Domaine G Roumier Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2018

From its beginnings all the way up to the present, Domaine Georges Roumier has maintained one of the best reputations in Burgundy. Their superb wines are also amazingly dependable and consistent in quality. Georges Roumier began the enterprise in 1924 and operated it until his retirement in 1961 when the estate was divided among his children. After his death in 1965, his son Jean-Marie ran the Domaine and made the wines. Adopting his father’s mtier, Jean-Marie’s son Christophe became a talented winemaker as well and bought out his uncles in 1992.

In the vineyard, Christophe Roumier prefers a high vine age and rigorous pruning, resulting in small yields. In the winery, all aspects of the Roumier vinification are completely traditional: a very warm, 18-day maceration, use of 25% new wood barrels (with a slightly higher percentage for the Grands Crus), and egg white fining. Since 1988 the Domaine has discontinued the practice of filtration, and the entire cellar has been air-conditioned, allowing a 4-5 day pre-fermentation maceration of grapes.

Domaine Georges Roumier is one of the finest sources of classic, long-lived red Burgundies, with wines that demonstrate fruit, spice, and balance, with substantial tannins. Simply put, Roumier wines are brilliantly made. They are rich, fragrant wines with characteristic aromas of cherries and berries, and often need 4-5 years to show their great depth and harmony. They are also very long-lived, lasting up to twenty years.

Critical Acclaim

97 Vinous

The 2018 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is a level up in terms of intensity, offering layers of black cherry and blueberry fruit; this could only come from this particular vineyard. Wonderful precision and quite floral. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm grip, succulent tannins and a very saline finish. A very intense Bonnes-Mares, almost overwhelming toward the finish at this premature juncture, though the persistence has to be felt to be believed.

95 Wine Advocate

Opening in the glass with aromas of ripe red fruits, rose petals, peonies, orange rind, and exotic spices, Roumier’s 2018 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is full-bodied, multidimensional, and concentrated, with a rich and layered mid-palate, a muscular chassis of powdery tannin and a bright, mineral finish. This is very much built for the long haul, but it has taken the warm vintage in its stride.