More Northern Rhone TNs (Barge, Clos de la Bonnette) -- 2/2/24

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Yule Kim

Yule Kim
Listed in the order served:

Clos de la Bonnette

‘22 Clos de la Bonnette Légende Bonnetta Condrieu: This Condrieu had pretty decent acidity and freshness, despite being lush, dense, and concentrated. Definitely full-bodied, but not ponderous or cloying. Some honeyed notes with the rich, yellow fruit and a very interesting and long finish that had hints of salt, spice, and bitterness (perhaps from the oak?). Apparently, this is from the estate’s oldest Viognier vines and does not see any new oak.

‘22 Clos de la Bonnette Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes Vielles Vignes: Very plummy on the nose with dense, dark fruit on the palate and a hint of ashiness. Ripe, right on the borderline of being overdone, but still a hint of freshness to dial this back from jamminess.

‘21 Clos de la Bonnette Cuvée Prenelle Côte Rôtie: Much brighter on the nose than the Collines Rhodaniennes and while still dark-fruited (though veering towards brambly) and smoky, the acidity felt livelier and the wine felt much lighter and fresher on the palate. Tannins are also less assertive, though they still leave a slightly dusty presence on the finish. Very, very good and the wine didn’t seem to be battling ripeness like the previous two ‘22 wines.

Domaine Barge

‘20 Barge Condrieu: This felt a little bit more like a standard Condrieu than the Légende Bonnetta. More floral on the nose, but, on the palate, a little flat with its low-ish acidity. A much oilier texture with ripe, yellow fruit. Good typicité, perhaps, but not the most exciting wine.

‘20 Barge Les Cotes Côte Rôtie: Another dark-fruited, dense, ripe wine that has enough acidity to keep it from becoming cloying. However, there is a lot of complexity here too: a hint of varietal smokiness, but also some peppery spiciness and streaks of salinity and minerality. The tannins are still fairly drying, but they feel fine-grained. I liked this, but you could tell this came from a solar vintage.

‘20 Barge Coeur de Combard Côte Rôtie: Pure silk on the palate. Hints of strawberries on the nose. Straddling dark and red fruit, with very understated notes of smoky reduction on the palate. Fresh, elegant, and intense with a seamless finish of salty iodine and game. The most precise of the red wines served that managed the ripeness of the vintage very well.
 
Thanks for the, again, very useful notes. Did the silkiness of the Coeur de Combard appear the kind that can result from new wood? Higher cuvées like this tend to use a fair amount.
 
Thanks much for these great notes, Yule! Barge is a favorite - I have more wines by Barge than any other producer - and I have bought but not tasted the 2020 Côte-Rôties.

Regarding the Coeur de Combard and new oak, Livingston-Learmonth says nope:

Syrah (1970s, 2001-02) from gneiss soils on the middle of the hillside at Volcan on Le Combard, southern sector, whole bunch 3 week vinification with submerged cap, pumping overs, aged used 550-600 litre oak casks 18-24 months, unfined, unfiltered, made in 2013, 2015, 2016 (not on market), 2017 & subsequent years, 900-2,000-3,000 b
 
With respect to the silkiness, as Zachary noted, no new oak, but it may be barrel-influenced. I'm not really sure.

Also, I don't have any experience with the older wines made by Gilles, but I get a sense (from reading notes from others) that Julien has changed the winemaking to be more "elegant" than his father. I personally really like the style, but perhaps it isn't an old-school Cote Rotie style anymore (even if it is still an unspoofed style).

Maybe Zachary knows more if there has been a style change under Julien from Gilles.
 
I haven't tasted enough Julien to really know. Gilles and his father Pierre made classic wines. I buy on faith and what information I can find.

Livingston-Learmonth has some interesting things to say about the passing of the baton (if not batonnage):

"Since Julien Barge took over from his father Gilles, there have been changes, with Julien wanting to very much move with the changed times on the climate front, and to find a way to work around the high heat challenges.

"Julien has converted to organic, officially so from 2022. There has also been a change in the area of the vineyards, with grandfather Pierre's Côte Brune, owned by Julien's uncle, now rented out to Jean-Michel Gérin, who is married to Gilles Barge's sister. The surface of Côte-Rôtie is now 5 hectares, down from nearer 7 ha.

"Julien now makes two Côte-Rôties, a replacement for the Du Plessy called Les Côtes, first vintage 2017, and a wine from the main site of Combard - 3 ha of the 5 ha - in the southern sector, on volcanic residues. The former runs at around 9,000-12,000 bottles, can rise to 20,000 bottles, while Coeur de Combard, stylish in 2019, silky in 2020, and complex, persistent in 2022 between 900 and up to 3,000 bottles. The style now is very much for elegance and wines that are accessible from an earlier stage than in the past."

Apparently the volcanic terroir of the Coeur de Combard is quite rare, maybe unique in the area.
 
originally posted by Zachary Ross:
I haven't tasted enough Julien to really know. Gilles and his father Pierre made classic wines. I buy on faith and what information I can find.

Livingston-Learmonth has some interesting things to say about the passing of the baton (if not batonnage):

"Since Julien Barge took over from his father Gilles, there have been changes, with Julien wanting to very much move with the changed times on the climate front, and to find a way to work around the high heat challenges.

"Julien has converted to organic, officially so from 2022. There has also been a change in the area of the vineyards, with grandfather Pierre's Côte Brune, owned by Julien's uncle, now rented out to Jean-Michel Gérin, who is married to Gilles Barge's sister. The surface of Côte-Rôtie is now 5 hectares, down from nearer 7 ha.

"Julien now makes two Côte-Rôties, a replacement for the Du Plessy called Les Côtes, first vintage 2017, and a wine from the main site of Combard - 3 ha of the 5 ha - in the southern sector, on volcanic residues. The former runs at around 9,000-12,000 bottles, can rise to 20,000 bottles, while Coeur de Combard, stylish in 2019, silky in 2020, and complex, persistent in 2022 between 900 and up to 3,000 bottles. The style now is very much for elegance and wines that are accessible from an earlier stage than in the past."

Apparently the volcanic terroir of the Coeur de Combard is quite rare, maybe unique in the area.
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Thank you for the information. The Coeur de Combard was very distinctive from the other red wines at the table -- I'm definitely a buyer now.

Curious that JLL did not mention a 2021 Coeur de Combard and skipped to 2022 -- maybe they declassified it that year?
 
His tasting at many domaines is not comprehensive and sometimes he misses vintages.

I purchased some 2021 Coeur de Combard so I'm pretty sure it exists!
 
originally posted by Zachary Ross:
His tasting at many domaines is not comprehensive and sometimes he misses vintages.

I purchased some 2021 Coeur de Combard so I'm pretty sure it exists!
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Ah! Good to know. I really liked the '21 Bonnette, so I'm looking forward to trying the '21 Coeur de Combard.
 
I forgot that I have tried a Clos de la Bonnette wine before: the 2019 Côte-Rôtie Damas Pourpre. Chambers Street had some in 2021. It was quite good and quite a lot like your description of the 2022 Cuvée Prenelle. I have not seen the wines around since, and none seem available going by Wine-Searcher (at least for stores that can deliver to NYC). Where were you trying these?
 
I tasted a 2020 Barge Coeur de Combard over the past four nights. It showed best tonight, on the fourth night, and it showed really, really well. I wrote:

My first taste of Coeur de Combard, despite a cellar full of them back to 2013. Heavy bottle, red wax capsule. The first whiff is a blast of stones. Over time the nose opened up with tart cranberry and lots of floral character, and gaining slight savory undertones. Showing just a little on the palate, the wine needs years to open up - maybe 7-10. Will revisit the rest of the wine tonight.

Day two: deaf, dumb and blind.

Day three: opening now, nicely spiced and lightly savory nose of sweet red fruit; gentle on the palate, more sweet n' savory fruit, very finessed. Saving some for a fourth day.

Day four: floral fruit elixir. Soft leather and gravel. Silk. Just regal and beautiful. I bought more.
 
originally posted by Zachary Ross:
I tasted a 2020 Barge Coeur de Combard over the past four nights. It showed best tonight, on the fourth night, and it showed really, really well. I wrote:

My first taste of Coeur de Combard, despite a cellar full of them back to 2013. Heavy bottle, red wax capsule. The first whiff is a blast of stones. Over time the nose opened up with tart cranberry and lots of floral character, and gaining slight savory undertones. Showing just a little on the palate, the wine needs years to open up - maybe 7-10. Will revisit the rest of the wine tonight.

Day two: deaf, dumb and blind.

Day three: opening now, nicely spiced and lightly savory nose of sweet red fruit; gentle on the palate, more sweet n' savory fruit, very finessed. Saving some for a fourth day.

Day four: floral fruit elixir. Soft leather and gravel. Silk. Just regal and beautiful. I bought more.
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Nice note! (now I'm feeling an itch to pick up some more)
 
You nassssty Rule breakers you. (Just finished the Silmarilion...so...)

But I broke it too, but just a little: 2012 Barge les Combards. It was SO stinky at opening. Decanted, and hey presto - an hour later it was terrific. All round classic Cote Rotie --- game, rubber, tar, pepper, softish edges. Actually excellent with ham and gratin. We have some family youngin's and their noses were definitely pressed to the glass. I don't think this was a perfect bottle as the cork broke during opening. But...nice!
 
Breaking the rule again yesterday:

'20 Jamet Cote Rotie: This is a big boy. Aromatically complex, with red fruit and smoke on the palate, and subtle hints of stem, spice and herbs. Texturally, there are super silky tannins, caressing the mouth from start to finish. The one nit to pick here is that it could use more acidity, but it is still balanced and refreshing. But, boy, is it ripe (though not in a flabby, gloopy way). Maybe not hedonistic for civilians, but perhaps a hedonistic wine for the disorderly. Not damning with faint praise (I love it), but just noting that.

This was at a tasting, so I'm not sure when they opened this, but it definitely was not a pop n' pour (two bottles were pre-opened when I got there). Also, they gave me two sizable pours (a couple of ounces) so I think I got a pretty good read on this wine.

One bold claim (and Zachary, if you get around to drinking the '20 Jamet, I would love to get your take), I do sense a strong stylistic affinity between this wine and the Barge Coeur de Combard, and in terms of quality, I would say the Barge CdC is very much on par with the Jamet.

And I will leave this take within the safe confines of this wine bored, not to be uttered outside of it.
 
Thanks for the data Yule. I always like Jamet in cooler vintages. Which has had me pondering the 2021. But waiting until it sits on the shelf and no one buys it due to vintage fear and the price goes down. Or people will buy it and I’ll save some $$$ for Eric’s next Pergaud Brezeme release.
 
originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
Thanks for the data Yule. I always like Jamet in cooler vintages. Which has had me pondering the 2021. But waiting until it sits on the shelf and no one buys it due to vintage fear and the price goes down. Or people will buy it and I’ll save some $$$ for Eric’s next Pergaud Brezeme release.
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I'm pretty excited about '21. Partially because they seem to be fresher than recent vintages (and who knows how many more fresh, less intense vintages we are going to get moving forward), and also because many are doing the yeomans' work of trashing the '21s, so this vintage does seem particularly ripe (pun intended) for closeout opportunities.
 
We'll see about those discounts! I haven't tasted enough 2021s to have a broad sense of the vintage, but from digging through Livingston-Learmonth's website it seems many struggled to obtain ripeness and ended up chaptalizing - not something I am used to reading about regarding vintages of the 21st century. (I bought pretty much all my favorites, Barge, Gilles, Bourg, etc.)

The 2020 Jamet sounds nice, and your appraisal of the Barge even nicer. Thank you for your recidivism!
 
originally posted by Zachary Ross:
We'll see about those discounts! I haven't tasted enough 2021s to have a broad sense of the vintage, but from digging through Livingston-Learmonth's website it seems many struggled to obtain ripeness and ended up chaptalizing - not something I am used to reading about regarding vintages of the 21st century. (I bought pretty much all my favorites, Barge, Gilles, Bourg, etc.)

The 2020 Jamet sounds nice, and your appraisal of the Barge even nicer. Thank you for your recidivism!
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My sense is that the Barge was a little fresher than the Jamet, but it's been a while since I had it.

And I'm always glad to be a serial offender for the greater good.
 
Other than a single bottle to evaluate, I would not buy any 2021 red that I have not tasted. Some wines from the vintage are very good, others are clearly unripe (not underripe), something I've never seen in any wine before before in more than 40 years of surveying Northern Rhône vintages, including challenging vintages such as 1981, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1993, 2002.
 
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