2010 Fixin Hervelets

"I never prefer the big vintages in Burgundy, because the wines stay closed for so long," said Dominique Laurent in November. "I prefer years like 2006 and 2010." I tasted Laurent's domain wines at the end of my marathon of negociant samples, all direct from barrel. Laurent noted that he picked the estate fruit between October 4 and 12. The formula for the domain wines, which he makes with his son Jean in oak cuves, includes "very little destemming, no sulfur additions, no refrigeration, no chemical products, no thermic shock, no maceration before or after the fermentation, and a bit of pigeage only during the last two or three days." The colors were very slow to come in 2010, he said. "The wines looked like roses for the first seven to ten days."