There always seem to be plenty of ‘experts’ willing to pontificate on the status of the rarest and most expensive of the Cote d’Or in any given vintage. Should you need the information on some of the most sought after bottlings that few can afford and even fewer can find, that info is out there. Around here we are much more practical. Our aim is to find exciting wines that reflect the region and offer exciting opportunities for regular folks who just want an exciting bottle of Pinot Noir without having to worry about car payments, etc.. The 2017 vintage will serve our needs quite well.
We have tasted a number of the ‘little’ wines from 2017 and have found the vintage to have a lot in common with the 2015s, which in turn means we will be able to find a lot of those delicious, lower-priced gems to keep Burgundy a viable and delightful choice. The vintage was warm, and there were some weather quirks that made the quantities bit more modest, all of which combine to make for delightful reds. As luck would have it, we just ran across the Bourgogne from the respected house of Daniel Rion, a source that we have worked with many times over the years, but hadn’t seen much of recently. As they say, timing is everything.
Created in 1955 by Daniel Rion, this family-owned estate began with only two hectares of vines located in the commune of Vosne Romanée, left to Daniel by his paternal grandfather. Until 1978, Daniel sold his wine to Burgundian negociants. In the late seventies, his sons joined the business, bringing new parcels of vines with them. A new winery was built with a larger cellar and a tasting room. Today, the domaine consists of eighteen hectares of vineyards with eighteen appellations in six villages of the Côte des Nuits and the Hautes-Côtes: Prémeaux, Nuits Saint Georges, Vosne Romanée, Chambolle Musigny, Vougeot and Marey-les-Fussey.
The vines for Daniel Rion Bourgogne Rouge 2017 are spread over several plots located at the bottom of the hills in the Nuits Saint Georges appellation totaling about 2 hectares. Slightly sloping, on deep brown soil of silt and clay, the vines average 20 years of age and the wine sees time in second and third use barrels.
The color is an inviting mulberry, the nose shows red and black fruits with a whiff of mineral and earth as befits a wine from this part of the world. In the mouth, it is classic Pinot with ample mid-palate weight, dark red fruit prominent, and slightly soily, spicy peripherals as an accent to the fruit core. In other words, red Burgundy as it should be. Like most 2017s, it is pretty user-friendly right out of the gate though it does expand a bit more with a little air. It outperforms its modest appellation and offers a more compelling experience than a lot of domestic Pinots that cost more.