1999

1999 Thomas-Moillard Romanée Saint-Vivant

By billn on April 13, 2012

The colour’s quite dark. Aromatically this is rather monolithic for quite some hours – only on day two do you have more of a Vosne impression, but there is still a solid core of dark, almost roast, licorice-laced fruit. There’s good acidity and balance – just a little lithe in shape and it’s also sneakily, mouth-wateringly long. Whilst it’s not very tannic, there’s the clear impression that everything that could have been extracted, was extracted. Drinkable but despite that, a mile away from drinking ‘nicely’. Wait at least 10 years…

1999 Raphet Jean Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze

By billn on April 25, 2010

Medium-plus colour. The nose is a precocious and heady mix of sweet dark red and black fruits covered by a heavy floral scent; what’s the word I’m looking for(?) – ah yes – Gorgeous! It becomes a pure beacon of blackcurrant as some other great 99s show. Silky smooth with a hint of fat – there is real executive texture here. No fireworks, this 99 is restrained and linear right the way into the mineral / fruit with a creamy undertow finish. Subtle but very, very long. Wow, where have you been all my life Jean Raphet(?) Despite how friendly it is, clearly the palate is just a little tight yet there is ample material here for the future – such a shame there were only 2 more.

1999 Castagnier Guy Clos de la Roche

By on November 30, 2009 #asides

Medium-plus colour, still with some cherry-red in the mix. Deep, sweet beetroot, brown sugar and a dark red/black confiture fruit encasing a core of some minerality – the last drops in the glass show beautiful raised red fruits. Perfectly balanced acidity that keeps your mouth watering, yet the supporting sweetness ensures no sharpness. The finely-grained tannins are very-much fading into the background. Medium plus finish. A balanced and very pretty wine that is slowly adding some complexity and is very 99, but it’s not obviously grand cru – at least today – maybe more like a good 1er. That said, it was cheaper than many 1ers at the time of buying!

1999 Thomas-Moillard Romanée Saint-Vivant

By on November 30, 2009 #asides

A smelly, rubbery odour from the cork, so it was decanted and I waited for an hour. Fortunately there was only a short-lived hint of rubber on the nose. The aroma-profile kept improving all night – though at a glacial pace – so I left a little for day two, but it was exactly like the end of day 1! What was it like? A meaty depth with subtle leafy notes – some parallels to the 98 Potel RSV, but this is significantly less far down the road to aromatic maturity. Across the tongue there is more padding and width than the Potel and no tartness. The rough tannin of the last outing (3 years ago) is replaced with a more velvet impression – good mid-palate width of dark cherry fruit too. Slowly lingering – it’s still not a ‘today’ wine, but at this rate of progress, another 5 years should see it in a great place.

1999 Engel René Grands-Echézeaux

By on April 30, 2009 #asides

Medium-plus colour. The nose is about deep, macerated fruit – and even goes deeper with time in the glass. It’s very pretty indeed and all the while adds faint if not wild complexity. In the mouth the clear first impression is width, aided by faintly grainy tannin across the whole panorama. There is an understated presence and interesting complexity, though the finishing flavours are a tad simple despite their length. A good wine here, but today I shy away from ‘great’ as I didn’t find any real focus or ’spine’ to the wine making it come across as ill-defined/loose in the mid-palate. Give it time, but today I’d rather drink the 99 Leroy Narbantons.

1999 Esmonin Frédéric Mazy-Chambertin

By on April 30, 2009 #asides

Medium-plus colour, still with some last vestige of cherry-red. Right from pouring, cold – say 12°-ish – the nose was just a gorgeously smooth interpretation of macerating dark cherry – wow! The palate, however, was tight, linear, hinting towards tannin but delivering only a dark, faintly oaky but very long finish. As the contents of the glass slowly warm the nose adds a little coffee though slightly tightens, the flavours are expanding though, and with them, the tannin seems to be diminishing. Eventually a herbal complexity fills out the aromas. The palate becomes more intense and builds a sweetness – not a ripe vintage, confiture type of sweetness, rather an intensity of sweetness at the back of the palate. A very young, but very rewarding performance – I really wish I’d bought more, not just this wine, but Mazy (Mazis) in general.

1999 Esmonin Frédéric Ruchottes-Chambertin

By on April 30, 2009 #asides

Medium, medium-plus colour – paler than the Mazy. The nose starts quite dark and oaky – some dark toast notes that take at least 30 minutes to lift. Redder, less dense fruit is the result, though the dark oak slowly turns to make a nice coffee ‘coating’. Nicely balanced concentration with background velvet tannin. Truth be told it has more of a 1er cru weight, the only distinct grand cru element is the mid-palate flavour – pretty red fruit with a distinct creamy edge and excellent length. Some distance behind the quality of the Mazy, and there are probably better premier crus, but they will cost more than this bottle – value has always been the watchword on the Esmonin GCs, and there is plenty of value in this bottle.

1999 Esmonin Frédéric Griotte-Chambertin

By on April 30, 2009 #asides

Medium, medium-plus colour – still with a little cherry-red shimmer. The nose has a mineral, earthy edge before swirling releases dried currant fruits, finally lovely red berry fruit – even hints of raspberry – hmmm. Intense concentration abetted by perfect acidity. The tannin is is just a little more than ‘background’, and certainly has an astringent edge. I’m bowled over – a Griotte with real character and a little extra dimension in the mid-palate – a Gevrey dimension at that. Chalk and cheese versus the 02 Fourrier – today I’d much, much rather drink this. Character is king…

1999 Lambrays Clos des Lambrays

By on March 31, 2009 #asides

The aromatics are high-toned with faint notes of cedar. The palate has a little width though the flavours are attenuated. Tainted or tight – ? – either way a poor bottle.

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