Borgonha: Grand Cru e Premier Cru

Na última 5ª feira, dia 18 de abril, realizamos no Restaurante Marcel mais uma excelente degustação, desta vez de vinhos Grand Cru e Premier Cru da Borgonha, com a presença de 8 confrades. Foram degustados 8 vinhos, de safras relativamente recentes (2003, 2004, 2006 e 2007), sendo seis da sub região de Côte de Beaune e dois de Côte de Nuits. Desta vez, o restaurante e o nosso menu foi escolhido pelo nosso confrade João Altman.

Entrada: Carpaccio de cogumelos frescos e castanhas

Primeiro prato: Suflê de brie e alho poró

Prato principal: Entrecote de Angus, manteiga de salvias e purê de batatas clássico

Sobremesa: Creme brulee com baunilha ou Frutas da estação

O menu, a execução e o servço estavam excelentes. Apenas a baixa iluminação prejudicou sensivelmente a analise visual dos vinhos

A degustação contou com oito vinhos, com níveis alcoólicos variando entre 12,5% e 13,5%.

A seguir uma breve descrição dos vinhos degustados:

Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru 2007

Produtor: Nicolas Potel

País/Região: França/Volnay, Côte de Beaune

Graduação alcoolica: 12.5%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Marcio

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2007

Produtor: Domaine des Lambrays

País/Região: França/Morey St. Denis, Côte de Nuits

Graduação alcoolica: 13.5%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Calabro

Beaune Teurons 1er Cru 2007

Produtor: Nbouchard Pere et Fils

País/Região: França/Beaune, Côte de Beaune

Graduação alcoolica: 13%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Alberto

Beaune Les Perrieres 1er Cru 2004

Produtor: Domaine de Montille

País/Região: França/Beaune, Côte de Beaune

Graduação alcoolica: 13%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Altman

Saint Aubin "En Remilly" 1er Cru 2003

Produtor: Ch.Puligny-Montrachet

País/Região: França/Saint Aubin, Côte de Beaune

Graduação alcoolica: 13%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Paulo

Clos de Corton Grand Cru Monopole 2006

Produtor: Domaine Faiveley

País/Região: França/Corton, Côte de Beaune

Graduação alcoolica: 13.5%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Alessandro

Pommard Les Epenots 1er Cru 2007

Produtor: Domaine Camile Giroud

País/Região: França/Pommard, Côte de Beaune

Graduação alcoolica: 13%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Joubert

Nuits St.George Les Vaucrains 1er Cru 2006

Produtor: Domaine Alain Michelot

País/Região: França/Nuit St. George, Côte de Nuits

Graduação alcoolica: 13.5%

Uvas: Pinot Noir

Confrade: Ricardo

Vinhos degustados

Os vinhos degustados se mostraram muito elegantes, com pequeno grau de evolução, boa expressão aromática e pouco tânicos. Em linhas gerais, os aromas mais presentes foram frutas vermelhas, aromas florais e de especiarias. Um único vinho, o Pommard Les Epenots 1er Cru 2007, apresentou aromas de evolução, apesar da sua pouca idade.

Nesta degustação, os resultados do nosso painel apresentaram, uma pequena amplitude de notas, em linha com as boas degustações do ano, sendo na média aparada de 1.7 pontos (de 88,7 a 90,4).

O vinho que ficou em último lugar foi o Beaune Les Perrieres 1er Cru 2004, produzido pelo Domaine de Montille, na região de Côte de Beaune, com 13% de alcool, escolhido o pior vinho por 4 confrades.

O segundo melhor vinho do painel, foi o Nuits St.George Les Vaucrains 1er Cru 2006, produzido pelo Domaine Alain Michelot na região de Côte de Nuits, com 13,5% de alcool, ainda muito tânico, que apesar de ter sido o pior vinho para tres confrades, foi escolhido o melhor vinho por outros dois.

O Campeão da noite, foi o Saint Aubin "En Remilly" 1er Cru 2003, produzido pelo Chateau Puligny-Montrachet, na Região de Côte de Beaune, com 13% de alcool, tendo sido escolhido o melhor vinho por um confrade e o segundo melhor por cinco confrades.

Vejam os resultados completos abaixo.

  

Não se esquecam que no dia 16/Maio degustaremos exemplares de Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Até lá....

Não percam a próxima degustação.

Burgundy: Wine characteristics and classification

Burgundy is in some ways the most terroir-oriented region in France; immense attention is paid to the area of origin, and in which of the region's 400 types of soil a wine's grapes are grown. As opposed to Bordeaux, where classifications are producer-driven and awarded to individual chateaux, Burgundy classifications are geographically-focused. A specific vineyard or region will bear a given classification, regardless of the wine's producer. This focus is reflected on the wine's labels, where appellations are most prominent and producers' names often appear at the bottom in much smaller text.

The main levels in the Burgundy classifications, in descending order of quality, are: Grand crus, Premier crus, village appellations, and finally regional appellations:

• Grand Cru wines are produced from the small number of the best vineyard sites in the Côte d'Or, as strictly defined by the AOC laws. These Cru wines make up 2% of the production at 35 hl/ha, and are generally produced in a style meant for cellaring, and typically need to be aged a minimum of five to seven years. The best examples can be kept for more than 15 years. Grand Cru wines will only list the name of the vineyard as the appellation - such as Corton or Montrachet - on the wine label, plus the Grand Cru term, but not the village name.
• Premier Cru wines are produced from specific vineyard sites that are still considered to be of high quality, but not as well regarded as the Grand Cru sites. Premier Cru wines make up 12% of production at 45 hl/ha. These wines often should be aged three to five years, and again the best wines can keep for much longer. Premier Cru wines are labelled with the name of the village of origin, the Premier Cru status, and usually the vineyard name, for example, "Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets". Some Premier Cru wines are produced from several Premier Cru vineyards in the same village, and do not carry the name of an individual vineyard.
• Village appellation wines are produced from a blend of wines from supposedly lesser vineyard sites within the boundaries of one of 42 villages, or from one individual but unclassified vineyard. Wines from each different village are considered to have their own specific qualities and characteristics, and not all Burgundy communes have a village appellation. Village wines make up 36% of production at 50 hl/ha. These wines can be consumed two to four years after the release date, although again some examples will keep for longer. Village wines will show the village name on the wine label, such as "Pommard", and sometimes - if applicable - the name of the single vineyard or climat where it was sourced. Several villages in Burgundy have appended the names of their Grand Cru vineyards to the original village name - hence village names such as "Puligny-Montrachet" and "Aloxe-Corton".
• Regional appellation wines are wines which are allowed to be produced over the entire region, or over an area significantly larger than that of an individual village. At the village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels, only red and white wines are found, but some of the regional appellations also allow the production of rosé and sparkling wines, as well as wines dominated by grape varieties other than Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. These appellations can be divided into three groups:

a)     AOC Bourgogne, the standard or "generic" appellation for red or white wines made anywhere throughout the region, and represent simpler wines which are still similar to the village. These wines may be produced at 55 hl/ha. These wines are typically intended for immediate consumption, within three years after the vintage date.

b)     Subregional (sous-régional) appellations cover a part of Burgundy larger than a village. Examples are Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits and Mâcon-Villages. Typically, those communes which do not have a village appellation will have access to at least one subregional appellation. This level is sometimes described as intermediate between AOC Bourgogne and the village level.

c)     Wines of specific styles or other grape varieties include white Bourgogne Aligoté (which is primarily made with the Aligoté grape), red Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains (which can contain up to two-thirds Gamay) and sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne.

Chablis wines are labeled using a similar hierarchy of Grand Cru, Premier Cru and Village wines, plus Petit Chablis as a level below Village Chablis, whereas wines from Beaujolais are treated differently again.

In general, producers are always allowed to declassify their wine in steps to a lower-ranked AOC if they wish to do so. Thus, a wine from a Grand Cru vineyard may be sold as a Premier Cru from that vineyard's village, a Premier Cru wine may be sold as a Village wine, and so on. This practice will almost invariably mean the declassified wine will have to be sold at a lower price, so this is only practiced when something is to be gained overall in the process. One motive may be to only include vines of a certain age in a Grand Cru wine, to improve its quality and raise its prestige and price, in which case the wine coming from younger vines may be sold as a Premier Cru at a lower price. Overall, such a practice may allow a producer to keep a higher average price for the wine sold.

In total, around 150 separate AOCs are used in Burgundy, including those of Chablis and Beaujolais. While an impressive number, it does not include the several hundred named vineyards (lieux-dits) at the Village and Premier Cru level, which may be displayed on the label, since at these levels, only one set of appellation rules is available per village. The total number of vineyard-differentiated AOCs that may be displayed is well in excess of 500.

Source: www.wikipedia.com & www.vins-bourgogne.fr