Fresh, Juicy and Cheeky? An Historic Humble Bourgogne that Overdelivers
Posted on: 06/12/18 6:44 PM
This is a spectacular little Bourgogne that is fresh, lively and, frankly, chuggable. It also has a fascinating backstory, about which you can read below. And, well, the label is more than a little cheeky. Literally.
2016 Régis Bouvier Bourgogne en Montre Cul
“The 2016 Bourgogne Montre Cul has a pretty, quite floral bouquet with light rose petal and iris scents filtering through the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, tart red cherry fruit with a touch of bitter lemon on the finish. Fine.” – Neal Martin
More about the Wine:
en Montre Cul is an appellation, not a cuvée or proprietary name. It’s only 16 hA and, I believe, the most northerly of the Côte d’Or, essentially lying on hillsides just outside Dijon. And it is those hillsides where the appellation gets its name. “Montre cul” in French means “show your a**.” The growers have great fun with this and there are many colorful or, shall we say, cheeky labels for the handful of growers who make wine here.
As you can see, the growers have a lot of fun with this. Moreover, the keen observer will notice that this chauvinistic label convention has a long history. How do I know? One of our lasses seems to be wearing bloomers!
Régis Bouvier makes spectacular wine. Very pure and fresh, with a traditional “meat-and-potatoes” kind of feel – no polish here! That earnestness and simple rusticity is exactly what attracted Kermit Lynch to this Marsannay address decades ago.
Kermit has endless respect for M. Bouvier, especially for his unusual ability to produce exceptional wines in all 3 colors – Rouge, Blanc and Rosé. But there’s a deep affection for the En Montre Cul in particular.
For one, it is a superbly located vineyard in the middle of the hillside, and not flatland like most Bourgogne. Moreover, the vines are over 50 years old. These two factors together produce a wine that overdelivers.
So, let’s review: silly, chauvinistic label; modest price point; and 50-year old vine complexity. What does that add up to? Yeah, you know what I am about to say: a no-brainer.
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