A tasting group I'm part of assembled an interesting collection of Bonnes-Mares. While there were a couple of very good wines, I wasn't as wowed as I expected to be.

(I've listed the wines in order of my preference.)


1997 Robert Groffier Bonnes-Mares

Lovely and very youthful nose. Heaps of black cherries, sarsaparilla, deep fruit, lots of perfume. Almost certainly from a ripe year.

Young, rich, mouth-filling flavors. Minerals and earth. The masculinity of Bonnes-Mares is here but is partially masked by the extraordinary depth of fruit. This is just splendid Burgundy, especially for those of us with California palates.

1998 Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares

Deep, masculine aromas. Iron ore/rust, earth, hint of barnyard, some aged characteristics..

Tastes much younger than expected – from the nose I would have guessed this to be a 1993 or a 1990. Full bodied with lots of fruit and a lovely spicy note. The structure is quite apparent but doesn’t interfere with the pleasure. A solid wine, more classic Burgundy than the ’97 Groffier, but in need of a few more years in the cellar.


1993 Beaux Freres Oregon Pinot Noir

Ripe, fruity, minerals, beginning to display the patina of age.

This one is a moving target – every time I come back to it the flavor profile has changed. One time it seems young, fruit-forward, simple. Then it appears structured with noticeable acidity, minerally, with a mature, broad spectrum of flavors. I like it but wish it would settle down.

[Note: I couldn’t resist – what fun is a blind tasting without a ringer?? All nine tasters knew there was one “New World” pinot in the bunch but no one picked it out. I had an advantage, of course, knowing exactly what the ringer was, but the wine I was sure was the Beaux Freres turned out to be the ’90 Jadot – ouch!]


1990 Louis Jadot Bonnes-Mares

Green/leafy/earthy aromas. Underbrush. Decent fruit, clean if a bit dull.

Nice weight and texture. The flavors are fully mature but lack vitality. Well made if lacking excitement.


1976 Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares

Earth, minerals, lots of bottle bouquet/aged character. Obviously old and fully mature.

Beginning to dry out but still pleasurable. The structure is still in place – from a less than fully ripe vintage? Interesting flavors – pomegranates, dried plums.


1988 Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares

Dried fruit aromas, dusty/leafy, sandalwood, austere, earthy. Clearly one of the older wines in the tasting. More interesting than compelling.

Sharp edged and somewhat hard and angular, lacks charm. The fruit is gone but it hasn’t been replaced with the lovely feminine/graceful/silky qualities than old Burgundies can develop. Not dead but fading.


1996 Drouhin-Laroze Bonnes-Mares

Stuffy, odd, vegetal notes. Smells unripe, stemmy, beef blood.

Musty, old barrel flavors. Earthy but in an uninteresting way. Not much life here.