Tag: chambolle-musigny

Solid Village Level Burgundy in a Tough Vintage

Today’s Story: Domaine Ghislaine Barthod

Domaine Ghislaine Barthod is a highly regarded but relatively small wine estate located in the Chambolle-Musigny appellation of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. The domain was initially established by Marcel Noëllat in the late 1920s, though it became a partnership of the Noëllat and Barthod families when Gaston Barthod, an officer in the French Army stationed in Dijon, married Marcel’s daughter. Following his military service, Gaston took over the domain during the 1950s and bottled all of his wines under the Chambolle-Musigny designation. Gaston’s daughter Ghislaine joined the domain during the 1980s, working alongside her father to study the winemaking practices and traditions of the family. She officially took over Domaine Barthod in 1999 with her father’s passing, though was effectively running the domain for the decade or so prior.

Today the domain consists of about six hectares (15 acres) of vineyards situated largely in Chambolle-Musigny but crossing over slightly into the neighboring Gilly-les-Citeaux. Of these holdings, many are in some of the greatest vineyards of Chambolle-Musigny including the highly regarded 1er Cru sites of Les Cras, Les Fuées, and Les Charmes. Domaine Barthod has been practicing organic viticulture since 2002, with their only treatment copper sulfate to help fight mildew. Their vines average 30 years of age, and yields are greatly limited with severe pruning, debudding, and green harvesting if necessary. All harvest activity is accomplished by hand, with sorting done in the vineyards before the fruit is taken to the winery in small baskets.

In the cellar, Ghislaine practices pretty traditional vinification methods for the region. After a three to four day cold soak with partially destemmed fruit, the wines begin fermentation spontaneously and with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. She practices pump overs and occasional punch downs for color and tannin extraction, while primary fermentation lasts for roughly three weeks. Next, the wines are barreled down into 20-30% new oak barrels and aging lasts for about 20 months. Malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in barrel during the spring, and the wines are only racked following malolactic fermentation and prior to assemblage. Bottling is accomplished with no fining or filtration, unless absolutely necessary.

I previously reviewed the 2016 Bourgogne Rouge Les Bons Bâtons from Domaine Ghislaine Barthod.

Today’s Wine: 2011 Chambolle-Musigny

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny is medium garnet in color. Still shy upon opening, I let this evolve in the glass for about an hour and drank it over the following hour or so. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of black cherry, dried strawberry, plum, red rose, dried tobacco leaf, forest floor, green olive, eucalyptus, menthol, clove, and a hint of smoke. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers notes of cherry, plum, black raspberry, blueberry, green olive, charred green herbs, crushed rock, and mild allspice. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (-) tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality and a solid wine for the vintage. This is still more masculine than I would expect.

Price: $120. I think this is a pretty fair price given the producer and how well this bottling performs given a tough vintage. While showcasing some of the 2011 green notes for sure, this is still very well balanced while offering solid complexity and good length.

If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.

Profound Bourgogne Rouge Offering Exceptional Value

Today’s Story: Domaine Ghislaine Barthod

Domaine Ghislaine Barthod is a highly regarded but relatively small wine estate located in the Chambolle-Musigny appellation of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. The domain was initially established by Marcel Noëllat in the late 1920s, though it became a partnership of the Noëllat and Barthod families when Gaston Barthod, an officer in the French Army stationed in Dijon, married Marcel’s daughter. Following his military service, Gaston took over the domain during the 1950s and bottled all of his wines under the Chambolle-Musigny designation. Gaston’s daughter Ghislaine joined the domain during the 1980s, working alongside her father to study the winemaking practices and traditions of the family. She officially took over Domaine Barthod in 1999 with her father’s passing, though was effectively running the domain for the decade or so prior.

Today the domain consists of about six hectares (15 acres) of vineyards situated largely in Chambolle-Musigny but crossing over slightly into the neighboring Gilly-les-Citeaux. Of these holdings, many are in some of the greatest vineyards of Chambolle-Musigny including the highly regarded 1er Cru sites of Les Cras, Les Fuées, and Les Charmes. Domaine Barthod has been practicing organic viticulture since 2002, with their only treatment copper sulfate to help fight mildew. Their vines average 30 years of age, and yields are greatly limited with severe pruning, debudding, and green harvesting if necessary. All harvest activity is accomplished by hand, with sorting done in the vineyards before the fruit is taken to the winery in small baskets.

In the cellar, Ghislaine practices pretty traditional vinification methods for the region. After a three to four day cold soak with partially destemmed fruit, the wines begin fermentation spontaneously and with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. She practices pump overs and occasional punch downs for color and tannin extraction, while primary fermentation lasts for roughly three weeks. Next, the wines are barreled down into 20-30% new oak barrels and aging lasts for about 20 months. Malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in barrel during the spring, and the wines are only racked following malolactic fermentation and prior to assemblage. Bottling is accomplished with no fining or filtration, unless absolutely necessary.

Today’s Wine: 2016 Bourgogne Rouge Les Bons Bâtons

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

The 2016 Bourgogne Rouge Les Bons Bâtons is medium ruby in color, almost even deep garnet. I gave this a slow ox in the bottle for an hour and then another hour in the glass to open up, as it’s rather tight at this stage. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of tart red cherry, blueberry, raspberry pastry, strawberry licorice, violet, black tea, fresh leather, delicate limestone, and mineral. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers up notes of red and black cherry, red plum, raspberry, licorice, violet, pipe tobacco, charred green herbs, finely crushed rock, and a very mild touch of baking spice. This dry red is medium-bodied with high acidity, medium tannins that are firm but not out of balance, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Very good quality and incredibly concentrated for a Bourgogne Rouge. Need to revisit this in probably two to three years.

Price: $55. This wine offers great value, performing as one of the best Bourgogne Rouge bottlings I’ve had around this price-point. The intensity, complexity, and length of the wine are fantastic while the tannin and acid structure bode quite well for aging. I look forward to purchasing a few more bottles to lay down in the cellar.

If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.

Great Value Burgundy From Chambolle-Musigny

Today’s Story: Domaine Odoul-Coquard

Domaine Odoul-Coquard is a relatively small family-owned and operated wine estate established in Morey-St-Denis during the early 20th century. Today the domaine is under guide of fourth generation Sebastien Odoul who joined in 2004 and took over winemaking in 2009. Sebastien, who was initially uninterested in becoming a winemaker, first worked harvests at Domaine Dujac, Domaine Méo-Camuzet, and Domaine Thierry Mortet before joining the family venture. Domaine Odoul-Coquard today consists of 8.5 hectares (21 acres) situated across the appellations of Morey-St-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, and Nuits-St-Georges. The domaine produces wines from two Grand Crus (Clos de Vougeot and Charmes-Chambertin), four 1er Crus, seven village appellations, and four regional appellations with a total production of 2,500 cases per vintage.

When it comes to the vinification process, Domaine Odoul-Coquard practices fairly traditional methods for the region. All fruit is hand-harvested and 100% destemmed, as Sebastien doesn’t care too much for the characteristics stems impart on the wine. They practice a week of cold maceration before the start of fermentation, all of which occurs in stainless steel or enamelled vats. Punch downs and pump overs occur daily and then, at the end of primary fermentation, they use a pneumatic press and barrel down the wine into French oak. The domaine uses Francois Frères barrels and aging lasts 15 to 18 months depending on vintage and cuvée, with each quality level seeing different percentages of new oak. For example, the Bourgogne bottling sees no new oak while 1er Crus may see up to 50% new oak and Grand Crus may see up to 90% new oak.

Today’s Wine: 2014 Chambolle-Musigny

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

The 2014 Chambolle-Musigny is medium ruby in color. After some time in the glass, this opens rather nicely with aromas of medium (+) intensity and a nose of bing cherry, cranberry, stemmy strawberry, black raspberry, leather, forest floor, underbrush, and stony mineral. The flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, offering up classic notes of cherry, raspberry, red plum, blueberry, violet, charred green herbs, green peppercorn, and crushed rock. This dry red is light- to medium-bodied with high acidity, medium (-) tannin, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish.

Price: $45. This bottling offers great value in my opinion. In a world of many village red Burgundy bottlings commanding prices over $100, this offers great depth, complexity, and balance for its price. It even seems like it has at least another decade of drinking and may just be entering its window.

Delicate and Elegant Chambolle-Musigny With a Long Life Ahead

Today’s Story: Domaine Cecile Tremblay

Domaine Cecile Tremblay has a very interesting history, partly because she did not start making wines until 2003 though her family owned vineyards for several generations. Cecile is the great-granddaughter of Edouard Jayer, uncle of the famed Henri Jayer (go Google some of his wines, and perhaps sell your car to buy a bottle). Cecile’s family inherited vineyards from Edouard, though the two generations before her leased out the land to other producers and did not make their own wine. In 2003, however, with the expiration of a lease on three hectares of vines Cecile started making wine under her own label with a plan for further growth. For instance, the Domaine owns roughly 10 hectares of vineyard land and while more of this becomes free from leasing agreements in 2021, Cecile rented or purchased land along the way in communes such as Gevrey-Chambertin.

When Cecile took over her family’s land for her own use, the vineyards were in no standing to produce high quality wines. The producers leasing the land, for instance, used too much fertilizer for Cecile’s taste and utilized herbicides instead of ploughing. Throughout her time thus far as a winemaker, Cecile transitioned to organic farming and many of her practices include biodynamic farming measures as well. During maintenance of her vineyards, Cecile ploughs the soil mechanically and with horses while using copper sulfate to prevent mildew and other fungi.

Similar to her views on caring for her vines, Cecile is very traditional in her winemaking process. She presses her grapes with an old-fashioned vertical press and her wines see only a moderate amount of new wood during fermentation and aging. All of this effort culminates into wines that are refined and elegant, though built for the long haul.

I previously reviewed the 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cabottes and 2011 Vosne-Romanée, so feel free to revisit those tasting notes if you want a more side-by-side picture.

Today’s Wine: 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes is translucent pale ruby in color with garnet hues. I didn’t decant this, but the wine took a full 1-2 hours to really open up. The very delicate and feminine nose showcases aromas of black raspberry, strawberry, cherry, a hint of plum, red and purple florals, leather, delicate grilled herbs, and gravel. Meanwhile on the palate I get notes of cranberry, cherry, black raspberry, boysenberry, violets, sweet tobacco, savory green herbs, and rocky mineral. This is light- to medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, refined medium tannins, and a long finish. Similar to Tremblay’s other 2011s, I do not get the green notes prevalent for the vintage. This is a beautifully elegant wine and it has a long life ahead of it.

Price: $480 (I paid $160). The price of these wines has really skyrocketed over the past several years, and unfortunately these are at a price-point where it is difficult to discuss value. While these are phenomenal, there are better values out there. I’m nonetheless glad to have snagged a good deal of her wines from $90 to $160 depending on bottling.

Thank God Vineyard Leases End

Today’s Story: Domaine Cecile Tremblay

Domaine Cecile Tremblay has a very interesting history, partly because she did not start making wines until 2003 though her family owned vineyards for several generations. Cecile is the great-granddaughter of Edouard Jayer, uncle of the famed Henri Jayer (go Google some of his wines, and perhaps sell your car to buy a bottle). Cecile’s family inherited vineyards from Edouard, though the two generations before her leased out the land to other producers and did not make their own wine. In 2003, however, with the expiration of a lease on three hectares of vines Cecile started making wine under her own label with a plan for further growth. For instance, the Domaine owns roughly 10 hectares of vineyard land and while more of this becomes free from leasing agreements in 2021, Cecile rented or purchased land along the way in communes such as Gevrey-Chambertin.

When Cecile took over her family’s land for her own use, the vineyards were in no standing to produce high quality wines. The producers leasing the land, for instance, used too much fertilizer for Cecile’s taste and utilized herbicides instead of ploughing. Throughout her time thus far as a winemaker, Cecile transitioned to organic farming and many of her practices include biodynamic farming measures as well. During maintenance of her vineyards, Cecile ploughs the soil mechanically and with horses while using copper sulfate to prevent mildew and other fungi.

Similar to her views on caring for her vines, Cecile is very traditional in her winemaking process. She presses her grapes with an old-fashioned vertical press and her wines see only a moderate amount of new wood during fermentation and aging. All of this effort culminates into wines that are refined and elegant, though built for the long haul.

Today’s Wine: 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cabottes

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

This bottle was gifted to me by a great friend, and after opening it today I sure am happy that I recently purchased another one. Right out of the bottle I can tell this will be a bold Burgundy thanks to its medium to deep ruby (but mostly clear) color. The nose on this thing is sort of a roller coaster (of emotions) as I get aromas of black cherry, boysenberry, eucalyptus, mint, purple florals, ground coffee, tobacco leaf, and moist forest floor. This even took on notes of gravel/crushed rock as it sat in the glass. The palate continues this dark theme with notes of wild blackberry and blueberry, licorice, smoked red meat, crushed granite, mocha, and tobacco. Shockingly (for me) full-bodied, this wine shows high acidity, medium (+) tannins, and what seems like an immeasurably long finish. This is one of those wines that makes me want to smell the glass all day, and eat the glass when that last drop is gone.

Price: $110 (though I got lucky and the going rate online is about $300). I would buy this again in my sleep at $110 and I’d even buy it again at $300. This is an exceptional bottle from an “off vintage” and the complexity I get out of this wine is mind-boggling. This will also age gracefully for another 15+ years! Pair this with filet mignon, rabbit, quail, or duck…and if you can accompany these dishes with black truffle you’re in for a real treat.