Wine & Spirits - October 2017 - 76

YEAR'S BEST RED BURGUNDY
VOSNE-ROMANEE

enough clean, generous fruit to fill out the
green spice notes of the tannins. The finish
is satisfying-simple yet formidable. Give it
a few years to develop. § V.O.S. Selections, NY

grape tannins and finely integrated acidity.
It's a meaty, ample red, a wine that opens like
a rose to layers of flavor, as it will continue to
with extended aging. § Kobrand, Purchase, NY

COT E DE BE AUNE

BLAGNY

ALOXE-CORTON

91 | Comtesse Bernard
de Cherisey

223366

223862

91 | Domaine Petitot

223555

94 | Domaine Bertagna

$103

2014 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux
Monts ^ A pretty wine perfumed with notes
of cranberries and fraises des bois, this Vosne
is striking in how elastic the tannins feel,
creating an explosive snap in the finish that
expands outward with tart fruit and floral
complexity while simultaneously pulling it
all back in. Those tannins have grip without
any hint of rusticity, focused instead on freshness. § Esprit du Vin, Syosset, NY
221682

93 | Domaine de Bellene

$115

2014 Vosne-Romanée Les Quartiers de
Nuits ^ A delicate wine with powerful drive,
this is a classic beauty that presents its flavors in a tight bouquet of floral notes, honeyed fruit and detailed, mineral tannins. It's
all youthful energy for now, and all of that
energy is harnessed to align the flavors.
"Batteries included" was one taster's way
of describing the inherent potential. § Loosen
Bros. USA, Salem, OR
221681

92 | Domaine de Bellene

VOUGEOT
223608

$95

2014 Vougeot 1er Cru Monopole Clos de
la Perrière ^ A seamless, silken red, this wine
shows the quiet side of Burgundy in its cool,
sour-cherry fruit and brisk, oak-enriched tannins. It's not aggressive or showy; just persistent, with scents of violets and jasmine that
last. § Esprit du Vin, Syosset, NY
223662

90 | Domaine Christian
Clerget

$119

2013 Vougeot 1er Cru Les Petits Vougeots ^
This wine's dried floral notes bring to mind
potpourri. It's a heady, slightly bitter red with
76

WINE & SPIRITS

2014 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru La Coutière ^
For all its light color and delicate fragrance,
this is solidly built. It feels clean, spicy with
stem tannins, supported by just enough oak
tannins to buoy the red-berry flavors and
carry them into a long finish. § Bonhomie Wine
Imports, South Orange, NJ

AUXEY-DURESSES
223365

90 | Christophe Buisson

$40

2014 Auxey-Duresses (Best Buy) ^ This
wine's fresh raspberry flavors are gently
tamped down by some horse-stable notes,
but the fruit shows staying power as the wine
takes on air. Buisson is a young winemaker
based in Saint Romain who farms a parcel of
45-year-old vines in Auxey-Duresses, producing this beetroot-scented wine that's earthy
enough for rognons. § Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA

$220

2014 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots ^
Youthful in its rich and potent blackness,
this wine's soy-and-spice character yields to
notes of ripe red raspberries with their seeds,
the fruit cushioned by rich oak tannins. It's
tight and floral, opening out into a generously heady, smoky finish. § Loosen Bros. USA,
Salem, OR

91 | Domaine Bertagna

$70

OCTOBER 2017

223765

88 | Domaine Jessiaume

$45

2015 Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Les Ecussaux
(Best Buy) ^ Oak dresses this wine's cherry
fruit in a cloak of vanilla, giving it the feel
of a New World pinot. What brings it back
to Burgundy is the saltiness of the fruit and
the stature of the tannins. Decant this and it
will make a fine match with pork roasted with
savory herbs. § USA Wine West, Portland, ME

BEAUNE

CORTON
224250

92 | Domaine Faiveley

$279

90 | Dom. Antonin Guyon

$116

2014 Corton Grand Cru Monopole Clos
des Cortons Faiveley ^ Georges Faiveley won
the right to include his family name in the
name of this grand cru in 1937; it's a 7.44-acre
parcel within Le Rognet. Some of the vines
today date back to 1936 and '56, providing
a complex 2014 with lasting floral intensity.
The dense, raspberry-scented fruit is completely savory, with powerful tannins that
lend it broad richness. Cellar this until it's
ten years old before you consider drinking
it. § Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY
223596
2014 Corton Bressandes Grand Cru ^ Tart
red-cherry flavors fill this lean Corton, along
with earthy mushroom scents that take time
to develop into more complex layers of flavor. An intense undercurrent of acidity, like
pink grapefruit, brings out a more delicate
fruit note of barely ripe raspberries. This is
heady, but it lengthens and develops well
with air, confirming its stamina for bottle
age. § Esprit du Vin, Syosset, NY

POMMARD
223789

91 | Louis Jadot

218235

93 | Louis Jadot

$65

2014 Blagny 1er Cru La Genelotte ^ This
is a curious red from the hill above Puligny
and Meursault, a delicate wine with stamina
and persistence. The flavors are simple and
direct-light fraises des bois-with the firmness of a cherry pit, and they have remarkable sunny length for their insubstantial
weight. The scent is complex, if held in the
distance, adding to the compelling attraction of this elegant red. It would be equally
at home with fluke sashimi or beef fondue. §
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA

$65

2014 Beaune 1er Cru Domaine Gagey
Grèves ^ Presented with an ambitious level of
oak, this wine's bacon-fat scents put off some
tasters. It won me over from the beginning,
however, with its savory, dried-rose perfume,
and a clean, craftsman-like structure that
included not only oak tannins, but also firm

$62

2014 Pommard ^ This smells remarkably
aristocratic for a village wine, with scents
of pressed white flowers, strawberries and
earth. It's silky and tense, falling a little short
after that beautiful aroma, ending relatively
lean for a Pommard. Give it time in the cellar
and the fragrance may lengthen through the
finish. § Kobrand, Purchase, NY
223549
http://www.edvwines.com/domaine-bertagna-vosne-romanee-1er-cru-les-beaux-monts.htm http://www.domaine-jessiaume.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2017
