I simply let the photos pile-up whilst going walking in the Swiss hills 🙂 My short reminisences:
1998 Gelin, Fixin 1er Clos Napoleon
Here was a wine with few friends when younger. The fact that I bought a case cheaply in 2001 and still have 7 or 8 bottles speaks volumes – yet today, this is engaging and no-longer ‘hard’ experience. Actually, I enjoyed it more than a little. Yum – time can be a great healer!
Rebuy – Maybe
2007 Alex Gambal, St.Aubin 1er Murgers du Dents du Chien
Deeply coloured but not even a suggestion of oxidation to either aromas or flavours. Deep, complex, mineral and with a surprising ‘fatness’ to the texture for a 2007. Not as engagingly complete as the 2006 currently shows, but this was a complex and brilliant finishing wine that is only just starting to unlock some of that age-related complexity. Really excellent!
Rebuy – Yes
2005 G&P Ravaut, Ladoix Les Carrières
Here’s a wine packs both an aromatic and flavour punch. There’s something very 2005 about this density of aroma and flavour – but it’s a wine that’s also completely open and rather involving. Really a great villages – chapeau!
Rebuy – Yes
2010 Clotilde Davenne, Saint-Bris Vieilles-Vignes
Screw-capped. A deep lemon-yellow colour. The nose has a touch of mint and a really fresh invitation to drink. Deep, beautiful, almost a pineapple carpaccio flavour profile. Non-standard versus a chardonnay but completely delicious. Super wine again!
Rebuy – Yes
2009 Camille Giroud, Corton
A forward and open nose, yet a little too meaty and sweet for this palate – no delicacy here. The nose would not have been a problem if the palate had delivered something different – but again, it’s something of an uncouthly sweet experience in the mouth. Clearly a phase as this wine was very tasty a few years ago. I don’t have many more, but will anyway probably wait 5 years or so before trying again.
In this instance Rebuy – No
2011 Alex Gambal, St.Aubin 1er Murgers du Dents du Chien
Like the 2007 quite some depth to the colour – and again nothing oxidative. Where this differs from the older wine, is a more exotic fruit profile and still some barrel-creaminess – there’s even the faintest suggestion of barrel reduction. Very drinkable but still some way from my idea of maturing white burgundy. Another 5 years should do it!
Rebuy – Yes