must be something to living in Burgundy—Jeremy Seysses hasn’t aged a bit.
Great notes. Where did you eat?
Any notes on the Dujac VR Beaux Monts?
Had some cracking meals. Ouillette in Santenay is excellent. Young chef at the top of his game, delightful service and killer list that is cheap. Next door Le Terroir is more traditional but still a great dining option. The team at Aupres du Clocher in Pommard are now at Au Fils du Clos in Meursault. Same food and excellent list but a much nicer setting. Coche at half reasonable prices. Le Soufflot is still great for a wine bargain and food has improved. Bistro Lucien in Gevrey is outstanding but they wouldn’t sell me a '13 La Tache they had on the list at well under market price.
I wonder if they realised that it was too cheap and about to update their list or that they were seeking to have it available for a more regular customer. Either way it’s some sort of weird snobbery.
They said it was ‘not ready’. I was ready for ‘not ready’, particularly since about an hour before Jeremy Seysses was telling me how good the '13 DRC’s were!
Most wines on most wine lists are not ready. Pretty lame excuse…you reckon they could have done better than that.
Christine and Jean-Michel Jacob have become very good friends of ours. They also happen to make some of the best value wines on the planet. The Domaine Lucien Jacob wines are consistently good. They are elegant and pure, drink well on release, after a few years or with 10-20 years bottle age on them. They are all about fruit purity and elegance and I mentioned to Jean-Michel that I never notice the oak on his wines. His response was ‘I don’t work in a forest; I work in a vineyard’.
We had an excellent tasting with Jean-Michel and as he heads towards retirement, you get the feeling he may have made his finest set of wines yet in the 2020’s. They are so good!
2021 Domaine Lucien Jacob Bourgogne-Aligoté: Lovely and bright with lemon fruit and some white flower action. The finish is crisp and minerally. Very refreshing.
2021 Domaine Lucien Jacob Bourgogne Rosé: Very Pinot. Delicious raspberry and cherry fruits. Fresh and crunchy with some light florals.
2021 Domaine Lucien Jacob Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune: From barrel, this was all crunchy red fruits. It is nicely balanced, cut by electric acidity and nicely detailed.
2020 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune: Red and black fruits are tinged with some ginger spice. It has some earthy nuance. There cherry fruit flavours intensify in the glass, and it has excellent depth and breadth for its level.
2020 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses: This has dense black cherry fruit. It is fleshy, with cherry stone minerality lurking. It has power but is very fine, with good body and structure. It is approachable now but there is so much material here for long aging.
2020 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Peuillets: Aromas of fresh fruits and black earth. It has notes of raspberry, cherry and blood plum. It is layered, luscious and rich, yet light on its feet. The finish is expansive and very long.
2020 Domaine Lucien Jacob Beaune 1er Cru Cent-Vignes: Aromas of black cherry, aniseed and sarsaparilla root. It is fleshy, luscious and layered, but has a light and airy quality in the mouth. Beautifully balanced wine, with latent power and length to burn.
2020 Domaine Lucien Jacob Gevrey-Chambertin: Cherry and spiced plum greet the nose. It is full in the mouth, with a creamy mid-palate and good mineral detail. It is highly perfumed, expansive and long.
2020 Domaine Lucien Jacob Chambolle-Musigny: So bright and vivid, with notes of pomegranate, cherry and fresh flowers. It is fine and silky in the mouth, with good intensity and terrific persistence.
2019 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses Blanc: Peach and honeysuckle cut with lemon acidity. Nice shape and starting to drink really well.
2012 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses Blanc: Drinking superbly. Has a touch of struck match and toast to the aroma. There’s pure white peach fruit and some light florals. It is intense, with a fruit sweet heart and mineral cut. So fresh and vibrant.
2015 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses Blanc: Still quite primary, loaded with sappy orchard fruits. Theirs is the generosity that the year afforded, coupled with the energetic freshness of the Domaine. Nice wine.
Disclaimer: We import these wines into Australia.
1 Like
Did you buy me some Crème de Cassis?
The best IMO!!
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
They make outstanding Crème de Cassis.
I like these Lucien Jacob wines. I have a few Savignys from a past vintage in the cellar. These sounds great thanks!
1 Like
Régis Forey has now been joined by his son Quentin at the Domaine. These two lads make a formidable team. With outstanding vineyard holdings, ultimate respect for their land and deft winemaking, they are turning out very special wines of deep flavour and character.
Fruit is harvested at optimum maturity and there are varying percentages of whole bunch. The wines are raised in a mixture of traditional 500 litre oak barrels, terracotta jars and tronconic oak vats. They are strongly built wines but also harness the perfume of each site. We have a lot of them in our own cellar at home.
The boys were kind enough to takes us through the ‘21’s from barrel and the 2020’s from bottle as well as a smattering of aged treats from bottle. 2021 was very much back to a classic vintage so far as harvest date is concern, with picking commencing on the 28th of September.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Bourgogne: Lovely crisp and fresh red fruits. Good depth for its level. Nice balance and drive.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Morey St. Denis: An effusive nose, full of delightful florals. Very much blue fruited. Silky texture. Very Morey.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges: Black fruits, earth and meat. Good flavour intensity and energy. Excellent wine.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée: Loads of floral spice and very pretty red fruits. Bright and energetic with silky tannins.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières: Black fruits overlay a rocky base. There are iron and earth notes and layers of flavour. A direct wine of fine detail.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts: Pure red fruits with minerally detail. Fine, silky and layered. Expansive and super long.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots: A haunting bouquet of flowers, fruit and mineral. There’s intense cherry at its core. It is deep and layered and light on its feet. The finish fans out and is persistent. A complete wine.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Echezeaux, Grand Cru: Intoxicating spice. Intense red fruits. Quite compact and shy for now. Good intensity and poise. Should be something special.
2021 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru: Classic Vougeot, all dark fruits, iron and soot. It is an elegant rendition, of nice balance and proportion. Fresh acidity carries the finish.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Bourgogne: Highly perfumed, with good depth of cherry and berry fruits. Excellent density for its level and very good persistence.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Morey St. Denis: There’s 50% whole bunch here. It has a pretty and elegant nose of rose petals and red and blue fruits. It has a sweet and intense heart with excellent acid drive. There’s some meat and earth complexity and a finish that is very persistent. Lovely overall balance.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges: A deep, saturated colour. There’s 70% whole bunch here and some punchy florals. Fruit is of the darker persuasion and is luscious and creamy. There’s plenty of energy to the finish.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée: from 10 separate parcels of vines, most of which are located in the lower section of Flagey: There’s 70% whole bunch here and the wine emits such a great perfume. You get some freshly grated ginger, Chinese 5 spice and pomegranate. It is delicate on the palate but deep, with a velvety feel and good definition. The finish is expansive and long.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières: Black fruits and iron. Rich, luscious and layered. So deep and fleshy, with so much wine here. Very long.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts: This has an intense core of sweet and luscious cherry fruit. There’s so much spicy nuance with a grating of fresh ginger and some aniseed. With air the nose reveals fresh pomegranate fruit. It is complex and layered, deep yet so elegant and length is fabulous, and it really fans out. Brilliant stuff.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Echezeaux, Grand Cru: Spicy and deep. Intense red and black fruits. Powerful but oh so silky. Layers of flavour lap around the gums. The finish really fans out and spice laden flavour linger for an eternity.
2020 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru: Incredibly deep colour. The wine is deep, rich and creamy, laden with enticing dark fruits. It has ample structure and is a big wine, but everything is in proportion. There’s so much material here upon which to age and it will be something special in a decade or two.
2019 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Bourgogne: Floral and fresh. Very pretty red fruits. Nice balance. A delicious drink.
2019 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots: Aromas of intense cherry fruit, pomegranate, sandalwood and black tea. It is luscious and creamy on the palate, with fabulous presence and details. It really builds and fans out. A wonderful, harmonious wine.
2010 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Morey St. Denis 1er Cru: A really fresh colour. Complex aromatics of dried flowers, smoked meats, red berry and earth. There’s a line of fine, minerally acidity and a finish that is expansive and persistent. In a lovely place.
2003 Domaine Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges: Régis pointed out that this was harvested on exactly the same date as the 2020. It has waves of creamy black fruits. There’s a suggestion of licorice and iron too. It has some earthy/loamy development and grippy tannins. It is still supremely youthful.
1 Like
I’ve been impressed by their wine. I loved the 19 Ech and I have a 19 VR on tap. I definitely will seek out the 20 and 21.
My last visit at the domain showed to stunning wines :
Régis Forey Vosne-Romanée Gaudichots 2016 : 17,5/18
Régis Forey Echezeaux 2016 : 18/20
1 Like
So glad you got to see Jean-Michel and Christine again. Loving all these reports, Jeremy, huge thanks.
Kwa Heri
Mike
Thank you Mike.
Lovely. All of it. Forey is a real sleeper. Thank you.
Thanks Ryan.
We hadn’t met with Bertrand de Villaine since he took over from his uncle Aubert’s role at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. He was kind enough to propose a suitable time for us to meet at the Domaine and have an in-depth conversation while tasting through the 2021s in barrel.
His first task was to ascertain who Colin was. We had informed him that our ‘wingman’ of all things vinous and toothsome would be part of the visiting repast team. He looked at Colin and said: ‘Who are you’? We had never really asked this question, so it was good to find out who Colin actually was, too.
Back to the Domaine. This is not an operation that rests on its laurels. Everything is about attention to detail, from the work in the vineyards to every step of élevage and bottling. It is still all about producing the very best wine possible, and the fact that they have access to some of the greatest dirt on the planet means that the wines are regularly close to perfection.
The work that has been done in the vineyards certainly pays dividends. After the complete purchase of the Marey-Monge Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant parcel in 1988, a long period of restoration and replanting has taken place and the RSV holds its head high. In fact, I reckon it may just be a touch in front of the Richebourg in my personal preference. There is plenty of work going on in Richebourg and Grand Échezeaux at the moment, with the removal of unsuitable vines and replanting quality vine material.
With regard to oak, François Frères is still the preferred Tonnellerie. There is a smattering of Vicard and Lagrange and the Domaine chooses its own wood, and season for three years prior to the production of each barrel. You never feel the wood on a DRC wine, and they obviously get the very best and have wonderful fruit to begin with.
Before launching into the ’21 Corton, we had an in-depth discussion about the philosophy of blending the three parcels Clos du Roy, Les Bressandes and Les Renardes to make the Corton. I’m quite sure that there would be some financial benefit to vinifying and bottling the three separately, but ultimately it comes down to a question of quality and consistency, according to Bertrand. They work only with the old vine parcels from these three vineyards and the quantity available from each vineyard varies in each year. The vinification is easier in greater volume, hence the blending. They have done various trials and, for now, the sum of the parts is greater than the individual plot.
Down to tasting, where all wines had recently completed malolactic fermentation and were easy and pleasurable to taste.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton, Grand Cru: It is super-bright and punchy, with aromas of red fruits and sandalwood spice. It has excellent detail and is fine and lacy, with latent power. Structural elements are supportive.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échezeaux, Grand Cru: What a lovely nose. Violets, red fruits and mineral. It is elegant and composed, built on perfume. There’s a pleasant pepper spice to the finish.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands- Échezeaux, Grand Cru: Deeper and broader than the Échezeaux. It has an intense core of black cherry fruit. There’s plenty of savoury nuance and it is rich but light on its feet. It builds through the palate, finishing with an almost audible crunch, then fans out.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant, Grand Cru: You sense that, today, this may just be the wine that Bertrand is most proud of. Man, is this good! Such ethereal perfume of pomegranate, red berries and aniseed. It has latent power and fabulous tension. There’s some salt and chalk and it has brilliant cut and persistence.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg, Grand Cru: This has red and black fruits, along with Chinese 5 spice powder aromas. It is deep, with a creamy mid-palate. It is compact and linear for now, layered and very long.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, Grand Cru: There’s black cherry and sour cherry here, along with some sandalwood and hoisin. It is rich, with an intense fruit core. It is powerful yet contained and has awesome presence and drive.
2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru: The nose is so engaging. Rose petals, freshly grated ginger, pomegranate and cherry. It has so much going on, but is so airy and ethereal. It is like liquid velvet as it laps around the gums and the finish is expansive and oozes minerality.
After nearly two hours, we finished with a bit of social chitchat. We found out that Bertrand’s favourite band is The Eagles and favourite song is ‘Hotel California’. His most memorable non-DRC wine was the 1958 Château Angélus because of the quality it possessed for a difficult vintage and the experience of enjoying it with great friends. One of his fondest memories of the Domaine was when he was a child: he got to taste some Richebourg from barrel. While tasting this wine, he realised that he had a family connection to it. He was shocked in a positive way.
We ascended from the cellars with Colin singing ‘You can check out anytime, but you can never leave’. Bertrand harmonised with quite a lovely melodic voice. He now knows who Colin is.
The Domaine is in safe hands under the directorship of Bertrand de Villaine and Perrine Fenal and there are exciting times ahead with the imminent release of their inaugural Corton-Charlemagne. It is a privilege to visit and we thank Bertrand for his time and generosity.
6 Likes
Thanks for sharing!
So I called up the Captain
“Please bring me my wine.”
He said, 'We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969"
Thanks for the peek into the corridors of power. Seems like a cool dude.