A few 2014 red Burgundies

R

Rahsaan

Rahsaan
2014 Louis Boillot Gevrey Chambertin Les Evocelles
I'm usually not a huge fan of this bottling, but bought a few as a way of putting things in context with my more favored Les Brouillards. As usual, it is frank and simple and does not bowl you over with depth, complexity or elegance. But, there is a juicy expressiveness that is very nice with dinner. I never get too excited, but that's the way life goes sometimes.

2014 Louis Boillot Volnay Les Brouillards
Reserved and needs some serious air to start showing its layers. Eventually it is broad and dense with thick tannins at the end. Of course I use those adjectives in a certain context, it is still a chiseled crystal jewel of a Boillot Volnay. At the end, very promising but I'll be waiting on the other bottles.

2014 Chandon de Briailles Île de Vergelesses
Have not had a new release here in some years, but have they changed anything to make these more approachable young? This bottle was all about dazzling young and precise Burgberry fruit, with much more stylish sap than the Boillots. Very fun, although even when the tannins came on at the end they were just a modest background structure. Looking forward to more.
 
Thank you for the comments. I am always keenly interested in the Boillot family, my favorite in Burgundy.

I believe people (retailers with short allocations of Gevrey-Chambertin premier crus, drinkers looking for something more affordable, importers trying to scoop up something not yet accounted for) have tried to make more of Les Evocelles than the vineyard could ever provide. A glance at a map or up the slope is telling.

Your description of the Brouillards is encouraging.
 
I haven't heard of anything new at Briailles, except Martin Steinley has been writing that the 2013 ile was made either without stems, or a relatively low proportion, and he raves about it. Perhaps some experimentation in the same dimension in 2014?
 
I believe people (retailers with short allocations of Gevrey-Chambertin premier crus, drinkers looking for something more affordable, importers trying to scoop up something not yet accounted for) have tried to make more of Les Evocelles than the vineyard could ever provide. A glance at a map or up the slope is telling.
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Good to know I am not alone in this. I have never seen the vineyard in person, and don't even think I've tasted versions other than Boillot's. But it does seem to be distinctively direct and not-grand.
 
I tasted at Chandon des Briailles last summer, but we tasted 2015s from barrel, not 2014s. Tasted as tough as ever. Wonder if the difference is the vintage.
 
Motivated in part by Rahsaan’s report, a pair of young CdBs went to the catafalque in the last two evenings.

The other part of the motivation was the discovery of sans soufre versions in France that may be less prone to closing down (have a hunch that sulfur may be one of the responsible factors).

This in the context of CdB seemingly moving in the direction of a more natural approach, as evidenced not only by these two, but by François de Nicolay’s line of no sulfur added wines bottled under his own name (note to self: git some).

2013 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Île des Vergelesses 12.5%
Demeter logo; back label says, inaccurately, “SANS SULFITES (No SO2)”. Aroma is indeed open, showing pretty strawberry/cherry pinosity. Attractively sappy, with good balance; fruity without being frooty; tony without being high-toned. Quite delicious with food. Totally primary, of course, but what else is new.

2014 Chandon de Briailles Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières 12.5%
Demeter logo; back label says, incorrectly, “SANS SULFITES (No SO2)”. Also open, this time closer to my preferred strawberry/raspberry end of the pinosity curve. Lively, harmonious, very pleasing fruit, ideal acidity. A little less structured than the Vergelesses, but hands down more delicious.

So, these sans soufres seemed to vouch for a change of style, but may have been open just because they were sans soufre. I hava a "normal" 2013 Les Vergelesses, so will open that soon to see if it's closed.
 
Nice report. Interesting to hear about the sans soufre versions. I think I'll probably open 2014 IdV 'normal' next week and hope it is just as approachable and succulent as it was last month.

And since we're talking about CdB IdV, has anyone opened the '99 recently? I have 3 bottles that I've been diligently waiting to open. I keep thinking that I should open one, but then I hear reports about '99s only beginning to come around, and CdB wines showing their stuff with 20+ years. So I wait. Especially as I don't exactly have a lot (i.e. more than 3 bottles) of 1999 Burgundy of any kind!
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
A little less structured than the Vergelesses...
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Both wines are listed as Vergelesses. Is there a typo? Or did you mean "the '13" here?

What do 61 and 54 mean, in your TN?
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
A little less structured than the Vergelesses...
Click to expand...
Both wines are listed as Vergelesses. Is there a typo? Or did you mean "the '13" here?

What do 61 and 54 mean, in your TN?
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry and thanks, will fix (was a victim of cut&pastitis).
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Motivated in part by Rahsaan’s report, a pair of young CdBs went to the catafalque in the last two evenings.

The other part of the motivation was the discovery of sans soufre versions in France that may be less prone to closing down (have a hunch that sulfur may be one of the responsible factors).

This in the context of CdB seemingly moving in the direction of a more natural approach, as evidenced not only by these two, but by François de Nicolay’s line of no sulfur added wines bottled under his own name (note to self: git some).

2013 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Île des Vergelesses 12.5%
Demeter logo; back label says, inaccurately, “SANS SULFITES (No SO2)”. Aroma is indeed open, showing pretty strawberry/cherry pinosity. Attractively sappy, with good balance; fruity without being frooty; tony without being high-toned. Quite delicious with food. Totally primary, of course, but what else is new.

2014 Chandon de Briailles Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières 12.5%
Demeter logo; back label says, incorrectly, “SANS SULFITES (No SO2)”. Also open, this time closer to my preferred strawberry/raspberry end of the pinosity curve. Lively, harmonious, very pleasing fruit, ideal acidity. A little less structured than the Vergelesses, but hands down more delicious.

So, these sans soufres seemed to vouch for a change of style, but may have been open just because they were sans soufre. I hava a "normal" 2013 Les Vergelesses, so will open that soon to see if it's closed.
Click to expand...

Intersting comparison. The only CdB Lavieres I've had was an inky wall of tannin - I think it was the '12. I wonder if this wine was destemmed in '14.
 
Gilman suggests that later harvesting in 2014 produced a more forward styled Lavières, but he says nothing about the 2012 that resonates with inky wall of tannin.
 
More of a dull thud than a resonation ...

Anyway, the '12 for me was a way to encounter their Lavieres, a vineyard with a good reputation in SlB. It gave no quarter when I opened it, but then CdB wines are often uncompromising in youth, and it may be great in 10 years. Will try a '14 if one crosses my path.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
If you find a 2014 stateside, it may be avec soufre, therefore possibly less open.
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Bot we're drinking beautifully about a month ago though I preferred the sans soufflé. In a blind tasting of 2014 burgundies I ranked them 1st and 3rd.

Autocorrect was charming there so I'll leave the soufflé for others to enjoy as well.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
If you find a 2014 stateside, it may be avec soufre, therefore possibly less open.
Click to expand...

Bot we're drinking beautifully about a month ago though I preferred the sans soufflé. In a blind tasting of 2014 burgundies I ranked them 1st and 3rd.

Autocorrect was charming there so I'll leave the soufflé for others to enjoy as well.
Click to expand...

Gtk. Over here the 2013 sans soufflé Île costs 8 Euro more than the regular, a diff of over 10%. If both are going to be available in the US, wonder what the prices are going to be.
 
So, yesterday we opened the regularly sulfured version of the 2013 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses 12.5%. Also Demeter.

The difference between this and the other two was so categorical as to defy attribution to sulfur alone. Which is anyway probably not that much.

It was closed (ok, that could be) but quite dark fruited (unlikely).

It was juicy, quite tart (in a lemony way), with dusty (springfield) tannins, and the fruit was confined to a sepulchral cherry, with no hint of whole cluster, strawberry/raspberry, or any of the fifty-one shades of pinot charm. Just doesn't hold a candle (in the wind) to the other two.

I understand Les Vergelesses isn't quite up to the snuff of the other two, so it could just be that.
 
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