SmoothRed Burgundy Tasting
The latest Burgundy report from SmoothRed
“I was invited to an excellent Albert Bichot Burgundy tasting last week, and what a treat it was to be able to taste a full range of over 40 wines from the 2014 Vintage. In Bichot’s very well-presented tasting booklet, they state that following two small harvests of 2012 and 2013, the Burgundy growers were hoping for a large crop. All started well until the 28th June, when hail storms hit the Côte de Beaune (Volnay, Pommard, Meursault and Beaune).
So for white wines, areas affected by hail (such as Meursault or Corton-Charlemagne) have produced full, fleshy wines owing to small, concentrated berries. Whites from other sectors such as Chablis, Maconnais or Côte Chalonnaise display high levels of freshness and elegance.
On the red side, this was not a vintage to go for heavy extraction – the ripe grapes have produced wines of natural elegance and fine tannins.
If I had to pick out four wines from the range that were on show, they would be:
From the white wines
Chablis Grand Cru Les Vaudesirs, Domaine Long-Depaquit: lovely floral aromas, with vibrant citrus notes. On the palate dry with a typical minerality to it.
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vide-Bourse: quite superb with a beautiful intense floral bouquet, full of depth and flavour on the palate with a hint of peach.
From the red wines
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses: good concentration of fruit on the nose, with hint of violets, and on the taste you have elegance with a long complex finish.
Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru Domaine du Clos Frantin: quite outstanding has a fine elegant rich bouquet with great depth of flavours and velvety tannins on the palate.”
Yours, Tony Winestein
If you like the idea of tasting some great wines from Burgundy, why not check out some of our SmoothRed tours to the region here?
