Patriarche Burgundy Tasting - February 2025

Burgundy Tasting Feb 3rd 2025

Venue: The Grove dining.

Hosted by Adeline Zimmerman from Barton and Guestier. I was seated with fellow Sommeliers Angela Allen and Andrea Martinisi.

We tasted then discussed the wines, my notes on the wines below

Patriarche Saint Aubin 2022. Great color and brightness with a highly polished appearance. Bouquet of minerality first, scents of clay and limestone then a whisper of salinity. Bright fresh fruits of apricot then peach and apple. A bouquet also of finesse and charm, floral tones and layers fruit spice. A touch of oak adds to the frame and fruit sweetness. A dry wine touches the palate with a distinctive backbone of acidity and freshness. Mineral, then fruit flavours mirror the bouquet coating the palate evenly. As the wine opens out on the palate the mineral core intensifies as does the fruit. Taut, and youthful. 94 Points.

Patriarche Chassagne Montrachet 2022. Pale straw with green highlights, very bright. The bouquet delivers scents of limestone, seashell and barrel with an evenness and subtle power. Scents of citrus and baked apple, fresh white peach and limestone. A touch of salt and white flowers showcases the vineyard and winemakers’ skill at capturing finesse and charm. Tautness, dryness and complexity touch the palate first then textures from fine tannins and acidity follow. Flavours of peach and flowers, lemon and limestone then white smoke. Excellent weight with a satin texture and long finish. Also, mineral limestone and saline qualities with a touch of warmth from the alcohol. Fantastic wine, I would be delighted to share this with friends and colleagues. 95 Points

Patriarche Bourgogne 2023.
Great colour, classic red and burgundy hues with a fine pink rim. Very bright and youthful appearance. A touch closed when first poured then after 15 mins the bouquet opens out with scents of flowers and red fruits, then a mineralised soil of clay and limestone suggestions. Red plum and cherry, a fine savoury moment is accentuated a little by the scent of limestone then salt then wood smoke. There's a haunt of place, a sense of place through the suggestion of whole bunch spices. Overall youthful and complex. Dry, taut and textured as the wine touches the palate, course silk tannins, a backbone of acidity then a raw freshness and power. A lovely wine that could be poured today alongside food or cellar till 2028 then through the next 10-15 years.
94 Points

Patriarche Mercurey Rouge 2020
A deepening crimson and red hues with a definitive pink rim and gentle staining of the tears. A bouquet of intensity and power, mineral earth and wood smoke then dark berries. Boysenberries, plum and dark cherry are equaled by the savoury spices of wood and earth. There's a wild side to the bouquet perhaps a leesy, flinty reductive quality adding complexity and intrigue. Earth smoke and spice, dried herb and stone. Firm, dry, tension and hold as the wine touches the palate. A wine of texture and intensity, earth flavours then fruit. Firm tannins and acidity are in abundance highlighting the need for cellar time based on structure alone. As the palate dissolves these attributes the flavours of spice and fruit flavours begin to emerge and reflect the palate. Complex and intriguing, salty and classic. A delicious wine that needs some cellar time to truly reveal its personality. Great promise.
96 Points

Patriarche Chambertin Grand Cru 2016.

Deep burgundy red at the core with red hues and a slightly browning rim. Very bright and polished. An immediate sense of place in the primary bouquet takes me immediately to aromas of vineyards, soils and scents of Burgundy. White clay and limestone, barrel spices and savoury dried herb qualities. Some primary red fruit moments are quickly replaced by those of bottle age and integration, complexity and allure. There's a mix of soil and barrel smoke that delivers a touch of mystery yet definitive complexity. Plum and leather, preserved cherries and kitchen spices, a hint of bacon oak and clove. Dry, complex and maturing on the palate. The tannins are starting to integrate leaving behind a fine needle point mouthfeel. Acidity remains definitive, keeping the palate fresh carrying the fruit and spice messages. After 20 minutes in glass the flavours and aromas of mushroom and leather become a little more apparent. A gentle flinty and earthy finish, lengthy and delicious. Best drinking from day of purchase through 2038+.
95 Points.