Burgundy’s most famous villages rarely over-deliver in today’s market. Worldwide demand has caused prices to soar, creating a situation where many wines fall short of our expectations. Today’s wine is the polar opposite, a wine which truly blew us away and trounced just about everything I have tasted in this price range.
It has it all: beautiful layers of fruit, endless savory depth, and nuanced minerality which drives an ever-evolving, minutes-long finish. It isn’t hyperbole when I say we are still buzzing about this wine weeks later. This is a truly incredible, age-worthy bottle of Pinot Noir; a must-have for the cellar, especially when the 2014 vintage— one of the decades greatest red vintages—allowed vineyards to showcase another layer of depth. There are typically two sides to N-S-G wines: those south of the town tend to be brawnier and structured, while those to the north lean toward the more graceful style of Vosne-Romanée. Today’s wine pulls from both ends of the spectrum—it’s full of fruit and mineral components that forge an intensely-layered Pinot Noir underpinned with finesse and rounded tannins. François Legros’ minuscule one-acre parcel in the Premier Cru “Aux Bousselots” is farmed by hand, crafted with minimalist intervention, and enhanced with a judicious level of new oak and aging. Even in its youth, the perfumed fruit and earth is intoxicating and will only gain complexity as years march forward. That said, we don’t have many to offer today—up to six per customer—and you’d be hard-pressed to find this elsewhere; the lucky few who previously had it have already exhausted their tiny allocation!
François Legros assumed control of his family domaine in 1988 and has tirelessly worked to climb to the top rungs of quality. He’s exacted a more natural approach in the vineyard by practicing lutte raisonnée and implements an unnoticeable hand in the winery. In addition, François has extended the domaine’s holdings throughout Burgundy proper and recouped old vines previously held by his parents. He also took over a small Saint-Aubin (his wife’s birthplace) property from his father-in-law, bringing their holdings to a grand total of 17 respectable acres. Today, his daughter Charlotte—who studied wine in Beaune—joins his side.
François’ one acre in “Aux Bousselots” has soils that are brown limestone with clay and his vines are hovering around the half-century mark on an east-facing hillside. He always harvests his grapes by hand and sorting takes place right at the source: the vineyard itself. After selecting only the finest berries, they are destemmed in the winery and fermented in concrete vats. Following a two week fermentation and a manual pigeage (punching down the grape skins), the wine is then transferred into cask (new and used) for 12-18 months, depending on the evolution of each barrel. Bottling occurs without fining or filtration.
In the glass, Legros’ 2014 “Aux Bousselots” shows a concentrated garnet core with dark ruby and slight pink hues along the rim. The nose is bursting with perfumed notes of black cherry blossoms, black raspberry, plum, fruitcake, dried herbs, black tea, clay, underbrush, and exotic spices. There is also some aged Côte-Rôtie-like umami happening, with undertones of black mushroom and dried meat; something you’re apt to find in high-quality Burgundy. Thanks to the vintage, the palate brings an added layer of weight, density, and perfectly-framed tension brought on by balanced acidity. The wine opens up in layers; it’s impressively structured, but always accompanied with seamless layers of fruit and earth. Though only on its fourth birthday, it’s already magical at this age, still, my career has taught me that these wines shine brightest around 8-10 years and will last a decade or two beyond that. For the best results, pull the cork in the morning and allow the wine to breathe in bottle over the course of the day (if you forget, just decant for one hour). Serve right above cellar temperature in large Burgundy stems and pair it next to pappardelle with duck confit; though an Italian dish by nature, it’s still a perfect marriage of flavor and richness. Cheers!
