The owners of Pearl of Burgundy (PoB) staged this amazing dinner together with Pierre Duroché. Not only did we taste a large set of their top wine, Chambertin Clos de Beze including vintage 1971 but on top of this, we were offered the Griotte Chambertin which must be one of the rarest Grand Cry wine in Burgundy under production with less than a 100 bottles p.a. It is so small it practically does not appear on the market but gets allocated to a few close friends and merchant owners. Before 2010 it was blended into the 1er Crus. In 2010 they vinified it separately for the first time but did not label/commercialize it. We tasted the 2010 and 2012, both sublime wines…
If I had to summarize it, the style of Duroché, is very similar to Armand Rousseau. The wines are perfumey, airy, elegant, light colored. Having not had many Duroché wines I was most pleased to have secured a seat in this tasting dinner and was most impressed with the quality of the wines. It ended up being one of my most memorable wine dinners. People at the table, many Asian heavy Burg hitters with DRC, Leroy, etc. under their belt were equally stunned.
Tasting Notes
Premier Crus
2009 Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Etelois, 90 Points
Ripe, sunny nose of cherry, spices, some oak. Rich palate, the ripe 2009 vintage clearly coming though. This was decent but not on par with 2010 which had much better balance.
2010 Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Etelois, 93 Points
Red current nose, some forest notes. Discrete, luckily cooler, more regal than the 2009, clearly better. The palate is sappy here, lively acidity, great mouthfeel. Medium complexity on the aromatic side.
2014 Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaut St. Jacques, 92 Points
Intense nose of red current, spices. Very young on the palate, still finding its balance. Good fruit core but I found it a touch too acidic at the moment. Will need to settle. Wait. 92+
Grand Crus Charmes / Latricières
2010 Domaine Duroché Charmes-Chambertin, 96 Points
OK, now we are talking, a big step up from the Premier Crus. The nose is sophisticated here with that beautiful, so distinctively French mix of game/musk/earth intermixed with red fruit. This, unlike the 2010 Beze was really ready to drink. A sophisticated Charmes, similar in style with Bachelet.
2010 Domaine Duroché Latricières-Chambertin, 97 Points
Another notch up from the Charmes came the Latricieres. Here we have additional structure, some smoky notes, more earth/forest, complex and sophisticated. Noticeably more structured than the Latricieres 2012, but not necessarily better, just a different side of the same coin. A great, complete wine. Wait at least till 2020 to open this.
2012 Domaine Duroché Latricières-Chambertin, 97 Points
This wine was really a ballerina of a Latricieres. Elegant, delineated palate, very fragrant nose of animalic, earthy and cherry scents. More feminine but same quality as the 2010. Style wise this wine reminded me of the 2010 Hudelot Noellat CdV or 2011 RSV. Great stuff!
Grand Crus Clos de Beze
2008 Domaine Duroché Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 97 Points
The first Beze of the night and what a wine. The aromas jumped from the glass with intense morello cherry notes intermixed with earthy, animalic notes. Lots of energy on the palate with lively acidity and good fruit core. Licorice on the finish. Very sophisticated.
2009 Domaine Duroché Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, 95 Points
Back to 2009 and the sunny year was immediately visible. A clear step down, I was giving 94 points at the start due the lower sophistication of the nose that was overpowered by the warm, red fruit, ripe notes. It never gained a the greatness seen in all the other Grand Crus of the night but it did noticeably improve after 1h in the glass, improving its balance, the warm notes vanishing. So if you own this wine, you probably want to give it enough air before serving it.
2010 Domaine Duroché Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, 99 Points
Holy Christ, what a nose, rose petals, game, spices. Deep dense palate, structured, yet elegant at the same time, beats me, how are those opposites combined… Once more, 2010 shows that it is Europe’s vintage of our lifetime. Everything there in spades AND harmony: aroma, fruit, structure, freshness. Young. If you own this Clos de Beze, congratulations, but don’t open it before 2025. An amazing Burg, up there in quality and style with Armand Rousseau. 99-100
2011 Domaine Duroché Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, 96 Points
The surprise of the evening. I was expecting something less exciting. Quite the contrary. This wine had more structure than the 2012, additional whole cluster, pine, sandal wood notes, spicy. Very exciting wine. Kudos for pulling of such a stellar 2011, different style but almost up there in quality and pleasure with the 2012. Give it till 2020 before drinking. 96+
2012 Domaine Duroché Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, 98 Points
Great wine here as well, amazing nose, higher pitched than the 2010, spices, game, cloves. Distinctively light and elegant on the palate, great aromatic finish. Another winner. 2012 is really the ballerina vintage in this line up. Can be consumed now due to its softness but will gain for sure with additional bottle age. Another wow wine.
1971 Domaine Duroché Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, 100 Points
OMG, unbelievable nose here. Aromas to die for, a mix of animalic scents, autumn leaves, nuts, some red fruit, and herbs de provence, if the palate is still alive I must give 100 points to this. And yes it was very alive indeed with lots of energy and acidity left, not even a hint of oxidation or stale/mushroomy aromas here as often seen in 40 year old Burgs. Wow, wine doesn’t get any better than this.
Grand Crus Griotte (not always commercialized, only half a barrel)
2010 Domaine Duroché Griotte-Chambertin, 100 Points
Super rare wine, less than 100 bottles produced and actually the 201 vintage was never commercialized but sits in Pierr Duroché’s private cellar. The two Griotte were as sophisticated as the Beze just a touch more in the red current spectrum. Expressive nose here with lots of sour cherry, red current and then also earl gray tea (bergamotte) notes emerging. The palate is structured but silky and elegant at the same time. Real sophistication. Wow!
2012 Domaine Duroché Griotte-Chambertin, 98 Points
Super rare wine, less than a 100 bottles produced. The two Griotte were as sophisticated as the Beze just a touch more in the red current spectrum. Also here lots of sour Cherry with additional notes of Tobacco. Very elegant and delineated palate. Another wine to die for. Holy Christ, Duroché was really non serial fire during this dinner. Simply stunning. 98-99
Closing
A truly magical wine dinner. Thanks PoB and Pierre Duroché.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
February 2018