Medium-plus lemon yellow. Pungent aromas of fruit and stones – I honestly can’t say that it’s offereing more than intermediate-age aromas – there’s no sense of maturity. Like the nose, pungent is not a bad word to describe the intensity and weight of punch taht the flavours deliver. Balanced, good acidity and great presence. I remember buying these for 35 Swiss Francs each – you can’t get a half-bottle for that now. Still every one has been enjoyed; super wine.

Chalk and cheese versus the 01 Leflaive Bourgogne – actually (way back when) this wine was only about 10% more expensive than the Leflaive. Sharper, finer, still quite ripe but a wine of focus and precision. If anything the Leflaive had more overt concentration, but not the intensity.

The 2001 seems the more muscular and dense. The 2002 has a little more barrel vanilla and dimension in the mid-palate – it seems a little riper – perhaps that’s just the sweetness of the barrels(?) Both bottles were drunk over 3-4 days, left unstoppered in the refrigerator each night – the 2001 really did seem bullet-proof. Today I have a very slight preference for the 2001, tomorrow, who knows?

Lemon yellow, just a little deeper than the 2002. The nose is waxy with faint citrus and grapefruit plus the remnants of oak. The palate has the faintest element of harshness from oak, but it’s fading. Lovely minerality with the acidity giving a really penetrating finish. Less ready than the 2002, but this level of concentration will amply repay 5-10 years in the cellar. There’s now 12 in the cellar!