Decanter New York Fine Wine Encounter masterclass: Charles Curtis MW’s favourite Burgundies

The title begs the question: ‘What, only twelve’? In response, I can only ask your indulgence. The choice of title was a bit of a trope – my intention was to present an idiosyncratic tour of Burgundy that would highlight a variety of styles across different vintages.

To present it as a tour or survey might demand a slightly more exhaustive treatment, and thus for the sake of brevity I subject you to my whim. I take full responsibility for the selection; I can but hope that you are pleased.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the 12 wines in the Burgundy masterclass

Gevrey-Chambertin

Domaine Bruno Clair

I began in the northern Côte de Nuits and travelled south. Without prejudice to Marsannay or Fixin, I skipped directly to Gevrey-Chambertin, since it is a well-known village whose wines often have a characteristic, identifiable style.

The fruit component is bright and forward cherry, and they often have a somewhat firm edge of tannin. Despite being based in Marsannay, Domaine Bruno Clair is a classic of Gevrey style.

The domaine is the inheritor of the mantle of the legendary Domaine Clair-Daü and has impressive old-vine holdings in the village.

Its Clos du Fonteny premier cru touches Ruchottes-Chambertin grand cru and is essentially a continuation of the grand cru slope. The 2011 from magnum served at the tasting encapsulated all the things I love about Gevrey.

Chambolle-Musigny

Domaine Robert Groffier & Domaine Jacques Prieur

Next, we moved on to an intriguing look at the terroirs and styles of Chambolle-Musigny through the lens of three of the most compelling appellations: Bonnes-Mares, Amoureuses, and Musigny.

We start with Bonnes-Mares grand cru because it is at the northern edge of Chambolle – actually, it overlaps into Morey-St-Denis, and the wines can be more than a bit Morey in style.

The classic Chambolle profile is on the lighter side, more perfume than power. Bonnes-Mares partakes of a bit of the velvety density that one finds in the Clos de Tart, its neighbour in Morey.

There are two soil types in Bonnes-Mares, red clay (terres rouges) and white marl (terres blanches).

The Groffier vines are on the former, which seem to give a densely powerful wine. By contrast, in Chambolle premier cru Les Amoureuses (where Groffier is the largest owner) most of its vines are on terres blanches. This wine is impossibly lush and giving, with a lovely combination of exuberant, detailed fruit, a dense, velvety texture and no lack of structure.

Amoureuses is right next to Musigny, a grand cru that must surely be among the very finest in all of Burgundy. Perhaps because so much of it is owned by one proprietor, Domaine du Comte Georges de Vogüé, wine lovers sometimes underestimate its complexity.

Much of it lies on the Comblanchien limestone as in Amoureuses, but with thinner topsoils. The lower part of the vineyard is terres blanches, and there is a section on the harder Premeaux limestone.

There are three lieux dits: Les Musigny (once known as Grand Musigny), Les Petits Musigny (a monopole of de Vogüé), and a portion of the lieu-dit Combe d’Orveau. This is the coolest part of the vineyard and a monopole of Domaine Jacques Prieur. The wine it produces here is subtle and elegant, a fine example of the appellation.

Clos de Vougeot

Château de la Tour

We passed from Chambolle to Vougeot, with a look at the importance of vine age and grape growing illustrated by two different cuvées from Château de la Tour.

This fascinating domaine is among the most historic of the Clos, purchased when the Clos was broken up in 1889 by a M. Beaudet, négociant in Beaune, whose heirs still control the largest section of the clos, ably led by François Labet and his son Edouard.

The domaine has 5.48 ha in total. Most of the vines are located in the centre of the vineyard, including a hectare of vines that were planted in 1910.

These old vines provided the grapes for both of the cuvées that we tasted; the main difference in the wines is that Hommage is made with only the single bunch from each vine in the section closest to the trunk.

François and his son work closely with consulting oenologist Sylvain Pataille to achieve this robust, full-bodied style, and the difference in concentration between the two cuvées is remarkable.

Nuits-Saint-Georges

Domaines Sylvain Cathiard & Thibault Liger-Belair

Our next stop is Nuits-Saint-Georges for a look at the different terroirs of this often-overlooked town.

The northern part of Nuits near Vosne-Romanée has steeper slopes that face south-southeast and have a reputation for finesse.

The second section stretches from the valley of the Meuzin to the Combe Vallerots, ending with Les Saint-Georges.

The last section is called the Côte de Premeaux, a wide-open swath of vines at the southern edge of the appellation that carry into the village of Premeaux where the slope gets less steep as one moves south.

The first wine we showed from Nuits is Cathiard’s premier cru Aux Murgers from the 2004 vintage. This site lies on the Vosne-Romanée side of the village where the domaine owns 0.48ha.

The natural elegance of the terroir teams up with the vintage and the maturity of this offering to deliver a resonant wine of great nuance.

The second wine from Nuits was the majestic premier cru Les Saint Georges 2014 by Thibault Liger-Belair. This vineyard is located south of town, protected from the Combe des Vallerots.

It enjoys an almost ideal exposition and a steeper slope than the Côte de Premeaux, and there exist many supporters for the petition currently before the INAO to elevate this vineyard to grand cru status.

Reds of the Côte de Beaune

Bouchard Père & Fils and Domaine de Courcel

The hill of Corton is in the northern part of the Côte de Beaune, after the quarries of Comblanchien and Corgoloin.

The appellation is large and the Bouchard parcel is at the top of the slope on the Aloxe side, facing east.

Soils are thin and the wine is full of concentration and tension. This is a magnificent terroir, if somewhat high on the slope. The result is a structured wine with aromatic finesse, plenty of grip and a lively freshness.

The contrast with the Pommard premier cru Grand Clos des Épenots from Domaine de Courcel is stark.

This domaine owns 4.89ha on east-facing slopes with brown soils and limestone scree, planted with low-yielding old vines. The result completely transcends the Pommard reputation for rustic, tannic wines – this is lush, velvety and approachable.

Whites of the Côte de Beaune

Comtes Lafon & Bonneau du Martray

Why doesn’t Meursault have any grands crus? Answer: it probably should.

The wine from Lafon is a perfect example and spot-on typical for the premier cru span, which runs at a constant elevation in an unbroken slope from Meursault, through Puligny, until it terminates in the grands crus of Montrachet.

We contrast this with the Corton-Charlemagne from Bonneau du Martray, one of the historic reference standards among all white Burgundy. The domaine farms 8ha of vines on the cool, southwest-facing slopes of the hill. The elegance and finesse of their results stand out like a beacon.

Final thoughts

Reactions to the Burgundy masterclass were gratifyingly positive. Those attending enjoyed the profusion of wines and their diversity.

With a span of fifteen years from oldest to youngest, and a range from Gevrey to Meursault, there was something for everyone.

It seemed that every wine had its admirers, although there appeared to be unanimity for every attendee over the delightful Corton-Charlemagne.

The most surprising, perhaps, was the Chambolle Amoureuses from Groffier for those unfamiliar with this wine, and those who had not yet compared the two old-vine Clos de Vougeots were suitably impressed.

Both New Yorkers and those who travelled to attend seemed genuinely grateful that Decanter had stopped in New York, and everyone hopes to do it again.

See tasting notes and scores for 12 of Charles’ favourite Burgundy wines

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