Clear brilliant light ruby with acres of pink edges. Sweet putty peach floral mounded high with cinnamon, nutmeg and yogurt. Piles and piles of jasmine and natal plum caressed in folds of oak and apple pie.
After last night’s 12-3 stunner from AGV, it was hard to resist this little Bourgogne “Pinot Noir” smiling at me from the shelf. I went all gushy about Burgundy last night so let’s see? The first problem is: this is a cheap burgundy. 30 bucks and labelled with the variety–which immediately sends up danger-signals. There’s almost a 150% formula for California-to-Burgundy quality conversion. So last night’s 30, 40 dollar bottle would cost 60 or 70 to replicate in France. And this thing almost smells flabby. It is not California, by any stretch of the imagination, but it smells sweet and ripe and un-acidified, and yes: I cheated and checked the alcohol before opening. 12-5
In the mouth, God, there’s so much sweet dessert-y nectar flowing off the nose it is hard to concentrate. Dark ribbons of cherry syrup slathered on spice-cake, with no signs of slowing down of funking up. There literally is no funk in this thing. In the mouth, thin light fruit, doing a disappearing act the second it hits your tongue. There’s a bitter light tree-sap tincture which takes its place, tempered with a tiny wet paper, which is this wine’s only claim to good pinot funk. It is almost spritzy on the tongue in its meager bitter attack. Tannins are not shy either, bringing a WALL of dense green structure to the finish just to obfuscate the entry more.
This wine’s a bit of a conundrum. Aren’t all Burgundies? Huge beautiful nose showing barnyard for one second before going massive donut-shop on you. Thin entry, blossoming to a dark-fruit/green bitter see-saw. You be the judge. There’s really only two camps here: You either think it flabby, bitter and vapid–or you think it charismatically interesting in its juxtapositions. This is a lovely wine, clearly well-thought-out and meticulously handled. It just has some rough edges.
2015 SARL CHANTEREVES Bourgogne Savigny Les Beaune France 12.5
Stephen McConnell 