1999 Morey-Blanc, Meursault
Inspecting the half-bottle, there’s some very fine sediment at the base and the wine is not perfectly bright. Under the capsule it is completely black, it looks like you could plant potatoes! The cork comes out and has pink and blue lines down it, the dark coloured wine is – quite obviously – oxidised! Not to an undrinkable level, but not far away. The nose has a little ginger mixed in with the oxidised aromas. In the mouth it seems clean and fresh. The acidity seems a little separate from the rest of the wine, but it is quite fine, but it’s oxidised…
Rebuy – No

Friday was a day in the Côtes – and pretty cold it was too! White (mainly) fluffy stuff was hitting the car and ground for 99% of the journey to Beaune, but 5km from the Beaune exit and the snow was gone – unfortunately rain prevailed – still I wasn’t going to be walking the dog was I? 😉

I managed a mere 3 visits during the day – and whilst the wines did their best to cheer people up, the mood was mainly sombre; A number of producers expect/hope to ‘sit-out’ the economic malaise during 2010 and see the 2009 vintage as their saviour. Time will tell…

The normal antidote to any malaise is to spend a little time with Bernard Repolt of Maison Remoissenet, so our last visit of the day was a cheery one. This time Bernard had to dash, but he left us in the more than capable hands of Claudie Jobard who made the wines – we left with a good feeling, despite my spitting! – back home at a not unreasonable 9:15pm…

So, what to open? I’ve loved both this vintage and the 2002 from Guyon, but here’s another example why you shouldn’t save white burgundy too long…

2000 Antonin Guyon, Corton-Charlemagne
Medium straw colour. The nose shows oxidative notes, nuts and a hint of lanolin. In the mouth the texture is good – concentrated and silky – intense, dry, very well balanced, but the flavour that obscures much is an oxidative one. Drinkable – but without joy – probably opened 6-12 months too late and, if anything, was slightly worse on day 2…
Rebuy – No

After the ’98 Fevre, I thought it safe to pull out another – if you have any of these, I suggest you drink them quickly. Perhaps I’ll pull out the last of my ’98s – I have a Jadot Charlemagne somewhere. I hope that this informal trio (Fevre, JM Boillot & Jadot) don’t become the good, the bad and the ugly!

1998 Jean-Marc Boillot, Puligny-Montrachet
This has medium colour, but the colour is hovering somewhere between golden and orange. The first aromas are tight, slightly honeyed but as it opens the oxidative character comes to the fore. In the mouth there’s good acidity, sweetness and above-average density – it’s quite silky too. Particularly impressive length with intensity and many dimensions that include creamy, caramelised fruits. It starts as borderline drinkable for someone who dislikes oxidation, but fills out with ever-more complexity and interest – indeed, after a couple of hours it became very drinkable with hints of caramel and toffee pushing the oxidative aspects from center-stage.
Rebuy – No
Last drunk in 2005, this was a very tasty bottle. This is prematurely oxidised for sure – whether it’s the virulent ‘random’ strain of p.ox, I cannot say, but the level of oxidation was about on the same level as a 40 year old Leroy Meursault drunk here…

2000 Bouchard Père et Fils, Chablis 1er Montmains
Just a little darker than last week’s 02 Perrières, but frankly nothing more than a medium gold – no alarm bells. The nose is deep, a little exotic and not really hinting of oxidation, more about toffee-edged fruit – not exactly Chablis-esque, but way-ahead of the Perrières. In the mouth it’s also better – but not by much, clearly showing a strong oxidative character. Actually quite drinkable – but tastes like a 20+ year-old wine. I’m not sure where the border is with respect to fair/not fair to complain about oxidised 1er cru Chablis – but I know it’s not 7 and a bit years after bottling…
Rebuy – No