The Burgundy Ego Trip: An Over-Oaking Complex
By Codey Foster
Over the past few months I’ve become ever more aware of the
extent of oaking regimens in the Cote-d'or. And to put this gently. I can’t believe it.
As it turns out, it’s not uncommon for Burgundian winemakers to use 100% new oak on their Grand Cru and Premier Cru level wines. Why
is this so ridiculous, you ask? Because they’re hypocrites, that’s why.
Simply put, Burgundy is the Birthplace of terroir. Its winemakers live terroir, breathe terroir, and preach terroir. It is in Burgundy
that the same winemaker will tediously and individually vinify small and
contiguous vineyard plots, often only several meters apart, in order to
showcase the individuality of each parcel of land.
To go to such painstaking effort to preserve the purity of
each vineyard plot and then allow the resulting wine to be marred by the
tannins, phenols, and other wood compounds of new French oak seems sacrilege
and contradictory.
What makes even less sense about this equation is that it’s
only the very best (highest vineyard classifications) that see new oak. These
are the vineyards that have the finest, most distinct terroir, and as a result,
it gets covered by oak. I’m curious, where’s the logic there?
Leflaive, for instance, ferments Montrachet in 100% new oak.
Now, if I’m going to shell out a small fortune to experience the nuances of
Montrachet terroir, there better not be new oak in the way. I know what oak
tastes like. I can get liquid lumberyard at retail for ten bucks a bottle—but Montrachet
is a one of a kind (there are actually 26 producers, but who’s counting?) and
if I’m drinking Montrachet, I sure hope to be tasting Montrachet and not some
diluted or distorted fragment of what once was.
Dominique Laurent in fact takes oaking to a new level using
200% new oak on many of his Premier and Grand Crus. Yep 200%. That means oak
aging in a new barrel for a period of time (probably 6 months to a year) and
then re-racking the stuff into a second new barrel for a second round of oak
aging.
I’m not a winemaker and I don’t claim to be but come on man.
This is 2012. Obviously there are a lot of factors that contribute to the
outcome of over-oaking including tradition, overestimation of the influence of
new oak on bottle longevity, and plain personal preference. But I’m wondering
if perhaps the most influential is pride.
I’m curious whether the notion that more structured and
substantial wines are more apt to maintain grace even with heavy oaking has
lead winemakers to use oak treatments purely to prove something about their
wines. I can hear it right now. ‘My wines are so [structured, meaty, hearty,
substantial] that they can handle 100% new oak.’ To be frank, the notion of a
wine being able to ‘handle’ 100% new oak pisses me off in the first place. In
my humble opinion, oak is merely an ingredient available to winemakers in
order to incorporate particular characteristics to wine—not a yardstick at
which to measure its quality. And I’m not denying that great wines can be made
using oak, but in Burgundy I believe greatness occurs through transparent
winemaking and true vineyard representation. Show off what you’re mama gave
you, you know?
To that school of thought, one of my new favorite Burgundy
producers Jean Marie Fourrier is a winemaker that seems to have adopted more
concern for the representation of his vineyards than the showcase of his
winemaking. Fourrier uses no more than 20% new oak in each vintage in order to
maintain the individuality of each wine. "Oak is for slow breathing of the
wine, not for taste,” Fourrier explains. And I can’t help but agree. The use of
French oak for its inherent wine making mechanics is just fine. But when
vanillin starts taking over fruit and mineral profile—that’s a different story.
So unless you’ve got a small population of Quercus petraea
growing in your vineyard (that’s French Oak, for all of you not up to snuff on
your Quercus varietals)—your brand new 60 gallon oak drum has got nothing to do
with your terroir.
Domaine
Fourrier Bourgogne Blanc 2008
Domaine
Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vielle Vignes
2008
Fourrier
Gevrey Chambertin Premier Cru Clos St Jacques Vieilles Vignes 2007
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