Maison Roche de Bellene Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2012

92-94 WAWine Advocate, Neal Martin, 30-12-2013

The 2012 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has a damn sexy bouquet with ravishing mulberry, dark plum and licorice scents that are well defined – quintessential opulent Bonnes-Mares. The palate is better behaved with fine tannins, quite solid in the mouth with impressive mineralite on the finish. Excellent – a pure joy. Burgundy needs personalities and they do not come much bigger than Nicolas Potel. He’s been on the scene ever since I remember him attending some of the London primeur tastings back in the late 1990s. His path to success has never been straightforward: working his way around Australia and California, starting a small negoce a year before the untimely passing of his father and the sale of the Pousse d’Or estate; the sudden explosion of cuvees under his Maison Nicolas Potel label that ultimately led to liquidity problems and the sale to Cottin Freres; the debacle of then being fired from the brand that bore his own name in 2009 and finally, the creation of Domaine de Bellene from his base in Beaune. The maison was amid renovation when I called in on a freezing Thursday evening for a comprehensive tasting of both domaine and negociant wines. Fortunately, there are no longer the 100+ crus of Maison Nicolas Potel back in the 1990s, but through his numerous friends and contacts, Nicolas has still managed to accumulate a considerable portfolio that includes a number of grand crus. And he knows that with such a diverse array of wines, it is vital to keep an eye on standards. To this end, he has adopted organic viticulture in his vineyards, prudently using whole cluster ferments and monitoring the use of new oak so that it is commensurate with the fruit concentration, in particular through his judicious use of larger 600-litre barrels. I guess in some ways you can draw parallels with the Remoissenet operation nearby: focusing on quality at various price points across a broad range of appellations and crus. Nicolas himself is and always has been quite a character. I can imagine when he was younger and working in Australia he had no problem keeping up with the obligatory beer consumption. He is always candid about the goings on in Burgundy, and I sensed that he acknowledges the importance of building Domaine de Bellene and Maison Roche de Bellene into long-term, stable and viable brands after the trials of the past. In this respect he is doing a great job, because these were mainly excellent wines. Not every single wine was without fault, but as a range of wines and given the reasonable prices asked, one can have few complaints. Echoing the sentiments at Remoissennet, there is a burgeoning need for such wines. Not everyone can afford Roumier or DRC.