The unknown wine...

The interesting and humbling thing about wine is that no matter how many books you've read and studied on the subject, or how many videos you've watched, or how much knowledge you have or think to have, or how many wines you've tasted and no matter how many years of experience you have, you still continue to discover, learn, comprehend, understand, appreciate and share new things, information, ideas, tastes, aromas, and flavors, as well as embracing moments and experiences with people on a daily basis.

That's why I love my job and still have the same passion, even after 30 years in the wine industry, tasting between 2500 and 5000 wines a year (up to nearly 10000, when I was working in retail, that's a staggering 192 wines per week..).. insane, but not uncommon, more especially for wine critics. 

And, yet, to be honest, despite some proudly naming themselves this way, no one is a real "wine expert", as there are so many countries and regions and people producing wines, even the best of us cannot claim to know everything. One more reason to remain humble and curious when it comes to wine (and most subjects for that matter).

The other day was a good example of it. One customer brought a bottle of Red Burgundy, an Aloxe-Corton 1999, from a producer I have never heard of before: Dubois Bernard et fils. Rings the bell to you? I must admit, it didn't for me.

Doing a little research, I learned that the winemaker, Jean-Luc Dubois, who passed away in 2009, (RIP), is now survived by his cousin, Jacques Dubois, who is the 5th generation, crafting quite a few wines from the high altitude parcels of his family's tiny 7 hectares Domaine (13 hectares depending on the source), located in Chorey-Les-Beaune, in existence since the mid-1850s.

Domaine Bernard Dubois Pere et Fils produces a few whites and mostly reds from various appellations including: 

• Bougogne Aligoté 
• Bourgogne Rouge
• Chorey Les Beaune "Clos Margot" 
• Aloxe-Corton 
• Aloxe-Corton "Les Brunettes" 
• Savigny-les-Beaune Blanc
• Savigny-les-Beaune "Les Ratausses"
• Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru "Clos des Guettes"
• Beaune Premier Cru "Les Bressandes"

Most of the red wines are aged for 12-15 months in oak barrels, of which 25% are renewed each year, coming from both the forests of Allier and Vosges. The vinification takes about three weeks, with cold pre-fermentation maceration, only using natural indigenous yeasts from their own estate. 

Depending on the vintage, the wines are usually very approachable and enjoyable within the first few years, yet, time will reward the most patient of us, as these wines will definitely benefit from a few years of cellaring, and this 1999 is undoubtedly a great example of it.    

Domaine Bernard Dubois et Fils Aloxe-Corton Burgundy France 1999

A really pleasant surprise as this wine showed beautifully, boasting clean, crisp, fresh, mineral, enticing dark, and red cherry, flowers and earthy aromas and flavors enhanced by great acidity and expanding gracefully in the harmonious, structured, textured, balanced, and focused, layered palate, offering both complexity and depth, as well as purity and terroir reminiscent notes. Highly recommended. Especially at this price, this is a steal!

To discover or re-discover. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@domaine_dubois_chorey @ledomduvin #wine #vin #vino #wein #tastingnotes #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom #domainebernardduboisetfils

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