Anyone buying 2002 Burgundy?

I still find too much of interest as far as older vintages on the market now to consider Burgundy futures.

I plan to buy Domaine Leroy Romanee st Vivant.

i'm not buying any futures these days except home improvement futures.
just last week i've shelled out 600 bones on light switches alone. f***ing Expo i had tears in my eyes as i drove past Premier Cru...

I have never bought any "futures" of Burgundy. Is this a pre-sell offer? These wines will be on shelves for a while, however If the deal is good go for it. Burgundy has a small following. Most people in cali think of Gallo wine, thus making it easier for the true Burgundy lovers to buy these things. Leroy, LaFarge, Prieur,DRC and Roumier. These producers only make good wine even in "off" vintages. Good luck, James J Stahl

I've gotten mailers from a couple of retailers offering 2002's as "pre-arrivals" and "futures". Just a few producers and prices do seem very good.

Things like:
Girardin
Montrachet $190
Corton Charlemagne $52
Chambertin $70
Clos de la Roche $53

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"Tasting? That means nothing!...How does a wine DRINK....that's the all-important thing" Paul Masson

I am making my first real foray into Burgundy with the 2002s.

Does anyone have familiarity with these domaines or vineyards? These wines have in previous years often been rated by Pierre Rovani and are available in London at my price range (less than $65 a bottle). Thanks.

Domain G. Barthod

Chambolle-Musigny, Aux Beaux Bruns, 1er Cru

Domain Rene Engel

Echezeaux, Grand Cru
Grands Echezeaux, Grand Cru

Domain Chandon de Briailles

Corton, Clos du Roi, Grand Cru

Domain Patrick Javillier

Mersault, Tete de Murgers (white)

Domain Yves Boyer-Martenot

Mersault, Les Charmes, 1er Cru (white)

Domain Joseph Matrot

Mersault, Les Perrieres, 1er Cru (white)
Puligny-Montrachet, Les Combettes, 1er Cru (white)

Domain Etienne Sauzet

Puligny-Montrachet, Les Referts, 1er Cru (white)

cbmac,
As the makers in Burgundy are so ... iconoclastic I would recommend reading

Hanson, Burgundy, pbk ed, from Penguin (I think)

or getting Clive Coates interminablely detailed tome from the library. Remington Norman is good as well. Living in Britain you have a great wealth of knowledge on Burgundy right at your door. John Avery (of Averys in Bristol), is also a very reliable source of information ... if slanted to his own shelf-stock.

I'm sorry, but I've had about seven (other peoples') experiences with DRC and Leroy and have been underwhelmed every time. I have found better wines from producers of lesser hype. But it is so variable even then.

The New World Pinot noirs will take a decadeto learn, but I feel will challenge even top Burgundians by that time. No, not the same, they will never be Burgundies, but wines with much better QPR. I am hoping that then market forces will reduce the cost of the Burgundies.

I shan't hold my breath.

What I've read so far suggests that the hype may be outracing the vintage. Nevertheless, I plan to buy. I have not taken a large position in burgundy since the 99s, and want to improve my collection. I don't see 2002 being a 2000-bordeaux situation -- ie. internet stock price appreciation.

So far I've bought some Jadot, because the price seemed good.

Tlily, $70 for Girardin Chambertin seems superb. (I assume its the Clos de Beze, I dont think he makes a straight Chambertin). If you dont mind telling me, I'd be curious who is making that offering. Txs.

At age 48, I am not planning on buying too many 2002 Grand Cru because Clive Coates claims you need to wait a minimum of 10-12 years before you touch them! I'm not that patient. I also didn't buy one bottle of 2000 Bordeaux for the same reason.

I plan on buying 1-3 bottles each of various Grand Cru Burgundies & top Bordeaux that are at least 99's or older. I would rather try a variety of domains and vineyards then be locked into a case of one wine. I also think I will continue to buy twice as much CA/Oregon as French.

I have enjoyed Giradin wines and think they are a great value. Just had a great 99' Pommard Grand Eponet.

If you are younger,richer,have more storage, and more patience than I, then 2002s may be the way to go.

Vinserve thanks for the advice re the books. I will definitely look for them.

As for burgundy versus new world pinot noir, I am afraid i am a traditionalist. I want to know what the "original" tastes like; otherwise, I can't judge what newer regions have done to improve it. I realize this is a reprehensible attitude in many ways, and I'll probably get criticized for it, but that's just how I like to approach things.

It has been the same with Cabernet. First I tried to master bordeaux, now I start branching out into california cabs.

The Wine Club, Santa Ana and Premier Cru have had the best prices on Girardin. It may be too late on the White's they've started to arrive and I snatched up some Corton-Charlie at $52 a few weeks ago.

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

This is the "wino formerly known as MBD". This past summer, I bought a mixed case of 02 Girardin futures. 3 bottles each of the Clos de Beze and the Chambertin (yes, he apparently does make one) for $70 each, and 2 bottles each of the Corton Renardes, Bressandes, and Perrieres. $36 each. I have very much enjoyed his wines in the past, and these prices were just too good to pass up.

I also bought 4 bottles of his 02 Corton Charlie on pre-arrival. $52 each. Santa Ana told me today it is in the country, and they expect to receive it in the next 2-3 weeks. I tried my first bottle of his 99 a few months ago, and it was total heaven! I have 2 more bottles of it, and 6 of the 00 which I haven't tried. (96 points per WS)

Per Pierre Rovanni, there will be a number of great 02 Burgs, but as someone mentioned above also, the hype seems to be outrunning the reality. At least for now, I would stick to producers you like, with proven track records.

cbmac

I will be going to an '02 Burgundy tasting next Tues 13th Jan, 5-8pm at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall, London and have a ticket going spare (Bibendums). They will be serving some of the wines that you noted in your post and some of the makers will be there. If you are interested, let me know here and I'll contact you directly to make arrangements.

Here's a list of makers whose wines will be shown:

Barthod, Chauvenet, Colin, Colin-Deleger, de Montille, Droin, Drouhin-Laroze,
Duband, Engel, Fontaine-Gagnard, Forges, Girardin, Grivot, Jayer-Gilles, JM Boillot, Laroche,
Morey-Coffinet, Matrot, Morey, Potel, Rouget and Tollot-Beaut.

I will definitely be buying '02 Burgundy futures. The whites are supposed to be stunning (I procured a case of '02 1er Cru Chablis, ex-vineyard and tried a bottle - absolute corker!) and I have relatively little Burgundy in cellar and trying to make inroads.

BirD

Goo goo ga joo

I have been drinking with some regularity the 1999 Rene Engel Vosne Romanee and it is wonderful, so I would assume the crus would be even better.

Welcome to Massachusetts - Be Fabulous and Say "I Do"

Good Burgundy is expensive. We can´t order those as futures in Sweden. But I would wait with spending money until I´ve read som reviews or tasted the wines.

I went to the Bibendum tasting last night and had a great time. Thanks BirDungy. There were actually a number of "cheaper" (i.e. $30 or less a bottle) wines that I liked.

My notes on forty wines I tasted are here.

CB,
Thanks for your post on this. However, I wish you could have tasted Girardin. A Chicagostore has a selection of 4 different '02 white Burgs and I would have liked to read some comments on them before plunging. Thanks again tho.

A wine I remember though I haven't published notes yet. This was the last wine I tasted (or was it second to last?). Vincent's brother in law poured it for me and when I mentioned that his bil's wines were not typical Burgundian and more newworld, I got a bit of a strange look. Anyway...

The wine was a really deep yellow hue and had a very full fruit nose. It was as fat as a young fat wine could be, teeming with ripe tropical fruit and some apple. Really really fat with almost no trace of oak or tannin. A bit strange compared to many of the other wines that night. It was also strangely low in acid. My initial view is that I don't know how that wine will hold up over time given it's lack of even subtle oak tannins and acidity. But boy, was it fat.

BirD

Goo goo ga joo