Domaine des Croix 2007s
David Croix is a young Beaunois vigneron making a style of wine I really enjoy: elegant, pure, organically focussed and full of character. Impressively, he runs his own boutique domaine, Domaine des Croix, whilst at the same time he is head wine maker at Maison Camille Giroud. This means that while many wine makers produce a few different wines each year, David is making upwards of 25 wines.
Domaine des Croix is young, only caming into being in 2005 when David and some private investors bought Domaine Duchet. The domaine has been organic since 2008. The holdings focus around Beaune with a interesting parcel of Corton-Charlemagne just to the north. The style, however, is Côte de Nuits and that appears to be the direction in which David is looking.
Interesting tidbit: his newly purchased winery and cave face Albert Bichot and were formerly used by the notorious Denis Philibert!
On to the wines:
Bourgogne rouge 2007 Bright, ripe fruit on the nose. Very high toned. No new oak here. Fresh and lively in the mouth. Clean finish. Excellent quality. Unsurprisingly, this is all declassified village fruit.
Beaune 2007 A note of reduction but not really concerning. More in the cassisy spectrum, where it usually goes unnoticed. David talked about how he’s trying to improve the vineyards, particularly vigor and nitrate levels, which he thinks accounts for the reduction. With time in glass, the nose is fruity and juicy, the palate taking on a chalky dimension which I find appealing. Well structured and long. This contains declassified Teurons as well and I think it shows in the density of the wine.
Beaune Pertuisots 1er Cru 2007 A richer, bigger wine with a distinct aroma of strawberry jam being made. With time, this takes on a rose water note. Beautiful and pretty. A wine for enjoying, not taking too seriously. Fine tannins. Excellent quality here. A great result.
Beaune Bressandes 1er Cru 2007 Bright fruit on the nose, once again. More austere on the palate, fine dusty tannins to the finish. Excellent fruit but needs time to unwind. At least 5 years I’d say.
Beaune Grèves 1er Cru 2007 Floral nose, very pretty. Like all these wines, not very Beaune-like, more Chambolle. The palate is complex, textured and very long. Beautifully layered. Excellent.
Corton-Charlemagne 2007 A big wine with powerful aromas of ginger, oak, lemon and grapefruit. In mouth, its dense and complex, as well as being very powerful. There’s a delicious acidity to it which lingers. I think that this is an earlier drinking Charlemagne, within the next 12 years.
All the wines here are recommended and worth seeking out.
For another look at Domaine des Croix, see Bill Nanson’s profile.
