Next week I start my 3-week tour of Chablis’ 2021 vintage with my first 18 visits. So, it’s time to start my preparation!

2019 Alain Geoffroy, Chablis 1er Beauroy
New label design! Cork sealed.
Plenty of colour. The nose is open with plenty of agrume action – a little pineapple for sure. In the mouth, like the nose, lots of volume – yet – despite lots of agrume energy and a nicely mouth-watering, almost creamy finish – I’m looking for a bit more incisive attack and precision to these flavours – good as they are. The finish is easy, suggesting minerality. A tasty wine that’s very, very easy to drink – I just wish that it was a bit more strict 😉
Rebuy – Maybe

Adequate wines, mainly, I could have chosen better – but the food was lovely… 🙂

Maison Henry, Crémant de Bourgogne
A producer near Chablis
Easy, pure delicious wine – exactly why I asked to buy some – lovely!
Rebuy – Yes

2012 Clotilde Davenne, Chablis 1er Montmains
Screw-cap!
There’s some aromatic development here – but airation cleans this up nicely – a nose of direction and minerality – not particularly of salinity. Direct and mineral in the mouth too – great texture and certainly plenty of concentration. The fruit slowly added some ripeness but this is a wine carved from rock – not the highest of energy but very impressive stuff. The last part of this bottle was even better on day 2 when it progressed from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes!’
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Marquis d’Angerville, Volnay 1er Clos des Ducs
This robust cork came out in one piece with a very satisfying ‘pop!’ But the cork didn’t smell very nice – a quick pour into a glass – awful, DNPIM! It was as corked as a very corked thing. Fortunately, I still had half an hour to prepare (temperature and opening) a replacement.
Rebuy – Not corked, obviously

2010 Nicolas Rossignol, Volnay 1er Les Caillerets
As always in this period for Nico – an unbranded cork.
A beautiful colour – not the pitch-dark of recent vintages but also not any over colours of age. A nose of decent width and still primary aromas – a nice invitation. In the mouth, this wine is broad over the palate and oh-so silky – just a beautiful texture. Red fruited but like the nose still a baby – the finish, today, a modest thing. Some fine parts to this wine but one that will be much more interesting in another 5+ years…
Rebuy – Maybe

PX from a 1927 Solera
Just a couple of glasses per year for me of this ‘engine oil’ – so lovely!

2020 Alice & Olivier de Moor, Bourgogne Chitry
Medium lemon-yellow colour. The nose has a hint of yeastiness – common for here and an echo of apple too – but it’s still a fresh nose of citrus energy and very inviting. Really mouth-filling, full of energy and that slightly malic (apple) acidity – but so juicy and so moreish. A mineral clarity to these flavours – absolutely delicious – a wine that drinks far too quickly. It’s also one of the rare 2020s I bought with no green pyrazines at this stage – thank goodness! Delicious stuff!
Rebuy – Yes

1998 Dominique Laurent, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
The cork is wet with wine through its length – spongy too – but it comes out in one piece and the wine is in good shape.
Not much more than medium colour with plenty of more amber colour at the rim. What was once a hint ashy is now a nose of width and more refinement – there’s still an echo of smokiness about this fruit but it’s very inviting. Broad – there’s really some mouth-filling width to this wine. A couple of mm of cushion to this texture and tannin that’s all but assimilated. Then comes the burst of finishing flavour – for a CSJ this is very powerful so probably not a wine you will finish in one sitting. Just a hint of blood-iron and more than a hint of salinity to this finishing flavour. No shirking violet this wine but it’s a pleasure! Luckily it’s not my last 98 and I may have a few 99s too 😉
Rebuy – Yes

Wines from yesterday – the holiday season progresses!

2018 Jean-René Nudant, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Folatières
Quite a deep colour – more so than the 2-day-old last glass of the 2012 Les Preuses – which was anyway dead! Depth and some concentration to this ripe, golden-fruit nose – a vibration of energy with some barrel too. Mouthfilling, supple with fine texture and quite some saline intensity. Impressive energy but, for me, not that drinkable today as there’s quite a bit of creme-brulee from the barrel. Of all the 2018s opened in the last days, this is the one that’s clearly being drunk too young. Whilst there’s clearly more oak on display than would be my preference, there will surely be more balance in 2-3 years – on the other hand, you have to balance that with taking a risk over the natural cork seal…
Rebuy – No

1999 Sylvain Cathiard, Romanée St.Vivant
The second from this domaine in the last days – but 10 years younger than the Suchots! Ooh – not a nose of power, but what beautiful clarity and energy – really beautiful fruit here with occasional flashes of floral perfume too – this is such a fine invitation. Direct, crystalline flavour – purity like the nose – but here’s a wine that’s only just getting going, broadening out over the palate. Architecturally structured but nothing that’s hard, just endlessly inviting. Grand wine and a wine that’s really far too easy to drink. Absolutely ready yet still with quite a young fruit profile, so no leftovers for day 2 here!
Rebuy – Yes

1989 André Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Suchots
My last bottle of these labels – the one before ‘Sylvain Cathaird.’ The cork slides out far too easily, soaked to its length in wine – but in one piece!
Medium colour, not with any obvious browning – clean and bright. The nose is still fresh and majoring on fruit – sweet and red – just the faintest spice – of age more than Vosne, I think. A very easy wine to drink, properly ripe but of only modest concentration and complexity. Blind, I’d have positioned this more like a villages than a 1er cru – it didn’t deliver 30 years’ worth of aging complexity, that’s for sure. But it was easy to drink and everyone enjoyed it too.
Rebuy – No

2012 N&G Fèvre, Chablis Les Preuses
Magnum, DIAM-sealed. I thought this might have been ‘ready’ but it was still a little too young…
Fresh, wide and impressive nose – this is clearly Chablis – and there’s some concentration here too – though not showing much development. In the mouth too; taught, nicely structured, tons of mouth-watering flavour but still quite primary in style. Day two (it was a magnum ;-)) showed a bit more fat and also a bit more ripeness to the citrus fruit. Possibly still opened 5 years too young – but in very fine shape. It may have been my only 2012 though…
Rebuy – Yes

2020 des Croix, Bourgogne‘Cuvée L'(?)
During his time at Camille Giroud, David Croix made a couple of Bourgognes labelled ‘Cuvée L.‘ These were an assembly of all the lees of all the (red) wines from Bourgogne to Grand Cru, with extra ageing time to allow the lees to settle. I think my remaining bottles of 2008 may be ‘past it’ but perhaps not the 2010s. Here he did the same in 2020 at des Croix – ‘Are you interested to try one?’ Well, of course! Sealed with and a DIAM cork too – he usually uses only natural cork.
After all the older wines I’ve been drinking – including, this week, one of his 2008s – this dark-coloured wine has such another level of intensity – wow. The flavours and aromas are framed with some creamy oak that’s less to my liking but this has purity, presence and great texture. More ‘2020’ than ‘Burgundy’ – a second bottle might be much more interesting in 10 years…
Rebuy – Maybe