weekend wines – week 32 2017

Update 13.8.2017(14.8.2017)billn

Three super wines this weekend!

2014 Château Pommard, Pommard Clos Marey-Monge
There’s no doubting the ambition here; a new bottle design (shape), and an impressively wide, if Screwpull unfriendly neck, then there’s the new label design. It doesn’t stop there, there’s the oak too:
A good depth of colour, and a nose that’s creamily, spicily oaked – but with attractive and inviting dimensions of aroma. Frankly, cold (from the fridge – it’s summer!) this smells oaky and it tastes even oakier – but let it slowly warm in the glass and it relaxes. There’s a little fine-grained tannin – but with no astringence – and there’s an attractive sweetness to the fruit too. Cold I would have said way over-oaked for the material in the bottle, but at a correct temperature – say 16-18°C – this simply tastes like a young wine of good potential. It’s even a wine that finally becomes relatively easy to drink, yet with fine flavour dimension. Patience is required, but this is excellent Pommard – I’d even go as far as to say – yum!
Rebuy – Yes

2007 Chezeaux/Ponsot, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
The last vintage with ‘real’ cork.
Rather a modest depth of colour and just a little age to that colour too. The nose has lots of depth – without reduction – silky fruit, like a plum tart with a cherry topping – time in the glass and the notes are becoming higher-toned and more precise – lovely! Wide, lush but fresh, a little saline and certainly nicely mouth-watering in the finish – and what an impressive length of finish! Good dimension of attractive but never ‘simple’ flavour. Like most 2007s, this is drinking very well now. I’m reminded that after tasting 2007s in barrel, I described them as 2000s but better – and how good have the 2000s been for the last 5 years? I’m still more than happy with that characterisation – after a sticky, tricky start the 2007s are now coming good!
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Henri Naudin-Ferrand, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Rouge ‘Orchis Mascula’
I remember this wine from 5 years ago when it showed a gothic level of stems – it really wasn’t a thing of beauty – fortunately, time has done it many favours.
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has lots of depth, no reduction, and still a little steminess, but with no aromatic astringence or discord – more a floral aspect and a suggestion of connected pyrazine. In the mouth this has come on leaps and bounds; there’s a rush of fresh, and sweetly mouth-watering, flavour, still a little grain of tannin. This wine is, today, simply delicious while still showing its stylistic roots – bravo!
Rebuy – Yes
This latter wine is so much more enjoyable than it was 5 years ago – and interestingly, the back label suggests that it should be at its optimum between 2008 and 2012. For this 2005, wrong. It is just so massively better now than in 2012 – at that time it was certainly interesting, but definitely not delicious!

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