Burgundy 2001 versus 2000: Wines to drink
Tim Atkin MW, Decanter's new specialist reviewer for Burgundy, recently attended a fascinating tasting pitting the 2000 vintage against 2001. Below, Premium members can see his 20 recommendations for drinking, along with a comparison of how the two vintages have aged...
Domaines Lamarche, d’Eugénie and Confuron-Cotetidot all produce an Echézeaux – you could walk between the three Vosne-Romanée cellars in a matter of minutes – and yet their wines are so divergent in style that you could be forgiven for wondering if they’re made from the same grape, let alone the same grand cru.
This London-based tasting featured 35 mature wines from the 2000 and 2001 vintages, collected in Burgundy by my colleague, Sarah Marsh MW, and donated by the vignerons. They were a mixture of mostly domaine-bottled wines, with two from négociant Champy, and included some of the region’s most famous wines and producers.
The vintages
Neither 2000 nor 2001 are regarded as great vintages in Burgundy, it must be said. This was partly because they were framed by two much better harvests in 2002 and 1999, but also because the wines are generally (and I’ve just told you to be wary of that word) light, pleasant and destined for the short haul.
Overall, 2001 has a slightly higher reputation, partly because the Pinot Noir skins were thicker, but also because yields were higher in 2000, swollen by a significant amount of mid-September rain in some places. Hail struck Volnay and Pommard in 2001 (plus ça change), but the Côte de Nuits escaped largely unscathed by the growing season.
As a group, the 2001s performed better in this tasting, showing more concentration. Most of the 2001s are at or close to maturity, although my best wine (Dujac’s Clos de la Roche) will certainly keep.
The 2000s were considerably more mixed, with a number of thin, scrawny wines showing, variously, unpleasant reduction, marked acidity, oxidation and little fruit. There were exceptions – Mugneret-Gibourg’s Ruchottes-Chambertin is a glorious red – but, largely speaking, 2000 deserves its modest reputation, although it was a wonderful, ageworthy vintage in Chablis.
One other thing stood out: brettanomyces. A significant number of wines had farmyardy notes, which appeal to some people, but not me. To coin a phrase: great Burgundy does not smell of s**t.
Tim’s picks from the tasting:
Tim Atkin MW is a Decanter contributing editor and specialist reviewer for Burgundy.
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Domaine Dujac, Clos St-Denis Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2001
Dujac’s style is not for everyone – some find the use of whole bunches marks the wines excessively – but this was my bottle of...
2001
Domaine DujacClos St-Denis Grand Cru
Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2000
Vindicating the domaine’s standing as one of the Côte d’Or's most reliably excellent producers, whatever the appellation, this comes from a 0.6 hectare parcel in...
2000
Domaine Georges Mugneret-GibourgRuchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Comte Armand, Pommard, 1er Cru Clos des Épeneaux, Burgundy, France, 2000
This bottle was lightly corked, but it was still possible to taste what is a remarkable expression of an exceptional Pommard premier cru. Rich, savoury...
2000
Domaine Comte ArmandPommard
Domaine Georges Roumier, Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2001
The Roumier Bonnes-Mares is dominated by grapes from limestone-rich soils, with only one-third from red clays, and is often one of the racier expressions of...
2001
Domaine Georges RoumierBonnes-Mares Grand Cru
Domaine Pierre Damoy, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2001
Pierre Damoy’s 2.2 hectares are all in what he calls the 'true Chapelle' of the original grand cru. This shows the tannin and concentration of...
2001
Domaine Pierre DamoyChapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Feusselottes, Burgundy, France, 2001
It’s all too easy to classify the wines made by Marie-Christine and Marie-Andrée Mugneret-Gibourg as 'feminine', but I prefer 'graceful and elegant'. This was one...
2001
Domaine Georges Mugneret-GibourgChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, Chambolle-Musigny, 1er Cru Les Amoureuses, Burgundy, France, 2001
Usually considered one of the great wines, both of Burgundy and of Chambolle-Musigny, this was a controversial bottle at the tasting. Complex it most certainly...
2001
Domaine Jacques-Frédéric MugnierChambolle-Musigny
Domaine Comte Armand, Pommard, 1er Cru Clos des Épeneaux, Burgundy, France, 2001
This was an unfeasibly young Ben Leroux’s third vintage as régisseur at Comte Armand, although he had already worked there as an apprentice. There’s a...
2001
Domaine Comte ArmandPommard
Domaine Armand Rousseau, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2000
Rousseau is not as well known for the one grand cru red it makes in Morey-St-Denis as it is for the five it produces in...
2000
Domaine Armand RousseauClos de la Roche Grand Cru
Domaine Pierre Damoy, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2000
Pierre Damoy’s wine are made to age in bottle and often take a while to soften and seduce. This is noticeably intense, dense and vibrant,...
2000
Domaine Pierre DamoyChapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Humbert Frères, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Petite Chapelle, Burgundy, France, 2001
The Humbert style tends towards oak and power, which can make their wines a little top heavy and assertive in their youth, but this has...
2001
Domaine Humbert FrèresGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Pierre Damoy, Clos Tamisot, Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France, 2001
Pierre Damoy is as well known for the grand cru grapes he sells to others as he is for his own wines, which is unfair....
2001
Domaine Pierre DamoyGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Clos du Château Monopole, Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy, France, 2001
Only a village wine in one sense, as this comes from a very well-placed vineyard and is always sold and talked about as a sort...
2001
Domaine du Comte Liger-BelairVosne-Romanée
Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2001
Nicolas and David Rossignol-Trapet’s Chapelle-Chambertin holdings are in a comparatively warm site, but this grand cru still has something in reserve and is far from...
2001
Domaine Rossignol-TrapetChapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Humbert Frères, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Estournelles St Jacques, Burgundy, France, 2000
Estournelles St-Jacques is one of the fresher Gevrey premiers crus, influenced by its proximity to the cooling breezes of the Combe de Lavaux. That has...
2000
Domaine Humbert FrèresGevrey-Chambertin
Domaine Tollot-Beaut, Corton Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2001
Tollot-Beaut’s wines can be assertively wooded in their youth, although their Corton generally has the structure and tannic backbone to cope with the oak. But...
2001
Domaine Tollot-BeautCorton Grand Cru
Domaine Michel Gros, Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Clos des Réas, Burgundy, France, 2001
Clos des Réas isn’t the most celebrated of Vosne premiers crus, tucked away in the village’s southeastern corner, close to Nuits. But Michel Gros’ monopoly...
2001
Domaine Michel GrosVosne-Romanée
Domaine Faiveley, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2001
Made before Faiveley’s marked shift in style towards less austere, more fruit-forward reds, this tastes like a Mazis-Chambertin produced with a Nuits-St-Georges mindset. It’s mature...
2001
Domaine FaiveleyMazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Pierre Damoy, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2000
Often regarded as the emblematic producer of Chambertin-Clos de Bèze – thanks to his 5.6 hectares of holdings here and the much-photographed hut that bears...
2000
Domaine Pierre DamoyChambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits-St-Georges, 1er Cru Pruliers, Burgundy, France, 2001
Just wait' was the line uttered by fans of this estate when defending what were frequently firm and charmless wines pre-bottling - and that is...
2001
Domaine Henri GougesNuits-St-Georges
