Deep, deep, sweet Pernand hillside joy :-)

With my Xmas/New Year lurgy in remission, but still compromising my nose's abilities to 'work' properly, I finally got around this evening to trying the first of a 6 pack of 1997 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - with trepidation !

Opened this unwrapped from its tissue with trepidation for 'you know what' but - the relief - whilst the amber gold colour looked worrying the nose has that very subtle, older but correct, white burg aromas, not a whiff of anything sherryish. The palate is really nice. Clearly a product of ripe (very ?) fruit, and would benefit from a tad more acidity, but otherwise coolly delicious with subtle rocky mineral ripe sweetish detail, subdued creamy vanilla oak notes, savoury, chewy, palate flooding and very long. Just minerally delicious and true GC class. Wonderful !

Fingers crossed for the other 5 !

Seasonal drinking was ( ;-) ) as usual, quite modest - I spend most of my time acting as a chauffeur! But I enjoyed some nice Piesporter, decent 10-12 year-old shiraz, a magnum of 81 Corton Rognets and another magnum of Robert Denogent 07 Mâcon-Solutré "Clos des Bertillones" - the second one of these - the first a tad disappointing, this was excellent.

Happy New Year to all...

Some burgs we've enjoyed:

A tour through the 2010's of Jean-Marc Vincent - Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Hautes, Santenay 1ers Beaurepaire, Gravieres, and Passetemps. Bill's impressions are spot on but what I can add is that over the course of a bottle each the Beaurepaire and Passetemps both remained poised and impressive while the Gravieres seemed to lose some of its charm after a couple of hours.

2004 Lucien Boillot - Gevrey 1er Cherbaudes: clearly marked fatally by the vintage.

2006 N. Potel Vosne Romanee vv. - very unforgiving and tight on the nose for the first 1-2 hours open and in the decanter, but with vigorous encouragement hints of pretty red fruit could be found. Over time the gorgeous perfume became more apparent though remained reserved and subtle. The palate has a beautiful texture with the tannin becoming more evident as the fruit unfolds over hours. Perfect balance and structure. Great now, has years of life.

Tonight wife and I going to RN74 in the city. Should be able to pick off something very nice off the wine list (if I can conceal the pricetag from her view)

May you all have the best of the New Year!

Rick

Hi Joachim, thanks for the reply and yeah -- the '94 Rousseau CSJ was a real surprise, most notably on the depth of fruit and mouthfeel. The cork was soaked 80% through, but otherwise the bottle was in great shape, which might have had something to do with it. We opened 3 Rousseau CSJs this year: this one, a 1995, and a 2007. Casting aside the obvious relative infanticide of the latter bottle, the 1994 was the hands-down winner. I had great expectations for the 1995, but it disappointed on the overall -- was somewhat sour and uninspiring. I'm intrigued by the notion that perhaps expectations going in can have an unduly disproportionate influence on perceptions of a given bottle of wine.

Re the 1996's -- its weird -- I've wondered the "when will they be ready" question on about 75%, with the other 25% being quite satisfying (e.g., (again a surprise on the upside) a Mugneret-Gibourg Vosne-Romanee about a year ago). I think you're right -- leave them until they're 20. I have about 15 bottles left in stock overall and I plan to leave the vast majority alone for at least 3-5 more years.....

-Todd

Had dinner with a few friends yesterday and I brought the wine.
I decided for a blind comparison of a Swiss and a Burgundy both from 2010.
The Swiss was a Eichholz from Annatina Pelizzatti from Jenins. This is a wine I already drank a few times this year and always loved it. Beautiful nose, with red fruit and floral notes, very expressive, and a palate to match, elegant and light.
The Burgundy was a Dujac Morey-St. Denis.
Pouring them in the glass, it was immediately evident which was which, the latter being much darker. I also could immediately identify the nose of the Pelizzatti and enjoyed it. But still the Dujac was much more interesting, had more depth, with spices overlaying a chinotto note.
On the palate the difference was even more evident, with the Dujac showing again a lot more depth, with more body and intensity, without giving up elegance. The tannins (barely perceivable in the Eichholz), were quite strong in Dujac but not at all disturbing.
Dujac's finish was very, very long.

I think this was the first Burgundy 2010 I tasted from bottle at home (rather than in Burgundy's cellars) and it's been delicious - if it is representative of the vintage (as I hope) it's very convincing.

Interesting Todd, especially the 1994 CSJ. Lately I had so many bad experiences with this vintage that I'm really surprised. The 1994 Chambertin from Rousseau I had two years ago was OK, but not more, a light, elegant wine, but not on Grand Cru level. We had it side by side with a Jadot 93 Chambertin, which was lightyears better. The 1994 Mugnier Les Fuees I opened recently was nearly undrinkable - light, sour liquid. I still have a Mugnier 1994 Musigny in my cellar, but given the recent prices, I think I'm going to sell it.

And interesting comment on the 1996ers - lets see how they come out on their 20th birthday, haha!

Just noticed a typo -- FWIW, it was the 2008 Millot and Mugneret-Gibourg V-R villages that we had, not the 2009......

We have hopped around a bit over the holidays. Actually had a Bordeaux on Christmas eve (to answer the question in the other thread), and have had a couple of Oregon pinots. Mostly Burgundy, though, with the high points being:

-1994 Rousseau CSJ. Major surprise on the upside given the vintage rap. One of those ethereal, almost weightless wines at first, then gathering strength of fruit, earth, acidity and secondary components as the bottle opened. Could have been the law of low expectations at work, but who cares -- a great bottle of wine and a really nice surprise. Had this on Christmas day.

-2009 Vosne-Romanee villages side-by-side: Jean-Marc Millot and Mugneret-Gibourg. Very interesting contrast. Both ultimately showed their terrior and some spicy typicity, but winemaking differences showed through a fair bit, with the Millot coming off as more restrained in style. Ultimately loved them both so hard to argue with either style....

-1996 Maillard Aloxe-Cortion 1er Grandes Lollieres. Mixed bag here -- had some interesting earthiness and bright acidity, but left me with a question I've asked a few times on the '96s: will this ever be really ready (i.e., fully integrated), or is it just what it is???

-2008 Drouhin Vaudon Chablis 1er: really minerally and acidic, just the way we like it!

Happy New Year to all!

-Todd

Continuing my holiday wine festival, I opened two marvelous Gevreys yesterday with two friends. We had a 99 Clos St. Jaques from Sylvie Esmonin and a 06 Combottes from Rossignol-Trapet.

Clearly, the Clos St. Jaques was the wine of the evening. The platonic idea of elegance and style. Even if the style of the Domaine became quite modern in the last years, this 99 was made very traditional. One could say that the wine lacks body, but I was totally captivated by this wonderful, complete elegant wine, incredible. Lot of red fruits in the nose, on the palate a dominating minerality which was literally dancing on my tongue, kind of a gentle sparkling which lasted half a minute. Then, even if the wine had not too much power, the finish lasted another 30 seconds. Great wine. And a proof, that ratings can be very misleading: Allan Meadows gave it 89 points. A mystery to me. This was a wine of class and nobility, showing all the perfection of its terroir.

The Combotte was great, too, even if it could not match with the CSJ. But still, what a great wine. More on the black fruit side, with a good and strong acidity, and the somehow robust and down-to-earth character of this Domaine. I think Rossignol-Trapet is really underrated, by wine critics and somehow here in the forum, too. These are really honest and typical burgundies which are true representators of the terroir, made in harmony with the nature, build for a long aging. You could taste all the potential of this wine, even if its far from ready. But I can really recommend this Domaine.

More to follow on Saturday, since for tomorrow we have Domaine Maume, Domaine Chevillon and Jean Noel Gagnard lined up!

A mixture of burgundian and non-burgundian wines for me this Christmas. Nothing too extravagent yet, but some lovely wines. We will continue to be festive for another couple of days yet, but here are some of the burgundies that we have enjoyed so far:

2010 Philippe Chavy Puligny-Montrachet Rue Rousseau Chardonnay
Drinking very nicely, still rich and a little oaky but with time it became much more interesting.

2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Champlots
Lovely Saint Aubin, very complex, yet fine and elegant. Plenty of life left in this, leave for another few years. With air it developed a good richness but it still is much more fresh than the average 09 white burg.

2008 Domaine Dujac Morey St. Denis
Superb village wine, nice elegance and complexity. Very fine burgundy with some earth, poop and a mix of red and black fruits, a little tight at the moment but still drinking quite well.

2008 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée
Whispers rather than shouts, but ohh my what a whisper. Uber fine profile of mint, stone fruits and some oak derived notes, but lovely tension, line length. This is a really lovely wine and with time the oak recedes and leaves an exceptionally classy wine.

2007 Philippe Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
Drinking very well, smooth, long, lemony with super acidity.

2008 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny
Incredibly tight and primary, nice wine underneath but needs time. Deeper and more brooding than some chambolle. Serious wine.

2006 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux
Fat, although others enjoyed it more than I did.

Joachim's post pre-empted my best intentions somewhat but, as he seems specific to Christmas Eve, and I was intent on a wider post, what are all you good Burgundy fixated folk drinking this seasonal holiday ? Let's share - well, thoughts at least, whilst Bill's taken himself over to the UK for a lie down ;-)

My start point for thinking about a seasonal drinking thread, apart from the season itself, was my finally getting around to pulling some older wines from storage as I've been meaning to do for ages. As I've detailed on Joachim's thread so far I've tackled two (premoxed - doh !) whites and a super red - just had another sip of the latter and now got some charry oak I didn't get to start with (which adds nothing, spoiling the initial, cleaner, purity).

Besides the:-
Domaine des Lambrays 2001 Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru 'Clos du Cailleret'
Chateau de la Maltroye 1996 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru 'Dent de Chien
Domaine Jean Grivot 1996 Vosne-Romanee 1er cru 'Les Suchots'

I've pulled various 3's or 6's from storage to hopefully last me a few months as most of what I had at home I didn't want to drink for various, mainly age/value/sentimentality reasons !!!

From the pull off's I've earmarked a bottle of each of the following for intended holiday drinking:-

Domaine Denis Mortet 1995 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru 'Lavaux-St-Jacques' - loved the 97's I've drunk of this. Tremendous bottles.

Domaine Jean-Michel Gaunoux 1996 Corton-Renardes Grand Cru. My only Gaunoux reds. I've loved his Meursault Perrieres 1996 & 2002 but not had a red so far & can't recall who I bought these from EP. Will be opening the first of a 6 pack with my father and brother on Boxing Day.

Domaine Maume 1996 Mazis-Chambertin GC

In the wings for a change of mind/other possibility are Barthod's 95 Chambolle Beaux Bruns, Bachelet's 95 Gevrey VV, Engel's 02 Vosne Brulees or Arlaud's 09 Bourgogne Roncevie.

Whites wise, I've sampled two so far, to be taken up with the selling merchant with no expectation of any recompense but.........

Others earmarked are:-

Domaine Darviot-Perrin's 02 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru 'Blanchots-Dessus'. Had a faulty bottle of this at a mate's a fortnight ago but another some months ago was great - super terroir. Bottle also earmarked for the parents Boxing Day as my preferred alternative to cheap fizz with salmon blinis.

Nervous cough:- Domaine Bonneau du Martray 97 GC Corton-Charlemagne. Drawn off a 6 pack, so far untouched - please, please St Vincent..............

Domaine Leflaive 98 Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru 'Les Pucelles' - have 3 of these.

Domaine Chandon des Briailles 96 GC Corton-Charlemagne - 3 of these also. The 97 & 98 were very average and not GC worthy for me, if not premoxed at least.

Domaine des Comtes Lafon 03 Meursault Goutte D'Or and 01 Clos de la Barre (latter should have been 02 but bond made a mistake). Had 2 of the 03 Charmes last few months - grim, oaky, charred, no fruit, flacid wines. Am hoping the Gouttes will be better, if needing drinking soon anyway.

So, folks, Happy Christmas and a bonne nouveau annee pour 2013 to you all. My all your burgs be blessed (well, more than mine anyway) and may you all have a great seasonal affair (conscious we are differing religions etc).

What was good for you in 2012, what was bad and what are you particularly looking forward to in 2013 ?

For me:-
Good :- Only daughter blitzed her college results & got a very good university place were she seems to be thriving.

Bad:- Getting her settled into university (fatherly duty) meant I missed my 6th vendange in Morey for le premier equipe de Morey, Domaine Arlaud. Very upsetting, sometimes though family comes first, but see below.

Being back on the Cote in 2013 with Cyprien Arlaud, bless you sir, telling me my place is reserved for 2013. Hope to see Mr 'nicest man himself' David Clark, Ray W (equally a top man!) and Andrew Nielsen amongst others then. Can't come soon enough and if it rains throughout who cares - I'm British !!!

Cordialement mes amis.

MG

I forget the vintage, but the Rousseau's also once suggested that XXXX should be drunk young and consequently retained no stock at the domaine - those bottles are supposedly wonderful now, and they very much regret not keeping some ;-)

Notice on Domaine Armand Rousseau's website how the Domaine describes 2007 and 2008 vintages:

http://www.domaine-rousseau.com/fr/millesimes/classement-millesimes.html

They suggest consuming 2008 relatively young, and that 2007 will endure the medium to long haul.

My instinct would have been the opposite.

Any thoughts?

Has anyone drunk Rousseau CdlR 1997 or Clos des Ruchottes 1997 recently, or any other Grand Cru 1997?

Mark,

I've not tasted the Duroche 2008's as my first experience of these wines came with the 2009's.

I was impressed - with both quality and qpr. Bought the 2009 Gevrey Aux Etelois and the Latricieres. Recall the Beze made me 'think on' as well but I bought Damoy's and Rousseau so 'passed'. Haven't looked back but believe I posted on these (Duroche) after trying them en primeur. Not tried either since recently delivered to bond - I don't generally do infanticide ;-). The Aux Etelois vines are, I think, without checking maps, a spit away from Griotte.

Am looking forward to trying the 2010's in January but noted Bill didn't seem 'that' impressed at his recent Syndicat Gevrey tasting. Flint Wines Ltd (Jason Haynes) sell them in the UK - no connection etc other than as customer. Alexandrine Roy will be my first pick from Gevrey for any 2010's.

Dear All

I am thinking about purchasing some 2008 Chambertin Clos de Beze and Latricieres Chambertin from Domaine Duroche. Has anybody on this forum tasted the 2008 vintage of these two wines?

Any views would be much appreciated

Thanks
Mark

Some nice stuff lined up this weekend only a couple of burgundies though:

2004 Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos De La Barre
1976 Bitouzet Prieur Volnay (fingers crossed this will be OK)

Who knows what else might appear before the end of the weekend though

Nice Will - you're drinking well!

Similar for this weekend?

A few wines tasted at the weekend, amongst some non-burgundian interlopers

2007 Patrick Javilllier Meursault Clos Du Cromin
Initially this was a little hard work and I thought I had popped the cork on this too early. After about half an hour or this opened up nicely and started to deliver. The wine had a nice mouthfeel, good length and typical Meursault power. Tons of 2007 minerality on the palate combined with good fruit and spice.

1985 Leroy Meursault Genevrieres
Things ramped up again with the next wine. Initially a bit stinky and burly upon opening, this wine was a simply incredible white wine. It’s brilliantly fresh and vibrant for such an aged wine but the flavour profile was mind blowing. It still has remnants of its youth with powerful lemon and mineral but this is overlaid with preserved fruits (oranges and apricots), spices and the most luxurious texture and great length.

2006 Leflaive Puligny Montrachet
I was afraid that this would be blown away by the Leroy but a few hours in a decanter helped bring this wine out of its shell. Still a good lick of oak showing but its well integrated with a very classy wine. Considerable power on the attack with plenty of acidity, fruit and spice. This was a mouthwatering wine that was built along the same lines as the Leroy.

2008 Roumier Chambolle 1st Les Cras
Ohh so young but ohh so delicious. Fresh strawberrys and cream with a silky palate. This was very full and round yet had remarkable subtlety and class. The finish went on for minutes on the palate. Delicious.

emile said:
Bill, have tasted Darviot Perrin 2009s?
What is your take on this Domaine in general?

Hi Emile
I've only tasted occasonal bottles and nothing in the last couple of years - so I've no view on them - sorry...

Bill, have tasted Darviot Perrin 2009s?
What is your take on this Domaine in general?

Thanks Will - great stuff.
All I can say about Moreau is that I didn't know the wines before, but having tasted the 09s just after bottling I put them very near the top of the tree for the vintage and although the peaks are higher at (for instance) Ramonet, the average quality at Moreau is more consistent.

Carillon now has no history as far as I'm concerned - the domaine split in two and the wines split likewise. Different people are doing different jobs now so as far as I'm concerned it is two new startups that we talk about so too early to say if good, great or average. But I look forward to them based on your notes ;-)

Will,

If you have any issues sourcing Moreau let me know ? I have two impeccable trade contacts.

Intrigued to see my taste buds are at least in tune with someone else's on the Dancer 2007 La Romanee. Think it was the combo of fruit, minerality, and the 2007 young acidity that made it for me. I just lurve acidity.

Carillon - confess I've no experience here but see a need to remedy that sooner or later as your notes only add to positive stuff on Carillon wines I seem to be seeing all over the place lately.

Keep poking me if I don't at least make a start on the notes this weekend - will include a 1961 NSG and lots of other goodies (Dujac CdlR 1997 & 1993 to name but two).

Happy drinking.

Mark,

Good point on the Moreau, I was very impressed by the wine we tasted and I'll be keeping an eye out for the 1er crus from now on. His basic village CM was head and shoulders above the Girarden 1er cru wines.

Dancer is a great source alright. One of the other guys at the tasting was raving about his 07 C-M 1er La Romanee tasted recently as well. He reckoned that the 07s in general are in a very good drinking phase at the moment and he, personally, was drinking up his stocks whilst in this good phase.

It's worth reemphasising the class that the Carillon wines showed. This is the third white burgundy tasting I have been to in the last while where Louis Carillon stole the show…

Do post some notes, it would be nice to taste some nice burgundy, even vicariously.

Cheers,
Will

Thanks for this Will, am envious, v nice / interesting tasting.

Couple of comments :-
a) Bernard Moreau are consistently good, if not a lot better than good, in my experience. You've reminded me I need more & your descriptors strike a chord with me re Moreau wines. In the London enprimeur tastings Moreau's 2008 Grand Ruchottes was probably my white wine of the tastings I went to - knockout - and from 2009 the Moreau wines as a range stood out for me as 'head and shoulders' at Flint Wines (no assoc etc) with real 'cut' and the rest. Alex Moreau is a really nice guy and on an increasing roll for me, which brings me to :-

b) Vincent Dancer. Besides his nifty photographic skills with a simple point & shoot Panasonic for me he's just making some delicious wines & has for a while. My personal white burg of last year was his 2007 C-M 1er La Romanee. Utterly fantastic - how I've kept my mitts off the other 2 bottles of this so far I really don't know ! The Chevalier sounds mouth wateringly fantastic.

You are shaming me though otherwise - I've notes from 3 tastings I've been meaning to post for weeks. Must make an effort to start this weekend.

MG

I had the great pleasure of attending a white burgundy tasting in Ely Bar & Brasserie last night organized by Conor Richardson (of Burgundy Direct fame). The theme for the tasting was Puligny vs Chassagne Montrachet. Conor started organizing this a couple of months back and when we gathered last night he had amassed 15 willing participants who had the tough task of tasting 17 different wines from Puligny & Chassagne ranging from village wines right up to grand cru. Needless to say I was very excited in anticipation of this evening.

The wines were arranged into 7 flights all designed to give a different take on the villages. The first flight was 3 2006 village wines, 2 from Chassagne and 1 from Puligny. This was a good opening flight but one wine stood out from the others
[b]2006 Chassagne Montrachet, Bernard Moreau[/b] – This was a cracking start to the evening. The nose was full of exotic tones of coconut and orange rind but the palate was very mineral and steely as well as having some oak derived tones. This was a very complete village level wine that was a step above the other 2 wines in the flight
[b]2006 Puligny Montrachet ‘Miroy’, Pierre Janny[/b] – This wine showed the most vintage character, with tropical fruits on the nose intermingled with pear and minerals. On the palate this was quite taut and firm but had a tasty, persistent finish
[b]2006 Chassagne Montrachet, Domaine Bachelet[/b] – There was a bit of debate as to whether this wine was ‘correct’ or not. Initially I thought it was spoiled but as it opened up in the glass it began to show a bit more character. In the end it was a light, mealy wine with lots of oaky tones and a sour finish.

The next flight was a pair of Pulignys from the 2008 vintage. This flight served to show that these types of wines need at least 2/3 years in the bottle before broaching to give them a chance to fill out a little.
[b]2008 Puligny Montrachet ‘Trezins’, Marc Colin[/b] – Lovely wine, but very young. It’s a bit gawky at the moment with plenty of oak, acid, fruit and minerals on show but not at all integrated. One to revisit in another year or two.
[b]2008 Puligny Montrachet, Moillard-Grivot[/b] – I didn’t enjoy this wine as much. The use of oak was a little obvious and the wine was lacking sufficient fruit to balance out the acidity. As the wine opened out it became more enjoyable though.

The third flight was a superb flight, 2 Drouhin Puligny 1er Cru Folatieres but from different vintages. There was a noticeable step up in quality from village wines to the 1er crus.
[b]2007 Puligny Montrachet ‘Folatieres’ 1er Cru, Joesph Drouhin[/b] – This was a superb wine showing very well. It was a big wine but carried itself very elegantly. It had superb mineral cut and thrust and a complex range of flavours. The oak in the wine was noticeable but added to rather than distracted from the overall wine
[b]2005 Puligny Montrachet ‘Folatieres’ 1er Cru, Joesph Drouhin[/b] – This wine was a little tighter than the 2007 but incredibly refined and complex. It didn’t have quite as much mineral cut but the overall package was knee weakening. Both wines were superb examples of a forward style of Puligny.

The fourth flight was a bit of a let down after the fireworks of the previous flight and none of the wines did Chassagne any favours. In theory this should have been a great flight of 3 wines from the same vineyard in 3 different vintages from 2 different producers.
[b]2005 Chassagne Montrachet ‘Morgeots’ 1er Cru, Louis Jadot[/b] – Prematurely Oxidised! Sherry on the nose, sherry on the palate. Quickly dumped into the spittoon.
[b]2006 Chassagne Montrachet ‘Morgeots’ 1er Cru, Vincent Girarden[/b]– Lots of oak on the nose, quite unrefined but definitely white burgundy. Not as distinctive a step up from the village level chassagnes. A little short.
[b]2007 Chassagne Montrachet ‘Morgeots’ 1er Cru, Vincent Girarden[/b] – Quite tight. Too much oak, not enough fruit. A pleasant wine but nothing more. Better length than the 2006
Both of the Girarden wines got a bit of a short shrift on the evening due to being book ended by much better flights. In reality these wines would probably be lovely on an evening on their own with a nice dinner but they didn’t shine at this tasting.

The next flight promised so much, 2 great 2005 Chassagne 1er crus, but again started off with a disappointment before revealing 2 top notch wines.
[b]2005 Chassagne Montrachet ‘Champ Gain’ 1er Cru V&F Jouard[/b]– Corked, unfortunately. This should have been a superb wine.
[b]2006 Puligny Montrachet ‘Champ Canet’ 1er Cru, Louis Carillon[/b] – This wine was opened as a back up for the corked Jouard. This was wine of the night for many of the tasters. It was a complete wine, drinking perfectly and a pleasure to taste on the evening. It had superb minerality, fruit, oak, acid and great balance and length. The precision to the wine was key as it delivered understated complexity in waves across the palate. A truly superb wine.
[b]2005 Chassagne Montrachet ‘La Romanee’ 1er Cru Vincent Dancer[/b] – This wine was coiled up tight but still delivered great pleasure. It had a superbly plush mouth feel and great length. It felt as if it was holding back a little as behind a deep core of fruit was a steely, mineral wine.

Flight 6 was another cracker, 2 great 2005 Puligny 1er crus, but one wine stood head and shoulders above the other
[b]2005 Puligny Montrachet ‘Pucelles’ 1er Cru, Philippe Chavy[/b] – This was a bit disappointing initially after the previous 2 wines. It was a bit oaky and a bit flabby in comparison with the others. It’s a very forward wine that’s giving its all at the moment but was just a little outclassed on the evening. After an hour or so it opened out nicely though and was a little more refined and less obvious.
[b]2005 Puligny Montrachet ‘Perrieres’ 1er Cru, Louis Carillon[/b] – Cut from the same cloth as the 2006 Champ Canet. The minerals soared out of the glass onto the nose and followed through the palate. This is an incredible wine, full of energy, with plenty in reserve. I’d drink the 2006 Champ Canet now but would rather have a case of this in the cellar.

The final flight was really superb with 3 contrasting wines, which all showed great quality.
[b]2004 Puligny Montrachet ‘Combottes’ 1er Cru, Jacques Prieur[/b] – This was the only fully mature wine of the evening. It had amazing flavour and complexity on the palate but (arguably) lacked a little energy as a result. It showed lovely flavours of dried apricots, orange rind and sweet spice all sitting on top of a bed of minerals. Yum!
[b]2002 Chassagne Montrachet ‘La Romanee’ 1er Cru, Vincent Dancer[/b] – I thought this wine was wonderful, but others were disappointed as the felt it showed better a few years ago. Superb mouth feel, great minerality and lovely length. This isn’t as taut or refined as the better Pulignys but is a great wine in its own right
[b]2005 Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru, Vincent Dancer[/b] – Just as the 1er crus were a step up in quality from the village wines this grand cru was another step up again. Still very young and very tightly coiled this wine just flattered the palate with great power and complexity. It delivered waves and waves of different flavours as it washed across the palate and settled down, cosied up and flirted with your taste buds. Simply divine but possible not the best wine of the evening.

All in all a great evening, with some wonderful wines and good insights. The importance of producer rang clear to me on the evening. The pureness and cut of Puligny stood out from the most rustic nature of the Chassagne wines. The difference in quality between the tiers was evident and it shows (unfortunately) that you have to pay for the best experience in white burgundy. The risk of Pox is real and a great shame as catching these wines at the right time is very difficult, but at least they deliver pleasure right through their lifetimes.

An Avery's bottling of Clos Des Reas 69 was right up there with the finest bottles I've ever had. Fabulous wine.

@burgundyfan - I really will have to visit Serveau to add to my experiece of their soft and delicate wines.

@nikbert - you choose perhaps my favourite cuvée ex-Rousseau!

@goughie13 - I'm convinced that the Clos du Réas wines are 'under-judged' in their youth, mainly because of the large spicy-oak overcoat that they wear. It takes 4 or 5 years for this to move into the background and you end up with a very elegant and nicely complex wine - but many people have long-since moved on because the wine didn't receive a great score!

Tonight for me it is a 1982 René Engel VR Brulées - I have had a very good weekend indeed....

Clos des Ruchottes 1999 from Rousseau. Full colour, classic Pinot nose, lovely fruit, very elegant and pure, complex and very intense, quite concentrated but it stays very fresh, lovely long finish. I only had one bottle wish I had some more.

Yesterday I opened a bottle of Serveau Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 2000 which was in my opinion some years to early. Still very closed.
Today I opened a Chambolle-Musigny Les Chabiots 2007 from Serveau which jumps out of the glass. It's just great for this young vines. This vineyard was replanted 14 years ago.
Pure strawberry in your glas. Good length for such a young vine. I will buy some more bottles in 3 weeks.
Have a nice weekend Bill

Only us two vendangeurs posting of late Bill ?

Off topic, the Jasper book sounds ace - looking forward to getting a copy. Your note on the Meursault Les Cras had me reaching for Pitiot & Servant's The Wines.... (ordered before I went to Arlaud but only to hand on my return) to recall where that was.

Back on topic, tonight finished last night's Arlaud 2008 Aligote and Chauvenet 1996 NSG Vaucrains and..........drum roll (!), opened, which I'd 'threatened' to broach a few weeks ago:-

Michel Gros, 1996, Vosne-Romanee 1er cru Clos des Reas Monopole (my first of 3)

This is quite something and very different from any red Burgs I can recall previously. Quite light and pale in appearance to the full on Chauvenet NSG, slightly hazy (rather than cloudy) but what an evocative nose (and my nose ain't great) ! Sous bois, vegetal, forest floor, secondary, hints of tar, liqourice, espresso, red fruits - tres complex and very 'giving'.

Super cool on the front palate (13%), mainly red, some black fruits, very silky indeed, at first I didn't 'get' the acidity but on further tastes the atypical 96 vintage acidity is there, very slightly green, to give a little 'bite', but beyond this the slightly chewy finish moves to softness, red fruits and a little spice. Not as anywhere near as 'biting' as some '96s.

I remember well Michel Gros' wines doing very well in the 'old' IWC, as the only 'real' Burgundy domaine entry against the then mediocre usual red burg selections from 'lesser' negotiants which seemed the make up the entries to so devalue the Old World Pinot entries to such a competition. Tasting this wine now its easy to see how MG was the winner in several years even if I'm sure there are plenty of more tres serieux Vosne's out there than this. If the '95 is heaps better as M.Coates suggests then yum yum.