CWD: recent wines (2025-12)

I haven't drunk much Gouges from the last 15 years but will be dismayed if it turns out that the wines have gone as soft as the prices have gone hard. Away from LSG and Vaucrains the wines could be superlative bargains and the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
 
I'm surprised you like Bedrock...it's just so ripe and big.

I do have a soft spot for the Evangelho vineyard - it's just a couple miles from my stepdad's old legacy Ford dealership and right across the river from their old duck hunting lodge on an island in the Delta. Old California indeed.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Tom Blach:
the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
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especially if you are referring to that crazy outlier in the form of 2001 LSG :-)
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Barolo made in Burgundy, that wine.
 
originally posted by BJ:
I'm surprised you like Bedrock...it's just so ripe and big.

I do have a soft spot for the Evangelho vineyard - it's just a couple miles from my stepdad's old legacy Ford dealership and right across the river from their old duck hunting lodge on an island in the Delta. Old California indeed.
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I'm pretty fond of the old vine CA field blends and I've found that the Bedrock wines are getting brighter and brighter. The 2023s are really superb. I really like the Once & Future wines from Joel Peterson. They evoke a strong sense memory of the early 90s in my lizard brain.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by BJ:
I'm surprised you like Bedrock...it's just so ripe and big.

I do have a soft spot for the Evangelho vineyard - it's just a couple miles from my stepdad's old legacy Ford dealership and right across the river from their old duck hunting lodge on an island in the Delta. Old California indeed.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty fond of the old vine CA field blends and I've found that the Bedrock wines are getting brighter and brighter. The 2023s are really superb. I really like the Once & Future wines from Joel Peterson. They evoke a strong sense memory of the early 90s in my lizard brain.
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Good to know - I'll definitely revisit.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by VLM:

Fruitier and silkier than Chevillon. I haven't had Gouges Vaucrains in a long time and I've heard of a dramatic stylistic shift there.
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Yeah, very dramatic stylistic shift. About two years ago I had the Gouges '99 Prulier side by side with the '10 Prulier, and the '99 was noticeably harder than the '10. I actually thought the '10 was drinking decently well.

I also had a '20 Clos des Porrets a couple of years ago and that was extremely ripe and a bit soft. Climate change hasn't been kind to Gouges.

I was talking to the wine buyer at the tasting where the '20 Clos des Porrets was poured, and he noted that modern Gouges is now "extremely ripe" while modern Chevillon is just "very ripe." I haven't had any post-2018 Chevillon, so I can't comment on that, but seems like a lot of estates are having some issues navigating the new normal.
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Is this something that occurred in the recent run of very warm vintages, i.e. 18, 19, 20, 22 that created some sort of a perfect storm at Gouges with undesirable consequences?

When I tasted 17s from barrel, the Gouges collection was my favorite among about 40 domaines ( adjusted for terroir, ask VLM or Jayson for the formular as they, unlike me, actually went to school ). Same was true in 2012. I didn't get a chance to taste 15s and 16s from barrel but in bottle... holy smoke! I don't own their 14s for some reason.

The change at Gouges towards gentler vinification occurred around 2010, but I am still unclear on whether it affected all their wines, or just Bourgogne and village Nuits. Meadows, Gilman, Claude would be great sources for this info, I am sure. The wines are definitely easier to taste/drink young since then, but I never felt they lacked a classic character, so to speak.
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Grégory Gouges joined the team in 2003 and gradually assumed responsibilities, going solo first in 2011; he has since been joined by his cousin Antoine. Ca. 2008-2010, a decision was made to modify the winemaking so that all the wines except for Vaucrains and LSG would drink earlier than before.
Re recent vintages, other than 2022, 2018 was the last vintage I tasted at Gouges. I missed 2019-20-21 due to covid, and I now do far fewer tastings than I used to due to age and other factors, and Gouges has been one of the places I used to visit that I did not taste for 2023 or 2024 vintages. As a result, I can't really comment on what's going on right now.
 
Thanks for the insight, Claude.

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
Ca. 2008-2010, a decision was made to modify the winemaking so that all the wines except for Vaucrains and LSG would drink earlier than before.
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Did they say why those two were excepted?
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Thanks for the insight, Claude.

originally posted by Claude Kolm:
Ca. 2008-2010, a decision was made to modify the winemaking so that all the wines except for Vaucrains and LSG would drink earlier than before.
Click to expand...
Did they say why those two were excepted?
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Because traditionally those are considered the two top vineyards in Nuits and the most ageworthy. Thus, you can drink the other wines earlier (and I think in particular they're looking at the restaurant trade) while still cellaring the Vaucrains and Les Saint-Georges until they reach their expected heights.
 
Ah, thanks. So it's not just a plan to make certain cuvees more accessible, but also a broader plan to make wine for every stage of _your_ drinking window.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Ah, thanks. So it's not just a plan to make certain cuvees more accessible, but also a broader plan to make wine for every stage of _your_ drinking window.
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I'm not sure that they consciously thought of it this way, but that's the way it works.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Tom Blach:
the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
Click to expand...

especially if you are referring to that crazy outlier in the form of 2001 LSG :-)
Click to expand...

Barolo made in Burgundy, that wine.
Click to expand...

Not in 2001. In 1998 it sure is!
Click to expand...

The Barolo line is a direct quote from brother Brézème that has stuck with me.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Ah, thanks. So it's not just a plan to make certain cuvees more accessible, but also a broader plan to make wine for every stage of _your_ drinking window.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure that they consciously thought of it this way, but that's the way it works.
Click to expand...

That's interesting context. I'll have to see if I can try some recent wines.
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Tom Blach:
the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
Click to expand...

especially if you are referring to that crazy outlier in the form of 2001 LSG :-)
Click to expand...

Barolo made in Burgundy, that wine.
Click to expand...

Not in 2001. In 1998 it sure is!
Click to expand...

The Barolo line is a direct quote from brother Brézème that has stuck with me.
Click to expand...

Not to mention Luca guessing 1998 Vaucrains blind to be a Barolo. Can't make this stuff up.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Tom Blach:
the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
Click to expand...

especially if you are referring to that crazy outlier in the form of 2001 LSG :-)
Click to expand...

Barolo made in Burgundy, that wine.
Click to expand...

Not in 2001. In 1998 it sure is!
Click to expand...

The Barolo line is a direct quote from brother Brézème that has stuck with me.
Click to expand...

Not to mention Luca guessing 1998 Vaucrains blind to be a Barolo. Can't make this stuff up.
Click to expand...

Ha! For sure. What is Luca up to these days? I was just talking about him the other day with a local distributor (former CSW Champagne doyenne Sophie Barrett).
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Tom Blach:
the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
Click to expand...

especially if you are referring to that crazy outlier in the form of 2001 LSG :-)
Click to expand...

Barolo made in Burgundy, that wine.
Click to expand...

Not in 2001. In 1998 it sure is!
Click to expand...

The Barolo line is a direct quote from brother Brézème that has stuck with me.
Click to expand...

Not to mention Luca guessing 1998 Vaucrains blind to be a Barolo. Can't make this stuff up.
Click to expand...

Ha! For sure. What is Luca up to these days? I was just talking about him the other day with a local distributor (former CSW Champagne doyenne Sophie Barrett).
Click to expand...

That was ages ago. Rahsaan might know!
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Tom Blach:
the reputed need for aeons in the cellar was often exaggerated.
Click to expand...

especially if you are referring to that crazy outlier in the form of 2001 LSG :-)
Click to expand...

Barolo made in Burgundy, that wine.
Click to expand...

Not in 2001. In 1998 it sure is!
Click to expand...

The Barolo line is a direct quote from brother Brézème that has stuck with me.
Click to expand...

Once I read it, I thought, yeah, perfect descriptor for 01 Gouges.
 
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