- Price Inflation and Tariffs Have Killed this Category
- The Days of Burgundy on Tuesday Are Mostly Over
- But Not At Fass Selections
- Burgundy Does Not Have to Be a Luxury Item
2018
- A Stunning Vintage
- The Top AOCs Need Age
- The "Lesser" Villages Are Spectacularly Delicious Today
- And Ready to Drink
2018 Laurent Boussey Monthelie 1er Cru "Sur La Velle"
- From 30-50 year Old Vines
- Next to Monthelie "Les Champs Fulliots"
- Nose: Huge Pungent Lipstick-Like Fruit
- Mid to Late Season Red and Black Cherries
- Stunningly Complex
- Palate: "Crank it up" Fruit
- So Succulent and Juicy
- Dense, Complex
- Amazing Concentration. Long, Succulent, Tangy and Sappy
2018 Laurent Boussey Beaune "Les Prevoles"
- Directly Under the Great 1er Cru, Tuvilains
- Nose: After 10 minutes the Fruit Aromatically Erupts like a Volcano
- Strawberry and Watermelon
- Classic Tweed Jacket, Some Licorice
- Palate: Ungodly 2018 Fruit
- Refined and Superbly Elegant
- Tremendous QPR Here
- Drink Now but Can Age for 6-10 Years
What Is a Sexy Burgundy?
When we think of Red Burgundy and how to describe it, the first things that come to mind are aromatics and finesse. It's not fruit and it's certainly not sex appeal. But there are certainly wines that have that fruit, that lipstick, that texture that make them so seductive, and yes, sexy. The aromatics tend more towards the fruit and spice side rather than florals and mineral. And these wines have the presence to stand up to almost any food. There is that Burgundy elegance, of course, but there is also that sex appeal for lack of a better word. I don't sell that many of these wines as they are less common but when I do sell them you should stock up. Because they are a very different style of Burgundy and one that you will want to drink on a somewhat regular basis.
The 2018 Vintage - A Brief Note
In 2018, every minor village bottle, minor village 1er Cru bottle, minor village lieu-dit bottle, regional bottle and more of these off the beaten path Burgundies absolutely killed it. They were wide open, had thrilling dense fruit, the structure to age. Basically it's like every very good .265 hitter all decided to hit .350 in the same year. It's truly amazing. Picking wines to sell from our stable of producers was tougher than usual but in the best way possible.
The Wines
Today I have two wines that I expected to be just very good and they turned out to be profound. These are just unreal wines in a category that I find difficult to find in the traditional 3-tier wine
market for Burgundy and that is high quality under $40 Red Burgundies. You can find 3 to 1 better value white Burgundy at that oh so precious under $40 price point than red Burgundy. Chablis inflates those numbers a bit though, I'll admit. But under $40 red Burgundy is becoming a thing of the past.
Up first is the 2018 Laurent Boussey Monthelie 1er Cru "Sur La Velle" for $39.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. This is from 30-50 year old vines and is located next to Volnay and the great 1st Cru "Les Champs Fulliots." The most famous owner of this estate is Domaine Leflaive. Yes, that Leflaive. The good one. A 1er Cru that is a sleeper but really rocks in a vintage like 2018. Monthelie can be too rustic but in the hands of Laurent Boussey, it has the right amount of refinement. Man I love 2018.
Huge pungent lipstick-like fruit on the nose. Gorgeous mid to late season red and black cherries. Stunning detail and huge fruit perfume. Such purity and aromatic depth. Has a gamey depth as well but just a part of the depth. Mid season cherries that are just perfectly ripe. Raspberry as well. So alluring and accurate. Just stunningly complex aromas. There's also a wooly and tweedy element that just rules. It's so Burgundy.
Palate just has "crank it up" fruit. Juicy, dense, complex and full of big ripe velvety tannins. Amazing density and purity. What a finish. This is so epic. Such tiny berry fruit intensity. So good. Amazing concentration. Long, succulent, tangy and sappy. So fresh and energetic. Long. What a version of this. Sickness!
On Day 2 there was gorgeous sappy cherry fruit on the nose. Silky, sweet end verging on black cherry. Tweed jacket, huge minerals, so aromatic. Awesome. Palate is creamy, dense and ripe with lovely opulence allied with stunning freshness. Dense and chewy. Just delicious. Can be drunk now or cellared for 10+ years.
So what gets less respect than than a 1er Cru from Aloxe-Corton? How about a lieu-dit from Beaune? Yup. When you have the massive holdings that Laurent Boussey has (he inherited a bunch when his father retired) you've got so many, at least in my mind, really dope, cool, and quirky ones. But also these wines provide tremendous value.
I'm lucky to have one of those wines today. If I had an award for the most honest wine I've ever offered this would be up there. The 2018 Laurent Boussey Beaune "Les Prevoles" for $32.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Beaune lieu-dits can be excellent values but it's also important to get a good producer. I've tasted as much bad Beaune reds as any type of wine I can think of. But when they are good I tend to gravitate towards them as they are really great values and I love the slightly rustic yet linear style and in the right vintages it has "crank it up" fruit. Les Prevoles as a site has a relationship to Fass Selections. It is directly under the great 1er Cru, Tuvilains that former Fass Selections superstar Herve Murat made a few vintages of for us. This wine is just incredible. This was going to get an email of it's own but I decided against it.
The nose. After 10 minutes the fruit aromatically erupts like a volcano. Strawberry and watermelon. Wow. Really great. Classic Beaune Prévoles tweed jacket as well. Just wafting aromas. Classic and woolly nose if you know what I mean. Very Burgundian. I know, I hate tautological tasting notes but you'll get what I mean. The sweet red cherry fruits really jump out of the nose. Stunning.
Palate has ungodly 2018 fruit. Stunning purity and mouthfeel. Balance is magical. So dense and chewy Refined and superbly elegant. This is the most refined version of this wine I've ever had. Velvety tannins pump out the fruit. Very chewy. Long finish with a hint of rusticity. Pure. Lovely.
On day 2 the nose has vivid sour cherry. Lots of zesty fruit. Tweed. Cherry pit. Licorice. Palate is deep, juicy and ripe and cuts a lovely swath. Enormous concentration and purity. Very fresh and energetic. Tremendous QPR here. Drink now but can age for 6-10 years. The fruit is so ungodly great that it must be drunk young.
The 2018 Vintage
After tasting through a decent amount of 2018 red Burgundies I have some general thoughts on the vintage. Last time I tasted them they were so young in 2019 and it's very hard to assess. One thing that's remarkable is that the wines turned out like nothing I remembered tasting in February of 2019. Which is crazy and shows how talented winemakers are and how bad my assessment of the vintage was based on my limited tastings usually at the end of tasting 2017s. I was expecting something like 2015 or maybe 2009 and to be honest I'm not crazy about those vintages. I like many wines in those vintages and have had many good examples but the style is not one that I personally prefer.
So when I got my 2018s sent to me recently I had no idea what to expect. I was hoping they changed. And boy did they. They changed in such a remarkable way that comparisons to 2015 and 2009 are comical to me now. The style is unique since I've been tasting red Burgundy out of barrel which is maybe starting with the 2008 vintage.
The fruit is stunning. Thick, juicy, vivid and pure. Every wine has this glorious fruit. The best fruit. It's throughly and perfectly ripe and not excessive like 15s and 09s can be. The freshness of these wines is undeniable. There is more material and concentration than the 2017's. Some of the 2018's will provide epic young drinking.
I think that the appellation hierarchy is going to play a huge role in these wines.
- The lower appellations in 2018 are incredible. I mean, just off the charts. There is a ridiculous level of this thick, dense and perfectly ripe fruit that just enthralls you, but the lesser wines are more open and all of them bat above their appellations. Like this is the year all the .275 hitters decided to hit .350 all at the same time. From Bourgogne Rouge to Beaune to Hautes Cotes de Nuits to Monthelie these wines shine so bright in 2018 and can be drunk and enjoyed young. But they will age because every wine I've tasted in 2018 has a significant and pronounced structure. These wines will age like 2010's. Slow and glacially and ultimately will blossom into benchmark wines.
- Now this brings me to the 1er Cru level wines. These are built like brick house that need age but have a level of raw materials that is ridiculous. They will be brilliant but will need a few years to integrate. The fruit soak on the 1er Crus is like nothing else I have tasted.
The way this vintage translates to the sites is so transparent but in a unique way. Any vineyard that makes wine with big tannins will be double that in 2018. I've had 3 Volnay 1er Cru Taillpieds and they are stunning and some all time wines but they all need 5-8 years. In a normal vintage Taillpieds can be tannic but in 2018 it is 1986 Mouton levels. But with the fruit to back it up. I haven't tasted a more obvious long term aging vintage than 2018. These have a very very long life ahead of them. They are mindblowing wines. Most closed within an hour of opening and then slowly opened over 2-3 days. One of today's wines drank unreal on day 3. That never happens. Happened with zero 2017 Burgundies. Maybe this is like 1993/2010 hybrid but much better, with higher yields and much more consistent. But there is also this awesome structure to the wines that reminds me of 2010. The transparency is also why it reminds me 2010. These will be fascinating to follow over the short, medium and long term. It's a vintage like no other. Deliciously unpredictable with all time levels of some of the best fruit I've ever tasted.
2018 Laurent Boussey Monthelie 1er Cru "Sur La Velle" Rouge - $41.99 ($159.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $4.39)
2018 Laurent Boussey Beaune Prevoles - $34.99 ($131.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $3.42)
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