Tonight will be big wine night, so, to prepare, I did a modest warm-up this week, mopping up a few half bottles along the way…
2002 d’Angerville, Volnay 1er Clos des Ducs (375cl)
There may be a bit of 2015 about this wine. 2002 was a big and concentrated vintage for Volnay, yet the Marquis made a wine with beautiful poise and line – rather like the comparison to him and his neighbours in 2015. This is a beautiful wine in all respects – not a wine of density, a wine of beautiful line – love!
Rebuy – Yes
1996 Grivot, Clos de Vougeot (375cl)
In this format, the wine is really rather open and ‘giving.’ There’s plenty of depth and concentration of-course, both aromatically and in the mouth – perhaps the delivery could be a little more layered – but this is a mouth-full of very tasty wine that has good but hardly remarkable freshness vs many from 96. Yum! Actually this is much more ‘ready’ than Grivot’s 93s – maybe I should check that at the weekend 🙂
Rebuy – Yes
1996 Germain – Château de Chorey, Beaune 1er Les Teurons (375cl)
Ooh wow – this is perfect – open, round, layered and beguilingly inviting – what a nose! In the mouth it’s also round, very red fruited, caressing wine. The freshness is pretty much perfect and the oak of its youth is vanished. This is as pretty a wine as I’ve had in a long time – bravo! This was even tastier (better today) than the Clos de Vougeot.
Rebuy – Yes
1996 Antonin Guyon, Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
There’s a little cloudiness to this wine. The nose starts with a reduction or oak toast that very quickly fades in the glass and it just gets better and better from there. In the mouth there’s a more direct acidity – a true 96 acidity – but with air (and also food) it’s really nothing remarkable. Fresh wide and with and extra complexity in the mid-palate – but also an extra tannin too – is that the cru or the larger bottle size? Hard to know, but despite how tasty this bottle is, given the cloudiness I’d drink these sooner rather than later, and would be tempted to buy more. Still, very yum!
Rebuy – No
1996 Hospices de Beaune (Chanson), Beaune 1er Cuvée Nicolas Rolin
Probably opened a little too late in the evening – so only a glass and a half taken – but a great glass and a half. This is really the brother of the Germain – the same round, red, delectable style of nose and a beautiful melting flavour on the palate – really perfect right now. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes
Okay, time to prepare my 7 wines for tonight – I wonder what the others will be bringing… 🙂
There is one response to “the mid-week selection…”
Back vintages commentary interesting!
Living in the area you may have access to them from the producers?
In the USA moss of the collectors are in Chicago,Illinois and are up in age!