There is ripeness and some cooked fruit preserve on the nose – I was tempted to guess 2003. Fills the mouth with round, lingering flavours and still quite cunky tannins. Very long. Seems fresher than a relatively recent (2 years…) Romanée St.Vivant from the same vintage.
The forward nose delivers a whiff of iodine over many savoury notes. Plenty of texture here, the acidity remains rather understated. Fruit seems to be of the preserved variety – some pear perhaps – that said, this is a savoury and very mineral wine which has little to do with fruit. Interesting but not a wine I would covet.
Medium, medium-plus colour – just a very faint edge of amber at the rim. The nose is a sniffer’s delight – though the stems are very forward – they overlay a deep and primary red-fruit nose that’s edged with softness and a faint, savoury, musky note. The more it develops in the glass the more savoury it becomes; the last drops showing an extra fineness. In the mouth the wine is clearly grand cru in texture though the concentration is not so up-front, it rather develops on the tongue in an understated way. The tannins are well covered though I find the acidity is the least perfect aspect – not bad, but just a little bright – at this level I demand seamless. There is a subtle extra dimension in the mid-palate and into the finish – which is also very understated. Apart from the nose and the entry, everything about the wine is subtle and low-key – it holds the interest amply though, even the acidity seems well-judged at the death. Very fine now, if not quite mind-bending. I expect it will only get better for at least the next 10 years but it was very much enjoyed – to the last drop!
Together with a few 1997’s, this is one of the few wines you can really enjoy now that have been produced since 1995, despite it only being released a year ago. It was actually an hour before I started to taste this, I was just captivated by the scent. Medium ruby colour with a cherry red rm. The nose assaults the palate with an incredible green, spicy note – seems to have a lavender component – quite unlike the tasting just over a year ago. Slowly the ‘green-ness’ becomes more focused as cedar and amazingly becomes more intense. After 90 minutes there’s a whiff of smoke and finally white pepper, blood-orange and red berry-fruits – that’s closer to what I remember! The palate is impeccably balanced with intense fruit red and black berries. Very long. The palate can’t quite match the amazing intensity of the nose – but this is the real deal and a real honey.
Medium-pale yellow with just a tinge of green to the rim. Citrus, apple, peach and toasty bread all glued together with a botrytis note – lots of things you can find on the nose. Once you put your lips to the glass you’re in for quite an experience – the wine is just so fat you can’t believe that it can be balanced – but balanced it is. Somehow seems to have a mineral streak running through its centre too. Very long. Yep – I’m impressed!
Medium-plus cherry colour, shading to ruby at the rim. An understated nose of pure cherries and faint vanilla. Nice volume in the mouth, showing good sap. There’s good acidity and very well covered tannin. There is a lovely length to this wine, also tinged with vanilla. A wine that is very ‘2000’ in its bright and pretty fruit profile and one you could certainly enjoy at a relatively young age, say in another 4 or 5 years. But I’m sure the more patient amongst you will be amply rewarded.
Similar colour to the Echézeaux, though paler in shade. The nose is much broader and deeper than the Echézeaux, showing a significantly blacker fruit profile. The palate again shows good ‘fat’, perhaps a little more acidity and certainly more of the smooth tannin. The finish seems just as long, though on a much lower register and also shows a hint of vanilla. A more interesting and complex wine than the Echézeaux – leaves a smooth coating on your teeth.
Both the shade and depth of colour match that of the Romanée Saint-Vivant. The nose is at first disappointingly understated and faintly spicy, but with swirling; first red cherry, then black cherry, then blackcurrant, then kirsch, hints of vanilla, then orange – something new every sniff – then the nose goes deeper, showing a little plum and coffee – frankly stunning, who needs to drink this wine? A fat, sappy palate with very concentrated fruit, tannins that are more silk than velvet and a multitude of flavours playing over your tongue – fantastic texture. The maximum interest for me today comes from the aromatics, but this is exceptional wine by any measure.
Colour is perhaps, not so dense as the Romanée Saint-Vivant, but a similar shade of cherry. Beguiling and persistent, the deep red and black cherry nose shows just a little kirsch at the top end. There’s good acidity, and forward, though controlled tannins. There’s also a richness to match the volume you experience in the mouth, but somehow on tasting, this wine seems less involving than the others; gorgeous aromatics though.
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