Saint-Aubin has been a white wine restaurant list preferred choice of your scribe for decades. They used to be very inexpensive and less popular consumer picks so provided some real value for aged white Burgundy. Today they are still less expensive than their neighbours but now more popular with the increased price getting up there. So well situated on the hills adjoining Chassagne and Puligny they didn’t always ripen to the same degree but are in a good zone presently with the help of global warming.

The Vancouver Group of Eight celebrated event # 123 at the Summer function with spouses on August 13, 2024 at Blue Water Cafe featuring 8 Premier Cru Saint-Aubin from 4 recent vintages. The overall impressions made were most favourable and confirmed my humble opinion that they remain underrated for the quality delivered. A few comments follow:

The aperitif was the dependable house POL ROGER 2012 SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL CHAMPAGNE all Grand Cru only 7 g/l dosage with a majority of pinot noir leaning to the style SWC preferred of “robustness, a full-bodied character and relative maturity. ” Certainly this vintage shows seductively ripe, dense, powerful, round, creamy rich, and forwardly. Perfect match for the diverse Dungeness Crab Trio.

THE EIGHT SAINT-AUBIN 1ER CRU:

1. 2020 CHARMOIS DOMAINE MARC MOREY Respected Chassagne producer with first of 4 Charmois (borders on Chassagne 1er Cru Le Chaumees) vintages to compare vertically. Very attractive chardonnay focus from an excellent year with wonderful elegance but has less length.

2. 2020 LES MURGERS DES DENTS DE CHIEN CHAVY-CHOUET Well exposed site with elevated airflow on the Puligny side. This defined “pile of stones’ of “dog’s teeth” is outstanding with classy citrus aromas and long balanced complex mineral flavours. Clear winner of the first flight.

3. 2020 CASTETS ARMAND HEITZ Purchased grapes (picked early on August 28) from the Western most site results in the lightest colour wine and rather lean bodied but shows refreshing top quality paired with the impressive halibut dish.

4. 2022 LE CHARMOIS DOMAINE BOUARD-BONNEFOY Small artisan long time grape grower family of this youngest vintage has sulphur issues at the moment overriding the closed in fruit.

5. 2018 LE CHARMOIS AU PIED DU MONT CHAUVE PICARD Famille Picard holds over 1/3 of the total Charmois vineyards (plus some red too). Very hot 2018 vintage style dominates with big ripe 14 abv softer richer textured fruit in full ready drinking style.

6. 2017 LE CHARMOIS AU PIED DU MONT CHAUVE PICARD Same wine as last one but entirely different. Fresh classic acidity balanced structure much more elegant in 2017.

7. 2017 CHAMPLOTS OLIVIER LEFLAIVE Steep SW facing vineyard at 300-350 metres often produces a leaner style but also this vintage with younger vines used here contributes. 20% new oak. Excellent with the delicious pasta seafood course.

8. 2017 CLOS DE LA CHATENIERE VV HUBERT LAMY Old vines planted in 1964 from a top vineyard on the Puligny side S/SW facing on a very steep hill and from a top quality producer. Less morning sun exposure but long late day rays leads to this opulent balanced outstanding wine. So terroir driven. Clearly wine of the second flight and has 3 years extra development on the 2020 vintage.

Finished up with two stellar wines of 1995 BARBARESCO MONTESTEFANO PRODUTTORI MAGNUM (lighter more accessible at 30 than the recent more tannic classic 1996 also in magnum) with well paired rabbit & foie gras and chanterelles plus 2001 GUIRAUD SAUTERNES outstanding year yet this property has sweetness but is quite evolved already.

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Question: What is the latest trend occurring in the wine business?

Answer: I am not a trends person. However there are always many changes happening in the wine business. We previously have highlighted some of them. A few major items include the emergence of the more popular new categories of no alcohol & low alcohol wines – both at retail and on restaurant wine lists. Similarly the increased demand for lighter white & rose wines over big more alcoholic reds. Also the continuing debate over the best wine container with support for the convenient use of smaller individual serving cans and the search for more sustainable marketable materials other than heavy glass bottles.

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Your scribe has been writing this Monday Blog for The International Wine & Food Society with 600+ articles for over 10 years. My initial purpose when I first started it while President of IWFS was to stimulate more communication among the members on the emerging social media plus an educational contribution of wine & food knowledge. I biasedly think we have been somewhat successful. The wine & food scene has certainly changed so much over the last decade. In more recent years there is a plethora of wine (and food) opinions out there – some accurate, many not – mostly interesting but generally focused on younger current vintages. Accordingly we have moved our emphasis on this Blog to discussing many older mature wines plus advising you on the value of aging wine.

This all vividly came back to me again last week as we enjoyed several Bordeaux from the 1986 vintage. The First Growths & Super Seconds particularly from the Northern Medoc of St. Julien, Pauillac, and St. Estephe with higher cabernet sauvignon in the blend nearing 40 years of age shine brightly indeed. As expected Mouton, Leoville Las Cases & Gruaud Larose among others are most impressive. However, it was the lesser known properties like full complex Haut-Bages Liberal & earthy structured Meyney that really surprised and confirmed what value there is (even with current vintages) in aging these for a totally different wine & food experience.

Reminds me of a very recent brilliant article dated July 18, 2024 by experienced wine columnist Dan Berger in Napa Valley Focus linked here who so eruditely in detail sets out way clearer than I have been advocating “The Value of Aging Wine”. Spent time with Dan in the seventies, eighties and nineties at various wine events near his Sonoma County California home. Always respected his tasting skills and well reasoned opinions. He was LA Times wine guy from 1988-1996 and also started back in 1982 the Riverside International – now since 2016 named the Dan Berger’s International Wine Competition. I heartily endorse everything Dan states as important inspiring influences as to why you might try aging your wine a bit longer (or even extremely longer from proven regions like Bordeaux & Piedmont) for a totally different perspective. Congrats Dan for your outstanding insightful article. Enjoy reading it.

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Question: What is Nielluccio?

Answer: It’s a red grape variety that grows well in dry, hot, sunny regions and is widely planted on the French island of Corsica. Related to the Italian variety of Sangiovese. Another important grape in Corsica is Sciaccarello (Mammolo) which also produces herbal reds & roses. Growing in popularity. Check these out.

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One of the most frequent questions your scribe receives on our Wednesday weekly feature of Ask Sid is “What are the best red Burgundy values? ” My usual answer over the years has been to look for the 3 key factors of Vintage, Producer, and Region. In the past it was recommending the 2005 (also 2009/2010/2015) Vintage from a quality Producer from AC village sites. Of course less expensive regions with Premier Crus also come to mind like Savigny-Les-Beaune (especially La Dominode). All of this came back to me last week while enjoying at home a roasted pheasant dish paired with a bottle of 2005 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN DOMAINE ALAIN JEANNIARD. This was a brilliant match as waiting nearly 20 years for the powerful structured tannins of 2005 to melt away successfully left a stunning bouquet with round silky textures. A wise investment. Previously divine matching with fresh quail. Bought also their more forwardly 2006 and the two vintages of Morey-Saint-Denis AC as well all of which provided enjoyable earlier drinking pleasures. The producer Alain Jeanniard made an initial name for himself from 2000-2006 with viticulture for the Hospices de Beaune wines in Clos de la Roche & Mazis-Chambertin – and his own family Domaine. Smart purchases that with consumer patience brought wonderful satisfaction at a bargain price.

What about red Burgundy purchases today? IMHO the same principles apply but because of the increased prices of all Burgundy – including popular AC village wines – it is necessary to go further afield. Santenay and Maranges have become more popular areas. My favs are the regions that previously were a bit too cool to fully ripen but now are thriving with global warming. Best examples are the adjacent neighbours of coveted Clos St. Jacques: Lavaux St. Jacques to the West & Les Cazetiers to the East. Even Estournelles, Poissenot, and Les Veroilles further West & Combe aux Moines, Les Goulots, and Champeaux further East now are worth exploring. My go to purchases have been Hautes-Cotes de Nuits (and Cotes de Nuits-Village) for good value. A wine like 2019 BOURGOGNE ROUGE HAUTES COTES DE NUITS AU VALLON DOMAINE MICHEL GROS fills the bill. A big fan of the ageability of the 2019 reds and this Domaine pioneered these regions with early eighties plantings at higher elevations including Monopole Fontaine Saint Martin. Since 2015 they have also produced Au Vallon from the top of this formerly cooler site on top of the Cote d’Or escarpment. Domaine Alain Jeanniard and other producers have wines from this expanding region. These currently are the kind of wines to seek out for the best quality for the price value with some aging ability to resemble the higher priced Grand & Premier Crus – and now Village ACs. Good luck in your shopping!

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