After tasting through quite a few 2015s from all over Burgundy I have to report it was a difficult vintage....for me. Other folks seemed to love it. But then I'm almost always showing up with a different take, like on the 2005 vintage. Praised by others, avoided by me.
Jean Claude Rateau early in the 2015 vintage
But while I still believe that you stick by your favorites year after year, this is the vintage to stick to who you know or listen to those you trust.
The snapshot was this: Hail was no stranger to the area and it heartbreakingly hit Chablis late in September, but spared most other spots. In general it was a very warm summer (check out the 15-16 degrees of ETOH in southern Burgundy, aka Beaujolais). Little rain meant very thick skins, meant more skin than juice. In addition, depending on picking time, many wines had relatively low pHs.
All of this was evidenced in in a blind tasting put together for me in Beaune by the BIVB. This was a great opportunity because I got to taste outside of my norm. In that assortment of 102 wines I was confronted by quite a few that seemed acidified and rough. I came away with a mouthful of tannin that was unusually harsh for the delicate grape, pinot.
Some typical descriptors from my scribbles? Orange juice, klutzy, rude, tarry--without charm, paint by numbers, weird oak juice, caramel finish. For the whites? Plenty of peach juice. White wines can be lovely though many seemed short.
And so those who handle the grapes as gently as possible, use full cluster (or at least a good bit), work more with infusion than extraction are the winners here. It's a short list but more will be coming. Producer picks for me so far include those of:
Alice et Olivier deMoor
Dominique Gruhier
Giles Ballorin
Jane et Sylvain
Sylvain Pataille
Claire Naudin
Domaine Lafarge
Chanterêves (extremely elegant)
Chandon de Briailles
Maison Harbor (look for La Justice)
Jean Claude Rateau
Dominique Derain
Pierre Fenals
Julien Altabar
Fred Cossard
Jane Eyre (Corton Reynards & Côtes de Nuits Village)
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