2000 Simon Bize Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Côte de Beaune Burgundy France. $100, retailer and importer not noted.
Pale yellow color, clear hue, restrained aroma of citrus and minerals, lovely fruit tastes, especially lemons, with firm mineral notes, very good acidity, long, interesting finish. A delightful young Corton-Charlemagne with loads of promise for the future. 4*+. No EGA.
I had this wine at a marvelous Burgundy event in San Francisco several years ago -- my original note -- "Beautiful aroma, a bit acidic but drinking very well, lovely perfume. Seemed very young to me. 3*+." That tasting encouraged me to lay down three bottles, and I opened this one to help me decide on a new offering from Chambers Street on the 2004 vintage. I'll see what other folks think, but I'm sorely tempted by the CSW sales pitch -- and by how the 2000 developed -- that's for sure.
Notes: CSW:
Simon Bize bought his portion of CC in 1999, the vines date to 1957. His Corton Charlemagne is one of the best produced, period. It is the equal or better of any Corton Charlemagne. He produces only 100 cases of this exquisite White Burgundy and we have arranged to purchase 15 cases, a whopping 15% of the entire production!
$160 per bottle or $1728 per case with 10% off ($144 per bottle).
Note: from 50+ year old vines situated in Pernand
Producer note: Patrick Bize told me that he was one of the earliest harvesters in the entire Côte de Beaune in 2003 but one of the very last in 2004 as he began on "September 25th and continued picking until October 5th. We tried to pick every parcel as late as we could to get good phenolic ripeness and so we took our time, taking care to harvest carefully and doing a sort in the vineyard first. By the time we were finishing sorting, yields were only average but with good sugars and correct acidities, which is to say between 12.8 and 13.7%. Despite the fact that we waited to pick, the stems were ripe but not optimally ripe so I retained only 50% of them. Over the course of a 15 to 16 day cuvaison, I did less punching down and more pumping over to change the nature of the extraction. The malos were very late to start and long to finish, so we delayed the mise accordingly. Overall, the wines are very pretty and fresh and should drink well early yet hold well because they're well balanced." As usual, Bize has produced several exceptionally attractive wines that should be on your shopping lists, in particular the Latricières, the Vergelesses and the Le Suchot. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; John Armit Wines, Howard Ripley, Bibendum, Ball Brothers and S.H. Jones, all UK).
Tasting note: A moderately oaked nose that is both toasty and carries obvious vanilla influence highlights white pear and green apple fruit of impressive depth that is perfectly in keeping with the rich, full and sweet flavors that again display more than a touch of wood yet the concentration and power should be enough to eventually integrate it successfully. This is a big wine with plenty of muscle yet the finish is admirably detailed and seriously long. Tasted: Jul 01, 2006. Drink: 2009+