Domaine Henri Germain
I’m pleased to offer what I believe represents tremendous value in the White Burgundy category today: Domaine Henri Germain. I like to think of these wines as still flying a bit under the radar, but as the years have gone by, I have more and more collectors asking for the wines. Once you taste them, it’s easy to understand why.
I love bringing you wines that deliver the depth and presence of the heavy hitters but are priced so any collector can take part. A perfect example is the entry level wine in the lineup, Bourgogne Côte d’Or. Sourced from the domaine’s vineyards in Meursault and Chassagne, this is a wine that, tasted blind, could easily pass for a Meursault. It coats the palate with layered flavor and finishes with real tension. It’s hard not to just say “wow!”
Moving to the domaine’s Meursault Village, one begins to get a glimpse into why these wines are so exciting. Once again your palate is soaked in mouth-coating richness with excellent weight and persistence. The wine has generous volume, showing orchard fruit, white flowers, and a subtle touch of toasted nuts. To me, this is textbook Meursault, full of class and character. Just take a look at some of the comments from the critics. These are tremendous wines and well worth your attention. You can’t go wrong with either.
This is also ripe and fresh with its array of poached pear, just sliced apple, petrol and citrus confit scents. There is notably better volume and mid-palate density to the tension-filled flavors that culminate in a long, balanced and borderline tannic finale. This isn't elegant but the quality offered in the context of what is typical for the genre is terrific. Highly recommended.
- Burghound, 87-89 Outstanding Top Value
Aromas of honeysuckle, pear and freshly baked bread introduce the 2023 Bourgogne Côte d'Or, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and satiny wine that's lively and charming.
- William Kelley, 88-89
A blend of several sites around Chassagne, the 2023 Bourgogne Côte d'Or Blanc has a slightly resinous bouquet. The palate is fresh with a citric edge on the entry and good tension. This is a quite pithy Bourgogne Côte d'Or but with impressive persistence on the finish: Very fine.
- Neal Martin, 89-90
Meursault Village - from 6 lieux-dits, including Vireuils, Peutes Vignes, Moulin à Judas, Clos du Cromin, Dressoles and Les Pellans.
Layered and charming, the 2023 Meursault Village offers up aromas of waxy citrus rind, sweet orchard fruit, apple blossom and toasted nuts, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and textural palate. This will offer a broad drinking window.
- William Kelley, 90-91
The 2023 Meursault Village is a blend of several lieux-dits, some of the best in the appellation. This opens nicely with lime flower, lemon thyme and touches of candle wax on the nose. It has good complexity. The palate is very well balanced with a smooth texture, lightly spiced with a such of orange rind, white pepper and Szechuan pepper on the finish that leaves the mouth tingling. This is excellent.
- Neal Martin, 90-92
A discreet but not imperceptible application of wood is present on the more elegant aromas of acacia, white orchard fruit and again, plenty of petrol character. The sleek and bright middle weight flavors possess excellent intensity that carries over to the seductively caressing and solidly persistent citrus-tinged finale. Lovely and worth a look.
- Burghound, 89-91 Outstanding!
