I have to say I felt no pain whatsoever tasting the 2010 Burgundies last week in London. As ever, there are always disappointments in Burgundy, but this year, the success rate was impressively high. In short, the 2010s are great for both red and white, being much more classical than the riper, rounder 09s.
Particular highlights of the whites were old favourites such as Roulot, JM Boillot, Sauzet, Hubert Lamy and Fontaine Gagnard. The best are fresh, minerally and beautifully balanced.
There was no shortage of stars when it came to the juicy, succulent reds either. Two notable tasting measures were Rousseau’s Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St Jacques and his Chambertin. Though utterly sublime, sadly, I won’t be troubling Sebastian Thomas with an order.
Like the whites, there are too many growers to mention all of them in dispatches. But perennial favourites included Domaines Trapet, de L’Arlot (good whites too), Faiveley, Simon Bize, de Courcel, Confuron Cotetidot, Clos des Lambrays, and Liger-Belair.
Having tasted more wines than I would care to count, here are some of my top picks:
2010 Whites
Good Value Case: Roulot’s Bourgogne Chardonnay at £140 a dozen from Armit.
Special Occasion Splash-Out Case: Roulot’s Meursault Les Luchets at £460 – also from Armit.
Mortgage the house Case: Henri Boillot’s Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru at £786 from Lea & Sandeman
2010 Reds
Good Value Case: La Framboiserie, Mercury, Domaine Faiveley, from Howard Ripley at £69 per six pack.
Special Occasion Splash-Out Case: Domaine Simon Bize Savigny Les Beaune 1er Cru Les Talmettes (Armit at £275/doz) or Domaine de L’Arlot’s Nuits-St-Georges, 1er Cru des Forets at £495 from Corney & Barrow.
Mortgage the House Case: Domaine Trapet Chambertin Grand Cru at £695 per six pack from Corney & Barrow. Or Bouchard Pere et Fils Clos de Beze from Armit at £820/doz.
Whilst I was tasting last week, I asked a number of growers about how the 09 and 10 reds would age – and got some very interesting answers. For instance, Erwan Faiveley felt that both vintages would improve for a decade and more but that the 09s would have more longevity. He wasn’t the only Burgundian with this view, which seems contrary to that of most UK merchants. It will be interesting to see who is right.
Image by Wikipedia
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