Tasting of the 2014s from Domaine Grivot

Domaine Grivot has improved quality tremendously over the last 5 to 10 years, optimizing and improving the wines little by little each year.

The wines are made with a lighter hand with the oak less present in the young wines, and since 2009 the micro details and the purity of the wines have been significantly improved. The style is pure, elegant with a nice fruit and terroir driven character.

Last week I had the opportunity to taste almost the full 2014 range at a tasting with the Danish importer of Grivot – a rare treat indeed, as the Grivot portfolio is large and some of the wines are produced in small quantities.To the impressions …

The impressions of the 2014 wines from Grivot

Domaine Grivot has made the most of the 2014 vintage – they have shown respect for the delicate and lovely fruit of the vintage – love the transparency and the purity.

All the wines from the Bourgogne Rouge to the Richebourg share the gorgeous and refined 2014 fruit – so juicy, delicate and transparent.

It’s impressive how the style and identify is identifiable throughout the full range of wines, still respecting and unfolding the individual terroirs fully.

This is indeed a lovely collection of 2014s … and just back from Burgundy where I re-tasted the 2015s from Grivot – it is pretty clear that this estate has taken a big step forward to be included among the best producers of red Burgundies.

These are forward and juicy wines – will perhaps close down somewhat – but I would expect them to provide lovely drinking over the next 10 years or so – and the bigger wines will keep even longer.

Tasting notes of the 2014s from Domaine Grivot

We tasted 16 wines i.e. almost all the wines produced by Domaine Grivot in this vintage. 

Starting out with the Bourgogne Rouge 2014, a very juicy and transparent wine – offering some of the qualities of the bigger wines – with a lovely pure and detailed mid-palate fruit. It’s refined and quite complex for this level – and one even pick up some Vosne hints in the bouquet – Good+ (86-87p).

Moving up to the Nuits-Saint-Georges les Charmois 2014 .. a very delicate and fruity NSG – not much classic NSG austerity and density here. The fruit is elegant and juicy – it’s airy and expressing the essence of the 2014 vintage – offering tremendous drinkability – Very Good (88 – 89p)

Next up is Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Laviéres 2014 – clearly a bigger wine and also with more of a Vosne ascendant. Sadly i bit reduced on the day .. but will no doubt unfold like the other wines – Very Good (88 – 90p)

The Vosne-Romanee Bossiéres – a village made from .. This is very much forward adding more depth and complexity to the mid-palate fruit – delicate mixture of red and dark fruit. Lovely expressive bouquet – hints of violets and rose petals – drinking beautifully – Very Good+ (90 – 91p)

Entering 1er cru territory (Grivot makes 9 different 1er crus). The first one out is Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes 2014 – a wine often disregarded as the weak link in man lineups. In my view more and more lovely wines are made from Les Chaumes – and the 2014 is no exception. This is a lovely and generous wine – perfectly ripe and vibrant mid-palate fruit offering a lovely delicacy and freshness – detailed sweet red fruit with notes of red currant and pomegranate to balance. It’s charming and lush … what is wrong with being forward and enchanting? – Fine (91 – 92p).

In the other end of the appellation – or rather in Flagey-Echezeaux we find Vosne-Romanée Les Rouges – just above Echezeaux. This is a energetic wine with a lovely tension and vibrancy. A fine mixture of red and dark berry fruit – sweet and more acidity driven berries .. providing a lovely complexity and a very outgoing personality. This is indeed a overlooked terroir .. lovely juice – Fine+ (92 – 93p).

Next up or should I say just south Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts 2014. This is a more silky and richer wine offering a beautiful range of Vosne spices and a delightful mid-palate depth. Its forward, generous and very elegant with a nice energy. A notch up from the Les Rouges in intensity and weight .. yet still a delicate and refined wine – Very Fine (92 – 93p).

Further south and a bit down we find Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées 2014 … this is a sexy wine in both 2014 and 2015 from Grivot. The red fruit is very generous offering a rich and sunny side of the 2014 vintage .. silky yet still vibrant and energetic. Lovely balance and a fine expression of terroir in this wine .. Very Fine+ (93 – 94p).

The rare Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots is another beauty and this represent a step up in concentration from the Aux Brûlées .. the fruit is deeper and slightly darker. It has more mid-palate weight but somehow it lacks the vibrant generosity of the mid-palate found in the Brûlées. In the end they are quite evenly matched in my view – Very Fine+ (93 – 94p).

The last of the Vosne 1er crus is the Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots. This is a more dense and weighty wine than the previous 1er crus offering a beautiful depth and length. The fruit is fresh and vibrant for the location on the middle part of the lower Les Suchots – but it seems to lack a bit of the energy found in previous wines – Very Fine (93 – 94p).

Moving on to the three last 1ers of Nuits-Saint-Georges – Ronciere, Prulieres and Boudots. Firstly Grivot has done a tremendous job in integrating the NSGs in the portfolio and now the purity and delicacy of the fruit also is expressed in this part of the range – well done – some of the most refined and delicate Nuits-Saint-Georges wines made between Premeaux and the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges. That being said – the terroirs in this area rarely offer the complexity to match the Vosne 1er crus mentioned above – this is also not the case here.

The Nuits-Saint-Georges Ronciére 2014 is a fine and elegant NSG – juicy fruit, fine airy complexity with a fine depth. A lovely wine – especially served independently of the Vosne 1er crus. It’s a bit more sturdy and weighty in the mid-palate fruit if one have to be direct. A fine wine nevertheless – Fine+ (92 – 93p).

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Prulieres 2014 is a classic and rather intense NSG – still fashioned in the refined Grivot style. This is a big and balanced wine offering tremendous mid-palate intensity supported by a impressive acidity. If personal preferences rule – this is I wine that I respect more than I love .. but most certainly a Very Fine (93 – 94p) wine by all standards.

The Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 2014 – serious reduction in this example … improves with air, but need to settle down before it would be fair to make a formal note.

To the Grand Crus … the Clos de Vougeot 2014 is well known territory as I tasted this just after bottling in March 2016. This is a both refined and balanced effort with vinous and generous fruit on the palate, it’s long intense and first and foremost refined an airy. I love the detailed and saline character of this wine – and despite the location of the plot in the bottom of the Clos de Vougeot terroir – it’s year after year producing one of the best and most dependable Clos de Vougeots – Very Fine+ (94 – 95p). 

The Echezeaux 2014 is the wine of this range in my view. The palate is brimming with juicy and generous fruit – tremendous freshness and balance. Love the rich and expressive fruit, the airy mid-palate depth and weight – offering so much more nerve and intensity and detail than most other wines from this big Grand Cru .. this is Outstanding (94 – 96p).

One taster identified a slight corked hint on the Echezeaux .. I was not able to find this (normally quite sensitive) .. and while this could be the case, this just underlines how great the 2014 Echezeaux is from Grivot.

Moving up to the mighty Richebourg 2014 one finds a more serene and airy expression of Vosne-Romanée … the bouquet expresses class and greatness – with a effortless delivery of fruit and terroir. The mid-palate fruit is however lacking a bit of the exuberant generosity of the Echezeaux – a bigger wine than the Echezeaux qua the terroir – but in the glass they are quite close in my view – with the Richebourg being the most regal and the Echezeaux the most hedonistic – Outstanding (95 – 96p).

Summing up a beautiful lineup with a lot of tremendous wines that offer the best sides of the 2014 vintage. I have my favorites but personal preferences could shift the rankings, as many of the 1er crus are at the same level quality wise.

It’s also not a question about ranking .. it’s a matter of hedonistic enjoyment – and the whole range is well qualified to offer plenty of pleasure – from the Bourgogne Rouge and through the range

– Chapeau I’m both delighted and impressed.