Blair Ridley 
Wine Steward
Posts: 7719
 | | 01-28-2007 02:50 PM |
| Quote:
Buying Burgundy based on a critics barrels scores is one of the biggest leaps of faith in wine acquisition. If you've spent any time in the cold damp cellars of the Cote d'Or tasting from barrels, you know how much variation there is from barrel to barrel. And we all know that vintners let the critics taste from any barrel of the critics choosing.......not.
I may pay more but I prefer to buy Burgundy based on what I taste from bottle.
Caveat emptor.
And this is where my struggle lies. When I see producers I've enjoyed in previous vintages get good to great barrel scores, I usually break down and secure a small stash (like 3 bottles or so of each label). Then, when I've tried one, I may go back and load up on the specific wines that move me and those that will get better with cellar time.
I'm still stuck on the Pousse d'Or and Fevre bottlings so far. I saw some of the D'Angervilles but wasn't in a position to buy yet. I suppose that's good - I just saved some money.
Of course, much of my buying decision still falls on pricing. If I see '99s and '02s for the same labels (and generally the same scoring), I will buy the older vintages.... | | | |
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Dave
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5772
| | 01-28-2007 04:17 PM |
| It is almost a certainty that the Fevre prices will do nothing but go up. They can't get Raveneau or even Dauvissat prices now, but they are doing their best to bridge the gap. The quality in the bottle is certainly there.
Burgundy is a tough area to taste before you buy. Supply is low and in a vintage like 2005 demand will be huge. I am not going to buy any 2004 red burgundies before I try them since they can be a mixed bag, and I don't intend to buy very many. Visiting the domaines is the best way, but not practical for me at the moment. Tasting wines in the bottle is difficult. Even with a group to share expenses and a friend who can source the wines at wholesale prices that is still an expensive proposition. Finding our favorites after the fact is difficult and in some cases impossible. With so many producers and discrete vineyard sites I would need to quit my job to even scratch the surface. The other dilemma is that I find young Burgundies to be difficult to evaluate. I have no doubt that the 2004 Clos de Tart will be a fine wine in 15 years, but it certainly didn't show well in a blind tasting.
I think it is a great idea to taste village level wines (say from 1999) from the various houses to get a sense of style. My greatest leap of faith is buying without having done that with each of the producers. With a vintage like 2005 though I am willing to take that leap.
Adding to the hype, here is John Gilman's assessment:
Quote:
I cannot recall a more pleasurable visit to the region, as
the sheer number of brilliant wines that I tasted on this trip was staggering. The 2005
vintage had already garnered a very strong reputation for the quality of its wines, and I
was quite looking forward to tasting through many of my favorite cellars. The last time I
have been in Burgundy when the early hype on the vintage was so positive was to taste
the 2002s. I recalled the disappointment I have felt in tasting through that particular
vintage in barrel, as the lovely fruit tones and bouncy acidities were not coupled with the
normally profound expressions of terroir to be found in a great vintage in Burgundy. I
tried not to let my expectations get too high for the 2005s, as the hype for this vintage
was no stronger than it had been for the 2002s. Eighteen days later I left Burgundy with a
sense of euphoria, as the quality of the red wine vintage was as fine as any young vintage
I have ever tasted.
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jaimetown
DC area
Wine Labeler
Posts: 3547
| | 01-28-2007 11:40 PM |
| "I wish I could quit you." | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5452
| | 01-29-2007 06:14 AM |
| I purchase a bottle of the 2005 Paul Pernot Bourgounge Blanc (not prearrvial) to taste and then will purchase more if I like. Had the 2004 tonight and will purchase the rest from that store. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-29-2007 07:54 PM |
| 2005 Ponsot Morey St. Denis Cuvee Alouettes
2005 Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin
2005 Ponsot Chambolle Musigny Les Charmes
2005 Clos de Tart
2005 Pernot Batard Montrachet (case is already resting in my cellar) | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11227
| | 01-29-2007 08:47 PM |
| Jones, did you taste the Ponsots? Jaimetown - Quote:
"I wish I could quit you."
so true, so true | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-29-2007 08:58 PM |
| Sadly I have not visited Burgundy in quite a few years so I have not tasted any 05 Burgundies in barrel (tasted a smattering of whites from bottle). Just making educated guesses (as to quality and price (unfortunately)) on 05 Burgundies. The Charmes sold out while I was over the telephone but I luckily got the last four bottles. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11227
| | 01-29-2007 09:02 PM |
| Thanks! The Charmes just blew out of Premier Cru.
I just bought the:
2005 Ponsot Morey St.-Denis - Cuvée des Alouettes
We must hope that Meadows didn't taste from all of those "extra special" barrels. The point about barrel tastings vs. in bottle is a good one. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-29-2007 09:10 PM |
| All things considered (including the obvious risks inherent in this process) I think the Alouettes is a no brainer and I probably should have bought more than a half case of it. Ponsot is a hit or miss producer however and that tempered my purchase. I suspect the Alouettes will be gone by the end of the day. | | | |
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jaimetown
DC area
Wine Labeler
Posts: 3547
| | 01-29-2007 09:29 PM |
| So far I've only dipped my toe a little bit:
Chevillon Nuits St Georges Les Vaucrains
Chevillon Nuits St Georges Les St. Georges
Cheviilon Nuits St Georges Les Cailles
V. Dauvissat Chablis La Forest
I'm on the lookout for a few other wines - but I'm afraid of how expensive everything is going to get. What is amazing is how lightning fast some of these wines are disappearing - don't y'all have jobs rather than refreshing the PC RSS feed all day? 
What is evident I think is that I'm going to have to start looking at some non-traditional sources for 2005s - too many people competing for the same wines. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-29-2007 10:18 PM |
| As it turns out I bought eight bottles of the Alouettes rather than the six I thought I did (no complaints here). All of the Alouettes and Chapelle-Chambertin have now sold out. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 30914
| | 01-29-2007 10:35 PM |
| What I know about Burgundy one could put in a thimble  . I want to know more. So if all this stuff is sold out how does a neophite like me go about getting some? If I had a budget of around $4000 for this stuff does that put me out of the picture from getting anything "great"? Is the average price of something I would like around $150 or $500... or more? I'm thinking about budgeting $4000 for some of these 2005s and another $6000 for some other years that are ready or almost ready to drink. What in particular should I go looking for? | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-29-2007 10:52 PM |
| You can get great wines for 4k. You can also get some lousy wines for 4k.
Buying mature Burgundy is riskier than other wines imo so I'd think twice about buying older wines.
David if you don't mind dealing with Premier Cru then I would look right now at the 05 Clos de Tart. They have it for $195 a bottle. The only other provider currently on wine searcher pro, Macarthur's wants $275 (which is just nuts - buy the 03 Clos de Tart unless you think Burghound is God). Clos de Tart is a large production grand cru (in the context of Burgundies) so it is not disappearing as fast as other wines but its still of very fine quality imo. Its relatively recent history is as an underacheiver (until the late nineties) so it also does not quite have the following as other Burgundies. If you don't like it then I will take it off your hands when it gets delivered.
If you come on up to the City I'll pull the cork on an 03 Clos de Tart so you can see what I am talking about so long as you promise to hold onto your socks. | | | |
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PourQue
Wine Labeler
Posts: 3509
| | 01-29-2007 10:57 PM |
| Quote:
All of the Alouettes and Chapelle-Chambertin have now sold out.
Thanks to you Jones, I contributed to their selling out  As well as some '03 and '05 Clos de Tart. I hold you completely responsible....this is by no means due to my own compulsive wine buying behavior | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11227
| | 01-29-2007 11:51 PM |
| My husband is threatening to cut off the Premier Cru RSS feeds. I'm only slightly kidding. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-30-2007 12:25 AM |
| Winetex
Just in case you missed it they've got another two cases of Alouettes available now. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11227
| | 01-30-2007 01:51 AM |
| Jones, thanks. I was sucessful with my first order. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 01-30-2007 01:54 AM |
| LOL - hopefully you will like all of them. I'm certain you'll like the 03 Clos de Tart. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11227
| | 01-30-2007 01:58 AM |
| <crossing fingers and turning off the rss feeds> | | | |
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Dave
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5772
| | 01-30-2007 03:21 AM |
| I may have my RSS feed turned off too.
2005 Ponsot Morey St. Denis Cuvee Alouettes
2005 Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin
2005 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes | | | |
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