Domaine Dujac, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2008

robert_parker92

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted out of barrel at the Domaine. The Bonnes-Mares has a lifted nose, although the oak is more pronounced than Dujac other Grand Crus, therefore, it comes across a little more “obvious”. The palate is showing a little reduction, the tannins a tad grittier compared to the Clos Saint Denis, leading to a lactic, slightly chocolaty finish. Drink now-2025. Tasted November 2009.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: David Schildknecht

Black tea, herbal essences, tar, dried blood, and concentration of tiny black raspberries are suggested on the nose and palate of Dujac’s 2008 Bonnes Mares. For all of its density, this exhibits invigorating primary juiciness, finishing with spirit-lifting, exuberant buoyancy and a nearly indelible paving of berry and herb essences, tar, graphite, and white pepper. This is a terrific ambassador for its vintage – I find it hard to imagine another year in which it could have been grown – and one that should perform admirably for another 12-15 years. The Dujac 2008s were not racked until last December, and bottling took place January through March. “The malic acid numbers were high-ish, but not significantly higher than in, say, 2006 or 2001,” says Jeremy Seysses in an effort to explain what he admitted were “for us, excessively late malos. I have a feeling it was a lack of nutrients that were wash out,” he continues, since, after all, “it rained a lot in 2008” with, he adds, “poor fruit set proving to be the vintage’s saving grace. I think we would actually have had less to harvest (i.e. worth keeping) if we had had a better fruit set. There was rot, but can you find it in any of the wines? That’s a credit to how far Burgundy has come along in terms of sorting” (which Dujac does exclusively in the vineyard, not on sorting tables – the name of their U.S. importer ironically notwithstanding). “I didn’t love my lack of options in 2007,” says Seysses of the preceding season, “so we picked early – earlier even than in 2003.” In vinification “we decided not to force too much, and just to keep it charming,” which is exactly how I thought the wines turned out. “At Domaine Dujac, we’re never been that attached to deep color, so we’re quite tolerant (in that regard), and the least thing we wanted to do was make hard wines. I de-stemmed more (than usual, or than in 2008). The fruit felt fragile, so in barrel I kept the wines under a bit more free sulfur than usual, which reinforced their lightness.” Seysses opines that 2007 was not a year in which old selections displayed their overall superiority to clones, because “if yo(‘re Pinots) were riper earlier, you were ripe while it was raining,” whereas in 2008 you could scarcely get too much ripeness. Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (415) 491-4724