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Great 2002 Burgundy Expectations
Patrice Rion's newest releases

It’s a week before Christmas and I am standing in a cold cellar in Burgundy. The winemaker is scurrying around from one barrel to another with his glass pipette (wine thief), drawing out samples while I struggle to make notes on the 2002 vintage.

After four days, my 96-page book is filled. Synthesizing this into a cogent article is challenging. The entire region has almost 100 appellations, from Chablis to Chalonnaise (but excluding Beaujolais). The 40-kilometer Côte d’Or is Burgundy’s heart with some 25 village appellations (most producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnays), which are further divided into 476 premiers crus and 32 grands crus vineyards.

Unlike Bordeaux, where vineyards have a single owner, Burgundy has been divided and subdivided for hundreds of years. Thus, a grower might own a couple of rows (or parts of rows) here and there. It means that a single vineyards may be dozens of grower/producers, each with its own viticultural agenda.

Burgundians assert that the unique flavours are driven by the specific terroir determined by vineyard site alone. There are, however, too many other factors prior to the grapes arriving at the winery, to obfuscate these pure stylistic considerations (see expert Clive Coates’ introduction in his 1997-opus Cote d’Or). Add to this, the myriad of existing winemaking techniques and you have a huge number of variations on a theme.

The “monopole” vineyards, like Bouchard Père & Fils 2000 Beaune Greves Vigne-de-l’Enfant-Jésus (Vintages - 972554 $84.00), which are controlled/produced by a single owner, have the best chance of providing a continuous taste of the terrior.

Buying Burgundy is extremely challenging. A house may produce from five to several dozen wines annually. At Frederic Magnein, a relatively small producer, I was confronted by 46 selections, including more than 12 different cru of Chambolle Musigny alone!

There are too many permutations to precisely understand where a specific premiers cru originates. The grapes may come from the producer’s own vines. To various degrees, it may also be mixed with purchased grapes. Or, in the final analysis, even blended with purchased wine. In any case, quantities are miniscule and real tasting windows few and far between. The best is quickly bought up by discerning merchants, often on a repeat order basis. People line up to get their allocation of great wine.

Unfortunately, the LCBO has been left in the lurch with a real scarcity of fine Burgundy. “The LCBO should be combing Burgundy themselves like the SAQ,” says one agent. “Why would I sell my best to the LCBO when I can make three times as much by selling them directly to restaurants.” The solution? Go to the upcoming 7th biannual Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne from March 22-27 (see www.bivb.com)

Patrice Rion’s tasting was a highlight. He broke away from his family operation (Domain Daniel Rion) in 2001 and set up his own state-of-the-art operation in the same Côte de Nuits village of Prémeaux. Rion’s wines are now better than ever. There are many reasons. The first is the use of new sorting tables (table de tri), which are now used at the better Bordeaux chateaux. “Because of the heat, they were a life saver in 2003,” explains Rion. “We had a tremendous number of tiny, hard, dried-out berries. Our sorting tables came to the rescue enabling us to get rid of these unwanted grapes.”

“The key is limiting crop levels. To get better ripeness, we added an additional wire to which the new vine leaves are trained. Lower, old less energy generating leaves are removed, permitting better air circulation and more sunshine to ripen the clusters. We also avoid pumping and even forklift sorted grapes into our stainless steel tanks. Excessive fruit-diminishing filtration is also avoided. The more a wine is handled, the more it is hurt!”

These steps are paying off big time, despite his small 5,000 cases. Production is broken up between grapes he buys called Patrice Rion (PR) and wines made from his own vineyards: Domaine M & P Rion (M for Michèle his wife – M&P for short).

There is nothing everyday about his just-bottled M&P 2002 Bourgogne Bons Bâtons. Only 15 barrels were produced (450 cases) and it’s nicely structured with ripe cranberry and juicy cherry flavours. His premium 2002 reds (tasted from barrels) soar towards heaven. Of the many tasted, a slightly smoky, mouthfilling, ripe black cherry driven PR 2002 Gevrey Chambertin seduces. Two domaine wines are standouts: M&P 2002 Nuits St George 1er Cru Clos des Argillieres is perfectly harmonious with juicy ripe black cherries that seem begging to be drunk; the highlight, the complex, rich M&P 2002 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes is an opera of ripe plum, pomegranate and cherry purée flavors. Those trying to find a good Rion wine to drink today should check out the delicious, juicy, ripe cherry-driven PR 2001 Chambolle Musigny (918656) at $56.65, which is currently available at many Vintage stores.

Of course, every winemaker has his own style, which isn’t fixed in stone. At Domaine de Vougeraie, for instance, expert Canadian winemaker Pascal Marchand seems to have changed directions. His 2002’s have much longer maceration concentrating tannins and flavours, meaning that they are built for the long run. As a result they seem still tight and peppery at the moment, especially when compared to his pretty 1999’s. Time will tell. Note that I will be posting additional profiles and tasting notes from a number of the other producers visited in the near future.

2001-2002-2003 Tasting Note Database

Our tasting note database from December 3 1, 2000 to December 2003, covers every Vintages release product for the past 35 months. There are more than 5,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. Also you can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name, as well as current LCBO store inventory by clicking on "Check LCBO Availability", which will automatically tell you the number of bottles at LCBO as of last night.

To use our winefind.ca Tasting Notes Database: click here

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