Domaine Simon Bize was founded in 1880 and is still family-owned. Patrick Bize, the fourth generation winemaker, modernized the estate and bought high-quality parcels, positioning Bize as one of the true champions of Cote de Beaune reds (though they also make some great whites). After Patrick’s sudden death in 2013, his widow, Chisa, took over the estate and has maintained (and maybe even strengthened) their quality, becoming the unofficial “Queen of Savigny-les-Beaune.”
The Bizes have long practiced low-intervention winemaking — whole clusters, wild yeasts for fermentation, almost no new oak, and spontaneous malo.
This bottle is from the hotly debated 2005 vintage, when Patrick Bize was still running the estate. 2005 was initially lauded as an all-time great red Burgundy vintage, with several 100 scores from major publications, and then… the tannins didn’t want to mellow, until the past 3-5 years, when some of the better wines (mostly from restrained producers) have started to open up. In hindsight, 2005 will likely be remembered as a powerful, structured, and overall “good” vintage, but not the outstanding one that everyone thought it was 20 years ago.
This bottle is from Aux Vergelesses, one of the best 1er Crus in SLB (which has no Grand Crus), known for producing elegant, Chambolle-like wines. It comes in at 13.5% ABV, which seems high for Burg but IMHO is reasonable for 2005.
**Tasting Notes:** Medium ruby with some noticeable garnet on the rim. Intense nose of red and black berries, dark dried flower petals, sous bois, mushroom, and some peppery spice. Palate is well-balanced, with noticeable velvety tannins balanced nicely by fresh acidity. Long, earthy finish. At its peak but has the structure to stay there for a few years. Lovely wine and, dare I say, a good value at its ~$100 USD price point.
DistinctAd3298
Oh thats amazing stuff. Happy you got to enjoy it!
2 Comments
Domaine Simon Bize was founded in 1880 and is still family-owned. Patrick Bize, the fourth generation winemaker, modernized the estate and bought high-quality parcels, positioning Bize as one of the true champions of Cote de Beaune reds (though they also make some great whites). After Patrick’s sudden death in 2013, his widow, Chisa, took over the estate and has maintained (and maybe even strengthened) their quality, becoming the unofficial “Queen of Savigny-les-Beaune.”
The Bizes have long practiced low-intervention winemaking — whole clusters, wild yeasts for fermentation, almost no new oak, and spontaneous malo.
This bottle is from the hotly debated 2005 vintage, when Patrick Bize was still running the estate. 2005 was initially lauded as an all-time great red Burgundy vintage, with several 100 scores from major publications, and then… the tannins didn’t want to mellow, until the past 3-5 years, when some of the better wines (mostly from restrained producers) have started to open up. In hindsight, 2005 will likely be remembered as a powerful, structured, and overall “good” vintage, but not the outstanding one that everyone thought it was 20 years ago.
This bottle is from Aux Vergelesses, one of the best 1er Crus in SLB (which has no Grand Crus), known for producing elegant, Chambolle-like wines. It comes in at 13.5% ABV, which seems high for Burg but IMHO is reasonable for 2005.
**Tasting Notes:** Medium ruby with some noticeable garnet on the rim. Intense nose of red and black berries, dark dried flower petals, sous bois, mushroom, and some peppery spice. Palate is well-balanced, with noticeable velvety tannins balanced nicely by fresh acidity. Long, earthy finish. At its peak but has the structure to stay there for a few years. Lovely wine and, dare I say, a good value at its ~$100 USD price point.
Oh thats amazing stuff.
Happy you got to enjoy it!