Corton rouge announces it's coming out party

Long overlooked and underrated, the red wines made from the hill of Corton are about to receive a major boost. Domaine Romanee Conti has announced that it will be leasing vineyards on Corton from the Domaine Prince Florent de Merode. The grand crus Les Renardes, Les Bressandes and Clos du Roi will be exploited by DRC beginning with the 2009 vintage. DRC co-director Aubert de Villaine cited the prime location of the plots and the old vines they contain as the primary reasons for the domaine's interest. The Prince and Princess Merode recently died within six months of each other and, according to Bruce Sanderson of the Wine Spectator, the heirs of the estate contacted DRC about the possible lease.

This arrangement is big news. DRC has long prided itself in only producing grand cru wines from the best appellations. Excluding a little Vosne Romanee premier cru that is bottled every few years, the only red wines made by the estate are from grand cru sites in Vosne Romanee and Flagey-Echezaux. When the domaine decided to make some white wine it bought a plot in Le Montrachet. Oh yeah, DRC are also produces two barrels of Batard-Montrachet, but they choose not to release it. Instead the Batard is drunk in-house and given away as gifts. The fact that Domaine Romanee Conti is interested in making and bottling wines from the hill of Corton speaks volumes about the potential quality of this appellation. While many collectors ignore the reds from Corton, the management of DRC obviously sees their potential.

Many consumers are of the mind set that red Cortons are not worthy of their grand cru status, but this notion is disputed by some of the leading critics. Clive Coates places Corton Clos du Roi, along with Le Musigny, La Tache, Chambetin and Romanee Conti, in the highest classificaion of Burgundy's vineyards. The Burghound himself, Allen Meadows, has said that reds from Corton are indeed grand cru wines, but they usually need a good twenty years to reach maturity. I have found that Cortons are often hard and firm when young. The charmless/coarse nature of many young Cortons is most likely the main reason why many Burdgundy drinkers do not hold them in high esteem. Despite the critical acclaim, the prices charged for Corton rouge have remained well below that of the Cote de Nuits grand crus. The Cortons bottled by DRC, however, will surely be outrageously expensive and highly sought after by collectors. The attention DRC is going to bring to the appellation will benefit all the growers who bottle wines from the hill. Perhaps reds from Corton will finally receive the prestige that has eluded them for so long.

A true kabinett

Eric Asimov, wine writer for The New York Times, recently posted about a bottle of 2001, Joh. Jos. Prum, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Kabinett on his blog The Pour. The main point of Mr. Asimov's piece was that this bottle actually tasted like a kabinett, unlike many wines bearing that label today. Germany's warming climate has resulted in Kabinetts that have the weight and richness of spatlese or even auslese. While delicious in their own right, these wines do not have the profile of classic kabinetts. The Asimov post reminded me of a few Prum 2001s that lay buried in my cellar and I decided to crack one open late in the day on Thanksgiving. When first released, the Prum 2001's showed strong sulphur-like aromas, but this is typical of the young wines released by this estate. Sulphur aromas are said to disappear after several years and sure enough, my bottle had a nose that was fresh and full of flowers. The wine was elegant in the mouth and nearly dry. I have been shying away from German wines lately due to the sweetness that many possess, but I was thrilled to see that the wine had become drier with age (yet not tired). As Mr. Asimov points out, it is a shame that this style of kabinett has been missing in recent vintages. The German winemakers like to say that the kabinetts made in recent vintages provide more bang for the buck. While it is true the wines are richer and more intense then one expects for their level, it does not make them a better kabinett. I enjoyed the light body and beautiful texture of the 2001 Prum and I would have been disappointed if the wine was very ripe and sweet. Some professionals have tasted the 2007's from Prum and they claim that they are similar the 2001s in style. That would be refreshing.

http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/

Gloomy mood at the Hospices de Beaune

Each morning, while listening to the radio, I am bombarded with reports detailing the horrible state of our economy. The constant onslaught of negative financial news can be very depressing, but there may be a silver lining for Burgundy fans. In Beaune, the annual Hospices de Beaune auction was recently held and the Wine Spectator is reporting that wine prices have decreased dramatically. 450 barrels of 2008 red Burgundy were sold at prices 31.5% lower from those fetched by the 2007s last year. Likewise, 94 barrels of white Burgundy sold at prices that were also down from last year, but by only 2.45%. While the region no longer sets their prices based on the results of the auction, it is certainly an indicator of the interest in the vintage. Most reports coming from Burgundy consider 2008 to be a strong year for white wine, but spotty for the reds. The vintage may turn out to be very good for some producers, but it is generating little buzz from the press. Although the growers are always reluctant to go in reverse with thier pricing, perhaps the global economic crisis will bring a bit of sanity to the region. There are most likely sizeable quantities of 2006's piling up in the cellars of many domaines and this will only put more pressure on the prices of the subsequent vintages. Good deals should be abundant for the U.S. consumer in the coming year, assuming some have the money to spend.