Every AOC Needs an Importer to Bang the Drum to Get It the Recognition It Deserves As a wine importer I feel you have a duty for this generation and future generations to do something
great. To be innovative and to take risks. That is what it is all about. How else could wines from Bandol, Ajaccio, Irancy, Swabia, Chinon, Saumur, Etna and Baden come to be on wine lists and the shelves of retail stores if it wasn't for some importer who did not care that it wasn't financially prudent to sell Cabernet Franc from Chinon, when you had all you needed in St. Emilion? Light, high acid. Great with food. Huh? I am happy to report there is more cool stuff out there and it goes by the appellation, Bourgogne Coulanges La Vineuse. This is a regional appellation so think Cote de Nuits Villages and Hautes Cotes de Beaune but with meatier flavors more akin to Gevrey-Chambertin. It is around 20 kilometers south of Auxerre and it is a stunning region. It's around 135 hectares, but vines grow next to cherry trees and walnut trees as grape growing is not the only game in town. It became an AOC in 1993, when seven communes including Coulanges La Vineuse, could use the AOC. Before that it was wiped out completely by phyloxxera in the first half of the 20th Century and many growers had to find other work. There are only 15 growers in the entire region. Overwhelmingly red, Pinot Noir and a little Cesar, but there is some rose, sparkling and white. The reds are the star of the show here. As is the 2012 Red Burgundy vintage.
What I love most about 2012 "Burgundy" is that it impacts areas that normally don't get quite the ripeness that RN 74 gets. In vintages like 2012 I am packing my cellar with outskirts wines like Ladoix, Savigny Les Beaune and St. Romain as they offer terrific values from top to bottom in vintages like 2012. But what about the surrounding areas like Irancy, Vezelay and today's area, Coulanges La Vineuse? The hypothetical pot of gold is in regions like Coulanges La Vineuse in 2012 as reds from these areas are smoking in with the extra turbo boost they received which made them into even more profound expressions of their particular areas. These are some of the most honest wines in the portfolio. They are what they are and that is why I love them. And in 2012, they are incredible.
Today I have a wine that inspired me to write all of that. It is also from a killer vintage, and now that I think about it, it is probably one of the best under $25 Pinot Noir values that I have ever encountered. The 2012 Domaine Borgnat Coulanges La Vineuse "Chateau d'Escolives", which can be had for as little as $22.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is where vintage, top cuvee, brilliant winemaker and region no one has heard of converge perfectly. And the winner is the consumer. This is just a terrific, juicy, complex like you would not believe and incredibly deep, ageworthy Pinot Noir (there is also a small amount of the local grape Cesar in it as well) that is like one of my clients said after he had the 2011, "it's the best combo of Loire and Burgundy rolled up in one bottle. It's brilliant. I've never had anything like it." And that was the 2011 he was remarking on which is brilliant but I cannot emphasize enough how much better the 2012 is. Super deep nose with lovely plush raspberry tones. Much darker than the Tradition there is terrific spice and great complexity aromatically. Sweet fruit on the palate and lots of depth. Fine elegant tannins. Floral notes add to the complexity with aeration. This is an awesome wine and tremendous value. Think of this as the big brother to the tradition. More serious and more structured. This will age for 7-12 years, maybe more. They are selling the 2005 at the estate, as they always hold back "d'Escolives" to resell it later. I love this wine.
I also have the 2nd bottling (aged slighty longer and deeper and more complex) of the 2014 Domaine Borgnat Coulanges La Vineuse "Tradition" for as little as $18.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. For under $20 it is dumb good. It needs like 45 minutes to breathe which I think is more due to '14's nature than this particular wine. '14 can come off gritty but needs its air then it's super sappy and dense, which is what happens to this wine. Lovely dusty nose with early berries. So classic. Lots of gout de terroir. Juicy and very elegant with black and red currant fruit. Light tannins that make a nice juicy structure. Lighter than its neighbor, Irancy, yet having a bit more freshness this wine is a knockout for the money. Really vibrant and with the duck rillettes, saucisson sec and fresh bread and cheese was perfect. A wine I import because I love what I do. It is a remarkable panoply of spice, vibrant deep red cherry fruit, dusty earth and great purity. This punched way above its weight. I was very impressed and really cannot emphasize the value here. It is noteworthy. Under $20 Pinot Noir is an impossible category to find anything drinkable, much less noteworthy and this delicious!
2014 Domaine Borgnat Coulanges La Vineuse "Tradition - 2nd bottling" - $20.99 ($75.96 4-pack)
2012 Domaine Borgnat Coulanges La Vineuse "Chateau d'Escolives" Reserve - $24.99 ($91.96 4-pack)
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