Some nice wines and a shameful wine – or rather the cork – over the last few days…

1999 de Montille, Volnay 1er Mitans
This has been my goto ‘great’ vintage this year. Here’s a wine that captivates you from the start with its aromas – fresh and mature. In the mouth, we have volume and still some structure – but nothing to scare this palate – what length too. Bravo wine – impeccable wine !!
Rebuy – Yes

2020 Baluce, Beaujolais Vieilles-Vignes
From old vines in the Pierres Dorées, DIAM3 sealed.
Still with a deep and young colour. A forward nose of graphite minerality but also a roundness of faintly spiced dark fruit – this is very inviting. Round, supple and silky – quite a floral accent to this really attractive fruit – and plenty of concentration. Slightly easy until the broad and complex finish – That’s a great wine for (probably!) one-third the price of your average Bourgogne Pinot Noir !!!
Rebuy – Yes

2022 Mélanie & Daniel Boulard, Morgon Bellevue ‘Delys’
Magnum. This is the younger vine cuvée of the domaine’s Delys, with a mix of vines from the 1970s and 1980s – the older part is from 1926!
Despite its 14% alcohol, here’s a good width of round fruit aroma – not a bit alcoholic. In the mouth, good scale and concentration – round and accommodating – really much more accessible than I expected – 5 of us polished it off in no time !!
Rebuy – Yes

2006 Nicolas Potel, Volnay 1er Les Fuées
Magnum. My unused backup wine from last Christmas – so I was definitely going to open it this Christmas! The cork came out in one piece – but a stinky ‘corky’ cork. I poured with trepidation – the colour was lovely and still strong. The nose was just bizarre, and the flavour suggested cork taint. 5 minutes later, the aromas and flavours were overrun by the taint. In the context of double the volume (a magnum) and a normal-sized cork – this was almost unbelievably obliterated by TCA. I went from being happy with surprise when I found magnums of Potel’s 2005 VR 1er Petits Monts in my cellar when locating this bottle – being ‘less than happy.’ What great recompense for 18 years in the cellar…

2011 Alex Gambal St.Aubin 1er Murgers des Dents du Chien
Plenty of golden colour. A nose of salty biscuits, slowly adding, creamy, golden citrus. Aromatically, this is in great shape. In the mouth, we have depth, complexity and richness – really wide with some boiled sweets complexity – it’s really wide and long. This is absolutely singing. The nose becomes finer and more open, the finish cleaner and more refreshing – yes!!
And you know, this drank perfectly – and with complete stability – over three nights…
Rebuy – Yes

2021 Domaine de Bellene, Nuits St.Georges Vielles-Vignes
Red wax-topped, DIAM¹⁰ sealed…
Plenty of colour. Hmm. A nose of slightly reductive depth – muscular at the base – I have to say, it’s rather sexy… Wide over the palate, subtly cushioned with some sweetness of very well-integrated, slightly creamy-toasty oak. And then just holding. For such a youngster, this is so very, very drinkable. A few hours and the reduction is gone. I find this type of aromatic very attractive, but if you prefer to avoid it, decant – it will only take a few minutes to depart…
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Laurent Martray, Brouilly Sur Pierreux
Lots of colour. A nose of deep, dark fruit – an impression of dark chocolate and cranberry! Wide over the palette, my first impression is the width of graphite minerality – then the almost juicy dark fruit that supports the flavours. At the end, this is a silky wine of very sophisticated tannic texture. Such a big wine though, one that seems quite alcoholic unless you put it in the fridge for a time – then it will drink much too quickly. Delicious wine and with a juicy style despite the warmth of the fruit.
Rebuy – Maybe

A nice wine, and a very interesting wine, from a couple of days ago:

The Crémant from Chablis has been, effectively, my ‘house’ crémant for a few years now – Romain Collet knows his stuff. Delicious.

2022 Place of Changing Winds, Pinot Noir
Brave of me – eh? An Australian PN !! This was actually a gift, and it turned out to be a super bottle. The wine secured by a DIAM30, no less…
The colour was much more modest than I was expecting – there was plenty of restraint here. Likewise, the aromas were very perfumed, with crushed red fruit and a little floral too – very elegant, very inviting. The flavour shows good mouth-filling volume but similar restraint to the aromatics and ripeness that was evident in the aromas. Blind, there is nothing here that would prompt me to guess the US or Australia (for example) as the origin. We both found this wine delicious and drank it (fully!) over 2 nights.
Rebuy – Yes