Clos de Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges

Vosne-Romanée is the town where Burgundy's most famous and most expensive wines come from - Romanée-Conti only produces about 6000 bottles per year. This year we saw in a wine shop in Beaune a bottle of 1993 at a rather steep price of 12500 FF. But also the village's not so expensive Village and 1er Cru wines can be very fine and develop rich finesse. Clos de Vougeot is a very big Grand Cru climate which is enclosed by a wall. It is shared among 80 owners. The upper parts count definitely to one of the best climates of the Côte d'Or. The lower, plain parts that are close to the Route Nationale normally wouldn't be recognized as Grand Cru if they weren't a part of Clos de Vougeot. Tearing it apart through different classifications was avoided. In Nuits-Saint-George there are earthy wines with dark aromas taking sometimes years until they are open and unfolded. Then they can be very impressive.

Armelle et Bernard Rion, Vosne-Romanée

It was now the fourth year in a row that we tasted at their place. You can taste a rich variety of different wines of several Burgundy's appellation at Armelle et Bernard Rion's. They own climates in Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges and in the Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot. Bernard Rion also gets enthusiastic about the good cuisine very easily. At his place brandy- preserved truffle is available, too. He 'hunts' them together with his cousin.

There are still some wines of earlier vintages. We tasted the reds' 1996 sortiment.

reds:

Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire 1996
Elderberry, acidity is stressed, good vintage. Appealing, easy wine. (25 FF)

Bourgogne 1996
Chocolate, cherry, much tannin and acidity, concentrated. Good vintage. Worth while keeping for two to three years. (40 FF)

Chambolle-Musigny Les Echezeaux 1996
Last year Bernard Rion told us he wanted to buy a part of Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru climate Richebourg a few years ago. But he unforutnately missed the date and was too late. He then bought instead of Richebourg this beautiful Chambolle-Musigny Villlage climate he is now so proud of. They yield pleasant, dark good Chambolle-wines that are worth while keeping.
Violets in the bouquet, in the long and good finish there is chocolate and cocoa. (90 FF)

Vosne-Romanée 1996
Dark cherries, blackberries. Dark, elegant, balanced, good! (90 FF)

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1996
Very good dark colour. Still green components, some black currant, concentrated, vanilla, good finish. (90 FF)

Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers 1996
Beautiful dark colour, the bouquet is a bit green, elderberry, in the mouth much acidity, chocolate in the long finish. Soft wood. Good! (110 FF)

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 1996
Blossoms of elderberry and geraniums in the bouquet. Still you can taste green components, elegant, fine acidity, fine, elegant tannins. A bit exotic, slight waft of citrus, pine-apple. Very good wine. (110 FF)

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes 1996
Elderberry, vanilla, difficult to taste now, much acidity, not yet developed, enclosed, but concentrated. (110 FF)

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Murgers 1996
Some cooked jam, softer and finer than the Les Damodes. Plenty of vanilla, long finish. (110 FF)

Clos de Vougeot 1996
Bernard and Armelle Rion took the climate in the Clos de Vougeot only for rent. But Bernard told us he had now bought a long, small strip that reached more or less from the bottom to the top. He will make the first wine of it this year, but it will be proccessed with the rented climate.
Dark, concentrated, leather and fur, forest soil and spices in the fragrance. Plenty of tannins, good wood (100% new barrels), warm, very long finish, very complex, well balanced. (200 FF)

Most convincing for us this year were the Vosne-Romanées and the Clos de Vougeot. The wines from Rion should last for longer; they themselves now drink the vintages of the '60's and the '70's.

Moillard-Grivot, Nuits-Saint-Georges

A big merchant house with its own vineyards. Here you can visit a spectaculus celler - the producer's smallest cellar - one out of three. It has a capacity of some hundred barrels and about 600,000 bottles.

whites:

Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 1996
Taste of nuts, a bit egg, some sulfur, green tones. (49 FF)

Meursault 1989
Golden colour, nut, a bit of white of egg, some vanilla, apple. Already matured, even beyond its top. (124 FF)

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux 1995
Light colour. In the bouquet clear flintstone, mineral, straw. In the mouth good acidity, well balanced, flintstone, mineral, slightly nut, soft, velvety, good. (165 FF)

reds:

Volnay 1995
Light, morello, a bit less intense, clear, not very complex, but pleasant. (120 FF)

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de Thorey 1995
The vineyard's show off climate. Shining intense red, in the bouquet whiffs of wood and cherry. High acidity and tannins, resinous, spicy. Quite good. (150 FF)

Gevrey-Chambertin 1996
Similar colour, vanilla, spicy, typical Gevrey, much acidity. (110 FF)

Grands-Echézeaux 1996
Lighter colour, softer smell, spicy. In the taste leather, game, a bit vanilla, fine tannin, clear cranberries, good acidity, very well balanced, very elegant.

Clos de la Roche 1984
A bit cloudy (last third of the bottle), first signs of maturity, red like garnet. In the fragrance forest soil and leather, spicy, slight oxidative waft (probably because of the sediment), elegant acidity, fine tannins, quite good. (150 FF)

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Malconsorts 1994
Shining. Open, good bouquet, spicy, slight leather, elegant. In the mouth narrow and not so complex, some tannin. Quite fine, not so rich. (120 FF)

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos-de-Thorey 1990
Beautiful colour, intense bouquet, blackberry, spicy, complex. Excellent wine! (190 FF)

Charmes-Chambertin 1996
Purple. Wood of stalk, elderberry, green character, long finish, slightly spicy. Vanilla, good. (229 FF)

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1983
Dark red of garnet, mature, orange edges. Smells a bit like turf, turf fire, cherry liquor, leather. Surprisingly great amount of tannin, full, quite complex. Wine that is now great fun. (119 FF)

The red wines pleased us much more than the whites. Some of the wines are actually overpriced.
Some old wines are still available at Moillard-Grivot. One of them thrilled us so much that we took it with us and drank it in Bugundy a few days later after the sediment had settled:

Corton-Bressandes 1949
This wine - one of the best vintages of this century - was obvously re-corked once. But it is still in the original bottle with a shape that is slightly different from those of today.
Some sediment that settled well because of its grainy consistence. Maturity, very beautiful colour, surprisingly dark, red like brick, orange edges. Opulent fragrance, oriental, a lot of plum, cooked fruit, tobacco, game, leather, spice, some wet forest soil and definitely ground peppers and dried tomato - very complex! In the taste lightly hot on the tip of the tongue, spicy, plums, mild ground peppers, warm, long finish, some animal tones, fur, velvet consistence. Grand Senior- mature, but not too late, round, soft tannins, soft acidity, in the finish some cherry and steel. - Broad spread, opulent, complex, changing bouquet. Marvellous and excellent wine! (750 FF)

Jean-Jacques Confuron, Premoux-Prissey

A Domaine with good climates in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Clos de Vougeot and Vosne-Romanée that produce rich, concentrated wines. Unfortunately we had to wait for a while - due to preperations for harvest - though we had made an appointment. So the tastings from the barrel were made in a litte rush.

reds:

Nuits-Saint-George 1997 barrel sample
Dark cherries, soft, no aggressive tannins, sweet, smooth, intense.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Fleurières 1997 barrel sample
Harsh, resin, concentrated, fine tannins, relatively dark.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaboeufs 1997 barrel sample
Brilliant, dark colour. Dark aroma. Blackberry, berries from the woods, vanilla, really excellent.

Clos de Vougeot 1997 barrel sample
Spicy, dark, mushrooms, vanilla, very rich, very good. Still closed. Complex and intense.

They didn't sell wine. All that was left was in barrels and even that is very likly to be reserved for regular customers.

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