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Wines to Love
By Robert Whitley
Sep 12, 2006
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BEAUNE, France

I'm thumbing through the wine list at Le Conty, a charming bistrot with a killer wine list in the center of Beaune, the epicenter of France's Burgundy region. There are many stunning bottles to choose from, but I keep returning to the section with the demis -- or half bottles.

A demi of Bonneau du Martray's 1993 Corton Charlemagne catches my eye. This is a 13-year-old grand cru white Burgundy, a rare wine to begin with, but even more of a rarity considering it's by the half bottle at a modest sidewalk cafe where I'm sitting on a folding chair and using paper napkins.

So I'm thinking maybe this is just dumb luck. Then I flip the page to check on the red wines in demi and spy an important wine from the Rhone Valley, the 1996 Jabloulet Hermitage 'La Chapelle.' I pinch myself once or twice just to make sure I'm not dreaming.

OK, I can do this. The Corton Charlemagne is listed at 55 euro (about $70) and the 'La Chapelle' at 48 euro (about $60). The prices are very good given the quality and age of the wines. I can't resist; I'm in for both.

The '93 Corton Charlemagne was impressive. The color was youthful, and on the palate the wine packed the signature Corton Charlemagne power, the firm acidity and extraordinary length. This was an absolutely remarkable white wine.

'The 1993 vintage was a lean vintage,' Frederic Drouhin, the president of Burgundy's respected Joseph Drouhin negociant firm, told me later. 'The wines were not especially well received when they were young. They needed time. Our '93 Clos des Mouches (blanc) is the same.'

And come around they have. The '96 Jaboulet Hermitage 'La Chapelle' was an equally exciting revelation, although my expectations for the wine had been high to begin with. La Chapelle is one of the choicest spots on Hermitage hill and the wines are renowned for their power, elegance and longevity.

What I didn't expect was the explosion of fruit. The 'La Chapelle' delivered an intense bouquet of blueberry jam and violets. The infamous Hermitage tannins were beautifully integrated into the wine and the palate was very long, smooth and complex. This was a superb bottle of wine, and it had to be to play in the same league with the exceptional Chardonnay from Corton Charlemagne.

You may or may not be able to replicate this tasting, but the larger point is to trust the great terroirs of the world to produce wines that will age beautifully and hold up magnificently in half bottles (wines typically age more quickly in half bottles and more slowly in large-format bottles, such as magnums, double-magnums and larger). Those with the patience to cellar such wines will be rewarded.

A couple of nights later I gained a valuable insight into the 2001 vintage from Burgundy, a vintage that didn't exactly excite the masses.

'The '01 vintage is very underrated,' Drouhin told me. He set out to prove it with his firm's Grands-Echezeaux from that very lean year. The 2001 whites had been well received, but the firm and sometimes green, unripe tannins of the reds kept the buzz on the vintage to a whisper.

Of course, Drouhin knew his wine would show well and it did, exhibiting excellent depth and nicely integrated tannins. He threw another log on the fire when he opened a 2001 Griotte-Chambertin that was almost breathtaking with its silky, elegant palate.

It's obvious now that the grand cru reds fared well in 2001, and perhaps a sign that the premier cru and village reds might blossom as well. I suspect that some will but that many - specifically those with bitter unripe tannins - won't.

It's a vintage that has more than its share of dogs, but at least I now know there are gems to be had, too.

On a final note, I picked up a couple of village wines from Volnay, from the great producer Michel Lafarge, who probably is most famous for its premier cru Volnay 'Clos des Chenes.'

Lafarge's 1999 Volnay is a blockbuster of a village Burgundy, with exceptional depth and chunky tannins. It is still very young. The 2000 Lafarge Volnay is lighter in color and not as fleshy as the '99, but that could change once it sheds its hard tannins. This is a wine that has some potential for elegance and class with a few more years in the cellar.

Robert Whitley is Publisher of Wine Review Online. He can be reached at rwhitley@winereviewonline.com.