a palate tuner. Ripe, fragrant, medium-bodied, already beginning to hit its stride and an impressive house wine for anybody. It’s red burgundy on a budget, which is not all that common, and certainly not with this style and pedigree. In other words, it’s good, and it’s a steal.
This was followed by the Domaine Bouchard Pere Beaune Premier Cru du Chateau Rouge 2008. Also attractively priced for its quality range, this one is already delving into a deep and funky, mushroomy sub-structure, that tertiary, umamied earthiness (let’s say it: dirt, soil, wet leaves) that one can get more often from longer aged examples; perhaps it’s a bit earlier than expected here, but still and all, don’t look gift horses, and what’s wrong with getting there early sometimes when it tastes this good?
The first 2010 was the Domaine Bouchard Pere Savigny les Beaune Lavieres Premier Cru, showing an immediate bright, light florality supported by just-ripe (as compared to the 2009, very ripe) raspberry and red cherry. The acidity quickly asserted itself---hence the brightness---but that will likely soften and harmonize in the near future.
Next up was the Domaine Beaune Clos de la Mousse Premier Cru, which was akin to the Savigny but deeper, darker. Shy nose, as befits the site and age, methinks, with cherry, blackberry and a touch of menthol behind it, this comes across as a sturdy wine that might take time to soften up its tannin and reveal its nature. Did we just describe a Beaune red or not?
The Bouchard Pere Vosne-Romanee 2010 came next. The nose seemed a bit reticent, and light in fruits and florality. Closed up pretty tight right now, and not yielding much. Grippy tannins at the end. Stubborn now, and not giving much up.
Domaine Bouchard Pere Gevrey Chambertin 2010 was more rounded, with plumper berry fruit overall, toothy and chewy right now, and with sufficient sweetness to signal good fruit to come, but with sufficient tannin to ensure that some layaway was needed to get to that point.
Bouchard Pere Pommard Premier Cru was exactly what I think of Pommard in general: chunky, broad, big-bellied, not too awfully complex or demanding, more like a jovial innkeeper offering solid sustenance on a night when you need just that. It’s an adequate, even satisfying style, but no more than that; pleasant, but never a generator of epiphanies.
The Domaine Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvee Carnot is a return to ripeness and verve, with some strong but supple fruit highlighted by blueberry plumpness behind the raspberry and blackberry, and a lovely balance of acidity and tannin and liveliness welling up from the depth of the glass. A drinker and a keeper.
The Domaine Beaune Greves Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus, consumed while Luc Bouchard was repeating with amazing patience for probably the millionth time the story of how this vineyard got its name (go look it up) caromed back to a quiescent, closed state, giving little of interest at this point. Given the track record of this parcel though, and given the raves that other reviewers have already provided for this wine, it should be a comer despite its relatively modest and shy showing here. With Burgundy, it’s hard to tell, honestly.
The Domaine Nuits St. Georges Les Cailles Premier Cru, following the Baby Jesus, was crisper and brighter, and more open at this stage, with some intriguing fruit showing through. Word is this vineyard is newly owned by Bouchard but they have been using it as a fruit source for some time now, and their husbandry dictates they are lowering the yields considerably, so this may be a transition to a newer, denser style. Certainly bears watching and this one would be a good bet for the future.
With the Domaine Bouchard Le Corton Grand Cru 2010 there is immediately a greater oak presence showing---but this wine can certainly handle it with aplomb, for the spice level has elevated here, along the intensity of fruit and the overall density of the wine. Loads to love in this wine, but it’s definitely one to exercise restraint with, for the long term promise is profound. A lovely, deep, and dark and mysterious wine.
All you have to do to understand, to truly comprehend, the tier system of AOC Burgundy is to taste the Bouchard Pere Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru 2010, then scurry back down the line to re-taste the Domaine Bouchard Gevrey-Chambertin commune bottling. There is a profound difference between the two. The communal version is quite good and substantive; the Clos de Beze Grand Cru is orders of magnitude better, with dense, layered, silky depths of aroma and flavor constantly yielding new and intriguing taste perceptions with each sip and each roll of the wine around the mouth. Gorgeous, complex, amazing in its persistence, fine textured, and beautifully harmonious in every imaginable way. A grand wine indeed.
To close this survey or reds we have two additions of lagniappe, a standout Bouchard Pere Aloxe Corton 2005 (See? This is what happens when you exercise patience and restraint. Drinking beautifully right now, with that earthy funk that some Burgundies carry so well.) and a more modest but nonetheless attractive Bouchard Pere Vosne Romanee 2005, a sturdy, fulsome, deep-hearted bottle that would grace any table right now.
Thus concluded the red burgundies from Bouchard in 2010. All in all, an excellent showing, more classic in structure than the 2009s, with less overt fruit but more substance and perhaps more longevity in return.
Too easy to miss putting a name in on some, and adding a name when it is not warranted. And I've never been known for my consistency anyway. I get nervous when I keep repeating 'long form' names of certain wines; I know it's important, and nowhere more so than in Burgundy, and often arguably in Bouchard, but the writer in me want things to flow more casually, as opposed to the winegeek that sees the need for being precise.