Burgundy 2015
Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 2:50 pm
Been to Burgundy a few times over the past six months, on purchasing trips, and have had extensive tastings outside France, including a few at Prowine in HK last week.
If you are new to Burgundy, or want to understand what all the fuss is about, this is certainly the vintage you have been waiting for!!
Whilst it is a fantastic vintage at the top end, IMO it is as good as 2010 and a shade better than 05, it is at the bottom where this year actually is quite remarkable. The warm vintage and excellent last few weeks produced amazing quality at the Villages and Generic levels, as well as throughout many of the lesser appelations, including HCdN, Fixin, Marsannay and Santenay.
So many producers crafted superb Nuits St George and Volnay Villages, many around 10-15 euro ex-cellar, so I am guessing you will have a heap of great offerings at the $55-65 level when they arrive down there.
The good bottom end 15's are fruit-forward, easy to enjoy, and immediately drinkable. I doubt they will close down (although Ben Leroux is confident the top end wines will go to sleep for a long time in 3-4 years) and, for me, offer an excellent "bridge" between the Antipodean pinots and Burgundy.
If you have any spare cash, have a good look at the cheap stuff, it is fantastic. Kinda like 09 Bordeaux in that respect.
Yes, the GC's will be incredible, but for the price of one bottle, you can pick yourself up a dozen (or two, sometimes three) of Burgundies that will give immense pleasure and will easily last a decade.
Oh, and I don't concur with the idea that 15 whites are average, I think they are excellent. On that score, I also think that the 14 reds should not sit in the shadow of the whites from that vintage, as they too are excellent and great value.
Cheers!!!
If you are new to Burgundy, or want to understand what all the fuss is about, this is certainly the vintage you have been waiting for!!
Whilst it is a fantastic vintage at the top end, IMO it is as good as 2010 and a shade better than 05, it is at the bottom where this year actually is quite remarkable. The warm vintage and excellent last few weeks produced amazing quality at the Villages and Generic levels, as well as throughout many of the lesser appelations, including HCdN, Fixin, Marsannay and Santenay.
So many producers crafted superb Nuits St George and Volnay Villages, many around 10-15 euro ex-cellar, so I am guessing you will have a heap of great offerings at the $55-65 level when they arrive down there.
The good bottom end 15's are fruit-forward, easy to enjoy, and immediately drinkable. I doubt they will close down (although Ben Leroux is confident the top end wines will go to sleep for a long time in 3-4 years) and, for me, offer an excellent "bridge" between the Antipodean pinots and Burgundy.
If you have any spare cash, have a good look at the cheap stuff, it is fantastic. Kinda like 09 Bordeaux in that respect.
Yes, the GC's will be incredible, but for the price of one bottle, you can pick yourself up a dozen (or two, sometimes three) of Burgundies that will give immense pleasure and will easily last a decade.
Oh, and I don't concur with the idea that 15 whites are average, I think they are excellent. On that score, I also think that the 14 reds should not sit in the shadow of the whites from that vintage, as they too are excellent and great value.
Cheers!!!