Wine Advisor
Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2011
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
A vivid, powerful wine, the 2011 Bonnes-Mares impresses for its nuance, detail and huge, imposing structure. Constantly changing in the glass, the 2011 is remarkably crystalline for such a big wine. A host of blue/blackish fruit intermingled with violets, spices and balsamic notes wrap around the palate on the finish. This is a rare 2011 that will require significant cellaring. If there is one Roumier wine I would want to own on regular basis, it is the Bonnes-Mares.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Bonnes-Mares is a rather perplexing wine that has varied both in sighted and blind tastings. The last, blind incidentally, confirms a rather lean nose for a Bonnes-Mares, redeemed by attractive oyster shell/kelp aromas. It remains a little reduced as it did before. The palate has good backbone, quite structured and grippy in the mouth, yet does the 2011 convey the nobility of this Grand Cru? The jury is still out on that one! Tasted blind at a private dinner in London.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good dark red. Musky, lively aromas of raspberry, cherry liqueur and bitter chocolate. Silky red berry, red cherry and brown spice flavors are leavened by penetrating acidity, with a hint of woodsmoke adding complexity. Very sappy grand cru with good medicinal reserve; a bit compact today. This is darker in its fruit quality than the foregoing samples and the solid tannins are nobler. Very long on the aftertaste.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
From red soil (Roumier had made the blend but still had one barrel of this juice as well as one from the white-soil part of the appellation separate): Reticent smoky nose. Chewy, musky and powerful if a bit youthfully clenched today, with fruit in the deep background. From white soil: Much more perfumed on the nose, offering pungent aromas of raspberry, minerals, rose petal and blood orange. Precise, juicy and tight in the middle, boasting superb flavor intensity and minerality. The blend: Bright, deep red. Sexy aromas of raspberry, minerals, peony and spices. Wonderfully rich and deep, with terrific spicy lift to the middle palate. The very long, primary finish features substantial tongue-dusting tannins that will call for at least five or six years of cellaring. The crop level here was around 26 hectoliters per hectare, according to Roumier.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is blessed with a fragrant bouquet of dried violet petals, hints of burnt toast and plenty of black fruit vying for attention, however, it needs a couple of years to fully coalesce. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins on the entry. This is a big wine, filling the mouth with ease with layers of black fruit, tobacco and a saline tang on the aftertaste. It is quite austere on the finish at the moment. Drink 2017-2030+. Only the super-rich now have the privilege of tasting the wines of Christophe Roumier , which is a shame, and something that Christophe himself must rue. I vividly recall the moment when tasting his Musigny 2005 from barrel and he had just started receiving blank checks for any bottle he could spare. Roumier’s name was about to go from the esteemed to the iconic, with all the positives and negatives that it entails. So, whenever I have the opportunity to taste Christophe’s wines I grab it, whether it is the 2011s following our tasting of 2012s, or a super-rare bottle from the 1960s that appeared at a dinner. Importer: Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, Napa CA; tel. (707) 299-2600
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Christophe Roumier’s 2011 Bonnes-Mares comes across a little lean on the nose, although there is fine delineation – distinct marine scents emerging with time while there is just a touch of reduction. The palate is medium-bodied and quite masculine for a Bonnes-Mares. There is more reserve compared to its peers, but it is undeniably succinctly focused with an abiding sense of symmetry on the finish. Excellent, but at the moment it feels rugged for a Bonnes-Mares. I suspect that it will improve with 3-4 years in bottle.
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)2001(3)2002(2)2004(3)2005(1)2006(2)2007(3)2008(4)2009(5)2010(3)
Package Size
