Sylvie Esmonin and Dominique Laurent

I can't say winemaker gossip is a big part of my life, but I found it interesting to note that Sylvie Esmonin and Dominique Laurent are a couple, having a baby together. And that Laurent has been overseeing the wine from her domaine starting with the 2001 vintage.

Now, I know that a couple of people here (I think Mike and Ian) have mentioned Ms. Esmonin as a producer to seek out. I'm wondering what vintages they've tried, and if they detect a difference since Mr. 200% Oak arrived.

For those not overly familiar with this, Laurent is a negociant who is probably the most prominent of the new-wave/Internationalist Burgundians (he also does Rhones with his partner Michel Tardieu). I found his mid-nineties Burgs almost undrinkable. I have thought he has moderated a good bit, and thought his 2000 Bourgogne #1 pretty good, though I probably would have pegged as an American PN.

Dale

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Dale Williams
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Salut/Hi Dale Williams,

le/on 07 Oct 2004 14:08:49 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Really? Now I didn't know that. Mind you, in France, private life is private life and unlike the prurient UK, what the famous get up to inside or outside the marital bed is NOT considered to be part of the public domain. So it is even an offense for a newspaper to intrude on the private lives of the famous. I'm not saying this in any way to rebuke you, Dale, just to explain in part why I didn't know.

2000, 2001, 2002 are the years I tasted.

Hmm. Well, there is considerable variation in the three years in reds. 2000 was pretty good in Gevrey, though I don't think it was at the height that the best Bordeaux reached. 2001 was all set to be wonderful, but then September was not what they hoped, cool ans damp. The grapes didn't reach optimal ripeness, but were good and healthy. 2002 will probably turn out to be magnificent. So it's difficult to know how to vector in the influence of Laurent.

All I can say is that I bought her 2000s in lesser vintages, and a case of her 2002 Clos St Jacques. I HAD been going to buy the 2001, but then at dinner, I was lucky enough to snaffle a slurp that she'd brought to her table, and would have bought it instantly, had she not reminded me that she was at _dinner_ and not there to do business. Duly chastened, I went back the next day and ordered my case!

I don't know Laurent's own wines, as I kept away from buying burgundies for a number of year, but I certainly didn't find Esmonin's 2002 OR 2001 anything like an oak soup.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll ask her next time I see her.

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Ian Hoare

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