To get this week started, five very drinkable wines from the home of this year’s St.Vincent.

2017 is the first vintage for the villages appellation of ‘Vézelay’ – previous to that, the wines were labeled as Bourgogne Vézelay. 2017 was also a very low volume vintage for Vézelay – 1,320 hectolitres from not much more than 70 hectares that were in production – that’s only about 18 hl/ha – like Chablis there was much frost in 2017.

One of the Croix Montjoie wines is a little obviously oaked, but when you see the cuvée name – well that explains everything 🙂

2017 Vignerons de la Colline Éternelle, Vézelay
Medium-pale yellow. In the mouth this has plenty of volume and quite a nice texture – supple and showing a nice ripeness of tasty fruit. The finish has a little mineral aspect with the merest touch of rigour. Overall, very drinkable.

2017 Domaine La Croix Montjoie, Vézelay La Voluptueuse
A hint more colour. A wider nose with a touch of oak spice. Again a mouth-filling wine – sweet, silky, the oak is quite forward in a more Mâconnais style. Very delicious, if very obvious, wine – but fine finishing. I’d keep this in the cellar 12 months before drinking.

2017 Domaine La Croix Montjoie, Vézelay L’Élégant
Here the nose is on one hand more compact, but on the other of finer, more precise citrus fruit and even a few floral accents – very attractive. Plenty of energy – much more acid-forward – some agrume intensity here but also some richer depth of flavor in the mid-palate. Ooh this is less delicious than the last but more my personal style of wine – it’s excellent!

2017 Domaine La Croix Montjoie, Vézelay L’Impatiente
Like the last, the nose is a little more compact, but showing fresh citrus fruit and even a little salinity – attractive again. A little more energy and some minerality showing with this one too – much more in a Chablis/Tonnerre vernacular. A little richness of texture and less direct attack from the acidity. My favourite.

2017 Jean-Luc & Paul Aegerter, Vézelay Réserve Personelle
The is the only wine sealed with a DIAM-style cork.
Fresh, wide, open, citrus accents, almost a little lime fruit and phenolics in here. A subtle prickle of CO₂ and a modestly reductive mineral impression. This brings a wide impression over the palate and it’s another wine with a nice texture. Whilst it’s the most overtly mineral finishing – less-so in the Chablis/Tonnerre style of the last. Carafe this, but it’s a very good wine.

2013 Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne-Romanée
My first from this mixed case. Ooh what a great looking cork – a fine ‘pop’ as it’s extracted too – but the cork doesn’t smell very nice.
Is it corked? – well, not easy to tell as there’s plenty of toasty reduction. Wide, supple, the palate is suffused with the reductive note of the nose but then a broad and tall finishing wave of great flavour – the texture is fine here. I give this wine the old ‘Fourrier-shake’ and it seems that there’s plenty of CO2 to dislodge. The reductive note fades, but never disappears – the cork note that takes over is stark – ouch!
Rebuy – almost certainly Yes (without the TCA…)

2017 Julien Brocard, Chablis Boissonneuse
A new case – of 7!
Fresh and ripe lemon on the nose – more ripe than I remember when first opening – but it adds more focus with time. The palate is still dynamic, fresh, and sweetly ripe. Bravo – still great villages…
Rebuy – Yes

2016 Domaine Diconne, Auxey-Duresses Vieilles-Vignes
Hmm – this seems to be my last one – I clearly have an errand…
A nose that’s a real invitation – there’s the impression of freshness but also of concentration. Silky and intense. Mobile and wide over the palate, I love the energy but depth of pure flavour here – excellent wine.
Rebuy – Yes

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1991 Vaudoisey-Creusefond Pommard 1er Epenots
A great year of the Côte de Nuits – in my experience – but less-so in the Côte de Beaune. My last couple of these – a few years back – were bacterially unstable – so I was flipping a coin here.
This smelled open, fresh and very clean – just a freshness over dried cranberry/raisin fruit. Hmm – the same on the palate – freshness – quite clean, cranberry-raisin – a dried but quite pure fruit. Wide, good depth. Long and tasty. A result! After 30 minutes the nose is developing some balsamic overtones but this wine stays quite stable – even the last third on day two was pretty good.
Rebuy – Maybe

1976 Tollot-Beaut, Aloxe-Corton
Clearly not the best seal as this cork starts to sink in the neck when pushed with the ah-so, but I still managed to get it out in one piece, so that was an achievement!
Brown wine, no doubt. The nose hovers between beef soup and balsamic though not directly of sherry. Mouth-filling, silky, despite the renown of the tannins of the vintage, and with a saline accent. The flavours, like the nose, certainly on the savoury side. Actually the shape and structure remain fine here – but flavour that only a mother could love. The remaining two-thirds will go for the beef bourguignone – I have 8-9 more of these, maybe 10 – so at worst, I’ll have plenty of beef bourguignone!
Rebuy – No

2014 Leclerc/Chézeaux, Griotte-Chambertin
Hmm, big, simmering cherry fruit – gives the impression of a little gas behind the aroma – subtle and interesting it is not – at least to start with. Ooh – but in the mouth: A narrow entry here, but a wine that grows and fills the palate with impressive speed. The acidity is fine and the the width and energy ramp up as you head into the finish – of-course it’s far too young – but it’s getting better and better with air… The nose over 3 hours, never really finds a nice place – in fact I almost have the impression of a little of this other 2014 from them – though, nose apart, that Chambolle has much more depth and dimension – it’s a far better wine.
Rebuy – No
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