Picked up a case of 12 half bottles Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru 'Les Grand Champs' 2006 last week which was on sale for only € 90 (after having tasted a whole bottle example). Lovely developed and still fresh - it was a real bargain indeed!

Day 1:

After a relaxed trip (660 km in 8 hours) we were at our first address Domaine Rollin & Fils in Pernand Vergelesses. Remi satisfied our thirst with a more than good Bourgogne Aligoté 2011 of which we immediately decided that this would be our white house wine for the coming week. He followed with the white Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Pernand Vergelesses ‘Les Cloux’, Pernand Vergelesses 1e Cru ‘Sous Frétille’ and Corton Charlemagne all from 2011. Gorgeous wines, with exactly the right amount of luxury oak used, a good concentration, perfectly balanced with elegance and minerality – a very good start! The red Hautes Côtes de Beaune and Pernand Vergelesses from 2011 gave juicy fruit (strawberry) and ‘sandy’ tannins, a little dehydrating in the aftertaste. The Savigny les Beaune ‘Aux Grands Liards’, Aloxe Corton en Pernand Vergelesses 1e Cru ‘Les Fichots’ were from 2010, therewith more powerful, better - with ‘Les Fichots’ as our absolute favourite. This has lots of small berry fruits, a mouth filling concentration, was earthy and had tannins which were none dehydrating; fruity and powerful at the same time – we loved it!

Next stop after a 10 minutes drive was Domaine Pierre Thibert in Corgoloin. After a slow start in his very tiny cellar, the ‘wine whisperer’ came loose and opened one bottle after the other. After a lovely red Chorey les Beaune 2011 which had a strong fragrant of raspberry (although already open for three days) he opened the Côtes de Nuits Villages ‘La Montagne’ from the same vintage which was good but much more closed on the palate. The 2010 Nuits Saint Georges also was closed but here the palate was much wider, powerful, more concentrated and full, however refreshing. The experiment with a bottle of 2008 failed, because this wine (stocked for future sales) was possibly even more closed in nose and the fruit and typical earthy Nuits taste were disturbed by a very high acidity; child-murder. That’s why he opened for the first time since bottling on 20 November 2012 a bottle 2011 which was deliciously juicy, with creamy fruit (strawberry, raspberry) and ripe tannins. The 1e Cru ‘Rue de Chaux’ v.v. 2010 which was next was much darker in colour and smell but more refined in taste, juicy with agreeable sandy tannins. The 2011 was even more intense, animal and lots of juicy fruits. In brief, four lovely wines taken home for further investigations.

After our arrival at ‘gîte La Cabotte’ (you may copy this into Google-maps) in Messanges unpacking the car was routine as this was already the fourth time we stayed here.
The in the meantime cooled Rollin Aligoté 2011 was a delicious appertizer and the Bourgogne Rouge 2009 (a gift from the owner Thibault Liger-Belair) was outstanding with the rapidly prepared pasta dish. The deep dark colour, the open nose with ripe fruit and luxurious wood and the very rich, widely spreading taste with fruit and oak in perfect balance, nice ripe tannins and a juicy aftertaste reminded us more of a good Village than a regional wine – top-class! In the evening we tasted a nicely ripened Nuits Saint Georges 2003 (a gift from Pierre) which was a dark red–brown wine with a deep, dusky nose presenting sensual fruit, liquorice and laurel, a little burned and smoky. This mouth filling wine was juicy, earthly and dark and still had keeping potential - one of the better examples from this very difficult vintage.

Because the WiFi connection was not how it used to be, I couldn't report directly from our gîte last week. However, I have made a report in Dutch of all visits so when I can find time to translate I will come up with the impressions and notes of the tastings. So far as I can forsee this will be in parts again.

Thanks, Maxim, appreciated!

Oops, it looks like you may need a subscription to read the story at WSJ.com. My apologies ((

There were a couple of interesting articles about Burgundy I saw last week. I thought some (many?) of you here might be interested to read them -- if you have not already.

"Ponsot Adopts In-Case Provenance Sensors" at wine-searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2013/05/burgundys-ponsot-adopts-in-case-provenance-sensors

"Haute Stuff" by Jancis Robinson at FT:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/66d4e2aa-66dd-11e2-a805-00144feab49a.html#axzz2TpM4aZSU

"The Drouhins of Beaune and Their Hidden Treasures" at WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324082604578484970118811886.html

I have been dealing with a micro-negociant via a broker in Beaune for 3 or 4 years. Yesterday I was informed that payment for the 2011 allocation would have to be made to the winemaker immediately. Wine delivery to USA is expected end of 2013 or early 2014. I have been purchasing from this maker and paying when the broker receives the wine in Beaune, typically in Sept or October 2 years after the vintage. Today, I dont know if the wines are even in the bottle!

Not sure what is behind this change of rules. Has anybody else observed similar changes in commercial terms?

Joachim -- Without going back and checking my notes, my recollection is pretty much across the board for the Nuits producers I visit -- Chevillon, Gouges, Chauvenet, Confuron, Faiveley, l'Arlot, as well as producers outside Nuits with Nuits holdings, e.g., Drouhin, Jadot, Mugneret-Gibourg, Méo-Camuzet, Rouget, Confuron-Cotétidot, Grivot, Clavelier, Arnoux-Lachaux, etc., etc.

Bear in mind, though, that this is a double-edged sword -- 2006 was especially good in Nuits (and Savigny!), but 2005, while very good in Nuits, was perhaps less strong there than in other villages, an observation that I think other reviewers also shared.

Haha, might be the case, Bill. But this was much later anyway, when 2006 and 2005 were both sold out. It was the inverview which was posted here recently, where Jean Marc explained his interpretation of the 2004 taint.

Claude, do you have any special producers in mind? I have not enough tasting experience to make a competent comparison here, but I heard from many sides that 2006 came out very well in NStG - I reacted by stocking some more 2006 Chevillon, without tasting it so far.

And in a few cases, notably at Nuits, those producers may well have been right.

Probably just depends when the interview was Joachim - remember most of the producers preferred 2006 once they'd sold out of 2005s ;-)

I agree! So far, I had really good experiences with 2006. To me, its a real round, warm vintage, but still keeping typicity. Someone could say "easy to drink", but not with the flatness of 2007, which has not too much depth imo. Heard an interview with Jean -Mar Fourrier, and he prefers 2006 to 2005. Might be changing in time, but still an interesting viewpoint.

Grabbed a 2006 Domaine Georges Mugneret Nuits 1er Les Chaignots out of the cellar this evening (meant to take a 2005, which probably would have been a bigger mistake...). Good, but better in 2+ years, methinks. Quite red-fruited, with noted acidity (both excellent); fleshes out with some time over the evening. Hits some high notes but always beckons with a promise of greater potential. We have 3 left, fortunately, and those will await a substantially later date.

I'm a fan of the '06s on the overall -- have enjoyed a wide range from, say, Barthod BR to Rousseau Clos St. Jacques. As advertised, they generally show their typicity of place quite well. There have been a few misses along the way as well, so I'm generally cautious about what/when to open, but by and large its a vintage I quite like.......

Thanks for the link, emile. It reflects accurately the situation that I have observed at the estate over more than twenty years of visiting (BTW, when I visited last fall, I spotted at a distance Charles Rousseau, who turns 90 this year. The late Denis Mortet, a relative of Rousseau's, once told me that Charles arrived each day before everyone else at the estate and left each evening after everyone else and even spent time labelling the bottles himself.)

However, what is curious about the link, and other sources I've checked on the net back it up, is the assertion that Chambertin was acquired in 1920 (there are various parcels in the estate now, but I assume that the reference indicates that this was the first parcel to be acquired). So how was there a 1915 Armand Rousseau Chambertin? Did Armand Rousseau, also a grocer, buy a barrel from someone else and stick his name on the bottles (i.e., a negociant wine)? Interesting questions to pose on my next visit.

Claude,
This is fantastic information especially when the Domaine was founded in 1910:

http://www.webflakes.com/wine/bon-vivant/eric-rousseau-man-says-no

I'm just reading today in André Simon's Winewise that he drank a 1915 Armand Rousseau Chambertin in Paris in January 1938! So much for the story that Raymond Baudoin of La Revue du Vin worked with Rousseau to begin domaine bottling in 1929.

Thanks Bill, I wanted to post much more detailed notes, since this tasting was really interesting, but it seems just can’t find the time. To add something in short: We had a Michel Gros Clos de Reas vertical tasting as third flight, the vintages 1998, 2001 and 2002. The same picture here: While the 2001 and 2002 were really open and ready to drink (even if they were still in their youth, I might add) the 1998 was very wild and edgy. There also seems to be a change in the winemaking at Michel Grios after 1998 (anyone has more information about it?) but apart form that, surely 1998 is a stubborn fellow.

Joachim said:
Afterwards we had three 1998 Grand Cru (Girardin Chambertin Clos de Beze, Grivot Clos Vougeot, Sirigue Grand Echezeaux) which were much more close and tihgt. Okay, its 98 and Grand Crus, but still I was a bit surprised.

Great info Joachim - thanks!

Regis Bouvier MSD En La Rue De Vergy 2006 drank well enough this week, although plenty of time left to evolve.

Don't worry Victor, almost all of the flooding took place outside the winegrowing areas. Some lowlying vineyards were submerged in up to 30 cm water, but no harm done.

I had the following 2006 Village wines in a tasting two weeks ago:

Herestzyn Gevrey Cahmbertin VV
Roty Gevrey Chambertin Champs Chenys VV
Mugnier Nuit St. Geroges Clos de Fourches
Michel Gros Nuit St. Georges

All the wines were very open, generous and open for bussiness, the Roty clearly standing out as primus inter pares. Afterwards we had three 1998 Grand Cru (Girardin Chambertin Clos de Beze, Grivot Clos Vougeot, Sirigue Grand Echezeaux) which were much more close and tihgt. Okay, its 98 and Grand Crus, but still I was a bit surprised.

Jacob
Thanks for the information on Fougeray. Interesting to know that they have some older vintages in stock; would be nice to stock up on some drinking now 2007s for example. I've only tried the red and white Marsannay's and have always been impressed with both of these particularly the white.
Mark

Mark,
Fougeray is a domain we visit regularly, Patrice Ollivier is a very nice chap speaking English – our visit is scheduled for next Wednesday. By chance we just opened a bottle of Marsannay Saint Jacques rouge 2004 which is very enjoyable. Matured (barnyard) but still having ripe fruit in aroma an on the pallet - very juicy and not with the typical 2004 “greenish” taste. They still do have some older vintages and so far we didn’t find a better Marsannay Rosé. Also the whites and reds are good, Fixin Clos Marion monopole is excellent in both colours. The Bonnes Mares Grand Cru we have bought in magnums in the vintages of birth of our grandsons.
Jacob

Some excellent bottles I've had recently:
N Potel - CM Charmes
F Esmonin - GC Lavaux St Jacques
Both were drinking nicely

Jacob
Sounds like a great trip. I would be very interested in any reports/notes/thoughts on your visits to Fougeray de Beauclair and David Duband as these are two places that I would like to visit in the future.
Thanks
Mark

Saturday we're going for another journey to the Côte, just the two of us, staying in “Gite la Cabotte” from Thibault Liger - Belair and family in the small village of Messanges (Hautes Côtes de Nuits). We have scheduled our trip in advance, visiting known addresses but also four new ones. Although it looks a very busy trip, there will be lots of time to take some great walks especially in the Hautes Côtes and spend some time relaxing in the beautiful garden.

Appointments are made with: Rollin Père & Fils, Pierre Thibert, Lucien Jacob, David Duband, Cyrot - Buthiau, Henri Latour & Fils, Florent Garaudet, Francois Charles & Fils, Parigot Père & Fils, Maurice & Anne-Marie Chapuis, Machard de Gramont, Fougeray de Beauclair, Marc Gauffroy, JanotsBos and Chevillon - Chezeaux.

Hopefully I will have some time left to do some reporting on the tastings we will have like I did last autumn...

For what it's worth, a bottle of 2006 Jerome Chezeaux Vosne Suchots that I had about a year ago is what started my Burgundy infatuation to begin with. It was certainly young, but fully open and generous.

What's the extend of the damage? I read some cellars are underwater... does that mean that barrels have been damaged and stock has been lost? How about the vines themselves?

Haha! You might be right. Anyway, I thought his ideas how the different cultures in Burgundy and Bordeaux influenced the wine style and the markets were pretty interesting.

Drinking a 2011 Jadot Chardonnay "Steel" w/silver label. First time I've seen this. 17.99 in Hawaii. Just opened. Lemon/lime aromas, clean attack, juicy acidity, a little bland but an ok drink. At a better price point a rebuy.