2000 Antonin Guyon, Corton-Charlemagne
Medium-plus golden colour. Despite the colour, there is no trace of oxidation here, rather it is forward but well integrated sweet brioche oak, behind is a good, freshly mineral base. Concentrated, silkily, waxily smooth texture. The acidity is understated and the flavours are a mix of the mineral and savoury. Very mineral finish that is also very long. This should be at it’s best in another 4 or 5 years, but it did rather on day1 – day two was even better!
Rebuy – Yes

A couple of weekend bottles. Somebody else’s house and glassware made for puzzling performances from both of these wines – in both cases totally unlike the last bottles I tasted:

2007 Mischief & Mayhem, Puligny-Montrachet
Wow this bursts with toasty-ness, brioche and just about everything but fruit. There is concentration and acidity but no togetherness. The sweet fruit across the tongue held it together, but it seemed quite peculiar.
2004 Pascal Lachaux, Clos St.Denis
Hmm, whilst the 04 character is very, very tiny (like before), the aromas are rather diffuse and slightly stemmy. In the mouth there is some balance, but the texture and concentration of the last bottle seems largely absent…

I was bemused – perhaps it was the piercing Muscat we started with!

I may have criticised the last Bouchard (the Mercurey) for it’s relative (versus quality) value, and here is a wine that has more than doubled in price since the 2002 vintage, yet despite being unhappy about that, there is something innate and worth paying for in a good Volnay – and this has the potential for very good!

2006 Bouchard Père et Fils, Volnay 1er Caillerets Cuvée Carnot
The nose shows a width of creamy red fruit and perhaps has a rose-petal dimension too – really very pretty. Plenty of concentration, the tannin is slightly forward but of velvet texture. A good additional fruit dimension in the mid-palate with understated but balancing acidity. The flavour of the finish remains very barrel-influenced today, but is very long. Will be super.
Rebuy – Yes

2006 Confuron-Cotetidot, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Medium cherry-red. Sweet, only slightly smokey stems, rather candied red/blue fruit. The palate is as sweet as the nose, with understated acidity. Occasional sips give a padded, slightly plush texture, but most show a mid-palate/tannins with a slightly astringent, sharp effect. Quite long finishing, but this far from a ‘together’ wine. Day two, less aromatically interesting, but more ‘together’ on the palate. I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say wait another year or two – it’s not really for today though…
Rebuy – Maybe

To be honest I think pricing is getting too high for such things. Basic Mercurey should not be significantly more expensive than a well-made regional wine – say plus 25% – this was double the cost of many regionals. It is intrinsically a very nice wine but my instinct tells me it’s poor value for money, hence, the ‘maybe’ rating.

2007 Bouchard Père et Fils, Mercurey
High-toned, very pretty cherry aromas with a relatively understated oak-spice component. Jammy, it’s a fruit preserve impression. Good acidity and a slightly more grown-up stance in the mid-palate. The tannin has a slight grain. This medium length wine is actually quite tasty – a second glass? – why not!
Rebuy – Maybe

2006 Albert Bichot, Beaune 1er Champimonts
Medium cherry-red. High-toned perfume of crunchy cherry-fruit eventually a little creamy oak. There is good width and an edge of fat to the texture too. A creamy vanilla-oak barrel note runs through the core of this and into the mid-palate. Medium, slightly peppery tannin and a good length. For my taste this needs a little cellar time to both round out and to reduce the barrel flavour, but it’s ripe, sweet and tasty already today, and was a very good price.
Rebuy – Yes

My first 2008 from bottle.

2008 Domaine Vaudon, Chablis Réserve de Vaudon
Medium-pale lemon-yellow. The nose starts in a forward way, the aromas are somewhere on the border between oak toast and earthy minerality – it’s a great balancing act – slowly it is more towards the toasty bread part of the spectrum. In the mouth, the concentration gives a decent slightly oily, padded texture, but it’s a transient impression as the zinging grapefruit-style acidity takes hold. There is a sweetness that is the perfect foil to that grapefruit. Refreshing, not bad length, this is superb for the price and already a candidate for house wine 2010! A small amount left for day 2 had no trace of toast whatsoever, but was also missing that perfect sweet/acid balance of day 1 – so don’t save any!
Rebuy – Yes