The journey continues to Burgundy, with visits to Domaine R. Dubois & Fils, Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur, and Justin Girardin.  Snow threatened, Frank took care of his Andouillette fix, and all things said a solid day at the office.

Vintage Summary

Conditions in Burgundy for the 2018 vintage were similar to Alsace, and the whole Northern part of France for that matter. The result is a large crop (sometimes too large) of concentrated wines with saturated colors. People who started their harvesting on time and did not overcrop will have superb reds and very good whites. Given the weather, it is more of a Red vintage than a white as acidities may be low.

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur

Dufouleur started early and harvested rapidly as the heat continued through the harvest. His wines are dark, fresh and have normal
acidity levels. He also has good cooling equipment, unusual in Burgundy, but critical in 2018. Like his father before him Yvan Dufouleur is obsessed with freshness in his finished wines and therefore will pick a few days earlier than most of his peers – We consider this an advantage almost universally (this style is what led us to his wines in the first place), and in 2018 this was a massive advantage. All 2018 reds are barrel-aged, more or less new depending on the appellation
All 2018 reds are barrel-aged, more or less new depending on the appellation
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 H.C. Nuits, dark, loaded with fruit.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 Santenay Genets, big, very dark, balanced, classy
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 Pommard, more feminine in style, very fine
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 NSG Juliens, good color, elegant style
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 Fixin Chapitre, Syrah-dark ! concentrated, tannic, outstanding (and cheap)
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 NSG Poulettes, soft, round, very fine
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 NSG Perrieres, dark, concentrated, complex, emblematic, should get some

We did not taste 2018 whites, all were in malolactic
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Aligote, still fresh and lively, but too “old” for us now
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 HCN Blanc, fresh, structured, young
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 HCN Rouge, good color, fresh, nice fruit
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Pommard, rather big, finesse
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Fixin Chapitre, dark, concentrated, full
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 NSG Juliens, tight, typical, pure, finesse
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 NSG Perrieres, dark, more concentration
We also tasted two lots of older wines:

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2011 NSG Poulettes, some reduction, still youngish, complex
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2007 NSG Poulettes mature, or close to it, beautiful aromatics, ordered everything available.
The wines are less concentrated here, which is their style, but in 2018 this is actually an advantage.

Domaine Raphael Dubois & Fils

Here we have a traditional estate in Premeaux, near Nuits-Saint-Georges, not unlike Dufouleur, but a little more old-school with something of an “undiscovered” feel to it.  Frank has worked with this property for years on the Poot Agenturen side of things in Europe.

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Aligoté, fresh, full
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Coteaux Bourguignonnes, longer, good flavor
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 HCN, full, more concentration
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 HCB, more acidity, finer, sort of light Meursault-style
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 CdNV, bigger, fatter. more oak
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Bourgogne Rouge, good color, fruit, soft
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 HCN, color ok, fruit, more elegant
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Savigny Les Beaune, color ok, typical, some tannin
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Beaune, similar, pretty wine
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Volnay, again similar in style, but finer
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Chambolle Musigny, darker, fat, full, masculin
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Vosne Romanee, fine fruit, typical
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 NSG, good color, full, tannic. concentration
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 SLB Narbantons, good color, aromatic, nice
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 NSG Argillièrers, fine, concentrated, long
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 NSG Porets, new oak, tannic
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Clos Vougeot, dark, tannic, structured
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Bourgogne, good color, a little tight
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 NSG, dark, full, fruit, tannin
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 SLB Narbantons, lighter color, fine, elegant
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 NSG Argillières, good color, some reduction, some wood, round
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 NSG Porets, more concentartion, fine, aromatic
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Clos Vougeot, dark, tannic, dry
We talk a lot about colors here, because at Dubois they are sometimes on the light side. Wonder why? Well, in these modern times enzyme additions to Pinot Noir at crush have become the norm even in traditional ole Burgundy and while we don’t have a huge problem with this it is refreshing to work with someone like Dubois who is traditional to the max and proud of the naturally light color you end up with in the finished wines of this region.. We should do more with them – Prices are good, few old school estates like this exist anymore, and they offer a wide range of wines.

Justin Girardin

We tasted 2018’s with Justin out of barrel at his main space in Santenay.  One thing you instantly notice about Justin is that he is an intensely focused person. This was actually the winery of Justin’s famous uncle Vincent Girardin, until Vincent moved his operations a few kilometers North.  It is worth noting (some of you already know this we are sure) that Vincent Girardin recently sold his Domaine to Boisset, and the way we see it this puts young Justin Girardin in the position to carry the storied torch of this overachieving Santenay based family.  Carrying that torch well he is.  Just for the sheer pleasure of it we want to drive back and taste this whole lineup once more!
Justin Girardin 2018 Bourgogne Blanc, stunningly good again, fresh, classy
Justin Girardin 2018 Santenay, beautiful lemon color, long, fine, outstanding for appellation.
Justin Girardin 2018 Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot, citrusy, rich, very good.
Justin Girardin 2018 Bourgogne Rouge, 35 year vines, dark, tight, good fruit, cool, outstanding
Justin Girardin 2018 Santenay VV, dark, more complex and concentration, fruit
Justin Girardin 2018 Santenay Clos Rousseau, more of everything, finer
Justin Girardin 2018 Pommard, tons of fruit, fine, elegant
Overall a stunning set of wines, as good as it gets.  While there aren’t huge quantities made of any of these wines there is enough production of the Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge for us to give them focus and build volume. 2017’s are still available in decent quantities. Lesser 2018’s will be bottled in the summer. At this point we were able to get the virtual reality camera working so check out the embedded image of Justin in his cellar below and move the view around. Preferably just put on a VR headset. Depending on when you are reading this you “should” be able to walk around the winery that way but we are messing with some image stitching issues at the moment…stay tuned!

That’s it for now, onwards towards the Macon!