Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Claude de Nicolay + Gabriel (fils), 8 wine hounds, the shop owner, and the importer rep
I took the early train to Boston, the T to a friend's house in Cambridge, worked remotely for a few hours, then back downtown with the friend to the office of Federal Wine & Spirits (across the street from the actual shop). We were not quite the last to arrive but space was tight in that little conference room. Claude and Gabriel, flanked by the two schnooks and six bottles, held court for an hour or so.
Claude is in the states for just a short visit - Boston and NYC - mostly to pick up Gabriel from a short internship at a wine shop in Harlem. He'll return soon for another internship, this time at Dom. Drouhin in Oregon.
She introduces the domaine to us, though this group hardly needs it:
- comprises approx. 13.5 hectares, of which 3 ha are in Corton
- all organic and all biodynamic and has been for some time (both in the field and in the cellar: two separate certifications)
- high proportion of whole-cluster, although 2021 was a style of semi-carbonic (but only for 5 days!)
- few concerns about losing their certifications due to their neighbors' activities because, in the first place, at least half the estates in SlB are also organic, and, more importantly, all their vineyards (not Corton) are single large blocks so there is very little perimeter to watch over
- they are still learning about the recently-acquired white wine vineyard (Les Saucours?)
Recent vintages have been up and down. Vintage 2018 was a dream, beautiful fruit, big crop (45 hl/ha), wines practially made themselves. The vintages since then have suffered hail damage and required serious efforts to fight oidium.
She used very little sulfur in vintage 2020. You can tell which bottles have zero sulfur because they are waxed (and it is noted on the label, too). She uses a beeswax blend that is soft enough to just corkscrew through without making a mess.
In vintage 2021 she used no sulfur at all. Therefore, all the bottles are waxed...!
The most important project at the moment is replanting a third of their holdings in Bressandes. She is using the estate's oldest vines (Lavieres, planted 1956) as the source for massale. Although she expects a vine to live about 80 years, the ones in Lavieres are so vital that she is happy to use them. As to why Bressandes needs replanting, she says there is a widespread problem in Burgundy today with the rootstock: Vines grafted-over 40 years ago are doing fine, but vines grafted-over 20 years ago -- to rootstock taken from the same mother plant -- are failing to send roots deeply enough and are aging-out faster than they should.
Onward to the six wines to taste today. All are 13%. All were opened about 2 hrs ago, which is not optimal: Claude says to open in the morning for dinner that night.
Chandon de Briailles 2018 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er "Les Lavieres" - the name comes from lava in the soil, lots of volcanic pebbles mixed with limestone and light clay on top, from the middle of the slope, facing full South, very pale red with pink highlights, very elegant red fruit flavors, also flowers (violets?), very aromatic and persistent on the palate, archetypal 'pretty' Burgundy, ready to drink now
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er "Les Vergelesses" - bottom of the slope so more clay and less limestone, there is iron in the soil here and the wine is much darker, the palate has more blue fruit, fine tannins cling everywhere inside my mouth, the finish is not so long as the Lavieres now
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Pernand-Vergelesses Rouge 1er "Ile des Vergelesses" - middle slope so more limestone than the Les Vergelesses, both wines have similar style but, comparint with this wine, the Les Vergelesses shows a touch of sweetness and maybe apricot; the finish here is drier and more tannic; Claude thinks of Les Vergelesses as 'bistro' and Ile as 'gastro' wines
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Corton GC "Les Marechaudes" - here is a third different style of wine, with complexity re-asserting itself in a different register, this is more acidic and less floral then the Ile, but gives the impression of tumbling limestone marbles around your mouth, and definitely more substance that will unwind in coming years
Chandon de Briailles 2017 Corton GC "Les Bressandes" - lighter color than the the three above though not so pale as the Lavieres, and more magenta than pink; another elegant wine, not especially intense, perhaps a bit closed?, silky and lightweight, with smooth delicate tannins
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Corton GC "Les Bressandes" - dark, as all the '20s here are, juicy rather than acidic (by which I mean that there is enough material to moderate the acids), middle-weight texture that gives a creamy impression, very Corton cherries on the palate
Alas, she cannot stay and schmooze with us after the tasting because she has another event to go to.
I took the early train to Boston, the T to a friend's house in Cambridge, worked remotely for a few hours, then back downtown with the friend to the office of Federal Wine & Spirits (across the street from the actual shop). We were not quite the last to arrive but space was tight in that little conference room. Claude and Gabriel, flanked by the two schnooks and six bottles, held court for an hour or so.
Claude is in the states for just a short visit - Boston and NYC - mostly to pick up Gabriel from a short internship at a wine shop in Harlem. He'll return soon for another internship, this time at Dom. Drouhin in Oregon.
She introduces the domaine to us, though this group hardly needs it:
- comprises approx. 13.5 hectares, of which 3 ha are in Corton
- all organic and all biodynamic and has been for some time (both in the field and in the cellar: two separate certifications)
- high proportion of whole-cluster, although 2021 was a style of semi-carbonic (but only for 5 days!)
- few concerns about losing their certifications due to their neighbors' activities because, in the first place, at least half the estates in SlB are also organic, and, more importantly, all their vineyards (not Corton) are single large blocks so there is very little perimeter to watch over
- they are still learning about the recently-acquired white wine vineyard (Les Saucours?)
Recent vintages have been up and down. Vintage 2018 was a dream, beautiful fruit, big crop (45 hl/ha), wines practially made themselves. The vintages since then have suffered hail damage and required serious efforts to fight oidium.
She used very little sulfur in vintage 2020. You can tell which bottles have zero sulfur because they are waxed (and it is noted on the label, too). She uses a beeswax blend that is soft enough to just corkscrew through without making a mess.
In vintage 2021 she used no sulfur at all. Therefore, all the bottles are waxed...!
The most important project at the moment is replanting a third of their holdings in Bressandes. She is using the estate's oldest vines (Lavieres, planted 1956) as the source for massale. Although she expects a vine to live about 80 years, the ones in Lavieres are so vital that she is happy to use them. As to why Bressandes needs replanting, she says there is a widespread problem in Burgundy today with the rootstock: Vines grafted-over 40 years ago are doing fine, but vines grafted-over 20 years ago -- to rootstock taken from the same mother plant -- are failing to send roots deeply enough and are aging-out faster than they should.
Onward to the six wines to taste today. All are 13%. All were opened about 2 hrs ago, which is not optimal: Claude says to open in the morning for dinner that night.
Chandon de Briailles 2018 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er "Les Lavieres" - the name comes from lava in the soil, lots of volcanic pebbles mixed with limestone and light clay on top, from the middle of the slope, facing full South, very pale red with pink highlights, very elegant red fruit flavors, also flowers (violets?), very aromatic and persistent on the palate, archetypal 'pretty' Burgundy, ready to drink now
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er "Les Vergelesses" - bottom of the slope so more clay and less limestone, there is iron in the soil here and the wine is much darker, the palate has more blue fruit, fine tannins cling everywhere inside my mouth, the finish is not so long as the Lavieres now
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Pernand-Vergelesses Rouge 1er "Ile des Vergelesses" - middle slope so more limestone than the Les Vergelesses, both wines have similar style but, comparint with this wine, the Les Vergelesses shows a touch of sweetness and maybe apricot; the finish here is drier and more tannic; Claude thinks of Les Vergelesses as 'bistro' and Ile as 'gastro' wines
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Corton GC "Les Marechaudes" - here is a third different style of wine, with complexity re-asserting itself in a different register, this is more acidic and less floral then the Ile, but gives the impression of tumbling limestone marbles around your mouth, and definitely more substance that will unwind in coming years
Chandon de Briailles 2017 Corton GC "Les Bressandes" - lighter color than the the three above though not so pale as the Lavieres, and more magenta than pink; another elegant wine, not especially intense, perhaps a bit closed?, silky and lightweight, with smooth delicate tannins
Chandon de Briailles 2020 Corton GC "Les Bressandes" - dark, as all the '20s here are, juicy rather than acidic (by which I mean that there is enough material to moderate the acids), middle-weight texture that gives a creamy impression, very Corton cherries on the palate
Alas, she cannot stay and schmooze with us after the tasting because she has another event to go to.