Comte Georges de Vogue, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2011

vinous94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Cloves, licorice, menthol and dark blue/blackish fruit inform the 2011 Bonnes-Mares. A wine that shows little of the early approachability of the year, the Bonnes-Mares is dense, compact and vibrant to the core, all of which bodes well for the future. Readers need to be patient here.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good deep, dark red. Deep, multifaceted aromas of dark cherry, blueberry, menthol, violet, brown spices, licorice and cardamom. Plush, sweet and spicy, with a distinctly wild quality to the blueberry and huckleberry flavors accented by peppery herbs. Youthfully imploded Bonnes-Mares, with a tight, powerful finish that calls for patience. Superb.

vinous93

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Deep red-ruby. Slightly high-toned aromas of blueberry, roasted herbs, musky earth and chocolate; this could hardly be more different from the Amoureuses. Round, rich and sweet, with a fairly sizable structure for 2011. Plenty of depth here but the black fruit and chocolate flavors seem almost heavy following the Amoureuses. Finishes with dusty, broad tannins and excellent rising length. Became increasingly dense and sensual with aeration.

robert_parker91

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2011 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is surprisingly reticent on the nose, perhaps suffering a little bottle shock. It is eventually possible to eke out pleasant raspberry, pomegranate and mineral notes, but they remain impossibly tightly-wound. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry. It is more approachable than either the 2009 or 2010 (as would be expected) with a hint of salted licorice on the entry and attractive citric notes pushing the minerals forward on the finish. Drink 2015-2025. ”April was the hottest for sixty years,” winemaker Francois Millet explained apropos the 2012 vintage. “It sounds strange, but we were hoping for a cool summer to delay the cycle and preserve the freshness. We could have picked on mid-August if the summer had been average. In the end, the vintage was interesting as the minerality is just the right amount. It is a four o’clock vintage?you can just sit there and enjoy it.” Francois summed up the wines himself. To be frank, I still am trying to fathom the style of de Vogue, which I sometimes feel are almost too premeditated, as if so much thought has been expended upon them that they forget the one fundamental?to elicit enjoyment. So while I appreciated the purity of these 2011s, I asked myself whether they would be the same ones that I would choose off the list at what would ineluctably be an expensive dinner. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

robert_parker92

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Limpid in color, de Vogüé’s Bonnes Mares 2011 has quite a precocious bouquet with black cherries, cassis and crushed violets that demonstrates impressive clarity. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet ripe black cherries and cassis fruit underlying minerality. It feels backward compared to two other Bonnes-Mares ‘11s tasted alongside, although there is impressive persistence on the precise finish. This is a classy Bonnes-Mares, albeit one that I feel is surpassed by the succeeding vintage.