2006 Domaine Simon Bize et Fils Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Marconnets 1er Cru

Bize's 2006 Savigny-les-Beaune Marconnets displays more body as well as sweetness and depth of fruit – expressed here as blackberry – than most of the other wines in his current collection. This was also fermented with the estate's usual regimen of whole clusters and stems, reflecting precisely the ripeness achieved. There are dimensions of spice, and chalkiness as well as a grip and length akin to that in the corresponding Serpentieres, but allied to fine-grained tannins,. enticing salinity, and highly satisfying primary juiciness. I would anticipate this being worth following for at least 5-6 years. Patrick Bize and Guillaume Bott picked largely in the last days of September, taking into account the need for 10-15% of the fruit to have to be segregated and discarded. The fruit for a number of wines was entirely de-stemmed – a more rigorous practice than usual here – to mitigate greenness or bitterness of flavor. The results generally – but no always (as witness a particularly astringent Grands Liards) – preserve the clarity, and mineral intrigue that one expects at this address, although they make for a somewhat somber and low-keyed lot tonally, and do not remotely measure up to the outstanding 2005s. It should be born in mind that Bize wines from the 1980s – when there a great many more marginally ripe and rot-plagued harvests than growers or consumers have had to suffer through since – had a habit of performing remarkably well in challenging vintages once given a few years in bottle. A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70