Monday 7th April 2014

We were lucky enough to start the week with a wine tasting of 4 exceptional 2011 Comte Georges de Vogue Burgundies introduced by Commercial Director Jean-Luc Pepin.

The passion for making great wine at Comte Georges de Vogue was clear from Jean-Luc’s description of the land, the vines, the vintage and the people, all of which have an important role play in the end product. The description of terroir and heart was certainly reflected in the wines tasted.

2011, was a difficult vintage similar to 2007. The spring was dry and warm, leading to early budding and the need for green pruning, this was followed by a humid, wet summer, which caused some worry, but thankfully the early harvest – starting on 29th August was dry. The hard work in both the vineyard and winery certainly paid off as the 2011 wines tasted proved they are elegant, fresh and have the balance of fruit, tannin, acidity and alcohol to ensure they will age in bottle.

The first wine tasted was Comte Georges de Vogue Chambolle Musigny 2011 (£90). It is youthful on the nose with upfront summer berry fruit and hints of spice, these follows through on the palate with crisp Pinot Noir acidity keeping the fruit fresh. The length was excellent with good complexity. This wine could be drunk now, but will develop well over the next 5-10 years.

We then tried the Comte Georges de Vogue 1er Cru 2011 (£165). Tasting this wine next to the Chambolle-Musigny was a revelation with more depth, complexity, intensity of fruit and the minerality from the limestone soil coming through. Jean-Luc explained that the grapes for this wine come from the Le Musigny Grand Cru vineyard but are from vines less than 25 years old (on average 17 years), making it the 2nd wine of the Domaine!

The third wine tasted was the Comte Georges de Vogue Bonne Mares 2011 (£325). This was a bigger wine that the two Chambolle-Musigny’s, there is more clay in the Bonne Mares vineyards and it is felt that this adds weight to the wine. Again this wine showed fantastic complexity with blueberries, vanilla, floral hint of violets and excellent structure. Jean-Luc described it as “A happy wine, which carries its heart on its sleeve!”and “an extroverted wine which would work well with venison and game” This has aging potential of 20+ years.

Finally, we came the “patriarch” of the wines Comte Georges de Vogue Le Musigny Grand Cru Vielles Vignes 2011 (£450). From the Grand Cru vineyard and from vines older than 25 years this wine showed its class. Still very young it has a beautiful purity of dark summer fruits, minerality, fresh acidity, ripe tannins and again shows elegance, complexity and incredible length. This wine is definitely a keeper with aging potential of 30+ years.

Thank you to Jean-Luc Pepin for sharing his knowledge and the stunning wines of Comte Georges de Vogue.

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