The Auswine Forum

2001 Burgundy Tasting 23 March 2004 Prince Tasting: $50 Tasted from Riedel Chianti stemware

* Earlier Tasting 19 March 2004 No contemporaneous notes
*2001 Nicolas Potel Bourgogne Rouge $31.50-35[mixed doz price v single bottle price]. Very pleasant

*2001 Nicolas Potel Gevey-Chambertin $77- 86
Punched well above its weight. quite charming and VFM; not lean and hard as G-C can be.

*2001 Nicolas Potel Vosne Romanee. $77-86
Regarded as better real estate, but not a better wine. On par.

2001 Domaine Frederic Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles St Jacques [Near top of hill; near but not Clos St Jacques](1er cru) $88-98
Bit closed; initially attractive. Sprightly. Fresh. Rich, full mouthfull. Direct attack. Very young at the moment and given 3-4 years I should think it would fill out nicely. A bit of a peacockÂ’s tail on the finish. Impressive start. On retaste post Bonnes- Mares looked considerably less impressive. Was I too generous with an Aussie John 87pts.

Last year FWIW re 2000 I noted: "Harder, grippier, firmer.Nice fruit. Solid masculine wine. Tannic. OK. Serious structure but lacking in plumpness. Assertive, but not aggressive."
Makes me think the 2001 was more attractive than 2000,albeit an earlier developer.

2001 Nicolas Potel Volnay Les Caillerets (1er cru) $105-117
Excellent clarity; bit more vegetative and autumnal leaf than no.1[:Gevrey E St J.] perfumed. Nice weight and balance. Charming. Firm acid structure on initial attack. Nice richness on palate. More astringent on finish than no 1, but neverthelesss soft and in balnce with a chunky velvety more substantive mouthfeel. 88 pts.

2001 Domaine Comte de Vogue Chambolle Musigny $135-150
Deeper in colour. Sturdy, spicy racy. Nice balance; not weighty. I suspect more alcohol or evident chaptalisation. Seems somewhat worked. Rich middle palate, but finishes a tad short and strained oak dominance. 86

FWIW last yearÂ’s2000 note:" Brick tuile, light in colour. some developed miniscus. Far more fragrant than Roumier. Ripe and intense. Really lovely. Simple velvet. Good mouthfeel and weight. Juicy. Persistent. Good, very honest pinot."
Notes suggest 2000 is preferable.

2001 Henri Gouges Les St Georges (1er cru) $140-156
Really closed. Very hard to comment. Yields very little. . Mealy; meaty; compact, fine. No personality expressed. Quite dank, tightly coiled and concentrated. 88

2001 Nicolas Potel Bonnes Mares $342-380
Fragrant. Perfume leaps out of the glass. Concentrated, voluptuous nose. Explosive, enveloping, enriched, expressive and encouraging. Powerful. Lovely balance. Harmonious. Full metal jacket. Originally 94 remarked 93 after de Vogue.


2001 Domaine Compte de Vogue Bonnes Mares $441-490
Powerful, compelling; rich yet fine and delicate. Beautifully expressed. Magisterial. Gorgeous balance; not tough or sinewy; undeniably grand cru+++
Vibrato, velvety structure. Absolutely classical. Pure Bonnes Mares. 95.

A hell of a lot of money. Only for the rich or truly decadent malhereusement.

Thankyou for the notes your honour. I would have replied sooner, but I had to find a dictionary

regards
Chris

Neville,

Thanks for your notes. Looks like top top shelf delivered (at a price). Of the remaining which was your favourite?

sanjay

Just yesterday I received this email from a wine trader:


"BURGUNDY, WATCH YOUR STEP! I am amazed at how many "Super Duper Red Burgundy Offers" there are being circulated. It seems any ‘serious’ wine merchant is either importing their own wines or has an'exclusive' release from someone else who is. Now I love red Burgundy & it would be my 'desert island' wine, but it is extremely variable & I think in most cases hideously overpriced. There, I have said it & if I wasn't already,I'm now sure to be ex communicated from the Serious Wine Merchants Guild. But I will guarantee you this. Unless you are an absolute Burgundy freak, if you give me what you were going to spend on anything except the very 'top' Burgundies from 2000 & 2001, I'll get you 2 or 3 bottles of something else that will deliver a similar sensory experience."

Yes Burgundy is all too often a lottery and mistakes can be very expensive and dejecting. However, there are a number of top end Australasian pinots that are in the words of "the Castle", 'dreaming' when it comes to relative value. Many many anzac pinots are $70++. Think Curlewis Reserve, Mount Mary, Giaconda, Bindi Reserve, Dry River, Paringa, Tarrawarra, Diamond Valley Close Planted: big bickies for some with relatively unproven track records. Reasonable Burgundy under $100 can be found to keep the New World honest.

Bachelet Cote de Nuits Villages 1999 and 2000 at $50 and $45 respectively.
Really good value despite the supposed modest appellation.
The 99s have more structure, but as a consume soon proposition the 2000's are very pleasant.

Similarly JF Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1999 and 2000 ($85.50, $81) is a better proposition than the 2001 CM from de Vogue IMHO. Good wine.

I have been impressed with the Nicholas Potel offerings of the last couple of years and I would recommend the village Gevrey-Chambertin at the price.

I tasted no duds at the Prince WS tasting.

To initially think "peacock's tail' in respect of the 2001 Domaine Frederic Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles St Jacques was certainly encouraging. Indeed on being invited to retaste one of the wines I wore my consumer's hat and not the dilettante's and picked the most affordable of the offering which unfairly compared it to the Bonnes Mares from one of the most important Grand Cru producers of the Cote de Nuits: Compte de Vogue. At first blush I was pleasantly content with the Esmonin. But it isnÂ’t sublime. Not when you have tasted a really good Bonnes Mares. Interestingly, last year, for what it was, I was underwhelmed by 2000 Domaine Comte de Vogue Musigny $400(2003):

"The big Cohuna.One of nature's natural wonders of the world so I was looking forward to this one.

Prematurely aged in colour. Complex, but not aristocratic. Piquant, racy, slightly green. Really young purple fruit. Not mindblowing, but serious with no bumps in the road. Very young but in harmony. Great length, but undeveloped middle palate. No overpowering bouquet of sex and lace. Coralled firmness. Undoubtedly grand cru but not at the apex. Satisfyingly long."


I was also particularly impressed with the Rene Engel offerings recently shown at Randalls. Village and premier cru wines were around the sub $100 mark. Slim pickings among some pedestrian and unremarkable wines. Never is the maxim: “one must taste for oneself” more evident. The literature can often be quite subjective and suggestive. The circumstances of the tasting can often dictate conclusions. Tread carefully, but rewards are there.

Neville or anyone else

Have you tried the 2001 Fourrier's yet or JF Mugnier, the latter is often pretty good value for various Chambolle Musignys'?

Also are the 2001's you,ve tried much behind the '99's. I presume they don't have the incredible pinot flesh of the '99 and are more medium weight.

Cheers

paul

The prices are shocking on the Potel, up to 3 times what you would pay in Europe.

The prices are shocking on the Potel, up to 3 times what you would pay in Europe.

Michael, you are quite correct. The Prince Wine Store prices are becoming something of a joke amongst those who love imported wine.
Expect to pay 20-30% more for the good stuff than offered in other stores around Australia. And if they have exclusive import rights, I buy it in the UK and ship it over- you still save around 20% !!!

Yes, agree that their price is shocking.
I used to go there for their Saturday tastings, and a constant question at the end of the tasting is 'what to buy to be polite?', since the wines are either too expensive for me, or I know that I can get it cheaper elsewhere.

Was in one of the German riesling tasting, during which one of the taster just took one of the bottle on tasting (mid price), and poured himself half a glass of the stuff. To my amazement, Mr. Rich just grabbed his glass, and poured 80% of the wine back into the bottle.
Never went back since.

Cheers,
Alan