I was hunting around the cellar for some bottles for this weekend – a blind tasting with friends of ‘old stuff’ – at least I will be opening old stuff! I found the bottles I wanted under others. As I was replacing the ‘others’, this wine was in my hands, and I simply thought – why not? If my weekend wines are anything near as good, I’ll be very happy…

The cork had remained a faithful seal, but it was a pig to remove, indeed it ultimately disintegrated despite my best efforts, efforts that aimed to combine a screw-pull worm and an Ah-So. So this was filtered into a decanter through an un-perfumed kitchen towel.

1972 Joseph Matrot, Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru
Medium-pale colour, but bright and shiny. The nose is simply brilliant; powerful, deep, and with roast fruit notes blended with faint bacon and not so faint earth. Wait (at least) 90 minutes and there’s a big smoky whole-cluster element with a finer, more acid-raspberry note too. Fat-textured, round, yet swirling around your mouth shows freshness. The acidity peaks in the mid-palate but without ever becoming spiky, slowly mouth-watering into the sweet finish. The fruit, like the nose, is a little baked but tasty. I can’t get over how impressive and powerful the aromas are here – it’s a rare wine from the Côte de Nuits that could compare – a brilliant performance, chapeau!
Rebuy – No Chance