1993 Jayer-Gilles, Nuits St.Georges Les Hautes Poirets
Deeply coloured – still. The nose has undergrowth, dark brambles and the remnants of dark toasty oak; dark and interesting I’d say. Perhaps still a little too much toasty oak flavour but it’s the first assault before a wave a fresh, acid-borne intensity and dark fruit – really mouth-watering flavour. There is still a very faint layer of velvet tannin, so this is still something of a baby – but a communicative one…
Rebuy – Yes

I love the real, versus the ‘pretend’ fraying on these labels!

It’s certainly not worth giving ‘tasting notes’ to these wines, but they helped me get through 3 days of 18 hours, finishing the last Burgundy Report.

I bought a couple of lots at auction; bottles of 82 Sauzet Puligny (villages) and 1990 Maurice Chapuis Corton-Charlemagne. The two ugliest bottles (darkest colour) from both lots, I decided to open first.

The Sauzet was the colour of sherry and almost had the smell of it too – an initial sip was not positive. I waited 2 hours and, by magic, the oxidative note was only a 10th of the intensity with which it started – the colour remained dark. It actually tasted not bad now and had a nice core of sweetness from the fruit. I drunk the lot over the 3 days – it was completely stable after that initial 2 hour wait. I now look forward to those bottles of lighter colour!

The Chapuis had a very similar colour, a similar nose too. This also improved dramatically after 2 hours exposure to the air – but the level of oxidative flavour remained stronger than for the Sauzet. The wine is less sweet (despite the vintage) and more mineral. In combination with the nose I would describe it (still) as austere – I only managed about one-third of this bottle and I’m not sure if I look forward to the lighter bottles or not(!) anyway no point torturing yourself is there – the typing was enough 😉

2011 Ponsot, Morey St.Denis 1er Cuvée Les Alouettes
Pretty crystalline fruit on the nose with just a faint note of P. Sweet and very pretty, with plenty of mouth-watering acidity. This is actually very, very tasty, despite…
Rebuy – No

2011 Domaine Debray, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune
Hardly more than rosé colour – let’s see if that matters: The nose has width and shows good red fruit with a little P. A little fat with pretty red fruit flavours – this is very tasty. See, the colour didn’t matter, and this is something of a bargain if you don’t mind the pyrazine note.
Rebuy – No

Standing tall – just before visiting the glass recycling!

2010 Camille-Giroud, Beaune 1er Aux Cras
On first opening, I’m surprised by how much whole-cluster character is showing – sort of cotton-wool / powdery / smoky / floral. These anecdotes gradually fade into the background, offering red fruits and occasional hints of balsamic. The palate is wide and has good concentration of flavour that really holds, indeed reprises, into the finish. The tannin has a little sticky-grab just now, but the flavour is just lovely.
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Michel Lafarge, Beaune 1er Les Grèves
Both the nose and palate start with slightly green-shaded herbal references. Time in glass helps to develop much more interest; aromas of dark-red fruit though not especially focused. In the mouth, there’s plenty of structure on display but just as much mouth-watering flavour too – indeed, quite stony flavour in the finish – an extra-long finish. When you don’t see the vintage, you will be impressed, sight of the label, however, redefines my expectations. This is a very lovely wine, but not one that currently shows what 2005 is capable of.
Rebuy – Yes

1995 Gerard Mugneret, Chambolle-Musigny 1er, Les Charmes
Wax-topped. Still pretty deeply coloured. The first few sniffs are of quite nice dark-red fruit but it’s disturbed by a little sulfite – air and 30 minutes cures the problem. The dark-red fruit remains and it plumbs fine depth – above high tones and a faint spice. Here is a wine that did an about-face with food: To start, the entry was lithe and narrow, lively acidity and still plenty of grainy tannin – though not astringent. With my first mouthful of food, this seemed to gain a little fat and the impression left by the tannin was much finer! Super extra dimension of high-toned red-fruit flavour in the mid-palate too – this is still showing a little masculinity but the flavours are really super. I would say that this is still a relative baby, needing at least 5 more years to lessen the impact of the wine’s structure – but there’s already sweet, beguiling, cool fruit for the intrepid!
Rebuy – Yes