Vintage Retrospective: 2010 Burgundy

Two thousand ten yielded one of the most highly coveted vintages of the 21st century for Burgundy thus far. Are the wines ready to drink today? Stephen Tanzer shares his insights in these excerpts from the Vinous Vintage Charts . Côte de Nuits Reds: 98 Points – Hold The finest vintage for red Burgundy that I have tasted since my first tour of the region in 1988. The crop was small owing to spring frost and a difficult flowering, but the well-aerated clusters came through a variable summer in good condition and the harvest took place mostly under cool conditions. The vintage has virtually all the elements for Burgundy greatness: vibrant aromas and flavors accurate to terroir; inner-mouth tension; intensity without weight; palpable minerality; ripe, fine-grained tannins; and the concentration, balance and backbone to support a long evolution in bottle. And yet many wines remain surprisingly open today. Côte de Beaune Reds: 94 Points – Hold The Côte de Nuits had the edge on the Côte de Beaune in this outstanding vintage, as the ripening cycle on the Côte de Beaune was more affected by summer rainfall. But many outstanding wines were made, especially by estates that waited longer for full ripeness and harvested under favorable conditions. Côte de Beaune Whites: 96 Points – Hold Rich, pure, minerally and deep; a classic vintage that might have been even more extraordinary except for a rainstorm a couple days prior to the harvest. A minority of wines are surprisingly creamy and easygoing, some showing a touch of noble rot. Chablis: 94 Points – Hold A tricky growing season featuring a difficult drawn-out flowering, then a mostly warm summer with some stormy spells, nonetheless produced intensely flavored, minerally, complex wines with dense extract and firm backbone. Some wines from vines picked too late can show hints of overripeness or miss out on the energy and taut structures of the vintage’s better examples. While 2010 Burgundies can be tough to find, several top wines are available on Banquet . Search America’s most trusted retailers to find your next bottle!

La Pousse d'Or

En Caillerets Volnay 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2010

Matt

9.4

Gorgeous perfume and texture. Lacey, high toned, bursting with purity and crispness. Flora and red fruit driven. Oak (1/3 new) has integrated, adding a deft sweetness and spice to it all. I love Caillerets when I can have it, to me that classic elegant and sexy Volnay that is so alluring. Pomegranate, wild cherry, candied red apple skin, candied cranberry, blood orange. Mulling spice, struck flint, star anise, sandalwood, red rose, pink peppercorn, damp forest floor. The acid is keen, tannins are suave, more silky and persistently so. The spice and textural finish this wine has is awesome, showing well from 375ml. — 7 years ago

Tom, Ira and 7 others liked this

Domaine François Raveneau

Montée de Tonnerre Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay 2010

Tom Garrett

WInemaker Detert Family Vineayrds

9.2

Beautiful bottle that opened over an hour. Probably should have decanted it. Bright,lithe, citrus, mineral, slate with a structured slightly tannin finish. Opened to show beeswax,lanolin,lemon curd — 9 years ago

Larry liked this

Arnaud Ente

La Goutte d'Or Meursault 1er Cru Chardonnay 2010

Jeremiah Allen

9.5

This is most purely explosive. Party on. #enteophile — 10 years ago

Mark liked this

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC)

Échézeaux Pinot Noir 2010

Raun Kupiec

9.9

Oh my, this is exceptional. It just keeps evolving. The bouquet never faded, the flavors evolved over 3 hours. And the balance. Acidity, fruit, supple integrated tannins, secondary flavors... it’s all here. — 7 years ago

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru Chardonnay 2010

Conrad Green

9.3

Broad and ripe. Citrus and intense stone flavors. Long and deep. A bit hard to unpick at the moment. Really fuel-injected. A long way to go- has a lot of fruit. — 8 years ago

with Major-General

Ceccherini, Eric and 8 others liked this

Domaine Marquis d'Angerville

Caillerets Volnay 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2010

Marissa Payne

9.5

More masculine than the champans. Long finish, Medium plus acidity, herbs de Provence, cherry, cranberry, tobacco leaf, violets. 2010 — 9 years ago

Katy, Justin and 3 others liked this

Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier

Les Fuées Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2010

Thomas Pastuszak

Sommelier/Wine Director The NoMad

9.5

2010: big brother to the Village Chambolle, much more density, weight, tannin & extract, but still a delicate & perfumed gem — 10 years ago

Corey, Magno and 9 others liked this

Ben Aneff

Baby Bonnes Mares

Vincent Dauvissat

Les Clos Chablis Grand Cru Chardonnay 2010

Tom Garrett

WInemaker Detert Family Vineayrds

9.7

Citrus, flint, marzipan, pepper, white blossoms and some herbal fennel-like notes. Surprising palate weight - lush and weighty while being fresh and carrying very bright acid. Saline, seashell, lemon tart and flint. Classic Chablis with a little age and a lot of life ahead. — 7 years ago

Eric, Carl and 1 other liked this

Domaine Armand Rousseau

Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2010

Nathaniel DiMaggio

9.0

Hitting all kinds of spots with plenty of life ahead....I love his wines because he is able to give a great glass now while making wines that can truly go the distance. Big fan. — 9 years ago