Although the stunning 2005 vintage of Bruno Clair’s Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Dominodes is just being released (at about $85 a bottle, see WRO archives for review), the 2003 remains on retailers’ shelves and on restaurant wine lists (Spago’s in Beverly Hills has it for $90!).
Smart Burgundy lovers would be wise to snatch it up. Many of the much-heralded wines from the heat wave-plagued 2003 vintage in Burgundy have already failed to live up to expectations and are starting to fall apart. This one is simply stunning now.
The problem in France and the rest of Europe in 2003 was the unremitting heat and dryness that stressed the vines. The result was small, concentrated berries that made powerful but low-acid, often unbalanced wines, which have started to unravel. The reason Bruno Clair’s 2003 Les Dominodes is so wonderful is the age of the 100-years-old-plus vines.
Winemakers speculate why old vines produce better wines. Some say their roots find a stable water table. Others invoke ‘extracting more flavors’ from the earth. Another explanation I have heard is that they — like older people — handle stress better.
Doug Frost, a thoughtful and articulate MW, came up with the most sensible explanation. The age of the vines has nothing to do with it. It is just a marker that demonstrates a perfect match between vine and terroir. The vines were planted in a perfect environment that allows them to thrive seemingly forever.
Whatever the reason, Bruno Clair’s 2003 Savigny-lès-Beaune, Les Dominodes has wonderful depth characteristic of the vintage, while retaining uplifting acidity and a seamless complexity all too often lacking in 2003. While hard to resist now, this is one 2003 red Burgundy that will hang together and develop beautifully.
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