Wine Advisor
Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2001
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Roumier's 2001 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru was showing very well indeed and was more open for inspection than a bottle I enjoyed 11 months ago, offering up a complex bouquet of real depth, featuring ripe red cherry, peony, undergrowth and venison, framed by a discrete touch of nutty new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a chewy chassis of youthful tannins, an ample core of fruit and a firm, sapid finish. While this misses the intensity and ineffable completeness of the greatest Roumier vintages, this Bonnes Mares is an undeniable success, and it will continue to develop for two decades.
Reviewed by: Pierre Rovani
The medium-bodied, medium to dark ruby-colored 2001 Bonnes Mares is an outstanding wine. It explodes from the glass with candied black fruit aromas and slathers the palate with its deep, suave, violet-laced jammy blackberries. Armed with first-rate depth of fruit, this friendly, silky-textured offering displays a long finish packed with ripe tannin enveloped in black cherries. Projected maturity: now-2010. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel; (212) 572-7725
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
The 2001 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is consistent with the bottle tasted in 2018. It leaps from the glass with red fruit, orange blossom and Earl Grey, sprightly though not intense. It is imbued with Christophe Roumier's unerring sense of transparency. The palate is precise and focused, sculpted with the finest chisel in the box, long and tender with exuberant Pinoté on the finish. Just delicious. Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune.
About the Producer
The domaine was founded in 1924 by Georges Roumier, who began domaine bottling in 1945. He was succeeded in 1957 by his son Jean-Marie and now grandson Christophe, who joined his father in 1982 and took over completely in 1992. Most of the wines are rented (en fermage) from family members although Ruchottes Chambertin is held on a share cropping deal with an external proprietor, Michel Bonnefond. The wines are seductively fruity in their youth yet with excellent ageing potential. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard, with a table de tri at the winery since 2003. They are mostly destemmed, albeit depending on vineyard and vintage, with a few more stems being used recently – then placed in wooden fermenters. The juice is given a cool soak at 15° then allowed to start naturally. The juice is punched down twice a day and temperature controlled so as not to exceed 32°C. There is no great reliance on new wood in the maturation cellar, with 15-25% being used for village wines, 25-40% for premiers crus and no more than 50% for Bonnes Mares. In recent years Christophe has been searching for, and achieving, a greater sense of precision in his wines.
1981(1)1989(1)1990(1)1996(1)1997(1)1999(2)2000(4)
Package Size
