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bonneau du martray 2000 corton-charlemagne
One large tranche of work behind me, it’s time to play with oxidation fire – but the dice roll and this is a good, or rather, very good one. Hooray! Fair to say, however, that my happiness is tinged with the sadness of even contemplating failure with such a bottle… 2000 Bonneau du Martray, Corton-Charlemagne The first whiff is of an oak-based toasty bread, below is a very faint baked citrus note. Very mineral, very lovely width, and even a hint of plush-ness. There is a good mid-palate intensity that intersperses lots of complexity – a faint creamy brûlée lingers in the mouth, and for quite some time. Very good length and complexity, yet, an understated, underdeveloped wine. It is possible to get more enjoyment [....]
books & jomain 2007 puligny 1er les perrières
I’m away for a couple of days and a big pile of envelopes are waiting for me. Once or twice a year I scour a few favourite booksellers to see if they have anything new (old actually) for me. You can buy books for relatively nothing – such are authors reduced to, their book becoming less expensive than the stamp needed to send it! – nine new (old) ones arrived for the price of a villages Burgundy. Actually talking of wine I should open something nice. 2007 Jomain, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Perrières A depth of aromas, slightly musky with hints of creme brulee. This is rather unctuous for an 07, lots of depth but very understated acidity – again lots of complexity, plenty of creamy [....]
jadot 2001 gevrey clos st.jacques
I was a bit concerned before I even poured the wine – the cork was a nightmare to remove; welded into the neck, the second half (!) needing both ah-so and screwpull-worm in the manner of a 1970s wine – except I was having to tug more. 2001 Louis Jadot, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques The nose had a slightly burning, alcoholic top-note, below is a diffuse but deep layer of red fruit, augmented by occasional leafy aromas. The palate, whilst silky smooth, only serves to move you along the conveyor to the mid-palate, there waiting for you is a shrill mid-palate that whilst intense is not all that nice. Long but bitter finishing. I remember this being much, much better last time, though admittedly that [....]
exuberant hospices de beaune 2010…
Auction prices were up by about 20% versus last year – so not too irrational pricing (reds at least will offer high potential quality) – perhaps because the Chinese actor couldn’t get to the sale, the Chinese (for now) kept their powder relatively dry. Reuters report here.
updating and a selection of bottles…
Various things: I’ve just done what I suppose will be a roughly annual updating of my Burgundy Vintage Chart, it slightly preempts the Autumn Burgundy Report which should be online by the end of next week (should be!). As mentioned, you’re having to wait for the Autumn report because I have too many things – I will have to do some culling to make everything fit! I’ve also updated the cuvée information at the end of the Hospices profile; much had changed since 2005. The last days have seen some tasty wine, but not in situations for studied note-taking: Friday evening with friends majored on spicy food, so we stayed with white wines; some fizz, an 07 Alsace Riesling GC, Mischief & Mayhem’s 2007 Puligny [....]
auction weekend…
It’s that time of year again. This weekend is the auction for the Hospices de Beaune – and there is added spice. It’s the 150th auction and the (red) grapes looked very fine, but with Christies driving the marketing of the sale into China, part-Chinese auction catalogues and a Chinese actress to stand beside the French actor at the sale, there is a clear, if unstated intent. The ballooning prices attained at recent auctions have had nothing to do with ‘worth’, only face, as Chinese buyers have squared up to each other – they could have bought from a merchant at a fraction of the prices they so publicly paid. But such scenes would be great for the charitable foundation, let’s just hope that the [....]
mugnier 1999 chambolle – part deux
After the (half) bottle at the weekend I was compelled to check it wasn’t an aberrant bottle – it wasn’t. One might convince oneself that the volatile impression is actually a heavy floral note – and the last drops in the glass are quite fine – but that would be stretching a point, and the flowers are not something I’d buy, at least not today. Slightly bitter and tart is something I’m more likely to forgive given its age. Let’s see, but definitely a wine to leave sleeping – its first three years were way better than this showing; I’m almost tempted to try an Amoureuses to make sure I don’t miss something…
château de chorey 1996 beaune 1er teurons
After the 99 Château de Chambolle-Musigny villages, this 96 Château de Chorey 1er is clearly a much better wine – at least, from these 2 half-bottles anyway. I expect the ‘general market’ chooses to position these wines differently, but the market often occupies a world where taste is irrelevant. Not as tannic and (perhaps) concentrated as the Grivot Roncières, but that’s a blend of Nuits vs. Beaune and Grivot vs. Germain! Equally engaging in it’s own way though. I really should open another Mugnier to see if it that performance is consistent – later this week perhaps… 1996 Château Chorey-lès-Beaune, Beaune 1er Les Teurons Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is wide, and reasonably deep – lovely warm red fruit aromas that are edged with a [....]
mugnier 1999 chambolle
Way-back-when (actually about 8 years ago), out of half a dozen decent 99 Chambolles this was the one that had that extra dimension. I put plenty of halves in the cellar to keep me away from the bigger bottles, but also to for keeping an eye on the vintage; I have to say that this half-bottle isn’t representative of the vintage, and hopefully not the rest of these bottles, I suppose I might have to try another in the near future… 1999 J-F Mugnier, Chambolle-Musigny Medium colour. The nose seems a tad volatile though below it could be described as quite pretty as its red fruit base slowly evolves. Nicely balanced, with very good acidity. Elegant rather than slight – though not a million miles [....]
a quick peek at 1996 with the help of Grivot …
What can you learn from opening only two bottles – half bottles at that – and from the same producer too. Actually quite a bit I think, after the premier cru I decidied not to open a Clos de Vougeot! Okay, Grivot is not your average producer, but useful data (to me) all the same. That data says ‘wait’ but nothing to worry about. I guess I have to drink more from 2007-09 plus 70s stuff! 1996 Jean Grivot, Nuits St.Georges Les Lavières Medium colour. The nose is wide and a little wild, perhaps a soupçon of brett? Maybe not, a clearer fruit note does come through, but there is plenty here that suggests a measure of aromatic maturity. If the nose hints at maturity, [....]
1978 henri royer-lebon pommard 1er pézerolles
Henri Royer-Lebon was a négoce business based in Beaune, but a great vintage and a good vineyard apparently is a good foil to lack of renown. So there you have it – forget its masculine name-tag BS and buy as much 2005 Pommard as you can find, then drink between 2035-2045 with your iPuppy and iGeisha. It seems that I’m already getting too old for this game, but hopefully the corks will last that long even if I don’t! 1978 Henri Royer-Lebon, Pommard 1er Pézerolles Bright medium. medium-plus red mahogany colour. The nose is very clean, showing both width and depth, initially a depth of prune overlaid with strawberry preserve and a hint of chocolate – a great start. Lovely in the mouth, just slightly [....]
jancis on oak…
Interesting, but clearly the sub-editor didn’t realise that it went to print without the name on Grégory Patriat’s label!
