What a great wine both this and the 2000 have been – this is my last bottle and all have performed well. Medium-plus golden, the nose has hints of butterscotch and the faintest whiff of oxidation – but in an interesting rather than overt way. The palate remains smooth though there’s a suggestion that the acidity is starting to take hold, but for now it just helps to push the finish a little longer and with a very understated mouth-watering edge. This wine is still giving plenty – for sure it’s completely mature, but whilst I think it might last another few years, if you have some, I’m pretty sure that the experience won’t improve. Well-done Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc!

Like chalk and cheese these two wines. The 2000 has a quite young, medium yellow colour whereas the 2001 is much more golden. Despite the colours, the 2000 is the more toasty and faintly madirised, the 2001 is aromatically much more like a classic white burgundy. The 2000 needs time in the glass as it starts also with madirised flavours – but they all-but disappear with 1 hour’s aeration, leaving some sweetness, good concentration and balance. The 2001 is very balanced but much more austere in the mid-palate and finish – just needs a little more sweetness for ’solo’ drinking, however, it fits really well with food. Overall, decent value wines that I occasionally see at reasonable prices on restaurant lists.

Deeper yellow colour vs 2002. The nose is more developed, slightly nutty but retains the melon, citrus and honey of 2002. The acidity seems a little more pronounced on first tasting, but I decided it was actually a little lower acidity than 2002 – just less integrated. Again an elegant rather than fat style which has a little more length than the younger wine. For the four tasters on first tasting, this was the least favourite of the six wines. Overnight in the fridge showed a marked improvement with everyone enjoying on day two.