Wine Advisor
Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2002
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2002 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is a wine that I have met for five years. Examining my previous note, this seems to have meliorated in recent years, displaying outstanding transparency on the nose, more mineralité than the 2002 Les Cras poured alongside (also blind). Perhaps there is a little more black fruit here than I was expecting. The palate is medium-bodied with wonderful structure: filigree tannin, pitch-perfect acidity and superb tension from start to finish. There is a hint of balsamic towards the finish that I remarked upon a few years ago, but overall this is a wonderful Bonnes-Mares that unfurls with each passing moment in the glass. Tasted at the Roumier vertical in Hong Kong.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good medium red; not especially saturated. Hugely aromatic nose offers flamboyant red berry, truffle and earth scents, but this bottle is beyond its floral stage. Sweet, plush and concentrated, showing a wonderfully silky texture to its slightly high-toned berry flavors. Really flows on the middle palate but the wine's tannic spine gives support to the finish. Like many other 2002s, this is a bit more advanced on the nose than on the palate. Very sexy wine, although Christopher Roumier noted that the 2002s have evolved quicker than we thought they would.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Medium red. Great nose combines raspberry, minerals, rose petal, peony and white pepper. Like an essence of Chambolle in the mouth, offering an uncanny combination of sweetness and thrust. Wonderfully flowery, delineated and gripping. Explosive finishing flavors convey a powerful impression of soil. All of Roumier's Bonnes-Mares is in Chambolle, but the vines are planted about 50/50 on white and red soil. A complete Burgundy , and a no-brainer. One of my early candidates for wine of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good saturated, deep red. Knockout nose combines raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, licorice, rose petal and fresh herbs. Silky on entry, then superconcentrated, sharply delineated and vibrant. Offers terrific thrust without any rough edges. A complete grand cru, with great structure and building length. This really calls for six or seven years of aging and should enjoy a 20-year life span. One of my favorites of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
I have not tasted the 2002 Bonnes-Mares for several years. This bottle has an exquisite, delineated bouquet that suggests those precocious dark berry fruits have mellowed and given way to scents of Indian ink and a splash of balsamic. The palate is marked by a fleshy sweet entry and forward, slightly aggressive tannins that coalesce with aeration in the glass. There is a touch of hardness toward the finish, indicating that it might benefit from another two or three years in bottle. This is a stubborn Bonnes-Mares that has yet to really settle into its groove, although that may come in time. Tasted November 2013.
Reviewed by: Pierre Rovani
Superb scents of spicy candied cherries, perfume, roses, blueberries, and mint can be discerned in the aromatic profile of the sensual 2002 Bonnes Mares. A wine of magnificent breadth, power, focus, and purity of flavors, it gracefully dances across the palate releasing a myriad of super-ripe red fruits. Exceptionally well-balanced, its satin-textured, seamless personality lingers for 40 seconds in the finish, exhibiting additional waves of sweet red cherries. This tour de force should be drunk between 2007 and 2017. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A deeper, slightly less limpid hue compared to the Musigny. The nose is a little subdued, with blackberry, cassis and a touch of iodine. The palate is full-bodied, very dense and with good weight, fine acidity. There is that slightly rustic/natural feel that runs through many of Roumier's wines. The finish is a little tannic, with damson, cranberry and cherries vying for attention. A little disjointed now, so leave it another 5-6 years. Quietly impressive. Tasted October 2006.
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.
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