Tasted in Savigny with Blair Pethel, 19 Feb. 2014. Blair is laughing, because his tractor is much cleaner than my car!
Blair Pethel on 2012:“Reds: The 12s are as good as the 10s, though I’ve a preference for the 10s for whites, because of their verve. But I’m not yet sure how the 12 whites will end up, as they’re not yet finished.”
Blair Pethel on prices: 2012s will rise in price from zero to 20% and that follows a 6% increase for the 2011s. “I’d love to hold pricing for the 2013s, but let’s see – if 2014 is generous, that will help.”
The reds:
Are all racked and will be bottled by the phase of the moon, the week before April 1st. Plenty of swirling and warming in the glass required when tasting these wines – they began at about 8°C.
2012 Savigny-lès-Beaune
This saw a massive yield reduction in 2013; 2 barrels instead of 8.
Soft red fruit, very pretty. It’s a similar profile in the mouth too, with faint tannin but not so faint enjoyment – Yum!
2012 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Talmettes
The aromas need coaxing from the glass – dark red, precise berries. At first this seems leaner, but it is lithe and shows more muscle – lovely intensity in the mid-palate. Very tasty.
Beautiful aromas – a bouquet of fresh red fruits. Lithe, fresh, but with plenty of buffer from the fruit. Fine finishing – simply gorgeous. I’ve bought this before and did enquire – but it’s all sold!
2012 Volnay 1er Cru Pitures
A dark, concentrated nose, with pretty red fruits slowly growing in the glass. The texture is a little plusher. it’s a little more concentrated and the intensity grows and grows. The fruit is from a slightly deeper register and lingers beautifully – very contemplative.
2012 Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Brighter, redder fruit than the Pitures and a slowly developing floral note too. A little padding again and a beautiful clarity of fruit – fresh but not overly so. A lingering floral note too. Super!
2012 Morey St.Denis 1er Cru Les Blanchards
Pretty and detailed red fruit. The palate has good width and an extra dimension of flavour. Everything is supported by modest but underpinning tannin. Good stuff.
2012 Nuits St.Georges 1er cru Aux Bousselots
The aromatic is rather shy, but there’s a seamless quality to the shiny, dark fruit. A little more structured but coupled to ebullient fruit; really lovely fresh mid-palate flavour. Super flavour!
The whites:
2012 Bourgogne Les Millerands
Deep and concentrated, with a yellow fruit aromatic. Here there is a ‘villages-plus’ texture and nice enough freshness. An extra concentration of flavour announces itself in the mid-palate. This wine is a significant overachiever, as ever!
2012 Meursault Les Crotots
High tones augment an already pretty Meursault nose. A bit too much CO2 to appraise the texture but there seems width and a good base of freshness plus lovely fruit in the finish.
2012 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Vergelesses
A shy-er aromatic yet, at the same time, deeper – perhaps some lime-skin. Again it’s wide on the palate, with a little less CO2. Long finishing, indeed, a super finish!
2012 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chaumées
The August hail reduced the yield here from 5 to 2 barrels.
Green herbs and concentrated ripe fruit too. Here is width – lovely width – and really good freshness. Fine again.
A hint of reduction and brioche – despite an old barrel. The texture is a little more plush and again shows beautiful fruit. This holds a super line of flavour into the finish. Excellent!
2012 Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes
Aromatically less interesting because of a slight reduction. On the palate there is freshness and growing intensity, but clearly a wine that’s not yet ‘formed’.
2012 Nuits St.Georges 1er Cru Les Terres Blanches
A little reduction but also some brighter top-notes. Rather silky and a lovely growing intensity. There seems a certain gravitas about this wine.
A really super aromatic and fine depth too. There’s a little CO2 but there’s also brilliant width and a complexity of growing flavours. Brilliant finish!
2012 Chablis Les Preuses
The last vintage for this, as the 88 year-old vines mere too unproductive and are being replaced – two new Chablis will replace this next year!
Real Chablis with seashell aromas and green-skinned fruit. Warmth, intensity and a growing concentration of flavour – everything in a deep register. Amazing dry extract in the finish!