As a post-script to the last 2 days, I think I do note drinking a glass or two. Here a modest selection drunk over the last two days:
2000 Camille Giroud, St.Aubin 1er Les Charmois
Medium golden. High tones over slightly creamy base – quite vibrant if not an integrated whole. Ripe fruit offset by slightly bright acidity. Quite long, and certainly very tasty.
Rebuy – Maybe
1987 Camille Giroud, Meursault 1er Les Perrières
Medium golden. An understated nose that shows a little creamy wool. The palate is linear – perhaps (old) boney – but very smooth and rushes you into a reasonable – creamy again – finish just a little faster than you might wish for the appellation, but it’s probably the appellation that saves it given such an inauspicious year and a maker with little track-record for whites. Enough for a last glass was was left in the bottle overnight and it was even slightly better the next day – not a hint of oxidation. Will make even older bones!
Rebuy – Maybe
1998 Fougeray de Beauclair, Bonnes-Mares
Medium, medium-pale ruy red. A nice, rather aged but still fruity nose edged with a little funk. In the mouth the fruit is okay, but the remnants of the tannin still show an astringent edge – this must have been close to undrinkable in its youth! It’s quite long and it’s a tasty length, but the fruit is way ahead of the tannin in termes of the age curve. I wouldn’t touch another for 5 years and I still think it will be a long way from silky.
Rebuy – No Shame I bought 6 – sales are such a lottery without a chance to taste.
2007 Blind Trail, Pinot Noir
From New Zealand. Deep cherry red. The nose frankly explodes with vibrant fruit – this smells just like a barrel sample. The texture is hampered slightly by a little dissolved gas – but not too much to enjoy. The acidity seems to keep the whole thing in order. Clearly would (should?) be spotted as non-burgundian in a blind line-up, but the bottle was finished to the last drop – mind-you we could have been trying to take the taste of our ‘dodgy’ main-course away! I’d love to taste this with 10 years bottle age; would the gap versus burgundy remain so wide?
Rebuy – Maybe
1976 Camille Giroud, Gevrey 1er Lavaux St.Jacques
A nice core of colour. The nose starts – just like a lot of older Giroud wines – like an Italian wine that’s spent a few years in a giant foudre – that ‘sort of’ oxidised note. Very slowly there is a little funk, finally a very nice and clear red berry note. Smooth on the tongue with nice acidity – also a little ‘gout de foudre’ but a nice little sparkle of something extra on the mid-palate. Has reasonable length and it’s certainly quite interesting – but unless you’ve the patience to open 3-4 hours before consuming, it’s a long way from a typical burgundy experience.
Rebuy – Maybe
1955 Camille Giroud, Volnay
‘Found’ in a Swiss auction for the price of a 2004 1er cru. Drunk at the domaine – and why not – despite their cellar of old wines, even David Croix hadn’t tried a Giroud ’55. The bottle, label and capsule were absolutely correct, and the level was only about 4cm from the cork which, by some miracle, I removed (about 1 hour before pouring) in only two pieces without dropping bits in the wine. The colour held a very nice core of deep salmon red. The nose was most intruiging; deep and apparently oaky over a few truffle notes. Slowly the ‘oak’ fades and reveals something much more like coffee – little fruit but clearly very alive – over about 1 hour (it was shared between 9 of us) it continued to change. In the mouth it was a soft entry and a rather metallic taste, the acidity seeming a little coarse before a long and very engaging finish. With food the coarsness faded almost into the background. Not a great wine by any means, but captivating to spend an hour with!
Rebuy – No Chance!
Pictures from Pommard
Even ‘nameplate’ domaines are starting to gird their loins and plan their first pickings – some are already picking. ‘My’ domaine starts on Thursday with Bourgogne Rouge – despite me not arriving until Saturday – they didn’t wait!