Love for Burgundy

Asked about their favourite wines, 90% of wine lovers, including myself, will name Burgundy—or more specifically, the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from Côte d’Or—as one of the top three. However these wines can be very confusing. So I was glad to have spent two afternoons in quick succession with experts, learning about what makes Burgundy tick.

Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director of Berry Bros & Rudd, and the author of ‘Inside Burgundy’, is well known for his expertise and passion for all things Burgundian. On his recent visit to Asia, we explored the three Ws in Côte d’Or— where, when and who —by tasting three pairs of wines, each pair having two Ws in common and one different. A similar exercise was conducted just a week later at the Altaya Wines annual ‘Passion for Pinot’ seminar, this time with owners from four family-run Burgundy wineries sharing their insights into the three Ws through 12 wines.

Burgundy wine is classified into four levels of quality: Regional appellations make up 52% of the total production, Village appellations 36% and Premier Crus (1er Crus) 10%. The remaining 2% belongs to the Grand Crus. The latter two levels are based on climats, small, precisely delineated plots of land that enjoy specific geological and climatic conditions. Côte d’Or, a long and narrow strip, is the heartland of Burgundy where the greatest wines are made. It is split into Côte de Nuits in the north and Côte de Beaune in the south. Some 30 of the 44 Village appellations and hundreds of climats are found here, as well as 28 of the 33 Grand Crus AOC.

The ‘Where’
The soil in Côte d’Or is predominantly limestone and marl, but each village has a different combination. Pascal and Charles Lachaux, a father and son team from Domaine Arnounx-Lachaux, explained that the different characters of their three reds—all from the same vintage of 2011 and made exactly the same way but from different villages—are due to the soil and location. Chambolle Musigny, further north with white soil, produces lighter and softer wine, while Vosne Romanée’s darker soil gives more structure and power to the wine. The third wine is from Nuits St Georges but it is not in the typical rich style thanks to the very white soil that results in smaller grapes. The wine is concentrated yet elegant.

Another interesting comparison was the two 1er Crus from Domaine Faiveley. Both were from Gevrey Chambertin, vintage 2012 and the same winemaking method. The ‘Clos des Issarts’ has a marked mineral palate with a smooth finish while the ‘Combe aux Moines’ is more tannic and muscular. The two climats are less than two kilometres from each other!

The ‘When’
‘When’ refers to vintage. According to Jasper, Burgundy is a crossroads for weather and is often at the cusp of two weather systems. No wonder every vintage in Burgundy is different. Frost and hail reduce crop yield while rain during ripening season affects quality. A hot summer gives powerful wine but too hot may result in imbalance between acidity and alcohol. A cool year, on the other hand, may produce wine that is too thin although diligent winemakers can still make some very elegant wine. Jasper’s philosophy is that vintages should not be classified as good or bad, but rather, an indication of when to drink the wine.

With Jasper, we compared the 2003 and 2000 reds from Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Georges 1er Cru ‘Roncieres’. The 2003 was rich and concentrated reflecting the particularly hot year, but it was still youthful with ripe dark fruits at 12 years of age. The 2000, although only three years older than the 2003, was much more advanced with dried fruits and forest floor bouquets. It was a more difficult vintage with too much rainfall close to harvest. Jasper described 2000 as a cheerful vintage for wine lovers—while it is not a long-lived vintage, the price is reasonable and the wine absolutely enjoyable now. The 2003, in contrast, still has at least another five years before its peak.

The ‘Who’
The notion of terroir is the interaction between soil, climate and people, so obviously winemakers play an important role in shaping the style of the wine. This was well demonstrated by BBR’s pair of 2008 Vosne-Romanèe 1er Cru ‘Les Beaux Monts’, Domaine Bruno Clavelier and Domaine Jean Grivot. The grapes of the first wine were picked slightly early and vinified with some stems. The wine displayed vibrant red fruits and floral notes yet with a fairly dense structure. The second wine had no stems used during winemaking but was aged in barrels for 18 months. It showed riper red fruits but with a leaner palate.

We also contrasted three reds at the Passion for Pinot session: Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru ‘Les Mitans’ 2009, Domaine Faiveley Pommard 1er Cru ‘Les Rugiens’ 2012 and Bonneau du Martray Corton 2011. Although they were from different vineyards and vintages, we could still see the fingerprints of the different winemakers in the wine by the way they managed tannin and extraction.

Domaine de Montille, Domaine Faiveley, Bonneau du Martray

These two tastings confirmed my belief that our choice of wine is personal. Wine is not about price or ratings. We all have different palates and stylistic preferences so it is only logical that we do not all prefer the same wine. As for vintage, well, we just have to buy every year and enjoy them at different times!

2013 vintage

I also had the chance to taste the Louis Jadot 2013 en primeur organised by ASC Fine Wines. Louis Jadot is one of the larger producers in Burgundy with vineyards in nearly every Côte d’Or village. Thibault Gegey, its Deputy General Manager, explained that 2013 was a difficult year. Spring was wet and cold, resulting in poor flowering and thus a smaller crop. Summer finally arrived in June but a hailstorm in July devastated some vineyards between Meursault and Aloxe-Corton. September, the most important month for grape ripening, was excellent and balanced fruit with good potential began to develop, albeit in a much smaller crop. Unfortunately though, the weather turned progressively wetter and colder so those grapes harvested later had more rot than those harvested earlier.

Armed with knowledge of the three Ws, I would certainly not dismiss the 2013 vintage. It doesn’t taste like 2010 and probably doesn’t have the same ageing potential, but so what? I love its elegance and leaner style, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. When we sip a Burgundy, we know we are tasting the dedication of vinegrowers and wienmakers who care about their climats, and try to make the best possible Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs in every weather condition. Enjoy!

Domaine Bruno Clavelier, Domaine Jean Grivot are available from Berry Bros & Rudd.
Domaine Arnounx-Lachaux, Domaine Faiveley, Domaine de Montille, Bonneau du Martray are available from Altaya Wines.
Louis Jadot is available from ASC Fine Wines

White wine - Golden wine?

For the Chinese, wine, by default, is red. There are various reasons why white wine is not popular in China: first, red is a lucky colour; second, the literal term 'white wine' in Chinese means the local white spirit made from rice, not grape wine; third, some say the Chinese simply don’t like white wine. But the last reason is not really valid—numerous blind tastings have demonstrated that they do like white wine if they can’t see the colour. So is it because of the confusion over the name? After all, the Chinese have a saying, ‘No need to fear being born on a bad date, but do fear being given a bad name’ (唔怕生壞命，最怕改壞名).

So how about calling white wine 'golden wine' (金酒)? Jasper Morris MW reckons it is a good idea, especially since white wine is not white anyway. Its colour ranges from pale lemon to deep gold. So he thinks the term may not even be appropriate in English. But I’m not sure if it isn't a touch too tacky, just like the lucky Chinese ‘eight’ character on Lafite 2008. China itself may have 1.3 billion Chinese, but there are still a lot of Chinese outside China who see nothing wrong with the term ‘white wine’. Equally, I’m sure there are many mainland Chinese who don’t want to be treated superficially.

What’s your opinion? A sensible marketing move to avoid confusion, or blatant commercialism? Please vote for your preference. Love to hear your comments or perhaps more alternatives.

Burgundy en Primeur 2010

What a joy to start 2012 with the tasting of some fabulous Burgundy 2010, most of it straight from the barrel and flown direct to Hong Kong, courtesy of Berry Bros & Rudd. Even better was a chat about the 2010 vintage with renowned Burgundy expert, Jasper Morris MW.

Burgundian producers did not expect 2010 to be a good vintage. The first strike was the plummet in temperature in a short space of time from -3ºC to a record low of -19ºC on 19th December 2009. Since the sap hadn’t gone back down yet, quite a number of vines were killed by the cold air, severely reducing the crop level. The second hit was bad flowering weather in May, which was cool, wet and windy, leading to small and uneven bunches, further reducing the yield. In hindsight, the small crop actually saved the vintage, because summer was not particularly great. A big crop would not have been properly ripe. Furthermore, the smaller berries increased the skin to juice ratio, leading to more concentrated wines as a result. Mother nature struck again on 12th September 2010 in the form of a massive thunder and hail storm, damaging some Chardonnay which was about to be harvested. Luckily a north wind came soon afterwards to dry the grapes, preventing the spread of rot. The harvest in mid September was carried out in sunny weather.

The end result? A classic vintage with elegance and finesse. The Pinot Noir show a perfect balance between acidity, tannin and fruit; while the whites display a density of fruit that is well-integrated with the fresh acidity. According to Jasper (and after tasting the wine I agree), the 2010 vintage is much more 'Burgundian'. 2009 may be more pleasing, but it is more 'international' than true Burgundy.

The negatives? The yield was down between 30% and 50% across the region. Given the latest enthusiasm for Burgundy, there won’t be enough to satisfy demand. Despite this, most producers have kept their prices the same as 2009’s, unlike their counterparts in Bordeaux.

Many wine lovers find it confusing to navigate the myriad labels of Burgundy. Burgundy classifications are by geographic district rather than producer. Yet, two vineyards of the same Cru status next door to each other may produce wines that seem miles apart. The quality of Burgundy wine has always been hit and miss. Jasper says this is because most Burgundian producers have traditionally been farmers who learned by on-the-job training from their fathers. Today’s young generation of producers have formal oenology training, some even have overseas vintage experience. He is seeing big improvements in quality in all categories of Burgundy wine including the regional appellation.

Jasper selected 34 wines for BBR’s 2010 Burgundy en primeur tasting. There are some real bargains. Patrick Javillier Bourgogne Blanc Cuvée Oligocène is full of life and a steal at £150 per 12 bottle case. My other favourites are the complex Domaine Jean Grivot Clos de Voueot Grand Cru (£570 for 6 bottles), the generous Maison Camille Giroud Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru (£270 for 6) and the elegant Domaine du Comte Armand Pommard Clos des Epeneaux (£345 for 6). Visit BBR’s website for more information.