Burgundy Part II: Domaine Coste-Caumartin Tasting Notes

2005 Bourgogne Chardonnay: Wildflower honey on the very forward, pretty nose. Really incredible aromatics – white flowers, honeysuckle, anise and then a minerality and hint of seashells. Nice on the palate, not as rich as the nose suggests, a bit of alcohol, and yellow apple with fine persistence. Excellent wine for its appellation.

2004 Bourgogne Chardonnay: Much more restrained though with a hint of tropical fruits, some smokiness, toasted nuts, and the acidity present on the nose. Showing some oxidative qualities on the palate with great acidity and a touch of toasted hazelnut on the finish. Not as generous and harder to evaluate than above.

2005 Saint Romain “Sous le Chateau”: Similar aromatic profile to the 2005 Chardonnay; forward honey and floral components with a little oak present (though no new oak is used for this cuvee). Very delicate and more mineral. Nice palate of lemon zest with good acidity and palpable texture. Great balance. Pure and elegant. Really, very nice.

2004 Saint Romain “Sous le Chateau”: Gun flint and wet slate right off the bat on the nose with a hint of green and white pepper. Fat in the mouth (surprisingly more so than the 2005) and a little one-dimensional compare to the previous wine, but then the acid kicks in and gives it good lift. Curious.

2006 Bourgogne Chardonnay: (tank sample) lemon-lime and honey, with a bit of melon. Very fresh, round and seemingly sweet.

2006 Saint Romain “Sous le Chateau”: (tank sample) Showing very well, elegant, understated. Mineral driven with a hint of white pepper. Classically styled. I am convinced that these Saint Romains are of Premier Cru quality. Really refined.

2005 Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grain: Ruby color with an expressive, though volatile nose of strawberry fruit and alcohol. Nice, light, very crisp, and refreshing. Blind I might have guessed it a white wine, save for the tannin. I guess even gamay grown around the village of Pommard has the characteristic Pommard bite. Despite the volatility, a nice example of its type. An interesting note on this— and somewhat perplexing—the following day when I tasted it, the volatility had dissipated considerably to be replaced by nice cherry fruit aromas. Usually the volatility becomes even more pronounced with oxidation…

2005 Pommard: Showing great typicity with cherry and medicine cabinet aromas. Sweet attack, a little volatile, and lighter in style but with a lot of grip. Nearly Volnay like elegance, but finished with that Pommard grip.

2005 Pommard “La Rue au Porte”: Reticent, with notes of red currant. None of the volatility as above, but then note quite as complex either. Very tight. Richer palate, good grip and great acidity. Hard to assess.
The next day: Earthier, with a bit of the rusty drain pipe about it. Mouth filling and firm. Very nice.

2005 Pommard 1er Cru “Les Fremiers”: (from a parcel adjacent to the Volnay 1er Cru of the same name and just south of Les Jarollières) Very pretty, complex, composed, and elegant nose of red berry fruits. A whisper of dried herbs. Very fresh, rich, full, and tannic. Very complete on the palate, though a hint of bitterness on the finish disrupts the nearly harmonious qualities of this wine. Very persistent. Delicious, but I do have some concern regarding the astringent tannins. If these integrate, it has quite a lot of potential.

2005 Pommard 1er Cru “Clos des Boucherottes”: (from Sordet’s Monopole vineyard on the other end of the village, adjacent to the Beaune 1er Cru Boucherottes) Tight. A bit of Mercurochrome, along with delicate raspberry notes. Full and rich with the right proportions of everything: oak, fruit, acid, tannin, and alcohol. Complex. Toasty finish. Complete, but needs time.

2002 Beaune 1er Cru “Les Chouacheux”: Volatile nose with a hint of banana. Not particularly alluring. Minerality noted on the palate. Tannic. Hints of toasted hazelnut skins. Too much structure (acid and tannin), not enough fruit. Simply too volatile.

2002 Pommard 1er Cru “Les Fremiers”: Showing consistently similar and frustrating volatility on the nose, though much more interesting on the palate. Certainly more tannic. Alcohol and raspberries. Again, not quite enough stuffing for the structure.

2002 Pommard 1er Cru “Clos des Boucherottes”: Again, consistent volatile element in the three 2002s, but definitely showing the best of the three. Sage on the palate. Still boasting big, unresolved tannins, though they are proving to be riper and suppler that the Fremiers. Touch of cedar. On the fence with these.

With Dinner:

1990 Pommard 1er Cru “Fremiers”: Really intense aromatics of milk chocolate, leather, game and barnyard. A tad maderized, but not in the least off-putting. Rich and full on the palate with good sweetness. Nothing thin about this vintage and none of the volatility of the 2002s. A very nice wine from an obviously ripe vintage. (1990 was Jerome Sordet’s second year at the helm of this Domaine, he handled it quite well if these two wines are any indication)

1990 Pommard “Clos des Boucherottes”: Great color, reminded me of the 2002, deep, nearly opaque. Still an adolescent and barely hitting its stride, it was reticent and muted on the nose. Earth and spice aromas emerged after some coaxing. Definitely a wine on which to reflect. Very rich, full bodied, and well balanced, but maddeningly closed. Hint of game and some walnut on the palate. Give it another ten years to come around and drink it over the next thirty.

Burgundy Part I: In The Shadow of the Grands Ducs

August 31. I arrived in Geneva on Friday morning after a long, but not unpleasant flight. I made my way through customs to the Europcar desk and received the keys to my Fiat Panda. By 10:00 am I was beyond the borders of my childhood city and somewhere in the mountains of the Savoie region of France. I made the A-6 by noon. At Tournus, a small, medieval city north of Macôn I turned off the autoroute and caught one of the small roads leading west out of the city.

There exist many scenic roads in France that offer incredible sightseeing, and the D-14 proved no exception. The road winds through some very pretty countryside that includes many vineyards and, perhaps more spectacularly, a castle dating back a few hundred years or more in each of the small villages that one passes. I drove toward one of these in particular, the Chateau Le Noble on the outskirts of a town named, La-Chapelle-sous-Brancion.

The old priory housed the few chambres d’hôtes available at this chateau, with origins dating back to the early 16th century. The garrulous Monsieur de Cherisey welcomed me and told me about his own vineyards when I explained to him my reason for being in Burgundy, namely, the wine. After a brief session of unpacking, I got back into the cozy Panda and drove north.

The names of the towns became more familiar as I drove. Givry. Rully. I noticed signs pointing me toward Maranges and Santenay. I did not stop in any of these towns though I very much would have enjoyed doing so. I had a 4:30 pm appointment in Pommard for which I did not want to be late. While driving I noticed that the Bourguignons were already deep into the harvest. The official start date had been proclaimed some two weeks earlier, the second earliest ban de vendange in history. I was a bit put-off that my trip here coincided with the harvest. This would make it much more difficult to see some of the producers I desired to visit.

Lydie, the assistante commerciale, met me at the door of the domaine. She led me to the tasting room where I was asked to wait while Monsieur Sordet, the proprietor of Domaine Coste-Caumartin returned from picking his Boucherottes, a premier cru vineyard just outside of Pommard in the commune of Beaune.

Monsieur Sordet arrived shortly thereafter and he, Lydie, and myself sat down and tasted through the wines in which I had expressed some interest for the American market (tasting notes can be found in the follow-up post). After the tasting session, Monsieur Sordet drove me through Pommard and showed me his climats, including his pride and joy, Clos des Boucherottes, a premier cru monopole vineyard. We also drove through Saint Romain, a charming little village at the top of a hill a bit off the well-known route des grands crus. Monsieur Sordet has sizeable holdings (for Burgundy) in Saint Romain. His family has its origins there. His brother owns the actual Chateau for which the “Sous le Chateau” vineyard is named.

While driving we discussed the harvest. He said that he was waiting for the Chardonnay to achieve greater ripeness, but that the Pinot could not have waited any longer, as rot had become a serious threat to the quality of the grapes. He said it would most likely be a difficult Pinot Noir vintage in the Côte de Beaune, but a good Chardonnay year.

When we returned to the Domaine the harvesters had assembled in the dining room to eat. We joined them. With the cheese course that ended the meal, Monsieur Sordet produced two older bottles of Pommard including his 1990 Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Boucherottes, Wine Spectator’s #23 in the Top 100 of 1993, imported at the time by Kermit Lynch (who, of course, insisted the wines be unfined and unfiltered). This wine was singing, barely hitting it’s stride, and certainly one of the finest Pommards I have drunk.