Benoit Germain's Small Production White Burgundy Wonder
Chateau de Chorey just outside Beaune in Burgundy
Now that the 2004 vintage is available and over the shock of bottling and travel, it is delivering white wines (100% Chardonnay) of exceptional character. This seems to be my and many other's experience.
The Wine Spectator just ran a comprehensive review of the 2004 and 2005 white Burgundies and to paraphrase found the 2004s excellent, classically structured and delicious for drinking now.
By the way if you are planning on having some white wine for Thanksgiving I can not think of a better choice that this concentrated full flavored Chardonnay. For lovers of white Burgundy this is a vintage to be thinking about right now. These wines are consistently concentrated with a very fine balance between fruit and acidity, delivering complex wines with great aging potential.
I have had the chance to taste the 2004's many times here and in Burgundy and they are indeed show-stoppers.
There is a village in the Cote de Beaune of about 350 people, nestled to the side of the famous Grand Cru hill of Corton, which few people talk about and much fewer visit. Its name is Pernand-Vergelesses (don't pronounce the "d" and the "g" is soft). They make a Chardonnay there that I've been devoted to for the last twenty years. Devoted to because it bridges the gap between those glorious, exhilarating, but pricey Burgundy whites like Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet and those delicious, more plentiful whites with slightly fewer nooks and crannies of flavors, like St.-Veran and Mâcon- Villages.
The village of Pernand-Vergelesses has one Grand Cru vineyard called En Charlemagne which lies inside its borders. If the wine coming from the vineyard is white, Corton-Charlemagne goes on the label and if the wine is red, Corton will be on the label. These are very rarified wines with prices to match. Rarified means over $150 per bottle for the Corton-Charlemagne if you can find it. They are once- in-a-blue-moon wines that do not help us out when we're wanting a great white for our Thursday night cod. That's where Pernand-Vergelesses wines come in. If you know about them, that is.
Benoit Germain who many of us know from his outstanding Beaune Premier Cru red Burgundies also has a small plot in Pernand- Vergelesses that he has been sharing with me for some time. Benoit has recently taken over the family vineyards from his father, Francois and, in fact , has made some noticeable improvements in his already outstanding vineyards. The Germains make their Pernand-Vergelesses from a vineyard north of the village of Les Plantes des Champs et Combottes with the same soil as that on the immediately adjacent $150 + Corton.
It was pretty clear to the locals and wine-biggies alike that Père Francois made a very comely little white Pernand-Vergelesses, easily the best I've had, and so it may sound like hyperbole- peppered journalism to sit here and tell you that Benoit has bettered his father's work, BUT HE HAS (forgive me, Francois).
Benoit is a Jack Russell Terrier of terroir. He has energy bursting out of all his seams and enthusiasm to match. He has ideas, he takes risks. His father waited a good long time until he thought Benoit had all the tools to take over, but who would have predicted the scope of Benoit's creative talent. He has that je ne sais quoi that the most talented winemakers have that allow their wines to soar to the next level of quality.
I tried his 2004's last December and they were dazzling. Benoit has clearly taken all of his know-how, added a very good gut-feel and come out with some jaw-droppers.
As I've said Pernand-Vergelesses blanc is not a wine you're going to be bumping into every day -- for one thing the reds from this area out-number the whites about five to one -- and for another, Benoit, does not make very much of it, but you will run into Benoit's Pernand-Vergelesses at Taillevent and La Tour d'Argent, just to mention a few of the world's most famous eateries where he is on the list.
And, I have to add that there is a tasting in Paris every year at Ledoyen, a posh restaurant on the Champs Elysée where all of the "royalty" of Burgundy gather in their Hermes and Chanel (Hubert de Montille, star of Mondovino and Volnay; Madame LeFlaive with her sensational Montrachets; Georges Roumier master of Chambolle-Musigny; Aubert de Villaine of DRC) to share their wines with sommeliers and restauranteurs from around the globe and guess who is also there pouring? Yes. Benoit. So, can't you just make a bit more room in the cellar for this Pernand-Vergelesses? I guarantee you, it won't be taking up space for very long. Cynthia Hurley Subscribe to Cynthia’s free newsletter
I'm still trying to find a good red wine.
Posted by: Red Wine | June 03, 2008 at 09:43 PM