The Bistro at L'Hotel has long been my favorite place to eat in Beaune.  The ingredients are bought fresh every day and one can tell immediately.  The made from scratch foie gras is a must.  It is everything anyone would look for in foie.  The baked chicken is simple and delicious which I think can be said for anything that comes out of the tiny kitchen.  This is a place that you can go to for food alone, but we had three wines that were to say the least interesting.

We started with a 1939 Faiveley Romanee St Vivant.  I can't seem to help myself when I find war years wines and while this was not a miracle in wine making, it was certainly worth the shot.  The nose was not very pleasant nor did that change in the glass.  However, I found the wine to be very interesting on the pallet.  I half expected it to be materized, but quite enjoyed it.  Not everyone at the table agreed but such is life in tasting wines with age.  Clearly it had seen better days, but along with the foie gras it was pleasurable to drink and did not peak and fall once opened.  All in all an interesting exprience.

We moved on to a 1972 Tortochet et Fils Chambertin.   Wines from 1972 are a better than they get credit for.  This was a great bottle of Chambertin from a less known producer, and it exuded all the qualities of Chambertin and still had freshness and liveliness. 

Last, we had a 1988 Peirazeau-Groffier Chambertin Clos de Beze.  When we opened the bottle it smelled like trash.  Aftert putting the glasses aside for an hour, the nose blew off and turned quite lovely and it turned out to be a charming bottle of wine. 

While none of these were show stoppers, they were good to really good and very educational.  I am not a big preponent of wines needing to be paired with food but in the case of all of these, I really do believe it enhanced them versus drinking them on their own.

For anyone reading this that knows me, it goes without saying that you know Coche is by far and away my favorite wine maker on the planet.  Chances are if you have dined with me, you have enjoyed the experience of his wines to know why.  Coche is probably the single most meticulous, perfectionist of a producer regardless of what nature hands him anywhere.  He is not driven by money, popularity or anything other than the desire to make the absolute best wines from his vineyards.  Each time I have been able to see him, it is nothing short of a spiritual experience for me.  Today was no exception.  In fact, this was the most comprehensive tasting I have had with him and I am as always, eternally grateful for his hospitality and candor.

Though I know better than to be late to see any of the Vingneron, we were especially vigilant about being on time to see Coche especially given our morning Mugnier event.  As our appointment was at 5pm (Coche does not take day time meetings as that is time to be spent working) we showed up in his driveway at 4:55.  After a bit of milling around his son came out.  We spoke for a minute and he called his father who had mistaken which day we were coming.  He asked if we could come back at 6:30 and graciously said that would be fine.  When we returned just before 6:30, there were no cars, all of the window shutters had been closed and it was looking as though we may get stood up.  I promised the rest of my group that he would not possibly do that and to hang in there.  We did and he showed, and I will say at this early moment of the year that we had what I consider to be the best tasting of 2012 (certainly, for pre-release wines).  As 2010 is a massively successful vintage for both reds and whites, I had big expectations and was not let down in the most comprehensive tasting I have had there.  Each level of his wines excels above other producers equivalent levels in my mind.  The notes can go on and on but at the end of the day, the experience is what is reality.  No one else in my group had been to taste with him before and I had built up a very big experience in their minds to the point where a let down would be possible but Coche blew them all away!  The run down of the wines is:

2010s - Bourgogne Blanc, Meursault Luchets, Meursault Chaumes, Meursault Vieuril Dessus, Meursault Narvaux, Meursault Chevalieres, Meursault Caillerets 1er Cru, Meursault Genevrieres 1er Cru, Meursault Perrieres 1er Cru, Corton Charlemagne, Bourgogne Rouge, Auxey-Duresses, Pommard, Volnay 1er Cru (blend of Clos des Chenes and Taillepieds), and as a kicker he opened and drank a bottle of 2009 Meursault Perrieres.

Tasting all of the different vineyards of Meursault before they are blended was an amazing experience.  Each one was definitely his signature but it showed an amazing divergence you get from each plot.  Some with far more forward minerality and razor sharp while others a bit more lush and rounded.  This was my first time having his Genevrieres and I was thrilled.  I had heard from a couple of people that his 2004 was a bit disappointing but whether it was an issue of vine maturity or his getting comfortable with the vineyard, it is all irrelevant now as this was incredible.  The 09 and 10 Meursault Perrieres practically brought me to my knees and the Corton Charlemagne stopped though show (though it clearly needs the most time).  We asked Coche what other vintage he might compare the 2010s to and he said 2004.  Everyone knows how great a thing that is!  He specifically compared the 2010 Perrieres to the 1978.  I have be fortunate enough one time to have the 1978 Coche Perrieres and to date it is the only wine that has made my eyes well up with tears as a point of reference.  The other suggestion he made was not to bother drinking the Corton Charlemagne for roughly 20-25 years.  And yes, it is that big and amazing!  When we asked him what he thinks is drinking the best now, he suggested 2000 and 2006 initially and later added 1997 and 2003.

So, I know this was a long one and I did actually try to keep it brief, but I am always happy to discuss his wines in more detail.

Our day started today with a visit to see Freddy Mugnier.  We were running about 20 minutes late unfortunately, and it seemed that this left Mr. Mugnier displeased.  The auto door bell actually rang for so long that I really thought we had missed our window.  Fortunately, we were received and we were able to taste and talk for a few minutes.   It was a very cold morning and the cellars reflected it.  That only makes these remarks about his 2010s even more impressive.  Across the board, his 2010s are unreal.  While I will say the the Chambolle and Fuees were just OK, I was shocked completely buy the Clos des Marechale as being remarkable just after the first two.  The Amoureuses was showing a bit tighter than the others but you could tell all the parts were there and I have no question greatness will ensue.  Now, Bonnes Mares and Musigny: I will let the professional writers give you the detailed descriptors but these wines are just off the charts great.  Both of them, no questions are wines that make legend.  Unquestionably, like the vintage as a whole, they most certainly need time before really being approachable and I suspect they will close down shortly after bottling.

My traveling companions and I took a drive to have a taste and talk at de Vogue today.  We were greeted by the ageless and ever pleasant Jean-Luc Pepin who I met probably 12 years ago for the first time.  He is and always has been one of the easiest and most pleasant people to talk to and is always happy to do so.  While the wines are always the most important thing, marketing never hurts and as commercial director he is king of his domain. 

As for the wines: unfortunately, we arrived just as bottling for many of the 2010s had finished and the last of the 2010 Bonnes Mares was on the line.  We did taste the 2010 Musigny from barrel and to say it was a stunner would be a short coming (I will be writing about the amazing 2010 vintages shortly).  This has everything a great wine should have and needs to wear the badge of greatness.  In fairness, I have always been partial to Bonnes Mares and certainly Amoureuses over Musigny from Vogue but this particular Musigny is a show stopper!  As a side note, we did taste all of the 2011s from barrel but only the Amoureuses had begun and then stopped again malo so I will hold all opinions as I find it very hard to judge at such a stage. 

After spending a week in Burgundy tasting the 2010 reds and whites both during the Grands Jours tastings and at the Domaines, I can sum up the vintage very easily: legendary!

I hate to be so repetitive to 2010 Bordeaux, but this is without question an amazing vintage.  Again, like I did with Bordeaux I revert to my pallet preference leaning toward classic styled wines, but I would be surprised if anyone debated the greatness that the 2010s possess.  In its simplest possible form, they have great tannins, great fruit and great acidity.  The reds are going to be long lived.  Certain vineyards stood out that normal don't get my attention except for a few exceptions.  Clos de Vougeot in particular has always been very hit and miss at best, but with 2010s, I can't even recall all of the great CDVs I tasted.  Echezeaux, which I always tend to like is exceptional as well.  They are not just good but exceptional.  In reality, I could go vineyard to vineyard and basically say the same thing.  They are just that good!

For the whites (which for those of you that know me), hang on to your hats.  I stepped out and called greatness from barrel on the 2004s and 2007s and I am doing the same thing right now with the 2010s.  They remind me a lot of the 2004s.  Beautiful acidity and fruit while balanced and absolutely laser like.  They absolutely need time to age though a little cheating to "chuck in on them" will certainly be well rewarded.  The success is so broad based at every level that I would rather point you to some of the Domaine visit notes rather than highlight a few as it really does not seem fair to the ones I do not name. 

All in all, this is a massively broad based success in the Cote d'Or and both the reds and whites need to be purchased, laid down, and enjoyed as they mature.  I am always happy to answer questions about specific wines if anyone has questions.  Just email us and I will get back to you.

As a side note, I cannot think of another single vintage that had such massive success in Bordeaux and Burgundy for both reds and whites.  If you got married or had children in 2010, congratulations and load the boat!

I write this as an Op-Ed piece and nothing else. I do find it important for those of us involved in any way in the fine wine trade to speak up regarding the recent arrest of Rudy Kurniawan and how we see this overall affecting the wine world overall. Like many, I have been around long enough in the wine world to see the emergence, rise and presumably fall of Rudy. I have been asked on many occasions, on many continents and from buyers and sellers about him and my thoughts. I have never gone on the record (though I have been asked to by members of the press), but as recent events show, my off-the-record opinions proved to be true. I did not deal with Rudy on the buy side and only sold to him once (a personal 6L bottle of 2001 DRC Romanee St Vivant) back in 2005 or 2006. I have had dinner with him (along with others) on several occasions as well as engaged in a little bit of general chit chat when we bumped into each other at wine events, but that was the limit of our acquaintance. It became very obvious to me that the amount of allegedly (now proven) fake wines that were hitting the market coincided with his ascent in the wine world. The more fake wines that showed up, the less he would turn up at events I would previously see him at and my suspicions grew. As private clients begun to ask about whether they should purchase certain wines from a dealer or more often an auction house, my advice in most cases was not to do so. I never said anything was real or fake but simply that provenance raised the wines of interest into question. If they asked about their being Rudy wines directly, I did not comment as I was not privy to that information, but suggested erring on the side of caution given the financial commitment.
 

Ultimately, I find what Rudy (whether alone or not) did to the business reprehensible. We have only dealt in older wines when provenance was documented and provable but I have intentionally stayed away from pre-1980 wines in general as I waited for this particular shoe to drop. In the interim I had been called crazy, a conspiracy theorist, or in general unknowledgeable about matters of older wines. The day Rudy was arrested I was finally able to return those comments. I am not an investigator nor did I have any specific information, but I am a very good judge of character and pride my ability to read people. While I very much enjoyed some of the great wines poured when Rudy was around, I did not get blinded by the excitment of it all and look past the obvious. When friends of mine in the trade were asking if I had seen Rudy lately, I would ask why? They all had a common answer: he owed them money. Some people said he had give two or three different credit cards that were all declined. These were all additional signs of the inevitable.
 

I want to give Bill Koch a lot of credit here. His crusade to clean up the fraudulent wine activity has ultimately helped to get to this point. Admittedly, a lot of people along the way are less keen on his efforts as they may have been run through whether they were knowingly selling fraudulent wine or not, but in the end, one of the key culprits has been arrested with evidence and this is a very good thing for us as collectors and merchants.
 

The future...Well, we will see. I feel for some friends in the business that are honest and deal in older wines as it is likely a lot of older wines will now be called into question though hopefully not their reputations. For those that deal in younger wines, it should be good because those of us who can account for provenance and travel the globe to meet their clients face to face, those reputations should be stronger than ever. It has always been a simple rule in life for me in anything I did business or personal: Know who you're dealing with!  I made the mistake once in buying wine as a collector and was defrauded by Ron Wallace of Rare LLC (arrested and imprisoned courtesy of the FBI). Maybe he and Rudy can share a cell. As far as I am concerned, thieves are not far from rapists so I hold no sympathy for either of these men. They knew exactly what they were doing and did it with no regard for honest people and how it would affect their lives or businesses.

The wine business will go on as it always has. There will be another Ron Wallace or another Rudy Kurniawan, but for now we can be thankful another alleged crook has been removed from the cycle. I can of course only speak for myself and the companies associated with me but from the standpoint of SC Trading and Pockets Wine, we are extremely pleased with the efforts of all of those involved to get this result and are as always happy to hear feedback from our clients, colleagues and those interested in doing business with us.

This will be my final write up about the 2009 Bordeaux for some time.  The Parker scores are out so please check my pre-Parker comments prior to reading this.  Once again, the 2009s showed as flashy, forward, sexy, opulent wines.  That said, they have begun to shut down a bit since tasting them in Chicago in late January.  Not every Chateau that was in Chicago came to Brazil and unlike Chicago, Angelus did come (which is a very good thing!).  If you are tempted to open them, and that is a big temptation, I recommend popping the cork and drinking from the bottle rather than decanting ahead of time and waiting.  However, as I noted in the Chicago tasting, the right bank wines will reward those with patience and do need time as they are monsters.  While I am still and until proven otherwise will remain to be a huge advocate of the 2010s, these 2009s are not wines to be ignored in the least.  Without further ado, my top wines (in no particular order) are Leoville Poyferre, Clerc Milon, Grand Puy Lacoste, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, Pichon Lalande, Clos Fourtet, Lafon Rochet (value), Gloria (value), St. Pierre, Gruaud Larose, Beychevelle, Smith Haut Lafite (rouge), Lascombes, Brane Cantenac, Conseillante, Clinet, Troplong Mondot, Canon, Canon La Gaffeliere, Figeac, and Angelus.
 

This list is very similar to my previous notes with a few things worth noting:

Pichon Baron - This is the 100 point wine Parker missed.  I had it both days early and was rewarded because it did shut down with air but the winemaking that is taking place at Pichon Baron is something everyone must pay attention to and 2009 and 2010 are no exceptions!
Pichon Lalande - I did not like this wine in Chicago but tasted it both days with consist ant notes in Brazil and it showed far better on both days.
Lafon Rochet - This wine is under rated by everyone.  In fairness, it like all St Estephe wines are tough to taste young.  However, it is a really lovely wine and will represent a great value for those with some patience.
Gloria - I noted this as a value from my previous notes, but make no mistake this is THE BEST GLORIA IN DECADES!  Outstanding.
Beychevelle - This was also not noted from Chicago but showed very well on both days and was clearly worth adding to the list.
Smith Haut Lafite (rouge) - I noted this wine pre-Parker from Chicago as one of the top wines and while it strokes my ego to say that before the magical 100 point score, I cannot say its that good in light of the other great wines.  It is still great, but I cannot recommend chasing it at the current levels.  I would still buy it at pre-100 prices all day long.
Angelus - I had this at the Chateau in October and it was amazing then.  I was disappointed to not see them in Chicago but thrilled to have a go in Brazil.  How one can call this 99 vs 100 is splitting hairs (always is).  Truly an amazing, not to miss wine.  Pay attention to the 2010 as well as Angelus is performing at an exceptionally high level.
Figeac - This is historically very very hard to taste young but in great vintages is a great bet.  This sample was starting to show the incredible wine that will one day be a fantastic drink.