1999 Red Burgundy tasting
Tuesday April 4th 2001
La Vigneronne
The 1999 red Burgundies have been massively hyped in recent months
as merchants have been releasing their en primeur offers. From this
small snapshot of the vintage, it seems that some of this hype might
be justified. Although it is foolish to extrapolate too far from such
a small sample, I was impressed by the density and ripeness of these
wines. In particular, the cheaper wines from the less grand
appellations are currently showing superbly. Burgundy, normally a
minefield for consumers, might even be a bit safer in vintages like
this. Although it's fantastically difficult to assess decent Premier
Cru and Grand Cru wines so early in their life, this tasting reminded
me why Burgundy is such a captivating wine region. And compared with
Bordeaux, it isn't fantastically expensive, either.
1999 Nuits St Georges 'La Perrière', Gouges
Before we get to the reds we have this rare beast: a rare white
wine made from a white mutant of the Pinot Noir grape. This shows a
smoky/fruity nose with some toasty new oak. It's rounded, fruity and
balanced on the palate with noticeable oak. Quite a modern style;
interesting stuff. Very good
1999 Côtes du Nuits Villages, Jean Marc Millot
A deep coloured wine, this has a lovely full sour cherry nose with
some sweet fruit and a touch of bacon fat. The palate shows a nice
savouriness, with firm tannins and lovely rich fruit. Delicious stuff.
There's almost a resemblance here to a perfumed Côte Rôtie from the
Northern Rhône. Very good/excellent (La Vigneronne £12.50)
1999 Mercury 1er Cru Les Vasées, Raquillet
Deep coloured wine with a lovely perfumed nose: complex, herby and
savoury with a nice meaty edge. Delicious, full palate. This is a nice
savoury, chunky wine that's drinking beautifully now. Very
good/excellent (La Vigneronne £12.95)
1999 Mercury 1er Cru Les Puillets, Raquillet
Full sweet nose of raspberry and cherry fruit with a herby edge.
Not as savoury as Les Vasées, with bright cherry/raspberry fruit on
the palate: tastes quite youthful and primary fruit-dominated. Very
good+ (La Vigneronne £12.95)
1999 Mercury 1er Cru Clos l'Évêque, Raquillet
Full coloured wine showing bright cherry fruit with a nice
herbiness. Firm acidity and fresh fruit on the palate; youthful, with
firm tannins. Needs time to show its best. Very good+ (La Vigneronne
£12.95)
1999 Savigny-Les-Beaune, Pavelot
This is a bit of a monster! Ripe, herby and slightly smoky -- it's
complex and beguiling. There's high acidity on the very savoury
palate, with some noticeable tannin. Lovely stuff but probably best
with food. Very good+ (La Vigneronne £13.50)
1999 Gevrey-Chambertin, Groffier
The pungent, medicinal nose is complex and full (perhaps a tiny
bit volatile?). The palate shows firm tannins and high acidity. This
is a big structured Pinot Noir with medicinal, herbal fruit and some
nice spicy undercurrents. It's a style I appreciate, and this is
pretty impressive for a village level wine. Very good/excellent
1999 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru 'Les Suchots' Jean Marc Millot
There's a distinct caramel edge to the nose; otherwise this is a
little bit closed. The palate shows rounded, sweet fruit with notes of
caramel, leather and tea -- there are no rough edges. It's very hard
to assess this wine at such an early stage, but there's enough length
here to suggest this may be very fine in time. At the moment it's not
as compelling at some of the less grand wines in the tasting. Very
good (La Vigneronne £25.00)
1999 Chambolle-Musigny 'Les Sentiers' Groffier
The full, herbal, medicinal nose is nicely perfumed and shows some
meaty fruit. The palate is tannic, savoury and youthful, with pungent
fruit. Although it's no crime to drink this now with food, it will no
doubt improve in bottle for a decade or so. Very good/excellent
1999 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, Dominique Laurent
The lightest-coloured wine in the tasting. A herby, perfumed nose
leads to a palate showing light herby cherry fruit, with relatively
firm tannins. Not a big wine, but may develop nicely. Very good+
1999 Echézeaux Grand Cru, Jean Marc Millot
It's so hard to assess wines like this when they are just babies.
Quite deep coloured. Nose of warm, spicy cherry fruit with a caramel
edge. Quite soft palate showing firm tannins; impressively rounded,
long and balanced. Currently not as sexy as some of the other wines
here but will no doubt reward patience. Very good+ (La Vigneronne
£35)
1999 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Jean Marc Millot
Deep nose, showing some herby pungency. Tannic palate is currently
very youthful with good acidity, nice length and a touch of that
caramel character again. Chunky stuff, it's a bit of a crime to drink
this so young when it's hardly beginning to show what it's capable of.
Very good+ (La Vigneronne £40)