My First 2005 Burgundy Bottles

The 2005 vintage in Burgundy is hyped in the same way as in Bordeaux -amazing, the vintage of the century (does that include the 1900's?). I imagine that the wines will be prohibitively expensive and in Burgundy, quite rare. I look forward to tasting a few and to deciding for myself if I think they live up to the hype.

A week ago, after our monthly baby-doctor's visit, I popped into Garnet to see if anything 2005 had arrived. My wife loves it when I combine visits to the OBGYN with visits to the wine store. I was delighted to find four different reds from Paul Pernot. I bought two bottles: 2005 Clos du Dessus des Marconnets, $22, and 2005 Pommard Les Noizons, $32. I chose these particular wines because we LOVED the 2001 Clos du Dessus when we we visited the Domaine during our recent Burgundy trip, and because we also loved the Pommard Les Noizons at Domaine Jean Lafouge. It's Lafouge we liked, sure, but it's also Les Noizons, non? Let's see what another good producer does with grapes from that vineyard.

Clos du Dessus des Marconnets is a "monopole," a vineyard owned completely by Domaine Paul Pernot. We opened the 2005 on Sunday night with our Cari Bo. This is a wine that we both liked at the Domaine, but it was hard to get a good sense of it there - it was very tight, and we had just tasted a flight of whites. What would this bottle hold? Is 2005 going to be as good as they say?

Yes, yes. yes, and absolutely! I like to maintain a calm composure, to remain balanced if I can. But I must tell you that I was so excited after we opened and tasted this wine that I was behaving as if I were 7 years old again - short attention span, bouncing around a bit, drooling a little, lots of uncontrolled crying. Everything about this wine was pure pleasure - the smells, the flavors, the mouth feel, the balance, and..the amazing price. I truly cannot imagine tasting its equal at under $30, but maybe that's because this is the first 2005 I've had so far.

I will admit now that I went back to Garnet on Monday night, after our tour of the hospital's birthing ward - and again, my wife was touched by my combining the acquisition of liquor with the touring of the facility where we will have our first child. I bought a case of 2005 Paul Pernot wine: some Clos du Dessus, some Pommard, a couple bottles of Beaune les Reversees 1er Cru, and some Volnay Carelles. If you like Burgundy wine, I strongly urge you to try a bottle of the Paul Pernot Beaune Clos du Dessus des Marconnets. See if you like it. It could be the value bottle of 2005 Burgundy., and if it is any indication of the quality of 2005, we are in for a real treat.

Here are some tasting notes from the other night:

2005 Paul Pernot Beaune Clos du Dessus des Marconnets, $22. When I pulled the cork the floral smells literally burst upwards from the bottle. Very floral nose at first, lots of violets. Deep dark cherry smells, earth too - a rich and heady aromatic profile, opulent. Succulent juicy fruit on the palate, but not too sweet at all - some sap at the back of the throat. There is enough earth underneath the fruity baby fat to make me think that the wine will gain in complexity over time. Even now, good balance of fruit and acid and a lingering finish. I could smell this wine long after swallowing. After almost four hours in the decanter the flavors and aromas were still bright. This wine will improve and mature for a few years at least, and should be a stunner. Drinking beautifully now though - there is no shame in just going for it.