Wine Advisor
Comte Georges de Vogue, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2009
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Bonnes Mares offers up blackberries, dark cherries and spices along with a totally sensual, inviting personality. The wine possesses gorgeous aromatic delineation and freshness, not to mention tremendous purity in its fruit. The balance of fruit, acidity and tannin is superb. De Vogue’s vineyards in Bonnes Mares are on the clay-rich terres rouges, which always results in a more overt, fruit-forward style of Bonnes Mares. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. A brilliant career as a wine writer awaits long-time oenologist Francois Millet should he ever tire of making wine. Millet’s visual descriptions of vintages and wines are among the most colorful I have ever encountered. The truth is that these wines need no words at all; the quality of what is in the glass speaks for itself far more eloquently than words ever could. De Vogue’s 2009s are remarkable for their textural richness, depth and pure breed. In 2009 Millet started picking on September 9 in order to keep as much as freshness as possible. The fruit was 100% destemmed. New oak ranged from 15% for the Chambolle villages to 35-40% for the Bonnes Mares and Musigny Vieilles Vignes. The malos were on the slow side and for the most part did not begin until April 2010. Unfortunately I was not able to taste the 2009 Chambolle-Musigny and Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru and as they were bottled just prior to my visit. I did have a chance to taste most of the 2008s. In many ways the 2008s offer better balance than the 2009s because the vintage characteristics play off the house style of textural richness, resulting in marvelous, totally complete wines. In 2008 the harvest began on September 27, quite a bit later than in 2009. A cool growing season was saved by perfect conditions that began on September 13 and continued through to the end of the harvest. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Atlanta Wholesale Wines, Atlanta, GA; tel. (404) 696-9440; C?Est Vin, District of Columbia; tel. (703) 243-3559; Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted out of barrel at the Domaine. This has a lively, vivacious bouquet with dark cherries and great mineralite that seems to intensify in the glass. Like the Amoureuses there is immense precision. The palate is similar in style to the Amoureuses, especially on the precise, beautifully balanced entry, but there is more creaminess and depth towards the finish. Gorgeous. Tasted January 2011. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Atlanta Wholesale Wines, Atlanta, GA; tel. (404) 696-9440; C?Est Vin, District of Columbia; tel. (703) 243-3559; Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Bonnes-Mares is quite big and powerful yet also possesses a seamlessness that is very 2009. Waves of black fruit, spices, menthol and licorice saturate the palate as this large-scaled, dramatic wine opens up in the glass. The Bonnes-Mares boasts a tremendous combination of fruit and sheer structure. The 2009 is more approachable than the 2010 and nearly as dazzling. It will still require quite a bit of time, however, readers need to be patient. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2039. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Atlanta Wholesale Wines, Atlanta, GA; tel. (404) 696-9440; C?Est Vin, District of Columbia; tel. (703) 243-3559; Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770
About the Producer
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue is one of the most important estates in the Chambello-Musigny appellation, thanks to its stake in important vineyards. The Comte de Vogue is, as the English writer Charles Dickens once said, "as historic and admirable as a great mountain". The vineyard of the Comte de Vugo covers approximately 12.5 hectares, of which about 7 hectares are located in the Mussini vineyard (70% of the entire top vineyard) and about 2.5 hectares in the nearby Bernemar region. The grapes are all hand-harvested and the vast majority are destemmed (although in 1990 100% of the stems were retained). The wines are first fermented in vats, then aged for 18 months in small oak barrels (40% to 45% renewed), clarified with egg whites and lightly filtered before bottling. The wines are extremely intense and full-bodied, which is not surprising given the extremely low yields and the limestone soils of the Mussini vineyards. The wines of the Comtes de Vugo are not meant to be tasted young, and in outstanding vintages these very long-lived wines usually require 10 to 15 years of ageing. However, it is worth noting that the 2002 vintage of Musigny Old Vine is of particularly high quality. It has intense aromas of red cherry, spice and candied raspberry aromas, with a hint of oak. This noble, full-bodied, refined wine has fragrant floral flavours with fruity notes of red and black fruits. A more feminine wine than the bold, chewy, highly robust 1990 vintage, this is a work of art with delicate tannins.
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