Today
Sections
More
Features
Clones/Selections
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and 2007 in Burgundy
Courtesy Wilson Daniels
Romanee-Conti.
Last week brought one of the highlights of the wine year: the tasting of the new vintage from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, the Burgundy estate whose wines are among the rarest — and most exalted — in the world. I view the tasting not so much as a judgment of the wines themselves — which come from the finest grand cru parcels and are in such short supply that the bottle production is listed on the label (the 2007 Romanee-Conti yielded just 4,088 bottles) — as a sign of how well Burgundy could perform in any given year in its ultimate expression.
The tasting was held at the St. Helena offices of Wilson Daniels, the Domaine's U.S. importer, and led by proprietor Aubert de Villaine for a cozy group of about 16. Much of the talk was on the difficulty and scarcity of the 2007 vintage. To me, it was a reaffirmation of a belief that what good can come from a difficult vintage in Burgundy can be extraordinary indeed. One general theory advanced by Clive Coates and others is that the red wines in the north of the Cote d'Or, specifically the Cote de Nuits, fared better. This may turn out to be so, and the whites in general seem to be a bit closed but full of the racy energy that makes white Burgundy so much more than just its Chardonnay source material. But there's no real consensus on a comparison for the vintage, and just last night I had a 2007 Mercurey that was a perfect, mineral-weighted expression of that Cote Chalonnaise village. Perhaps 2007 is like the edgy (but not always ripe) 2004s? Or the 2000s? The '01s?
De Villaine was clear on the confusion about 2007, in his typically demurring style: "It was a very awkward vintage, which I cannot compare to any other vintage of my career."
As he told it, a hot April — with July-like temperatures — caused an early start to the season, prompting concerns of a repeat of dry, sizzling-hot 2003. But a cool, rainy spring soon followed, with three weeks of uneven flowering that would ultimately lead to ripening at different times and multiple passes to pick. After a hot (but dry) July, the expectation was for an early harvest, perhaps as early as the third week of August. But then August was one of the rainiest in years, with downpour until the 20th. So harvest began Sept. 1, a long 110 days after the middle of flowering. Along the way, a mix of botrytis and mildew had reduced and withered the crop, requiring extreme sorting in the vineyard (and again in the winery).
The difficulties continued with an early start to malolactic fermentations, which resulted in a need for extra time in barrel. The reds were bottled from February to April 2009. De Villaine believes the major mistake in Burgundy that year was to overextract relatively sensitive fruit. As is typical, he used 60 percent whole grape clusters in his winemaking and new barrels with a lighter toast, eventually doing a single racking into one- and two-year old wood.
The result are true Burgundy lovers' wines. And they are not unlike other top Burgundies in the year, expressing themselves quietly but with the immediate nuance and layering that inspires the doomed love affair that all Burgundy fans must live with. Unlike the fleshy, happy 2005s, these are elusive wines, and all the more appealing for it.
In the case of the Domaine, of course, they are by no means ready to approach yet. Even the Grands-Echezeaux, often engaging and open, is a bit subdued. (That said, the La Tache at first was so appealing as to trick you into thinking it was even close to ready.) But the pure, bright fruit flavors are unmistakable — even if they're not at full volume yet — and bolstered by ripe, unobtrustive tannins that even now don't intrude to excess. (That said, de Villaine suggested that the fruit was slightly obscured by the "present grip.") They seem to have what you might call a phantom structure: not obvious but ready to provide a long life. The consensus in the room? These wines are delicate, meant to lay down for years. And that's true, though in walking lightly, they have an innate power and allure. As De Villaine put it, such vintages "show, better than any other, the terroir."
A couple final notes: De Villaine outlined his current joint project with about 40 domaines, an effort to capture 150 selections of the finest Pinot Noir cuttings for future use. Currently de Villaine uses about 30 selections (they're not quite "clones" since they're replicated cuttings from the Domaine's own holdings, a push for biodiversity that de Villaine insists on) but hopes to at least double that. The result should be an increased complexity in fruit expression as the crazy quilt of plant selections keeps diversifying. On another new project — the inaugural 2009 vintage of a three newly acquired parcels in Corton, de Villaine sees the potential for a wine that could become a template for that largish grand cru site. But it's a work in progress, due for release in 2012.
"It's much more tannic, much more virile," he said. "You cannot expect a gracious wine."
Here are notes on the 2007 wines. Any drinking dates here fall on the early side, as these wines should be in the cellar for a decade or more. (Wilson Daniels should be providing approximate release prices, which I'll add after they arrive.)
2007 Echezeaux: Admittedly a slightly lesser wine right now, the fruit struggling to show itself. Scents begin with a taut mineral note, plus savory sage leaf, bay leaf and a light huckleberry-like fruit presence. Yet there's a power to it, if not fully expressed. That shock of bright mineral extends to the palate, again rounded by lighter fruit — sour cherry and watermelon skin. Only on the full, layered finish does its density and future potential become clear. Drink after 2014.
2007 Grands-Echezeaux: Tasting Notes: At first it's a bit drawn in, with a lighter nose guided by flowers, dried citrus peel, pine needle and sharp red fruit, with a deeper earthy note slightly hidden, like wet river stones. To taste, it becomes far plusher, in that approachable way that Grands-Echezeaux can have early on. It's almost like the ghost of black fruit -- plum skin and brambly blackberry leaf, edged with powerful minerality. With time, more spice and warmth emerges, giving a sign of its eventual generosity.
2007 Romanée-St.-Vivant: Perhaps the most silken and immediately appealing right now. An intoxicating, soft nose of subtle soy and forest notes: bark, steel, dusky cherry. Again, the tastes are transparent and mineral-framed, the tannins fully formed and yet remarkably ripe and fine — the signal of all these wines' great potential. Complete and harmonious, already delicious in its youth. The more you let it linger on your palate, the plusher and warmer the fruit becomes, though now really isn't the time to approach it.
2007 Richebourg: The Richebourg mostly showed a mineral rigidity at first, a sign of its need to settle and open. A sanguine, clear nose of coppery mineral and nose, with crushed cranberry and plum skin aromas, almost start in its mineral force. There's warmer fruit to taste — heather-edged cherry, but then a steely, chalky definition takes over. That said, the tannins are ripe and generous underneath; it's just the distinct acidity and stark minerality that stand forward, and a retaste shows it closing down a bit. It should offer more down the road. Drink after 2015.
2007 La Tache: To me, the La Tache offered a ton of power and allure, even if its lighter flavors give it the immediate appearance of delicacy. A pure, leathery nose has — again for the vintage — almost rubyish fruit and chalky mineral; it's a light-footed set of scents, with wet stones and rose petals, almost soft-focused. But there's breadth and force to the taste, with wild raspberry and strawberry leaf, those evanescent red fruit notes that define the purity of Pinot Noir. Again, tense and ripe tannins pervade; they're generous now and show terrific future potential. A retaste shows more heather and iris, and even more of that clear red fruit. Nearly perfect in its expression.
2007 Romanee-Conti: An ethereal nose, still slightly oak-tinged right now, reminiscent of a musky summer day: dried moss and matsutake mushroom, dashi, violets. The flavors are completely seamless and filled with a tension: low tones of blackberry, high tones of sour cherry, macerated strawberry and sage. The mineral underpinnings are bright, racy, giving perfect energy, with the flavors completely clear and lingering. Has that perfect layering and transparency of the best Burgundies. Don't even look at it until after 2016.
2007 Montrachet: A tasting of the Domaine always ends with its sole white wine. A more distinct oak presence here, with aromas of honeycomb, greengage plum, lemon oil and blanched almond. A nectary fruit presence dominates the palate, with apple-skin grip and a powerful mineral presence at the core. Full and ready to go, and yet with such internal energy that it really needs the time. Finishes on a subtle nectarine flavor that lingers. Again, pure and just ripe enough to satisfy those who want fullness in their whites. Wait until 2014 at the earliest.
| February 11 2010 at 10:10 AM
advertisement
|
your ad here
more