Domaine Rene Bouvier's Marsannay Longerois & the Best 2005 Bourgogne Rouge I Have Tasted
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The Chambertin vineyards just below Marsannay in the Cotes de Nuits (photes claes lofgren)
I kept seeing the name Rene Bouvier written up in La Revue du Vin de France (France's Wine Advocate) and Guide Hachette. I read words like: beautiful wines, prettily spiced with suave tannins and good material and lovely long finishes."
You probably know by now that I'm always on the lookout for the great, little wines from independent winemakers who believe first in quality. Particularly from Burgundy. Those wines are the challenges. I spend most of my time hunting down the great winemaker with lesser known vineyards who can turn out wines that out-taste their appellations by a wide margin. When I find a grower like that, I'm all over him.
I was starting to work up quite an interest in Bouvier and that interest mushroomed when he popped up in the all-star tasting I go to every other year in Beaune. I always like to see who gets invited to this. Entry into this group means you are really respected by the best winemakers in Burgundy.
So, here was Bernard Bouvier (son of Rene) pouring among the royalty of Burgundy: Leflaive with her gorgeous Puligny-Montrachet (she will glare at you if you give up any to the spittoon), Hubert de Montille with his reference Pommard and Volnay, Georges Roumier with his rare Chambolle Musigny. I was very impressed with what Bernard was pouring.
Then I saw Bouvier's wine from Marsannay on the menu at Michelin one-star restaurant, Charlemagne, in Pernand Vergelesses and ordered a bottle. This was the deal maker. The wine was stupendous! Rounded, full berry flavors with just the right amount of oak. The man was making wine with Cynthia Hurley all over it. Now I was sure I had to get my hands on an allocation -- often a tricky maneuver in Burgundy because of the miniscule production.
I wheedled a rendezvous with Bernard at his spanking new chai and winery. I tasted through his entire line-up from a great, little gem of a Bourgogne Rouge which wowed me with its concentration, through several of those Marsannay which had already grabbed my interest and into his stash of Gevrey Chambertin, but Bernard was in no hurry. He only showed me one wine at a time.
After each tasting and spit, he would pause meditatively and then disappear into the bowels of his winery with my glass for a very long time and then return with the next wine. Was he grabbing a bite to eat in between? Checking his email? I wondered if the room had unobtrusive video cameras. I stopped humming and did not move about.
Bernard went off at least eight times and never once came back with more than one wine. I guess Bernard was sizing me up and taking his time about it. I sensed a wrong move or careless word and I might be asked to leave.
After two hours I passed the test and made it through to his last wine, but I didn't know that was only Part One of the exam and that things would get more challenging.
Yes, back in the States the business of ordering and confirming prices with Bernard moved at escargot pace and even included a complete renege at one point, but he came around and the wine got labeled and State-side much to my relief and, even, surprise.
Some new ventures are definitely harder than others, but I never doubted for a moment it was all worth it. And I was getting in at the best possible time: with the release of Bouvier's 2005 red Burgundies. "The quality of the 2005 vintage for red Burgundy is stupendous. It is simply the best young vintage I have tasted.The 2005 red Burgundies are ripe, vibrant and balanced. The wines have a juicy, fleshy midpalate - what I call sappiness - and the flavors are long. Better still, the 2005s reflect their individual terroirs." Bruce Sanderson The Wine Spectator
The Bouvier family has owned vineyards in the village of Marsannay at the northernmost border of the Cote d'Or for four generations. Each generation has added a bit to the holdings and now the estate is about 40 acres spread over six villages.
Bernard Bouvier is considered one of the most promising young winemakers in Burgundy today. He is one of the new generation of winemakers who has melded the best of the thinking of previous generations to modern vinification techniques and vineyard practices and technology. His first vintage was in 1986. Chemical treatments are banned and yields are held to a minimum.
The wonderful Bourgogne Rouge Le Chapitre that I fell in love with at the tasting is grown right on the border of Marsannay in the village of Chenoves on a very special parcel of land. Bernard uses some oak, but nothing new to avoid overwhelming the fruit. It is probably the most concentrated Bourgogne Rouge I've tasted. You are experiencing al that is great in Pinot Noir in this glass at a wonderful price for good Burgundy.
Bernard's Marsannay Longeroies stood out in a sea of Marsannay and other wines. It has the roundness that I look for in every wine I drink. The harvest is by hand and the grape selection is rigorous. The yields are incredibly low. The juice ages in oak for 18 months - about one third of the barrels are new. It is a dense and powerful wine and that is how I like my Burgundies. Leave the prissy wines for someone else to love. I prefer to be blown away. Cynthia Hurley
I love the look of your web page, I saved it just to look at it and
remember all my trips to France. How beautiful, and I envy you.
I have a strange question, and was so happy to find you. A few years
ago in N.Y.C. at a very good restaurant we often go to, I had a glass
of Champagne(that I did not pick, but the waiter did) and as I had another I meant to ask the name but so many people were talking but I did make a note of the label, and that the name reminded me of Jackie
Kennedy's maiden name. So you can see my connection from Bouvier to Rene Bouvier (who I couldn't find). I loved your newsletter, but I don't know if they make Champagne - the one I had was amazing, and clear, like diamonds. It was the best I ever had, so you can see why I'd like to find it. I know some of the wineries mix blends that can be really interesting.
If you know of it, the color being what was so different for champagne,(and the famous name) and it was champagne, not a sparkling wine or whatever. Please let me know, and thank you for the beautiful picture!
Posted by: Maureen McAteer | March 08, 2008 at 07:50 PM