Description

With age, the Mongeard wines tend to go quite light in colour, fairly cloudy and when initially poured they can be lean and mineral. But they build on this frame to be glorious. This wine is soft and plush on the palate, showing cherry and roses with some forest floor. It is at its peak now and worked well with tuna.

Comparatively large by Burgundian standards, they are a brilliant producer that make plush and opulently fruited wines with great underlying balance and minerality. This means the wines are approachable in their youth but age surprisingly well.

Burgundy – The classic part of Burgundy known as the Cote D’Or (the slope of gold) is essentially one vineyard that is 60km long and maybe 5km at its widest. From this limestone ridge some of the most complex, long-lived and aromatic wines are produced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Cistercian monks who owned the land codified the entire region and so each small plot has a name.

Beaune – Historically an important trading town with large vineyard area, numerous Premier Cru sites but not one Grand Cru. The wines are sturdy, if a bit clumsy, in a soft and pretty style.

Pinot Noir – This is the most elusive grape. It is relatively early ripening and extremely sensitive to terroir. Its perfect place on earth is the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. So haunting are great red Burgundy’s charms that growers everywhere try to emulate them. Pinot Noir is not just a one trick pony, it can make great reds, rosé, sparkling and even sweet wines, whites on occasion and I’ve tasted a decent fortified Pinot Noir too.

2004 – A difficult vintage after the difficult 2003. This was cold and wet with disease pressure. The great producers have made stunning wines. Careful selection is needed again.