The superb 1990 Beaune-Greves-Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus is the best wine to come from this famous vineyard in over 25 years. The dense, dark ruby/purple color is followed by gorgeously sweet aromas of roasted herbs, sweet black-cherries, raspberries, and toasty vanillin scents. Rich and full-bodied, with an opulent, voluptuous texture, superb depth, focus, and finish, this is a thrilling wine to drink over the next 10-15 years. Bravo!
There has been a total reversal of the winemaking philosophy at Bouchard Pere et Fils. This is one of the wealthiest firms in France, as well as the largest landowner of premier and grand crus in Burgundy. For years their wines, while commercially acceptable, were uninspiring. Yields were not limited, excessive amounts of SO2 were employed, the wines were processed and racked excessively, and, most damaging, they were aggressively filtered, often with sterile micropore filters. Inspired by the exceptional success enjoyed by such negociant firms as Faiveley and Louis Jadot (they had stopped filtering all of their premier and grand crus by 1988, opting for a minimal interventionist process in their winemaking), Paul Bouchard and his son Jean-Francois have begun to turn out their finest wines since the forties and fifties. The wines are deeper-colored and noticeably more concentrated. All the premier crus and grand crus are bottled with minimal additions of SO2, and are not filtered. Consequently, as the notes and scores reveal, there has been a significant leap in quality. Kudos to Bouchard Pere et Fils for recognizing that improvements had to be made, and for having the courage to implement them.
Various importers.