Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares

Tasted in Vintner’s Soiree - Grand Vin La Paulee. Did not have the time to record tasting notes, only for point rating.

Bottle breathe for 1 hour. Bright nose of violet, red fruit with power, the palate is clean, complex with cherry, flower, a bit of mint, and long finishing. Best 1 hour in the glass but showed strength throughout the night.

Friday Group Brown Bag Tasting (R&D's) : Double blind. Lightest color in the flight. Opens with a sweet cherry note and underlying earthiness. Opens in the glass with cherry, rhubarb, perfumed florals, mineral and almost a wild, feral quality. Full-bodied woth softened tannin and flavors of cherry, mineral, forest floor, rose water and red berry fruit. Good concentration, with a long finish. I was the only one thinking Burgundy, which surprised me as I didn’t think it could be anything …

Stems, herbs, orange peel and sweet dark fruit. More volume and depth than the les amoureuses with alluring sweetness. Firm on the palate. Interesting to read my note on this wine in 2015. Back then it was shut and lean. The 08 Groffier Bonnes Mares has just entered its early stage of its maturity.

A glass shared by friend dining at a nearby table at S.K.Y. Gorgeous layered nose is full of black cherry, earth, iron and spice. The palate is beautifully silky with good Grand Cru concentration. The structure is in balance with the fruit making for a round, complete wine. But still clearly early on a long aging curve. Upside from here.

Équilibre, puissance, longueur... tout cela dans un millésime fruité que j'adore. Superbe !

For its pedigree, this wine underperformed at this young age. The nose started off being very meaty. With more time in the glass, the nose expressed tangerine peel, red fruit, oak, and caramel. The palate was a bit lean for a grand cru (perhaps too young, not fully opened up) I'm not sure if it will turn into a great BM with more aging. Its surprisingly ready to drink at the moment. Give it a good 3 hour slow ox …

Groffier Tasting, Mostly 2011s with Some Older Gems (Knightsbridge - Northbrook IL) : Tasting. Also mature red and black fruit aromas and flavors. Well structured, well balanced, moderate length. Entering its peal drinking window already.

The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Cherry, Strawberry, Verbena, and Tea. It tastes like Strawberry, Cherry, and Oak. The body is Light/Medium. The wine has Silky texture. The wine finishes Medium. @ Michael's Genuine w Spring, Erica, Christine & John. Christine's wine. Uncorked and decanted at restaurant. Too young. John's 2009 Hilliard-Bruce Moon was the best of the 3 Pinot's last night.

Knightsbridge Annual Holiday Burgundy Tasting and Sale (Northbrook, IL) : Tasting, brief note. Lots of SO2, then very soft fruit, unlike anything I recall from when last tasted. Probably an off bottle, I don't think I got a chance to try the 2nd bottle.

Knightsbridge Holiday Burgundy Sale (Northbrook, IL) : Powerful black and red fruit aromas with background spice. Same flavor profiles come through on palate, slightly shut down right now. Big potential going forward, probably hold to 2016 or later.

Grand Burgundy Tasting (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)) : Nice bottle. A little shut down at the time.

Perhaps not the most complex wine in the world. But who cares when it's flat out delicious. Like the tastiest dessert you can think of, packed with exotic berries (I started to think of the tastiest of them all: bramble). That you can make this from grapes is more or less unbelievable. Yum!

Domaine Groffier Cellar Visit and Tasting (Morey St.-Denis) : Tasting at Groffier. Plenty of black fruit with licorice and black pepper. Certainly the most backward of the Groffier 2008 lineup.