First ski days of the new season with friends – I brought three bottles – one per night, right? Oh dear! Well at least there were three of us, so it was ‘only’ one bottle each. Brilliant opportunity to properly compare and contrast though!

2011 Morey-Coffinet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er La Romanée
Medium-plus yellow colour. The nose starts mainly with toasty bread, however, it blows away relatively quickly to leave behind a mix of high-tones that include white flower blossom. It’s now really quite pretty. There’s a little rasp to to texture (CO₂ I suppose) but there’s fine depth and a wide panorama of flavour – I’m very-much enjoying this! As the glass warms the effect becomes (dare I say it) a little flabby, but keep it max.14°C and all is very well. Overall it has energy and focus with just a little minerality as you reach the finish. Yum!
Rebuy – Yes

2011 Vincent Dancer, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Tête du Clos
The nose on this, also starts rather toasty – and in this case with a faint reductive note too. The palate is just a little fatter and shows a rubber ‘flavour’ – there’s the reduction for you – luckily it soon goes – and the nose blossoms as it goes, showing more green-skinned fruit and herbs. Round, with a concentrated core of fruit, the acidity provides almost a crispy halo around the dense fruit. Sweetly finishing, those flavours tenaciously hold onto your tongue. Very, very nice indeed. Tossing a metaphorical coin, I have a very slight preference for the minerality of the Morey-Coffinet.
Rebuy – Yes

2011 Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Ruchottes
The nose starts not quite so wide but there is an (auto?) suggestion of faint mint – no toast. The nose slowly builds density yet remains airy and fine. The palate has more density than the previous two wines, the acidity slowly, slowly making its presence felt and holding a good line into the finish. Clearly this has the most density and dimension of these three wines. I go back to the Morey-Coffinet for it’s minerality but it seems a little mean now in comparison. Very, very tasty wine.
Rebuy – Yes

These are classic 2011s – very very tasty, if not with the pure focus of the 2010s, and they need a closer eye on temperature than the 2010s too – if you want to avoid them getting a little out of shape…

A domaine wine, yet the combination of producer, vintage and village make for something potentially daunting – fear not, this was a willing party to my glass.

1999 Domaine Faiveley, Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Chaignots
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has a deep core of dark, faintly roast fruit – the rest is more subtle and understated, but for at least an hour there’s a little coconut-style oak in the mix. In the mouth there’s a clear base of grainy tannin but it is ripe enough – that said, it must have been quite a mouthful 10 years ago. The quality of the fruit is very good and has quite high-toned notes too. The flavours really widen-out as you head into the finish, and whilst there’s a bit of coconut flavour here too, it is very long indeed – grand cru length I would say. Whilst a relative youngster, this can drunk today, no problem…
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Hudelot-Noellat, Chambolle-Musigny
Medium-plus colour. The nose is now carrying a suggestion of turned leaves – a H-N classic – and some herbs over a relatively dense yet brilliantly transparent dark fruit. It’s still just a little tight. In the mouth this has just a modest impression of cushioned texture, but as much as anything that’s probably down to the significant concentration of what’s before us, that aside, it’s very silky. Deep red-fruit flavour with more than a hint of florals in the mix too, excellent acidity and a faint fur to the tannin. There are certainly more communicative 05s just now, but this is no shame to drink – at all. Impressive stuff…
Rebuy – Yes

2011 Bart, Chambolle-Musigny Les Veroilles
Deeply coloured. Frankly this starts with way too much CO₂ – you can smell (sense) it and taste (feel) it – it’s probably also responsible for a hint (not too much!) of reduction. I gave this bottle several shakes, releasing a lot of gas, and placed it in the fridge door – returning about 2 hours later. Okay, let’s try again; despite being rather tight, the nose has good depth and a fine high-toned top-note, there seems no obvious reduction, yet it is still a little deep and burly. The grainy texture of the palate tells me that probably there’s still some gas to lose here, but there are flashes of energy and fruit that I find quite impressive. I think, to be fair to the wine, if not the bottling decisions, I have to give this wine even longer to show itself. Oops – what a mistake – what shows on day 2 is a clear and dominating P note, one that is now reflected in the flavour too. For what it’s worth, the texture is much finer now and there is delicate, elegant and precise fruit flavour too. The acidity nicely supports the whole. Unfortunately, it’s no-longer to the taste of this taster. Shame, there’s a nice wine under there..
Rebuy – No

2011 Verget, Meursault Les Clous
What a brilliant wine! The nose is of ginger-cake and nougat – but with plenty of freshness – nice! Lithe and mineral, indeed I’d say muscular too – this wine is doing a great impression of a premier cru. Despite all those muscles and rocks, it’s a pretty wine too. Yum – be warned – the glass empties very quickly!
Rebuy – Yes

2011 Pierre Amiot et Fils, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er, Les Combottes
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose begins very impressively – concentrated dark red fruit that’s more redcurrant than cherry – just joyous. I really should have drunk faster because after about 20 minutes there was a clear P note at centre-stage. What was unctuous and lovely on the palate became a little more spiky and gradually less appealing as the P note on the nose grew, eventually it was discernible on the palate too. What a shame! I suggest you get 6-8 friends together and pour each a glass – the bottle will be gone in 15 minutes, and you will have all loved this! The last half of this bottle seemed to do an amazing turnaround; the ‘P’ faded and there was a little floral note – the palate came back together too – I haven’t seen such a change-around before, probably I am the weak-link in this chain, but it finished as it started – incredibly drinkable…
Rebuy – No