Wine Advisor
Olivier Bernstein, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2009
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good bright, full red. Medicinal dark cherry, licorice, flowers and brown spices on the lively nose. Shows the enticing sweetness of the year but with tangy freshness and terrific breadth to its black cherry, dark raspberry and bitter chocolate flavors. Very good inner-mouth energy gives this wine excellent definition. Finishes long and spicy, with broad, ripe tannins. Bernstein believes that the tannins will swallow the wine's torrefaction element with bottle aging.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Saturated ruby-red. Multidimensional nose combines crushed raspberry, flowers, minerals, wild herbs, bitter chocolate and mint. Like liquid velvet on entry, then almost painfully closed in the middle, with underlying chalky minerality and an impression of firm acidity giving the wine an almost brutal quality today that's accentuated by CO2 This extremely long, palate-staining wine boasts great grip and verve but will need considerably more elevage and a good eight to ten years in the cellar. Should make a great example of this grand cru.
About the Producer
Located in the Gevery-Chambertin region of Burgundy, France, Olivier Bernstein is a winery dedicated to making small-lot, high-quality wines. Château Bernstein was founded by Olivier Bernstein. Born into a musical family, Olivier originally worked in international management. After working in Europe, Asia and the Americas, he felt a strong connection between wine and his native France and began to work part-time in vineyard management, grape harvesting and winemaking. Olivier's interest in wine grew and led to a degree in viticulture and winemaking at Beaune. In 2002, at the age of 35, Olivier finally became a winemaker, having tasted the wines of all the great Burgundy estates and studying under Henri Jayer. He bought 8 hectares of old vine vineyards in Tautavel, Roussillon, and created Mas de la Deveze. In 2007, Olivier created Château Bernstein under his own name. Château Bernstein is dedicated to making small-lot, high-quality Grand Cru and Premier Cru Burgundy wines. The winery favours old vine grapes because of their excellent balance and low yields. In order to obtain high quality, healthy grapes, the Château carries out root aeration, canopy management and flower and fruit thinning as required during the vine growing. Once ripe, the grapes at Château Bernstein are picked by hand and transported separately in small trays back to the cellar, where they are sorted a second time. The winery adjusts its winemaking process according to the quality of the vintage. The harvested grapes are destemmed and macerated at low temperature for 6-7 days, with regular drenching and, if necessary, treading of the skins during fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is matured in new French oak barrels made by Stephane Chassin, the famous oak barrel maker. The wines are not filtered or clarified before bottling. Château Bernstein offers a wide range of Grand Cru and Premier Cru Burgundy wines, which are of excellent quality and are very popular with consumers, with some wines being ordered before they are even released.
