2008 Beaune Clos des Ursules

Medium red. Initially bound-up on the nose, but a whiff of caramel oak blew off to reveal spicy aromas of cherry, musky raspberry and licorice. Silky red fruits began fairly dry but grew sweeter and more supple in the glass. Still, this is not singing today; I suspect its inherent complexity will require at least a few years of bottle aging to emerge.

Cedar and resin, sweet-smoky machine oil and dark berries on the nose of Jadot’s 2008 Beaune Vignes Franches Clos des Ursules, usher in a juicy, saline, smoky, resinous and meaty (both carnal and substantial) palate from which, at least temporarily, impressions of sweet fruit that were suggested in the nose seem largely to have been expunged. Even so, the carnal and mineral display here is entirely enticing in itself, rendering the sort of Pinot that makes you wonder how it could have come from grapes. This finishes with lip-smacking and pungent saline savor, herbal impingement and deep, marrowy meat stock. If more sweetness of fruit (re)emerges on the palate, it will prove outstanding, and it should in any case prove versatile, fascinating, and lively for at least the better part of a decade. Jacques Lardiere reported that selection to remove grapes tainted with rot had to be rigorous in both 2007 and 2008, but that the task was more onerous in 2008, and especially in the Cote de Beaune. A substantial share of the triage in the Cote de Nuits, he noted, was for the sake or removing under-ripe berries, and in the end less than one degree of chaptalization took place with any Jadot 2008 or 2007 red. Given the biodynamic methods now employed here, anti-botryticides are anathema, which would, one suspects, have enhanced the challenges presented in both years, but especially in 2007. The best Jadot 2008s – many of which did not finish malo until after the 2009 harvest – possess energy and sheer refreshment, if occasionally accompanied by slightly abrasive tannins and aggressive acids. What’s more, these 2008s are for the most part (by Cote d’Or standards) value-priced. The higher-priced 2007s – about which Lardiere waxed enthusiastic early in their evolution – frequently wanted somewhat for focus; sweetness of fruit; or distinctive personalities, with the exceptions being, sadly for consumers, among the most expensive crus. While Jadot’s Cote de Beaune 2007s were harvested earlier and vinified more cautiously due to their more precarious condition than were the corresponding Cote de Nuits lots, I found worrisome astringency creeping into some of the latter, and not the sort that I expect to dissipate. Fans of Clos des Ursules who maintain a vertical collection should be aware that the team here elected to bottle the small amount of 2007 (which I did not taste) exclusively in magnum. Given the extremely reasonable pricing of Jadot wines in recent years – owned by their importer, they no doubt enjoy a unique degree of flexibility thanks to vertical integration – the many excellent Jadot 2005s (for cellaring) and 2006s that remain in the marketplace are where I would look for some of Burgundy’s best Pinot values. None of the Jadot 2008s were bottled before March, but I re-tasted some of them in late April after they had been bottled, which explains the presence of limited non-parenthetic ratings. The extent of declassification or anticipated declassification in the interest of quality in 2008 spoke volumes about Jadot’s quality-consciousness, but rendered a few of the samples I tasted – even last April –indicative of vintage quality here as a whole, rather only vaguely indicative of the wines that would eventually be bottled under a given village-designated label. For example, I tasted a village Pommard representative of an assemblage of 60 barrels, but into this Lardiere planned to blend no fewer than 20-25 barrels from assorted Pommard premier crus. There will also be a village Beaune for the U.S. market, incidentally, assembled from barrels of premier cru, but also not yet assembled when I tasted. Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490-9300

(racked in April) Good medium red. Liqueur-like black cherry, spices, licorice and minerals on the nose. Broad and sweet in the mouth, with the mineral quality carrying through. Finishes with sweet tannins and enticing lingering perfume. This is further along in its elevage and easier to taste.