The 2010 Bourgogne (from tank) comes across as delicate, floral and feminine in its strawberries, raspberries and flowers. It is a gracious, mid-weight wine that shows plenty of early appeal. This is an easygoing style for the year in keeping with the house’s desire to make their entry-level wines approachable upon release. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018. I was a bit surprised by the wines I tasted with Gregoire Gouges. Over the last few years Gouges has worked to make some of his entry-level offerings more accessible, but I noted that quality across the board in the 2010s, which is quite out of character not only for the house, but for virtually all 2010s from important sites. Of course the wines are still mostly in barrel. It will be interesting to see the direction the 2010s take over the next year. The 2010s were made from 100% destemmed fruit and aged in French oak barrels, 20% new. The malos were slow in 2010, and finished in June. The wines were racked for the first time in August. Except as noted, I tasted the 2010s from barrel. Gouges made the decision to move some of his wines into tank in order to preserve freshness.Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

The 2009 Bourgogne (from vines in Nuits) makes a great introduction to the house style. It shows excellent density in its dark fruit, goudron and licorice. This is a juicy, rewarding wine in its peer group. The Bourgogne was bottled in November 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. This is a striking set of 2009s from Gouges. The estate is pursuing a slightly updated style in trying to make the entry-level wines more accessible early on. According to Gregoire Gouges the approach to the higher end wines remains the same, which is to say these remain sturdy Burgundies that benefit immensely from cellaring. The harvest at Gouges began on September 15. The fruit was 100% destemmed. Vinification started with a 3 day cold soak (at only modestly cold temperatures) followed by 10-15 days of cuvaison. The wines were racked after the malos, the lees were removed, and the wines were put back into barrel, where they finished (or were finishing) their elevage. All of the wines were aged in 20% new oak barrels.Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

This was nowhere more the case than in their 2005 Bourgogne (bottled in December) which smelled of dried cherries and smoked meat, then offered mouth filling stewed rhubarb and cherry, underlain by low-toned toasted nut and charred meat. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802