Quite deeply coloured. A nose of 2004 plus mushrooms. Mouth-filling with some tannin – this is a big bourgogne – and slightly tart acidity. Not much fun here.
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2004
2004 Bourée Pierre Fils Marsannay Blanc
2004 Le Moine Lucien Bourgogne Rouge
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. Obviously a 2004 with soft cedar top-notes that mingle with raspberry and eventually redcurrant. When opened there is too much carbon dioxide; you can see the density and good texture but little else. I stoppered it and returned next day. The CO2 is gone and the fine texture and good depth remain. I’m sure there’s more villages wine than than ‘regional’ in this blend – it’s almost good and apart from the texture I see little overt oak. So what’s the rub? – Well, €18 per bottle (in Beaune) – it’s good, but not that good.
2004 Jadot Louis Bourgogne Chardonnay
The 2002 was my house wine last summer so it’s only fair to try out the 2004. Medium yellow. The nose is less sweet oak dominated than the 02, it’s higher toned, just a little floral with a quite subtle oak base. This has a quite rich texture that’s offset by a little dissolved gas which makes the acidity a little prickley. There’s a nice expansion of creamy flavour in the mid-palate and a more than reasonable length. Give it time and the prickle is gone and the palate is nicely smooth. Just a little less rich and sweet than the 2002. It’s very good for the price if not quite as good as the 2002 – though this very young – it has a chance of being a house wine for summer 2008, but won’t make it for 2007, the 05’s are currently too good.
2004 Bachelet Denis Côte de Nuits Villages
Deeper coloured and a little more purple than the Ecard Savigny that preceded it. The floral nose is wide and fresh with traces of cedar and a warm and sweet, slightly creamy and smoky depth. The palate is well concentrated for the appellation, flavour-packed and just a little sweet. Fresh acidity and grainy tannin combine to make this just a little more rustic than the Savigny, but the acidity pins you down for a reasonably long finish. That 2004 cedar note is also there on the palate, but in a modest fashion. It’s not the best example of this wine from the last years, but it’s a good example and as always, it shows lots of value.
2004 Leroy Bourgogne Rouge
Medium-pale colour – surprisingly pale considering it contains (lots of) Grand Cru juice. The nose is fantasticly penetrating and floral, eventually turning very smoky from a high percentage of stems. The palate is lithe and athletic, perhaps a little thin for the forward acidity. I really expected more intensity given the provenance of this wine. A fantastic nose, in the end it really reminded me of Dujac’s ‘95 Clos de la Roche, but for this bottle the palate has a lot of catching up to do. The nose compelled me to buy a couple of bottles but I’m still not convinced of the value.
2004 Dugat-Py Bernard Bourgogne
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is rather excellent – concentrated red fruit that is edged with a green note – but this green is more about malo than than a lack of ripeness. The palate is racy and interesting with good but not great concentration – perhaps not even at a villages level (with price comes a level of expectation) – the acidity is just a little sharp in the finish. A wonderful nose and an okay wine; I think you can buy better at the price, hence the criticism, but as a ‘simple’ bourgogne this is wonderful!
2004 Dugat-Py Bernard Bourgogne Cuvée Halinard
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose shows lots of oaky funk – this needs at least 2 hours to fade; afterwards there is a strong resemblance to the basic bourgogne – lovely red, slightly dried fruit set against a greenish malo background. The palate is more serious and concentrated vs the basic with a considerable increase to the length. Now we have a wine that definitely competes with decent village wines, but factoring in the price I’m a little unsure of the ‘value’, but anyway, this (in isolation) is a very good wine.
2004 Giroud Camille Bourgogne Pinot Noir
I still have a few of the 2003 left and it’s easy to under-estimate how good these wines can be. A friend’s ‘house red’ in recent months was the 2003 Bourgogne from Chanson – worthy, tasty, sweet and simple; we followed one with the Giroud 03 and there was an incredible extra dimension of fruit in the mid-palate and finish – as good as many village wines, but what about the 04 version? A wide and fresh powdery fruit nose. The wine is fresh, with some sweetness but walks a tightrope with the acidity that is just a little prickly. The fruit is nice and so are the aromatics, better than the 2003, but I prefer the texture of the 2003.