Burgundy reflections – ready to give …

Recently, a group of people on Instagram discussed the maturity of different Roumier wines … a both relevant and interesting topic.

I have been collecting Roumier wines since 1993 and still regularly taste the young Roumier wines. I am a fan of the genuine and honest style of Roumier… although my age has led me to reconsider purchasing this great estate.

Roumier wines need time … a lot of time actually … and to be completely honest, almost all the Roumier wines I have tasted have been opened too early olthogh some in a quite beautiful place maturity-wise.

I also think it is fair to say that global warming and presumably even minor adjustments of the vinification process have made the Roumier wines accessible somewhat earlier.

Looking at the Bonnes Mares … it is in my view doubtful that any Bonnes Mares produced since 1996 is fully mature, but a few vintages are showing development … here I am thinking of vintages like 1998, 2000, 2002 …

Telling about my observations and reservations … one of my good friends, Dr Chua Yang, from Singapore said the following …

– Me too! Have not drunk any Roumier that was ready to give!

And this does in a beautiful way underline the dilemma we all have when tasting Burgundies.

Most people today don’t have many mature wines … and many have recently started collecting wines and are looking at winelists where the oldest wine is from 2013 or 2017.

To find mature wines under these circumstances is impossible … but to look for wines that are “ready to give” is the only option.

Tasting 2013 Roumier Chambolle village, we found a wine that was starting to give a bit after 1 hour with decanting… was starting to show some complexity … but to say “ready to give” … would in this case be on the optimistic side.

Yet I go back to the Bonnes Mares 2002 from Roumier, then I personally would call it “almost ready to give”.

Looking at other producers Comte Liger-Belair here, the Echezeaux 2010 is “ready to give,” and producers like Domaine Fourrier in Gevrey Chambertin … here, quite some of the 2013s 1er crus are fully “ready to give” and please you with maturing notes.

Ready to Give