The aromas are much more obviously fruit-led, with a faint creamy-oak undertow. Good, less sweet fruit, well structured. It’s rather intense, delivering a super burst of interest as it heads into the finish. Very decent Echézeaux!
Bichot Albert
2008 Bichot Albert Corton-Charlemagne
2006 Bichot Albert Latricières-Chambertin
Medium cherry-red colour. High-toned, slightly volatile red fruits over a faintly gunflint and vanilla base. Red fruit that is not so concentrated, but pretty striking. Plenty of oaky flavour and really impressive length, though that’s also a little heavy on the vanilla. Softly textured, this has the intensity of a 1er cru, but it really does have the complexity of a grand cru. It’s a relatively cheap bottling, at that price it’s an easy rebuy nomination.
2007 Bichot Albert Mazis-Chambertin
(Mazis-bas) Medium, medium-plus colour. Big, open aromas edged with toast – initially needs more focus. More tannin, but not astringent and some dark barrel flavours that dovetail to fresh, dark fruit. I think that this is also not showits best, but there is a real underlying sense that this is a very serious wine.
2007 Bichot Albert Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
2007 Bichot Albert Latricières-Chambertin
2007 Bichot Albert Charmes-Chambertin
2005 Bichot Albert Grands-Echézeaux
I drank this (the vines of and tended by Philippe Engel) out of sequence as I really wanted the comparison with the Griotte. The vanilla-style sweet oak is still too much to the fore, this is a wall of almost overpowering aromas – it’s certainly not shy. The palate is balanced, initially with a hint of carbon dioxide and incredibly wide and long – by far the most impressive wine of the night in this respect. This wine needs at least 2 years to lose the facile, sweet oak – but afterwards, it will be a stunner!
1994 Bichot Albert Chambertin
The aromatics remind slightly of the Bachelet (another Charmes?) with their slightly estery hints coupled to caramel and toffee. Not so concentrated as the last wine (no surprise!) but it more than makes up for that by it’s explosion of complexity and interest in the mouth that are pushed very long in the finish by the super acidity. Much more fun, interest and complexity than wine 4. If only I could combine that wine’s aromatics with the flavours of this!