California, for all its failings, has several of these sorts of wineries and is ahead of most everywhere else in the New World in this respect. While this profile has certainly introduced me to many very good wines that I did not realize were being made in New Zealand, it has also presented to me a country that has yet to discover its defining moment. Or at least so I thought until now.

An American in … New Zealand?

Two Americans, Mike and Claudia Weersing, founded Pyramid Valley in 1996, arriving in New Zealand after Mike studied winemaking in Burgundy and apprenticed with various stints at Hubert de Montille, Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, Nicholas Potel, Jean Michel-Deiss, Ernst Loosen, Randall Graham, Evesham Wood, and James Halliday (at Coldstream Hills). For those not in the know, these represent some of the top winemakers in Burgundy, Alsace, Germany, California, Oregon and Australia. Not only that, but most of these winemakers are proponents of biodynamics and minimalist winemaking.

While searching for the ideal vineyard site on which to found their winery, the Weersings initially started making wines by leasing vineyard land from some top growers across New Zealand. These wines represent their “growers” series of wines, which are interesting in themselves, though clearly represent a voyage of experimentation rather than the realization of a vision.

Mike Weersing is clearly a fanatical man. He spent years looking for his ideal vineyard site and ultimately found it in the middle of nowhere in central New Zealand (Canterburry) where not many (if any?) others are making wine. He has planted 95% of his vines with ungrafted rootstock and claims that the own rooted vines burrow deeper into the limestone soils than the grafted vines. His vineyards are on sites that have never seen the use of chemical pesticides or other human made intrusions on ‘nature’. The wines made from these vineyards are the “Home Vineyard” wines, as opposed to the “Growers Collection” of wines made from other vineyard sources.

Biodynamics, Again

These wines are also fully biodynamic, and the Weersings take this philosophy to its extremes, harvesting in relation to the phases of the moon and even attempting to isolate yeasts that live on the grapes from those that are indigenous to the cellar itself. In fact, Mike is going all out to try to get the saccharomyces yeast that live on the grapes to be the only yeast used in the fermentation. As such, sometimes the fermentations can take over a year to complete (which is why the 2008 Pinot’s were bottled after the 2009’s). Some claim this is lunacy and that yeasts that live in the cellar are not only impossible to exclude but are necessary to complete fermentation as the saccharomyces yeasts will always be insufficient to complete the process. Nonetheless, it is clear that Mike is taking fanatical attention to detail to another level.

This attention to detail reminds me of some conversations I was lucky to have with Allen Meadows where he opined that Biodynamicists produced better wine on average more because they were obsessed with details rather than anything relating to the lunar cycle. I think this must be true with the Pyramid wines as well, because it seems to be that this obsessed with detail and perfection is precisely the reason why the Weersings have avoided all the flaws commonly associated with both biodynamic and ‘natural’ wines, for surely the Home Vineyard wines are from both camps.

Hot Damn

The Home Vineyard wines from Pyramid Valley are unequivocally the best examples of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from New Zealand, and they compete with the absolute best examples from all over the New World. These are wines with unparallelled purity and finesse and with exceptional expression, balance and length.

I tasted both the Pyramid Valley Earth Smoke Pinot Noir 2009, which poured a beautiful cloudy light red (apparently the wine wouldn’t settle and the Weersings do not fine or filter), and the Pyramid Valley Lion’s Tooth Chardonnay 2009, which I had trouble distinguishing from a top notch Corton.

The Pinot had a Burgundian elegance on the nose with spice, light berry fruits, earth and savour. The 10% whole cluster fermentation clearly added spicy and earthy elements from the stems. This is a dense, rich Pinot Noir without heavyness or alcohol (it is 13.8%). Yet this is creamy, rich and very very smooth. Possessing one of the longest finishes I’ve experienced from a New World Pinot, the Earth Smoke completes with an earthy and mineral twist that makes this the most complete Pinot I have tasted in this New Zealand Spotlight.

Ditto for the Chardonnay, which is perhaps a more classic example of pure Burgundian cool-climate Chardonnay than are the Pinot Noirs (which truly are their own entity). The Lion’s Tooth offers mineral, stone and lemon on the nose, but it does so with exceptional expression and purity. In a blind, I would put money on experienced tasters picking this as a Burgundy. I found it similar to Mikulski’s Mersaults, which is an exceptional compliment since Mikulski is one of my favourite winemakers in Burgundy.

On the palate this was very elegant and long with exceptionally pure fruit. This is more balanced in oak, alcohol and acid than many more expensive Burgundy whites. Lemon, apricot, hazlenut and long minerality round out this exciting wine, which is amongst the very best New World Chardonnays I have tasted. This is even more elegant than many many white Burgundies.

Both wines are extremely impressive and both wines deserve:

Excellent+
$70 for the Earth Smoke Pinot Noir at Marquis Wine Cellar
$65 for the Lion’s Tooth Chardonnay at Marquis Wine Cellar

Sex or History?

This is a difficult question given that most new world Pinot has built its market off its sexy immediacy. In fact, I have a hard time looking beyond the instant pleasure that such bottles bring. Nonetheless I do think the best examples from New Zealand are starting to move into slightly different territory.

Ata Rangi is one of New Zealand’s most iconic producers of Pinot Noir. It uses one of the oldest clones in New Zealand (the abel clone), which is a Dijon clone thought to have been smuggled into New Zealand from France (reportedly, a cutting from DRC itself) in the 1970’s. Amazingly, the current existence of these clones in NZ owes a debt to Malcom Abel, friend of Clive Paton founder of Ata Rangi , who was a former customs officer who was working for the government at the time the cuttings were confiscated and managed to see their potential and preserve them.

So Ata Rangi seems to have a significant link to Burgundy and certainly and important role in the NZ wine industry. They also manage their vineyards at a high standard of biodiversity, vineyards that have never seen the use of insecticide, and other important management practices you can read about here.

Fruit, Spice and Savor

As with most Pinot Noir it is easy to get lost in the hugely immediate up front fruit with this wine. It was not until this wine had decanted for several hours that I began to appreciate the savory nuances that gave this wine its character. This is something I have noticed in the best Pinots from New Zealand, and there is a particularly unique savoriness and spiciness to the Pinots from Martinborough that distinguish the best examples from other regions in the country.

This is a wine with a fruity palate and high acidity. The fruit is darker than expected, but it retains freshness and length on the finish. This is an undoubtedly new world Pinot Noir, but a delicious one. As a classic example of a traditional well made new world Pinot, this wine is texturally very pleasing and this may be its best quality, though the up front fresh fruit is a close second. However, as mentioned earlier with air the wine completely changes. It gets very nuanced, more savory and complex and much more aromatically expressive.

There does seem to be some heat on the finish that I would like to see disappear, and I suspect it will with time. That seems to be a common theme with many NZ pinot noirs. They have such great up front fruit, good acidity and balance until the finish on which you can detect the alcohol, even in many of the finest examples from top wineries.

I have no problem with New Zealand wineries embracing the new world style, though I still think they are going through some growing pains with the Pinot. There is a bit of an identity crisis – what distinguishes these wines from California, Oregon, or Australia? There are subtle nuanced distinctions in fruit and spice, alcohol and acid, but stylistically almost all of the Pinots from these regions go for the same thing: sexy fruit. I’m down with sexy. But I do see the potential for a far more intellectual journey. The terroir is there in the making. All that is needed is the vision (which wineries like Ata Rangi have been instrumental in developing), and a few hundred years.

Very Good+
$68 at Everything Wine

Atmosphere as Terroir

Since 1997 the number of wine producers has increased sixfold and plantings have more than quintupled. This rapid growth has coincided with an increase in both quality and diversity. Pictures of the Central Otago are some of the most stunning of any wine region in the entire world, which to me makes it all the more interesting that one of the peculiar characteristics of this ‘terroir’ is that it is one of the few wine regions in the world over which there is a considerable hole in the Ozone layer – showing that atmosphere is just as much part of the spirit of place as is the soil. This increased exposure to ozone radiation results in higher ripeness than one might expect. The cool nights of this most southerly wine region in the world keep acidities higher than further north in New Zealand.

Some Winery Background

Established in 1999, Amisfield is one of the early wineries in Central Otago. Situated on glacial soils, this vineyards are also all high altitude. All the grapes here are hand harvested, whole bunch pressed and partial whole bunch fermented. The addition of the stems to fermentation adds a spicyness and intensity that many particularly enjoy in their Pinot. Others are not quite so sure. Personally I enjoy the many approaches to Pinot but do appreciate the flavour density that whole cluster fermentation can bring. I appreciate that Amisfield has a serious commitment to biodiversity and creating a living vineyard, which you can read about on their website if you so desire. But let’s get to what we’re here for: the wine.

Bold but Lacking Balance

This is a bold and expressive Pinot that is quite rich. The heavily fruited wine is cherry, raspberry, cola, chocolate and some subtler oak flavours.  With a broad palate that is very flavourful and moderately complex, I think this will likely improve a little with some age, but is delicious now. This is a fruit driven Pinot, however, and it does not have the layering of the absolutely best Pinots in the world, perhaps because the alcohol is at 14%. The alcohol remains a touch out of balance – perhaps an effect of the vintage? Nonetheless, an good example of the Central Otago’s style even if a touch alcoholic.

Very Good+
$55 at Everything Wine, also available at Kits Wine

In fact, this wine is beautifully fruited on the darker side of the fruit spectrum, and has a richness that is both mysterious and balanced. Aromas of dark cherry and rich spice accent this beefy and slightly enigmatic wine.

The dark cherry, pomegranate, spice and oak flavours have integrated really well at this point in the wine’s development. This is a Pinot that is very complete on the palate and is rich without being overbearing. Great length. Ripe tannins but relatively firm structure. Dark and mysterious, this is both delicious and compelling and distinct amongst New World Pinot. This spotlight has started with some impressive tipples.

Excellent
$63 at Everything Wine

First to grab sommelier’s and wine writer’s attention was Pinot Noir, which is now being followed by Chardonnay and, increasingly, a few Bordeaux blends and some fascinating examples of Syrah. This spotlight will explore each of these grapes from some of New Zealand’s leading producers with the hopes of continuing the love and hopefully introducing a few readers to the unique wines of this remote island.

History, Climate and Grape

Pinot Noir is now arguably New Zealand’s most exciting grape and it has becoming increasingly easy to find good examples on store shelves in North America (B.C. had a particularly good selection after last year’s wine festival, which focused on New Zealand).

New Zealand’s varied climates (which range from semi-continental to completely maritime) are starting to find expression in the country’s Pinot Noirs, and it seems that New Zealand wine makers are starting to come into their own after a decade in the 80′s learning how to improve their canopy management techniques to achieve proper ripeness and in the 90′s exploring vineyard site selection. Arguably there is still room for improvement in site selection as most winemakers in New Zealand eschew challenging vineyard slopes, instead mostly going to flat lands. There are, of course, exceptions.

Small but Potent

Martinborough Vineyards is in Martinborough, a region within Wairarapa on the southern tip of the north island. Less than 4% of the country’s vines are planted here but there is a disproportionate level of quality amongst the region’s growers. Martinborough Vineyards is one of those producers, often competing for the moniker of the country’s best Pinot Noir producer.

The wine is made from some of New Zealand’s oldest Pinot Noir vines (around 30 years), which are grown on the well drained alluvial soils of the Martinborough Terrace. The climate here has strong diurnal variation, which is not true for many New Zeland vineyards. Hand picked, sorted, pumped, etc. This wine is cold soaked, fermented with indigenous yeast, and matured in French Oak barriques. So how is this stuff?

Highly Complex and Delicious Juice

There is lots of rich oak spice and cherry on the nose along with chocolate and indian spices like cardamom. The palate peaks considerable interest and is far less rich than expected from the nose. Deliciousness is high in this, a wine filled with bright and peppy cherry and strawberry fruit with some minerality and herbs developing through the mid palate into the finish.

There is good length, but the wine finishes a bit hot. However, The heat on the finish does not take away from the overall deliciousness and complexity of the wine. The oak is certainly present and may need more time to integrate fully, but it also adds good depth and structure to this wine. An impressive effort and a good start to the New Zealand spotlight.

With air I noted some reduction (struck matchstick odour), but the wine remained impressively long and complex. I found it to become a bit deeper and more brooding with air.

Excellent
$71 at Everything Wine

Serenity at Serene: Bad Puns and Good Pinot

Domaine Serene makes challenging wine, even by Oregon standards. These are not wines that cater to lovers of fruit bomby alcohol or sappy sweet Pinot. Rather, these are balanced, elegant and sophisticated wines that are amongst the best Pinots being made in the New World.

I had the opportunity to try three pinots, two of which were blends from multiple sites, composed via barrel selection to meet the desired style for the bottling. The 2008 Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir was the more bright and high toned of the two, with the 2007 Evenstad Reserve offering a spicy complexity and cool mineral underside. Both of these wines add a savoriness to the fruit that adds layers of complexity that most Oregon Pinots don’t quite get to.

The 2008 Jerusalem Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir was an exceptional wine, with real character, balance and, again, sophistication. The wine still has a level of austerity that may make it difficult for some to apprecaite for now, and 2008’s structure is showing through in some firm yet ripe tannins that will assuredly mellow into silk with a few years of bottle age. This was a great wine, even at $75.

The 2008 Cote Sud Vineyard Chardonnay was an exciting surprise in that most Oregon Chards do not have this level of depth and complexity and serious minerality. You could mistake this wine for a very good Cote d’Or Blanc, which is saying something. And at $45 it is fairly priced even if not a value.

Drinking Drouhin: Burgundy in Oregon

Drouhin’s entrance into Oregon was a hallmark event that signalled the Willamette Valley had grabbed the world’s attention. Drouhin, who is one of Burgundy’s biggest and most famous Negociants, believed that Oregon had such potential he would lend his name to a winery focused on a simple portfolio of four wines: a chardonnay, rose, basic Pinot and winemaker’s reserve Pinot – the Laurene.

While the Arthur Chardonnay and Rose are decidedly disappointing wines, the two pinots are both impressive, with the edge going to the Laurene reserve, even if they are extremely fruit forward and seem to be creeping up in alcohol over time. They were my least favourite wines of the day, but were of an undeniable quality despite the more mass appeal approach. This is a far cry from Napa Valley.

A Family Affair: Winter’s Hill

In an extreme contrast to both Domaine Serene and Domaine Drouhin, Winter’s Hill is a true family run operation, with one of the co-owners pouring wine personally and with her and her husband’s daughter in law (who studied wine making in Beaune) being the winemaker.

Winter’s Hill didn’t make the best Pinot Noirs I tasted during the day, but they may have made the most down to earth. These are wines that reflect the simplicity and humility of the family making the wines – and yet they show a sophistication in which one can easily detect the influence of Burgundy on Winter’s Hill’s winemaker. The wines are also highly reflective of vintage, even though some of them do use innoculated yeasts, and each of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 estate Pinots we tasted were restrained and balanced without any sign of greenness.

Personally I thought the 2008 Winemaker’s Cuvee (made with 100% Pommard clones) to be the most exciting of the wines, combining both beautifully pure fruit, serious structure and a basic humility. At $39 (and $29 for the regular bottlings), these are Pinots worth tasting.

The Rose State Winery: Drinking on the Dragon’s Bluff

The last winery I visited is also one of my personal favourites: White Rose. All of these wines were outstanding, though the 2008 vintage needs time in the bottle before drinking, even for the basic wine. The flagship Dundee Hills Estate bottling had tremendous complexity but more forwardness and fruit than the Domaine Serene wines. All of White Rose’s wines are fermented with at least partial whole cluster, which adds a structure and distinct spiciness that is not found in most Pinots from Oregon. These wines certainly compete for the most delicious in the state, which explains why fruit from White Rose (which was planted in 1980) used to be sold to some of the best wineries in the state, such as Torii Mor. White Rose converted to its own winery in the early 2000’s and is quickly moving towards the upper echelons.

I honestly love all the wines from this winery, including the various single vineyard bottlings, the top estate blend and the entry level estate wine. The only wine that hits a bit under what I was expecting was the basic “Willamette Valley” Pinot, which is made with both purchased and estate fruit. I’d also note that the 2009’s are also drinking great and would be good wines to pick up while you wait for the 2008’s to come into their prime.

Conclusion

My day in the Dundee Hills was a fascinating and tasty adventure. I discovered that Oregon is definitely making delicious wine that reflects the unique terroir of the AVA (Dundee Hills Pinot tastes dramatically different from those of Ribbon Ridge, which I visted 9 months ago). I also (re)discovered, however, that the comparisons of Oregon with Burgundy are a bit misleading – most of Oregon’s Pinots don’t have quite the layering and sophistication of the best of Burgundy. However, Oregon Pinot is more consistently approachable and accessibly fruited. Even so, Oregon Pinot may still be an acquired taste for some. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that Oregon is on a very long term trajectory to greatness and is amongst the very few New World regions that I believe will eventually compete with the greatest of the old world for diversity, depth and sophistication.

Of all the above wines, those of Drouhin are available at the BCLDB, those of White Rose are available at Kits Wine, and Domaine Serene pops up here and there at private stores. Winter’s Hill is not currently available in the province.

Burgundian Idolatry

Burgundy is as rife with eidolons as it is with idols. The greatest bottles can often come from unexpected places while the greatest names can often disappoint. Tasting these wines blind assists in unmasking the pretences with which we approach the storied names and reputations in wine. It was one of Sid Cross’ wines that fully expressed this principle of Burgundy at the tasting. The last wine of the tasting – a Domaine Thomas-Moillard Clos Vougeot 1990 – was also my favourite and a high point for many of the other tasters. The blind? Well, it was that Clos Vougeot is often an unexciting Grand Cru but that here, from a producer with no recognition within our group, it offered perhaps the most complete Burgundy experience of the entire tasting.

Burgundy’s Modernity

One of the most discussed preconceptions in the wine world as a whole is what constitutes traditional wine versus what constitutes modern wine. This can extend from wine growing practices to techniques in the cellar and the prevalence of particular flavours. Such it was that the wine I brought – the Dominique Laurent Clos des Mouches Premier Cru 2006 – stimulated comments and questions about the wine’s sweetness and use of oak while at the same time recognition of its quality, and by some tasters, recognition of its Burgundian backbone. This is just the sort of wine that divides palates while at the same time offering undeniable quality. Dominique Laurent uses considerable oak (often 200%) in his wines, but he also adds almost no sulphur, does not fine and hand bottles. He seeks out old vines and old clones (though he owns no vineyards of his own), making him one of the most unique Negociants in Burgundy.

Diverse but Delicious

While many will warn that it is easier to find a bad bottle of Burgundy than a good one, Burgundy’s diversity is also one of its strengths. At the tasting we experienced a range of wines from the forward and fruity Domaine Fourrier Morey St-Denis Clos Solon Vielle Vigne 2006 that Jake contributed, or the darkly fruited Bruno Clair Vosne-Romanee “Les Champs Perdrix” 1er Cru.

Bachelet’s Gevrey-Chambertin “les Corbeaux” 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes 2007 was a lean but stylish wine with amazing aromatics – both pretty and compelling. There was a beautiful spicyness that coupled with a mineral (chalky) density much appreciated by most of the tasters.

Surprises also came from the compellingly delicious Drouhin Beaune Premier Cru 2002 (a wine blended from several vineyards), that showed exceptional harmony and finesse unexpected for a blended vineyard wine from a Negociant.

Wine and Metaphor

Sometimes though reputation and history is based on reality and sometimes Grand Cru is, well, Grand Cru. The flight of two Clos de La Roche Grand Cru’s (a 1999 from Louis Remy and a 2001 from the renowned Armand Rousseau) were a huge step up from the previous wines in elegance, complexity, balance, depth, and most of all, that enigmatic joy that only the best Burgundies can produce. My notes for the Remy read: “has that amazing ‘something’ that you look for in a great Burgundy … There is something here that compels you to attend it”. For the Rousseau I noted “you look into the abyss of time when you drink this … serious authenticity of fruit.” With wines such as these Burgundy compels us to reach beyond the staid objective descriptors so many wine professionals are trained to use and into what seems far more appropriate for the task: metaphor. Of course, in the end, all wine tasting notes are metaphors for the experiences we cannot describe in language. It is the special uniquness of Burgundy that compels us to recognize this unbridgeable gap.

Several of these wines are available at Marquis. Otherwise much of the tasting consisted of bottles brought back from the United States.

This entry level Pinot Noir is a quaffing wine, but quite a tasty one. It is very fruity with rich cherries and strawberries, but maintains good freshness. The tannins and alcohol give the wine a bit of an overbearing weight in the mouth considering the freshness of the fruit, but so long as you don’t mind a heavier texture in your pinot, you will likely still enjoy the experience. I do find the alcohol a bit unbalanced in the finish and the wine is pretty straightforward so you shouldn’t get into this expecting a lot of complexity. But, this isn’t what the wine is about anyway; and I suspect the balance and texture will improve with another year of bottle age. This is, rather, a good easy going BC Pinot that is definitely worth a look. On my taste-o-meter it scores above many wines you can buy for the same price.

Very Good
$25 from the winery

In this manner, Allen challenged terroir nay-sayers to explain why a wine such as La Tache (perhaps Burgundy’s most famous vineyard) tastes like no other wine in the world, and not for lack of trying. Why can the thousands of renditions of pinot noir throughout burgundy carry distinct signatures that can consistently be linked to particular villages and even the best vineyards?

For Allen, the hundreds of years the predecessors to the modern Burgundians spent studying, noting and documenting the different tastes that came from different sites means that, in Burgundy at least, the idea of terroir is backed up by a tremendous amount of experiment and trial and error. While the development of terroir in Burgundy may not have been identical to the modern scientific method, it was certainly as rigorous.

My experience tasting through a couple dozen wines from Burgundy last weekend certainly backed up the notion that terroir is objective. It is at least worth considering that the wines of Burgundy manage to draw together the mystical and the objective so effectively that some of the best wine writers, sommeliers and tasters in the world – i.e. those with the most jaded palates – can’t ever seem to get enough of these wines.

Some Technical Aspects to the Wines

One gentleman at the seminar wondered whether terroir truly existed or if clonal selection was as if not more important than site. Allen answered by noting that Pinot Noir is one of the most ancient vines on the earth, and may, of currently extant vines, be the most closely related to the original vine from which all the vinifera varieties stemmed.

He also noted that Pinot Noir is notoriously genetically unstable and mutates so quickly it is difficult to control clonal selection. This genetic instability meant that while clonal selection mattered young, as they age and mutate, the signature of terroir takes over and becomes the most distinguishing element of the wines made from those grapes.

Another important concern with the white wines of Burgundy is known as premature oxidation, which is a little understood phenomenon that sees white wines aging more quickly than they should. This means that wines that are meant to age for 10-15 years are oxidizing at a much faster rate and reaching ‘maturity’ sooner, meaning the wines are less complex when they have started to oxidize.

In an attempt to battle this issue, many of Burgundy’s top winemakers have actually increased the use of sulpher in the wines, meaning that many very expensive white wines will be quite reductive (smelling of rubber) when young. This is why Allen warns against seeing the reduction as a flaw and recommends decanting all whites for some time before consuming. In the face of little scientific proof, many producers are playing it safe and using the sulpher to preserve their very expensive wines aging curve.

Built to Last

The aging curve is what Burgundy is, ultimately, all about. The wines, while often very good and even approachable in youth, do not show their greatness without the proper bottle age. It is impossible to tell why a wine is worth so much unless you experience during the phase where it moves from good to great, Allen argues.

And so does he also contrast a wine that merely endures from one that transforms. A wine that endures merely stays the same or dissipates only a little with bottle age. A wine that transforms, on the other hand, completely changes with bottle age and becomes something initially hidden. In particular, the natural grape tannins that can be chewy and even bitter initially actually chemically transform to release aromatic esters over time, which means that as a wine matures the tannins actually add flavour and aromatic complexity to a wine.

Proper balance in the wine is thus fundamental for ageability, and should be a necessary criterion for any wine chosen to cellar. Tannins should not be too forward, but they should also not be eviscerated with modern winemaking techniques that use alcohol and overt fruit to cover over the tannic structure of a wine.

Acid is another important element of balance, and the wines of Burgundy, grown as they are in a cool climate, generally have better acid balance than pinot noirs grown in warmer climates. Acid, however, is also a crucial component to the terroir of Burgundy, with certain villages or regions (Chablis, for example) bringing much more acid to the table than others.

The other great component to the makeup of a Burgundian wine is, of course, the vintage.

Vintage Notes

At the media event Allen led us through the vintages from 2004 to 2007 as follows:

2004: A problematic vintage for various reasons, including a ladybug infestation. Ladybugs carry a pheromone that leaves a bitter and off aroma. This likely made it into some of the wines. Additionally, sulpher treatments in the vineyard got stuck in the grape clusters at some wineries and accordingly made it into the final wines.

2005: One of the great Burgundy vintages of this century for Pinot Noir. Warm days and cool nights. The wines are riper and denser than usual and possess tremendous balance and ageability.

The whites weren’t quite as good and some lack elegance. They make up for this with big forward fruit and richness, with lots of dry extract that gives the wines a sense of body and density in the mouth.

2006: A polarizing vintage for white Burgundy. The date of the harvest was crucial as there was an attack of botrytis around harvest time. Those who picked beforehand made classic wines, but those who didn’t have some richer botrytis character in the wines that made them more exotic than usual and lacking a little finesse.

For the reds, much of the fruit did not reach phenollic ripeness and so one must choose very carefully. The best producers, however, did make very good wines.

2007: The whites are classic and austere but outstanding. The upper level wines need some time and drinkers will see some reduction on a pop and pour.

The reds are a mixed bag. They are not as ripe as 2005 and so wineries that tried to make wines as if it were 2005 did not make very good wines. Those who treated 2007 like the vintage it was made lighter but very focused wines.

In the end Allen said that great burgundy is all about proportion, and compared a great wine to a beautiful person – everything is symmetrical and in harmony. These are the wines that everyone seeks but few can truly produce.

Tasting Notes

Below are tasting notes for all the wines Allen led us through over the various events I attended.

Domaine Leflaive Macon-Verze 2007 (white)

Initially some strange eggy aromas on the nose, but later lemon and mineral. This is aromatically very tight right now.

The palate was extremely bright and fresh, but needs time to unwind. There is tremendous focus here and the wine shows what is possible in the Maconnais.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$60 at Marquis

Domaine Drouhin Beaune Blanc “Clos des Mouches” 2006 (white)

Drouhin’s top white, this had serious reduction on the nose to begin with. Afterwards there was brioche and fresh lemon.

The palate was much softer and fatter than the Leflaive. It was also quite broad on the palate and possessed a length finish.

Very Good+
$275 / 1.5L at Marquis

Domaine Comte-Senard Corton Blanc 2006 (white)

Planted on land that if it were used to make red wine, would be Grand Cru, the nose did not give up a lot right now.

The palate, however, was incredibly length and silky and suggested how great this wine will become in time. A very well proportioned wine.

Excellent
$120 at Marquis

Domaine Tollot-Beaut Bourgogne Rouge 2007 (red)

Entry level Burgundy for a good price. This had raspberry and cherry on the nose was was very fresh and clean.

The palate is bright, fresh and clean and somewhat on the tart side. This is a palate-smacking food friendly wine at a good price.

Very Good
$36 at Marquis

Dominique Laurent Chambolle-Musigny “Les Charmes” 1er Cru 2006 (red)

Laurent makes this wine in a controversial modern style that some say obliterates the Chambolle-Musigny terroir. The elevage is much longer than usual and leaves very noticeable oak character in the wine. The wine is, accordingly, much more immediate and easy to understand, but it lacks the nuance and ethereal beauty of the best Burgundies at this price.

The nose is large, dense and possesses tremendous depth. This is delicious long and deep with raspberry, cherry, chocolate, earth and minerals. Again, it is modern and so lacks terroir, but it is tasty.

Excellent
$95 at Marquis

Domaine d’Eugenie Clos de Vougeot 2007 (red)

This too had noticeable oak signature on the wine, but Allen suggested it would integrate with age. The palate is long and deep but perhaps a bit over rich for the vintage.

Very Good+
$280 at Marquis

Domaine de la Croix Senaillet Saint-Veran 2008 (white)

A wine from the Macon and attempting to find and express its terroir. The palate offered grapefruit, lemon and stone. A very fruity and forward wine.

The palate had lots of citrus and acid, but is much shorter and has far less purity than the next level of white Burgundy. Still, this is a good quaffer and a great example of the quality you can expect from the best producers in the Macon today – one of Burgundy’s few value regions.

Very Good
$28 at Marquis

Domaine des Malandes Chablis 2008 (white)

Classic Chablis – meaning lemon, chalk and a ton of minerality on the finish. This is well balanced if not lacking a little excitement.

Chablis is particularly interesting because chardonnay grown and vinified here tastes like nothing else in the world. Chablis used to be an ancient sea bed and so you can found thousands upon thousands of ancient shell fish fossils in the limestone soils. This is what infuses the wines of Chablis with their distinct character and bracing acidity.

If you like acid-driven white wine, Chablis is for you. Also, a great way to reintroduce someone to Chardonnay.

Very Good
$30 at Marquis

Domaine Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet “En Remilly” 1er Cru 2006 (white)

Chassagne-Montrachet, along with its neighbour Puligny-Montrachet voted to append the “Montrachet” name to the original name of the village because of the world renowned reputation of the white Burgundies of the Grand Cru vineyard Montrachet, which is merely a small parcel half in Chassagne and half in Puligny.

Of course, the wines of Montrachet regularly carry a $500-$600 price tag in Canada, whereas the village wines are accessible for about 1/5 to 1/6th the price.

The En Remilly vineyard is on a hill without a lot of top soil, and it is hard for the grapes to reach maturity because of the winds rushing across the hill. Wines from En Remilly thus don’t get the ‘saline’ quality that you see in Chablis. This wine is also from the 2006 vintage and saw some botrytis infestation on the grapes which has added exoticness – a characteristic of the vintage and not the site.

The nose offered nuts, lemon and was deeply expressive and pure. The palate had more toasty richness but was also extremely long and structure and pure. Personally, I thought the wine had impeccable balance despite the Botrytis.

Excellent
$80 at Marquis

Domaine Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne 2006 (white)

A Grand Cru wine from the south facing vineyards of Aloxe-Corton – meaning more heat and more richness. Javillier is an ex-engineer who turned his passion for Burgundy into a business. He also studied oenology and started by taking over his father’s Mersault estate – an important detail since it is impossible to buy land in Burgundy.

The nose was a little reduce here as well, but also offered sweet grapefruit and a few other broader more exotic sweet fruits – again likely pointing to Botrytis.

The palate had great structure and was very deep and long. Right now, however, the wine is muted. This needs 10-25 years of aging.

Excellent to Excellent+
$200 at Marquis

Domaine Ghislaine-Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 2007

An entry level village wine from a domaine established in the 1920s. The popular image of Chambolle-Musigny is for wines of elegance and understatement. However, Allen pointed out that the wines from here can also be rustic despite the popular image.

This offered an attractive nose of fresh raspberry and cherry fruit with a hint of earth. The palate was tight and had a firm tannic structure that gave backbone to the very clean and pure fruit. This is very well made and immediately enjoyable, although it will not likely turn into something truly outstanding.

Very Good+
$65 at Marquis

Domaine d’Eugenie Vosne-Romanee 2007 (red)

Vosne-Romanee is known for spice. All the wines from this region tend to exhibit deep spicy notes, which is perhaps why so many people are drawn to Vosne over any other region within Burgundy. Vosne is also, of course, the home of Domaine de la Romanee Conti – Burgundy’s most famous producer.

The wine had quite a bit of minerals and earth on the plate with dark cherry fruits and rich baking spices. The palate suggested some iron and dark muddy earth, but also fragrant savory spices held up by a dense structure. Needs time but quite delicious for those who like dark and brooding Pinot Noir.

Very Good+
$80 at Marquis

Domaine Nicolas-Rossignol Volnay “Cailleret” 1er Cru 2006 (red)

Volnay happens to be home to some of my favourite expressions of Pinot in Burgundy, and this wine is a tremendous example of the signature of the region and the quality of wines possible. Rossignol is a young wine maker and an example of the new generation of winemaking in Burgundy.

The nose is extremely pretty with dark cherries and flowers. This extends into the outstanding palate: twigs and dark cherry on top of a very dense structure and tremendous length. Rossignol uses some stems in the vinification.

Excellent to Excellent+
$100 at Marquis

Domaine Jean-Tardy Nuits-St. Goerges “Les Boudots” 1er Cru 2006 (red)

Nuits-St. Georges is known for some of the darkest and densest expressions of Pinot Noir. The “Les Boudots” vineyard is actually half in Nuits-St. Georges and half in Beaune, so it is somewhat of a hybrid vineyard.

The wine possesses a hard to explain nose of mint, flowers along with brown sugar and oak character. The palate again is floral and minty/herbaceous along with blackberry and boysenberry and is quite tight. The tannins, however, are ripe and very fine on the finish of this extremely masculine and structured pinot.

Excellent
$110 at Marquis

Domaine Anne Parent Pommard “Les Epenots” 1er Cru 2006 (red)

The “Les Epenots” vineyard is a Grand Cru wannabe, and has applied for elevation to Grand Cru status. In Burgundy this can take decades, but from all reports Les Epenots is getting very close. Pommard is known to make supple wines with a discrete power to them.

The nose offered raspberry and bright cherry and was also floral and pretty. Overall, this is an extremely expressive wine. The palate is superb, clean and pure fruit with a light dusting of cinnamon. The length and structure here are outstanding and speak to Anne Parent’s particular ability to bring out delineation in her wines. Everything is in proportion, with a near perfect balance between tannin, ripeness, acid and phenolics.

Excellent+
$120 at Marquis

Domaine Taupenot-Merme Charmes-Chambertin 2006 (red)

Taupenot-Merme is a highly respected producer and is extremely meticulous in its practices – hand harvesting, using biodynamic treatments, and organic viticulture.

The nose is spicy with strawberry Rhubarb and is exceptionally ripe and clean. The palate brought home more Rhubarb and a little cinnamon spice. What made this a truly outstanding wine, however, was the very ripe tannin and absolutely seamless structure. For a very youthful Grand Cru, this was also ridiculously easy to drink and possessed the most supple tannins of the entire lineup of wines I tasted.

The only downside is that this is lacking in length right now, but I suspect this will change with the proper aging.

Excellent+
$170 at Marquis

Champagne Paul Bara Brut Reserve N/V

My lunch with Allen began with a nice little grower champagne at a great value. The apple and soft yeasty aromas worked well with this very fresh wine, which was also very balanced and possessed a long finish for its price. I don’t have much to say here other than great value for good quality grower bubbles.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$55 at Marquis

Domaine Guillemot-Michel Macon-Village 2008 (white)

I wrote about the Macon above. This wine had a rich, lemon driven nose with hints of minerals. The palate was actually quite chalky and possessed nice length for the price point.

Very Good+
$33 at Marquis

Domaine Patrick Javillier Puligny-Montrachet “Les Levrons” 2006 (white)

Another outstanding wine from Javillier. This is not light, but it managed to pull off a floral and delicate nose. The palate had lemon, stone and outstanding delicacy for the vintage and given the body and richness of the underlying fruit.

Excellent
$85 at Marquis

Domaine Arnaud Ente Mersault “Les Gouttes d’Or” 1er Cru 2006 (white)

I have yet to write about Mersault, which is one of my personal favourite regions for white Burgundy. Mersault is known for wines of richness and density. However, unlike many over the top new world Chardonnays, a great Mersault will also always possess sufficient acid to balance out the richness. This wine is an outstanding example of that counterpoint.

Ente himself has started to build a tremendous reputation and is known for utter obsession and a darkly serious nature. He is also considered by many to have the ability to become Burgundy’s greatest producer of white wine.

The nose was quite subtle with almonds and hazlenuts underlying its fundamentally citrus character. This is supple and opulent on the nose without drowning you in litres of buttery richness.

The palate is like lemon stone custard and combines incredible richness and elegance with incredible length. A true standout and the best white I tasted.

Excellent+
$180 at Marquis

Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey-les-Beaune 2007 (red)

Chorey-les-Beaune is on the “wrong side of the road” – with its vineyards across the highway from all the famous Burgundy vineyards in the Beaune. Allen called this a good value honest wine. I agree. It possesses intense rich baking spices on the nose and black raspberry (all after the reduction blew off). The tannins are firm and yet not overly austere. As with anything, a good producer can make a lesser region do good things.

Very Good+
$43 at Marquis

Domaine Jean-Tardy Vosne-Romanee “Les Chaumes” 1er Cru 2006 (red)

The hallmark spice was back along with black cherries and a tad too much oak right now. This will integrate and the supple rich fruit and immediate deliciousness of this wine will please many.

Excellent
$100 at Marquis

Domaine Patrice Rion Gevrey-Chambertin “Lavaux St. Jacques” 1er Cru 2006 (red)

At the bottom of a slip and thus exposed to cool air. This is very soft compare to the Vosne with light raspberry and rhubarb fruit and a hint of earth. A tremendously detailed wine, this is hallmark for Patrice Rion, another star producer in the Nuits-St.Georges. Be aware, however, that Rion also makes a number of Negocient wines, which while of good quality, aren’t made from his own fruit.

The palate had supple tannins and sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit. I’d call this a modern style, but certainly non-interventionist and terroir driven. A superb wine.

Excellent.
$100 at Marquis

Domaine Comte Senard Corton “Les Paulands” 2006 (red)

Corton is increasingly becoming one of my go to villages in Burgundy. This wine is floral and pretty with very deep and pure light raspberry fruit. What was most noticeable here was the incredible purity of fruit and easy to enjoy mouthfeel. And by all means a very well priced Grand Cru. One of my picks of the weekend.

Excellent+
$90 at Marquis

Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 2007 (red)

This wine is made from a monopole, meaning monopoly vineyard owned by a single producer. This monopole also happens to be a Grand Cru. The wine is made from three distinct parcels within the monopole, which are vinified separately and then blended. The blend is produced with the aim to be true to the terroir of the Clos des Lambrays, and it seems to have succeeded here, although supposedly their cellar practices aren’t the cleanest around and so you should expect some bottle variation.

The nose is floral but also adds interesting notes of stone and pepper. The palate brings maximal balance to the table with a 60+s finish and dark cherry, blackberry and spice. A nice wine when I tried it, it still wouldn’t be something I would take a risk on for cellaring.

Excellent
$160 at Marquis

The wines of Burgundy are some of the most hallowed in the world of wine, but also some of the most ancient. They are also wines that have managed to retain a sense of purity and authenticity despite countless critics, huge changes in the wine world and globalization. Somehow Burgundy has kept connected to its past and the ideas of the pagans and the monks that followed still form the crux of what Burgundy is all about. Of course there is plenty of flak to go around, but my conclusion from this weekend of tasting wine with one of the most respected critics in the English language is that out of all of the world’s wine regions, Burgundy has tapped into a sense of self that should be the envy of the rest of the world. A complex and coherent philosophy that derives from a long time thinking about wine and its meaning in society and the world is not something particularly common in the world of wine. If only the wines were more accessible to mere mortals. Then, maybe, would some come to realize that wine isn’t just a beverage, but it is also a manifestation of beauty, society, and belief, and one that can actually make you think twice about the importance of your own ego.

The temporality of an epiphany is not always something at the origin – which is why one can continuously have uncanny experiences throughout one’s life. For me, and not in an attempt to eschew cliché, I had the deepest and most uncanny experience in wine I have yet had during a series of weekend events with Allen Meadows – the Burghound.

Allen’s talks, and the discussions I had with him personally, form the basis for the following thoughts, which are divided into two parts: the Philosophy of Burgundy and the Wines of Burgundy.

The Burgundian Origins of Epiphany

Burgundy is a place that has captured the imagination and desires of many wine lovers, most usually the extremely obsessive types. But the origins of Burgundy stem back far before any modern sense of wine appreciation.

The first plantings in the region took place several thousand years ago in the Roman period, when pagans held deep-seated beliefs about the animism of the world. Each object in the world outside ourselves possessed a spirit; and each spirit was unique. Thus could different plots of land each have a different spirit and therefore demand unique attention.

The Christian monks took this belief and monotheized it, accepting that each parcel of land was different from all others and that the difference in flavour found in wines grown in these different parcels was a message from God.

Eventually this animism turned monotheistic epiphany became the modern concept of terroir. At the heart of terroir is the idea that the grape is incidental to the message of the land. Burgundy happened to discover that Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were the best vehicles to deliver the message of the land; but crucially it is not the grape that dictates or determines what terroir is all about. But a single grape is the only way to reach close to the land – a blend muddles the message.

The monks went so far as to literally taste the dirt over hundreds of years to slowly etch out plots of land that were fundamentally distinct from others. While to many this likely sounds beyond sanity, the monks were driven by something that for them was greater than causality: faith.

From Faith to Esteem

So why is Burgundy so esteemed today? Some argue that the French now use terroir as a marketing mechanism. While this may be true in some regions, as Allen pointed out, if he were a marketer for Burgundy the last thing he would do is create 1500 vineyards with esoteric French names and a 4 tier ranking system as the basis for labeling and quality designations within the region.

Rather, Burgundy holds so much esteem in the minds of its fans because, when great, it is able to produce wines unlike anywhere else simply because it produces and bottles the land from which the grapes are grown rather than focusing on varietal based bottlings.

In fact, Allen argues that making a varietal bottling is a race to the bottom as producers from other regions continuously undercut prices. What wineries must focus on, bottle and sell is their own unique sense of place. This can’t be done with makeup, but comes from decades upon decades of dedication, testing, and hard work. That is the basis for great wine.

The Genius of a Wine

If this is true, then, wine can be perceived along two dimensions: its sensory impact and its emotional impact. The sensory impact is what we immediately perceive upon tasting a wine. The emotional impact, however, is one that is both uniquely personal and uncompromising.

No manner of marketing or critic can punch through the powerful emotional resonance that the greatest wines are able to muster. But this emotional resonance does not come from dressing up or playing games with a consumer.

Holding his controversial viewpoint with verve and passion, Allen argues that today the cult of the professional has gone too far and overtaken the genius of place. As we obsess over superstar chefs and superstar winemakers we miss the opportunity to understand something far more ancient and far less transient.

Desire can punch our ego out into the world and dominate the objects that we perceive and encounter in our lives. This, however, is an utter contradiction of the ancient belief in animism that has grounded the entire history and modern makeup of Burgundy.

If each place has its own spirit, then it is the duty of the winemaker to give voice to that spirit by sublimating their ego to the terroir. Winemakers who use powerful techniques to manipulate the wine into a muscle bound body builder, while creating a fascinating freak of nature, also eviscerate this spirit.

On the other side of the scale, commented Allen, the biodynamic types may not be making better wines because of their biodynamic techniques. Instead, he’s observed that one commonality amongst these producers is the utter dedication, obsession and attention to detail they put into their wines. With such rigor, he argues, it is not surprising they tend to make better wines.

So in the end, if one is to understand Burgundy, one must understand that the winemaker (and their ego) is a mere vehicle to finding just the right balance and expression to give voice to the land itself. Even if you disagree with this belief, Allen argues, this is how the Burgundians perceive themselves and how they make their wines. It is the very genius of Burgundy itself.

Caveats and Aphorisms

Better than anyone else I’ve encountered in the world of wine, Allen conveyed the intellectual depth and beauty of wine. Until this weekend I had considered but not yet fully embraced that wine is, or at least can be, beauty itself. And, like any great aesthetic pursuit, the greatest moments with wine are those where it brings you close to experiencing the inexpressible.

Those things we cannot communicate directly; the moments that transcend their immediacy; the feeling of expanding beyond our ego. These are the moments we look for in art, and so too with wine. And so these thoughts all came together when Allen mentioned that terroir is more than an intellectual exercise; it is the very reason of existence for the wines.

Burgundy inspires such obsession because those who are drawn into it remain convinced that purity exists somewhere out there in the world, and that it is certainly not found within our egos. If this is a form of faith, I suppose the monks who spent so much of their lives discovering and demarcating intricate plots of land were, perhaps, on to something.

Of course, with purity comes price. And so does economics bring philosophy back to earth. And so Allen remarked that with Burgundy, you may not get what you pay for; but you never get what you don’t pay for.

Burgundy, with its rarity, expense, obscurity and sheer impenetrability yet also comes closer than nearly any other region in the world to purity and beauty. My wine epiphany has come late. Despite years learning about, tasting and obsessing over wine, it is only now that I understand how a mere glimpse of beauty can cause certain individuals to spend their lives in the arcana of a small group of ancient vineyards in the midst of France.