Bought way back in 2000 when Sotheby’s had a sale of old Bouchard Père vintages, for what I thought a bargain at £170 direct for BP&F. In storage since then, here is it’s first outing – time to see if it was really a bargain!
1997 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton
Medium colour. The nose starts with a herby top-note and a little meat below, it slowly develops a sweeter core of spiced plums. In the mouth this is full of dimension and some reasonable tannin too – the flavour is slightly savoury and inflected with coffee. Good sweetness and no lack of balance helps produce a decent finish. Unlike many from the vintage, there’s a real smoothness here – impresses. Half a bottle was left in the refrigerator overnight and next day it was acid-forward and not so nice, though my single glass was always rather cold. So on the third day, at room temperature (~19°C – the weather was cold!) the impression was somewhere between the last two days. So initially a very tasty if not stunning grand cru. Drink it straight away, watch your serving temperature and you will be rewarded!
Rebuy – Maybe