Visit to Domaine Garcia – First Tasting of the 2022s from Cask

Domaine Garcia is one of the estates that I follow closely, hence they are amongst the first in my initial round of tastings of the 2022 vintage.

I did the harvest (or part of it anyway) at Domaine Garcia in 2021 and 2022, and therefore I had the opportunity to follow the vinification closely.

Domaine Garcia is an exciting estate, as readers of this column know. They employ the baie-par-baie technique (hand-destemming a third of the harvest) to make wines with some quite unique floral qualities (see more about baie-par-baie vinification below).

Disclaimer: I am a mere mortal

As said, I worked the harvest at Domaine Garcia, because I wanted to observe and come to understand baie-par-baie vinification.

The experience gave me great insight into both the harvest and vinification processes. Please remember, I’m merely a ‘Hog, and not an all-knowing expert like some others populating parts of the wine business. So yes: I did the harvest at Domaine Garcia, and if you feel this disqualifies me from objectively appraising the wines, then ignore the rest of this article. Biased? Perhaps. But taste the wines for yourself.

I have written in depth about Domaine Garcia before: see the 2020 article here, and the 2019 article here.

Explaining baie-par-baie

It appears hand-destemming – baie-par-baie and other variants – is becoming increasingly popular in Burgundy.

Pierre-Olivier Garcia employs a special technique whereby approximately a third of the berries for the wines are removed from the stems by hand, grape-by-grape, with a pair of scissors to ensure whole, undamaged berries for vinification. The result is the most delicate and beautiful berry caviar. It is also very time-consuming.

The share of baie-par-baie berries is currently fixed at around a third, as Pierre-Olivier considers this optimal. But it is possible to use less or more baie-par-baie if the vinification is adjusted accordingly, according to Garcia.

The baie-par-baie grapes are vinified with whole-cluster bunches and machine-destemmed berries. They are arranged in layers in the tank: whole clusters on the bottom, then baie-par-baie, and on top machine-destemmed berries. The layers are separated by CO2 to ensure the intracellular maceration starts in the two bottom layers of whole-cluster and baie-par-baie grapes.

The berries are kept cool until fermentation starts, and there is a short, cold, pre-fermentation in the tank, normally four days or so.

While the baie-par-baie method is unusual and time-consuming, the resulting wines are of indisputably exciting quality.

In my opinion, this technique encourages more highly perfumed aromas that are greatly detailed, with precise notes of roses and other floral components, giving a special, delicate complexity to these wines.

I have followed this method for some time, and its results are stunning, with tremendous phenolic complexity and variation, as the floral expression combines with the terroir and the vintage.

Beauty is on the palate of the beholder, though; I find these wines interesting and hedonistically expressive, but that’s me.

The 2022s

The 2022 vintage was a year of generosity and abundance. Yields were high, and while concentration is good, there is also a lovely lightness and effortlessness to the wines.

The expression of the baie-par-baie phenolics is variable in 2022, from pink dog roses (Rosa Canina), with aromas of both flowers and hips, to rich, velvety, red roses.

The lush, sweet, red roses are back in some of the ’22 wines, giving them a more seductive character.

The variation of the floral components is interesting and could indicate variable phenolic ripeness in the grapes. I will be interested to see if tasting confirms this. Bottom line: baie-par-baie is alive in the Garcia 2022s.

A first look

Domaine Garcia Bourgogne Les Maladieres 2022 is one of the rarest, most exotic red Bourgognes. Luckily, the good yields in 2022 gave a bit more juice. The nose is classic pinot droit, full of cinnamon and generous fruit. Not extremely complex, but the good yields give this lovely drinkability. Vin de soif of the highest level; I love it!

(Drink from 2029) – Very Good (90p) – Tasted 19/05/2023 –

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Domaine Garcia Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Grandes Vignes 2022 comes from Premeaux, right next to Comte Liger-Belair’s 1er-cru holding. And again in 2022 it was harvested on the same day. This is turning out to be one of my favourite wines from Garcia. There are some pink roses, and sweet peonies and lilacs that produce a certain grandeur for this level. Vivid and expressive, it shows delightful floral complexity. Better than the 2021? Yes. The points were perhaps too generous last year, but I adore the floral notes here.

(Drink from 2029) – Very Good (90-91p) – Tasted 19/05/2023 –

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