Wine Advisor
Bertagna, Clos St Denis Grand Cru 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: David Schildknecht
From their morsel of this great but small site, Bertagna’s 2005 Clos St.-Denis displays an overtly fruity cherry and black raspberry nose, lightly-jellied fruit presentation on the palate, and charred meat and wet stone undertones that nicely complement the wine’s sweet finishing fruit. Hopefully, this will take on more refinement, delineation and complexity with time. Christophe Vial has move here from de Montille to become the cellarmaster, but oenologist Claire Forestier was responsible for these 2005s. I hope I shall prove to have hit them on a bad day. But abstracting from possible (in some instances obvious) effects of having just been racked to tank and sulfured in preparation for bottling, I found many of these wines lacking in striking personalities or grip. Some evinced toasty hints of barrel despite the percentage of new wood being low (only rising above 20-30% in the case of Chambertin) suggesting that they might be a bit “underwined.” Also recommended: 2005 Hautes-Cotes de Nuits ($ 28.00-20.00; 84), 2005 Vougeot ($65.00-70.00; 85), 2005 Vougeot Les Petits Vougeot ($95.00-100.00; 85-87) 2005 Vougeot Les Cras ($95.00-100.00; 85-87+?), 2005 Vougeot Clos de la Perriere ($110.00-115.00; 85-87+?), 2005 Chambolle-Musigny ($65.00-70.00; 85-87), Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800.
About the Producer
The Domaine Bertagna is located in Vougeot, in the Côte de Nuits. It has 17 hectares of vineyards, 16 of which are planted to Pinot Noir and 1 to Chardonnay. The production includes five Grand Cru wines, seven Premier Cru and two Villages in the production area which extends from Gevrey Chambertin in the north (Chambertin) to Aloxe-Corton in the south (Corton and Corton Charlemagne). In 1982 the Günther Reh family, originally from Moselle in Germany, bought the company from Claude Bertagna, who founded it around 1950. Today it is managed by Eva Reh-Siddle; in the last decade the domaine has been modernized with technological investments and new vineyard plots have been acquired. The diversity and completeness of the appellations makes Domaine Bertagna one of the most renowned in the region. The domaine is located a few hundred metres from the famous Château du Clos de Vougeot and directly overlooks the vineyards of the Vougeot appellation. It all begins in the vineyard: the work of the land is done with a philosophy that promotes respect for the terroir. That is based on a reasoned and well-considered ecological approach to viticulture. First pruning in winter then ploughing, trimming until the harvest in autumn, followed by a well-deserved rest for the vine. The geological diversity, soil cover and the climatic environment are the foundations of the notion of terroirs. These were highlighted by the Cistercian monks, founders of the Clos de Vougeot, in the 12th century. The terroir, worked according to recognized know-how, defines the concept of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée wines. The grapes are harvested by hand and are delicately picked when they reach perfect maturity. A strong emphasis on winemaking is to treat the raw material, the grape, the fruit of them passion, with great respect. A rigorous sorting of the grapes, the right dose of pigage to extract the color, aromas, and tannins of the future wines, and a respect for the specific activity of indigenous micro-organisms. Each individual crus is brought up in an ensemble of Burgundy barrels of 228 Liters of French oak. The percentage of new barrels varies between 30 to 100% depending on the appellation and the vintage, as well as the maturation that extends over a period of 12 to 18 months before bottling.
