Good Friends Part 2
Daniel Johnnes
New York, November 4, 2021
Last week I wrote about the first of two very memorable wines I recently enjoyed in France. It was a Pommard Jarolières from Gerard Potel at Domaine de la Pousse d’Or.
Today, I will write about the second wine which was equally memorable.
I am a staunch believer that wine enjoyment, like any enjoyment of works of art, is enhanced by the knowledge of the many aspects of that wine. Same holds true for enjoying a painting, a sculpture, a musical piece or any other creative work. The more understanding one has of the person who created it or the circumstances surrounding it, the deeper will be one’s enjoyment of it.
Such was the case with this bottle of Simon Bize, Savigny lès Beaune 1er Cru Les Fourneaux 1988. It was made by Patrick Bize, who was among my first friends in Burgundy. I met him through what I will call my gang of “Burgundy buddies”. They are Jean-Pierre de Smet, Dominique Lafon, Etienne Grivot, Jacques Seysses, and Christophe Roumier. This was the group that came to NY in the early 90’s to plant the seeds of what was to become La Paulée de New York. The group all had their domaines in the premier appellations of Burgundy - Meursault, Nuits Saint Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Morey-Saint=Denis and Chambolle-Musigny. But Patrick was in the relatively remote and lesser appreciated village of Savigny lès Beaune. He had a little bit of a modest insecurity because of this but it did nothing to lessen his rich friendship with the “gang” nor of my appreciation of him and his wines.
Patrick was a great winemaker embracing a similar approach to his red wine as Jean-Pierre and Jacques. That’s to say, whole cluster fermentation. Christophe did a bit as well but not to the same degree.
Back to the bottle of Savigny lès Beaune Les Fourneaux 1988. Les Fourneaux is a site just under the very fine premier cru Les Vergelesses. It is south facing and as a result produces grapes that ripen well and display the warmth expected from a “four”, the French word for oven, hence the name “Fourneaux”.
This wine, upon opening, displayed a rather deep garnet color with some bricking on the edges. The aroma was at first a touch gamey and earthy. After several minutes black cherry and plum flavors emerged. I feared the rather strict tannins of the ‘88 vintage but except for a touch of grip, the wine was harmonious with ripe sweet fruit and a long joyous finish as a raised my glass again and again to dear Patrick.
