Bernard and Jocelyn Dugat-Py offer a stunning range of 2005 Burgundy.
Cellar Notes: 2005 Burgundy, Part 1
Domaines from Gevrey-Chambertin and Morey-St.-Denis show stupendous quality
Bruce Sanderson
Posted: Friday, March 02, 2007
The quality of the 2005 vintage for red Burgundy is stupendous. It is simply the best young vintage I have tasted in my 17 years working in the wine business. In late January and early February, I visited more than 30 top domaines and négociants, tasting more than 500 wines. (While I was there, I chronicled my tastings in numerous blogs; I also wrote a preliminary report based on my visit last June.) I tasted the wines non-blind, in either the cellars or offices of the domaines and négociants. Although some wines were bottled, the majority were barrel samples and not finished wines.
Following are my cellar notes from a selection of domaines and négociants. These short profiles serve as an update on the latest happenings at each property along with a general assessment of their respective 2005 wines. In the following cellar notes, I have used a score range to indicate potential quality. Part 1 (of three) features domaines from Gevrey-Chambertin and Morey-St.-Denis.
Domaine Pierre Damoy
Pierre Damoy, 42, took over the management of this domaine from his uncle in 1992. Damoy farms 26 acres, mostly in Gevrey-Chambertin (the Bourgogne parcels are in Fixin), including parcels in the grand cru sites Chapelle, Clos de Bèze and Chambertin. The youngest vines are about 20 years old, the oldest more than 80.
The vineyards are plowed rather than treated with herbicides, and Damoy tends to pick later than his colleagues in Gevrey. After a cold soak of about 10 days, the fermentations take about two weeks. The wines are matured in 40 percent to 70 percent new oak, depending on the hierarchy, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The Bourgogne and Gevrey-Chambertin were racked into tank for bottling; the others were tasted from a blend of several barrels.
The Bourgogne is ripe, full-bodied and rich, with blackberry and cassis notes (85-88 points). The Gevrey is a step up, but more burly, and the fruit is more marked by oak. It's a little unsettled right now but shows fine potential (89-91). The Clos Tamisot, from a 3.5-acre plot behind the house, offers floral, black cherry and plum flavors with finesse (89-91).
The Chapelle-Chambertin is sweet, rich and long, very fine, with cassis and plum notes (92-94). The Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is rich and ripe, yet refined, displaying sweet cherry, berry, mineral and spice flavors (95-100). The Chambertin is jumbled in aroma but tastes like dried fruit-raisins and currants-on a firm, muscular frame. Great finish (95-100). The Clos de Bèze Vieilles Vignes, a blend of the three barrels made, is ripe, with explosive cherry, licorice, floral and mineral flavors. Terrific length and harmony (95-100).
Domaine Dugat-Py
Bernard Dugat works hard to get the best fruit possible from his old vines. Plenty of millerand berries (small, seedless grapes caused by a condition at flowering) ensure low yields, flavor and tannins from the high skin-to-juice ratio. Whole-cluster fermentations are the rule, followed by long, slow malolactic fermentations. The 2005s were racked before and after the 2006 harvest and will be bottled in March 2007.
Dugat crafted a stunning range in 2005. The average yield for the domaine was a little more than 2 tons per acre. Among the village wines, a seductive Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes exhibits violet, black currant and spice flavors that are complex and long (89-91 points), while the Gevrey-Chambertin Coeur du Roy (from 98-year-old vines) shows greater density and concentrated cassis and blackberry notes (89-91).
Among the premiers crus, the Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle is elegant, with a fine expression of red cherry, berry and mineral and a long finish (92-94). The Lavaux St.-Jacques is darker, with black cherry, licorice and tobacco notes, very dense and fresh (92-94). To me, the Champeaux combines the structure and density of the Lavaux and the finesse of the Petite Chapelle, evoking black cherry, licorice and spiced aromas and flavors (92-94).
The Charmes Chambertin is very aromatic, with spice complementing a core of red and black cherry notes and broad, lush tannins for support (92-94). The Mazoyères Chambertin shows more black fruit flavors, mint and mineral accents. It's structured and long (95-100). The Mazis is enchanting, with black currant and blackberry aromas bursting from the glass. It reveals incredible depth and expression, with concentration and a firm structure, yet with velvety, mouthcoating tannins (95-100). As good as the Mazis is, the Chambertin is breathtaking for its stature and the way layers of black cherry, licorice, mineral and spice unfold on the palate. It's less aromatic than the Mazis today, but classy and long (95-100).
Domaine Armand Rousseau
This domaine has a fine collection of Gevrey parcels, including five grands crus, plus the grand cru Clos de la Roche in neighboring Morey-St.-Denis. The average age of the vines is 50 years.
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| Eric and Corinne Rousseau |
The wines are destemmed and there's a three- to five-day cold maceration prior to fermentation. Extraction occurs by punching down and pumping over. The first racking occurred last September, and the wines will be racked again before bottling in April.
The Gevrey-Chambertin, a blend of seven different parcels, offers lovely aromas of berry and cherry, with freshness and concentration (89-91 points). The premier cru Lavaux St.-Jacques is very pure, showing coffee, licorice, cherry and mineral aromas and flavors and fine intensity (92-94). The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers is riper, displaying cassis and wild berry notes, very sappy and appealing (92-94). It's all fruit to the Lavaux's mineral character.
The Clos de la Roche boasts a beam of pure cherry and strawberry on a profile that balances elegance and power (92-94). Wilder and exuding wild cherry and tobacco notes, the Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes has a fine structure, with well-integrated tannins and a long, spicy finish (92-94).
The Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques is treated like a grand cru, with 100 percent new oak framing concentrated cherry and berry flavors (95-100). The Clos de Bèze (95-100) and Chambertin (95-100) notch it up even more, with complexity and finesse to the cherry and mineral notes in the former and pure, fresh cherry flavor, reserve and class in the latter.
"Normally I prefer Clos de Bèze," confided Rousseau, "but in 2005, I prefer Chambertin. There's a reserve here, it's complex, with great length."
Domaine Dujac
Domaine Dujac and Dujac Père & Fils had just finished bottling a week prior to my visit. The range of wines in the négociant label increased in 2005, thanks to vineyards purchased from Domaine Thomas-Moillard by Dujac, Etienne de Montille and several American investors.
"There was beautiful fruit and it was an easy extraction, everything you need to make really good wine," said Jeremy Seysses, coproprietor and winemaker. "It could have been another 2003, it was so dry, but it stayed cold, so the vines didn't get too stressed," he added.
"[2005] is not as monolithic as 1999 and the yields are more under control than 1990," Seysses said. "But I think 2002 is more detailed." The yields here average less than 2 tons per acre.
Under the Dujac Fils & Père label, the Morey-St.-Denis is aromatic and very floral, with a lovely silky black cherry flavor (89-91 points). The Chambolle-Musigny is seductive, offering violet notes along with blackberry, with a long finish (89-91).
There is also a juicy, refined Vosne-Romanée Beaux Monts, packed with spice, red cherry and black currant flavors (92-94). This is under the négoce label because it is from both estate and purchased fruit.
The Romanée-St.-Vivant (95-100) reveals a hint of black currant leaf, coffee and blackberry aromas. It's intense and concentrated, yet ethereal at the same time, with terrific harmony and length. However, I slightly preferred the Chambertin (95-100), with its black currant and black cherry aromas, focused fruit and regal stature. It ends with a long, mineral aftertaste.
Of the domaine wines, the Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers shows plenty of rose petal, sandalwood and black currant notes woven into a silky texture (92-94). The Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts is more leafy and herbaceous in aroma for the moment, yet full of brooding black cherry and plum tones supported by firm tannins. The finish is very long and finely textured (92-94).
A reticent Charmes Chambertin exhibits richness and a cherry note backed by hefty tannins (92-94). The Echézeaux is all coffee, spice and black cherry, turning meatier in the mouth, finishing with chocolate and cocoa powder accents (92-94).
The Clos de la Roche displays Asian spices and a combination of black cherry, juicy fruit and a firm structure, then picks up mineral on the complex finish (95-100). The Clos St.-Denis is simply gorgeous, with sappy black cherry, coffee and spice flavors, lush texture and an expansive finish (95-100). A powerful, muscular red, the Bonnes Mares is compact right now, but deep and concentrated, with a long, mineral finish (95-100).
Domaine des Lambrays
"There was no problem during the vegetative cycle, we had nice weather during the harvest, no problems during vinification and malolactic [fermentation]," said Thierry Brouin, longtime manager of Domaine des Lambrays. "The wines were very good after racking. It's an easy vintage to make, to age, to sell."
These sentiments were echoed in many cellars. Although Brouin oversees four wines at the domaine, the Clos des Lambrays grand cru is the flagship wine here. Typically fermented with whole clusters, the first racking was in March 2006, after the malolactic fermentation, and the wines will be racked again before bottling this March. The Clos des Lambrays is aged in 50 percent to 55 percent new oak. The average yield for the estate was less than 2.5 tons per acre.
The Clos des Lambrays is like pure silk, showing black cherry and blackberry flavors, rich and intense, with profound yet supple tannins (92-94 points).
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