Thirty years ago, early in my career, I was invited to a dinner that featured 10 vintages of Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape, from 1978, Jacques Reynaud’s first vintage, to 1990. Rayas 1989 and 1990 remain two of my favourite wines of all time. Grenache does not get any better than this, and I can still remember, clear as day, how those wines smelled, tasted, and made me feel. I’ve loved these deep dives, or vertical tastings as they’re known – comparing several vintages from a single vineyard and producer – ever since.
A couple of months ago, I received an invitation from an Adelaide-based collector inviting me to a dinner featuring 15 vintages of Domaine Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras that he’d been patiently and passionately collecting over two decades. It included the 2002 and 2005 and then every vintage from 2008 to 2021. It was a generous offer and one that was too good to refuse. I booked my flight that day.
About Domaine Georges Roumier
Domaine Georges Roumier’s origins go back to 1924. Roumier, who began domaine bottling its wine in 1945, increased its vineyard holdings significantly in the 1950s. Today, the domaine owns or farms just under 12 hectares of vineyards. The majority of this is in Chambolle-Musigny, where the domaine’s three most revered wines – the premier cru Les Amoureuses, and the grand crus, Bonnes-Mares and Musigny – come from.
And while the domaine has always had a good reputation, Roumier joined the ranks of the very best producers in Burgundy after Christophe – Georges’ grandson – took charge in 1991. As for the Les Cras, this has always flown slightly under the radar. For a start, the vineyard was only replanted by Christophe’s father in 1961 and it wasn’t until 1993 that Christophe started bottling this wine separately.
With only 500–900 cases produced a year, depending on the vintage, the wine is both hard to come by and expensive. Australia’s entire allocation is just 24–48 bottles. In 2021, it was a paltry 18 bottles, and, if you were able find one, you’d be unlikely to have change from $2000.
Les Cras, an old Gaul word meaning ‘rocky hillside’, is a three-and-a-half-hectare premier cru vineyard planted between 280–300 metres' elevation, adjacent to the town of Chambolle-Musigny. It shares a similar limestone-rich marl to both Les Fuées, which it borders, and the nearby southern end of the grand cru, Bonnes-Mares. The village sits higher than other neighbouring villages and the wines here are typically finer and more elegant, but still structured.
In what was a beautiful and remarkably consistent lineup of wines, what stood out was that, regardless of the vintage, Christophe rarely misses a beat. Even in less heralded years, such as 2008, 2011 and 2013, the wines are still pure fruited and finely detailed.
Philip's top wines from the tasting
In the trio of hot years, from 2018–2020, the 2019 was the pick, with a perfume and energy that belied the vintage. It was only the 2018, where this very ripe, dark and sweetly fruited wine was, at this stage, more about the vintage than either the producer or the vineyard. Indeed, of the younger wines, I loved the floral notes, brightness, minerality and sheer elegance of the 2021, even if it doesn’t outlive the trio that preceded it.
It’s worth noting that, until 2003, Roumier always destemmed the fruit but since that early, hot, low acid year, he has started using whole bunches, to varying degrees, to give these richer wines more backbone and perfume. New oak is kept to about 30 per cent, and regardless of the vintage, neither the stems, nor the oak stand out.
As for the absolute standouts, my favourite of the older wines was the 2005. A truly great year. I simply wrote "what a wine", and at nearly 20 years of age, this concentrated, beautifully scented and seductive wine will still be looking good, cork permitting, 10 years from now. I have generally preferred wines from the cool 2010 vintage to the richer 2009’s, but not for the first time over the last year, the 2009 was both more complex and energetic. Better than both was the 2012. The product of an extremely low yielding year, this textured, structured and seamless wine will need at least another decade to reach its peak.
That leaves the 2015, which, I imagine, in time, will surpass the 2005. The product of a hot, dry year and the fourth August harvest since 2003, this superb wine, which was fermented with 50 per cent whole bunches, is simultaneously ripe, concentrated and structured but with the fineness that defines great Chambolle. Those lucky enough to have a bottle or two have lots to look forward to over the next 10 to 20 years.
