A relatively inexepensive purchase of this case enables me to crack open a bottle every year or-so as a ’96 bell-weather. Whilst much better than last years bottle (which was corked!), and despite there being plenty to enjoy here, I’m a little disappointed to see a little oxidative flavour – but maybe it’s a phase – I’ll confirm next year!
1996 Hospices de Beaune, Corton Charlotte Dumay
Still medium-plus colour, but it’s all a garnet-red now. The nose has a little marmite, brown sugar and just a little dried brown leaves. There wine is clearly based on it’s acidity, but a sweetness runs through its core, and boy, does that sweetness last – impressive length. The flavour is a little ‘beefier’ than I’d prefer, perhaps with a faint oxidation too, but the faintly grained tannin is 100% ripe and fading. Enjoyed, but I’m not sure about that oxidative flavour, without would have been an easy ‘rebuy’…
Rebuy – Maybe

1994 Robert Arnoux, Echézeaux
Bought at the domaine back in about 2003. A cork that falls into pieces, but is rescued by the ‘ah-so’. Quite deeply, dark ruby coloured. The nose straight away shows a murky toasty oak that slowly fades to a sweetened dark, licorice-wrapped fruit. The texture is of velvet, melded to decent concentration and good acidity. There’s a faint metallic edge to the flavours that are still largely toasty barrel derived. Medium-plus length. For my personal taste I may be deterred from a re-purchase because of the oak-driven presentation (at 15 years this is presumably a permanent mark), yet this remains relatively young for a ’94 and I expect this wine would certainly improve for a few years more. With nothing (apart from (maybe) the oak) out of balance, this is a well above average 1994…
Rebuy – Maybe

2002 Pascal Chevigny, Vosne-Romanée
This has medium, medium-plus colour. Tight, but a deep, brooding core of fruit topped by spiced red fruit, perhaps a trace of coffee too. The palate is also a little tight, but the texture is not bad, the tannin is relatively fine-grained with just a hint of astringency. Good balance of acidity but the fruit is now clenched around the core structure. Slowly mouth-watering. Relatively closed, but seemingly with everything in place – two bottles remain in the cellar – next one at 10 years of age I’d say.
Rebuy – Yes

1998 Louis Jadot, Beaune
This has medium, medium-plus colour – relatively dark and young looking for a 10 year-old. The nose is showing some maturity with blood, iron, graphite – rare Chateaubriand. With time, there are faint oxidised notes which rather disconcertingly gives me the the overall impression that it smells more like Chianti than Beaune, but that’s short-lived, additional time builds a slightly musky base – seems more like burgundy now! Good acidity and a decent base of grainy, almost velvety tannin that appears in the mid-palate – hardly any astringency now. The fruit has a dark-red sweet-sour presence, but is well (sweet-sour) balanced. Medium length. I would say that this is approaching its plateau of maturity – another couple of years should do it – and given its relative power, it should hold there for at at lease a decade…
Rebuy – Yes
There’s a lot to be said for stocking up on well made villages wines, a good performance like this makes your night, and a bad performance doesn’t hurt as much as if it had been a grand cru…!

2007 Michele et Patrice Rion, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
Medium cherry-red. The first sniff is of herbs – bouquet garni – slowly a depth builds that’s edged with vanilla, the fruit is never really dominant. Sweet, nicely concentrated, a leading edge of acidity that’s close to being balanced. A little oak flavour and quite a lot of vanilla (oak) flavour. Actually too much for me, despite how long that flavour lingers. Slightly better on day two, but it still smells and tastes too much like ice-cream right now. No concern here about the mid-term, but that’s two 07 Chambolles in a row that have their early drinking promise compromised by their oak treatment.
Rebuy – Maybe

2007 Lignier-Michelot, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Medium cherry-red. Rather more depth of toasty oak than I think necessary for a Chambolle – particularly a villages wine – it may have been okay for 2005/2006, but the precocious, friendly 07s just don’t need that much. There’s even a trace of reduction so I decanted; about an hour is needed to lift most of the dark oak/reduction. Width develops and the fruit remains quite dark, it’s not quite what I’m looking for from a Chambolle though – that said, the last drops in the glass smell very pretty indeed. Good texture and actually a very nice intensity, good acidity and an impressive extra dimension of flavour – it’s very nice and shows good length. Just a shame about the oak, it spoils for me the early drinking potential of the wine.
Rebuy – Maybe

I have to say that this wine is even better now than when I first tasted it – or at least my memory of it! I suppose that means I’ll have to ensure I get my orders in for a mixed case each of 2007, 2008 & 2009…

2006 Louis Chenu, Savigny-lés-Beaune 1er Aux Clous
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. Lovely, soft red fruit with a depth that keeps pulling your nose to the glass. Slightly plump texture, wide and clean, pretty red fruit with a even a little more dimension in the mid-palate. ‘Just right’ acidity, some velvet tannin, if you search, and a good finish. Class in a glass, a very lovely bottle.
Rebuy – Yes

I thought I’d give the ‘bourgogne theme’ one more day…

1998 Gros Frère et Soeur, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits
Medium-plus ruby-red. The nose starts a complete jumble of dark wood, similarly dark fruit and some spice – fortunately it knits together rather well in only about 20 minutes; creamy spiced deep red plums and macerating cherry – not quite how I expect a bourgogne to smell, but it’s very, very nice, and frankly it gets better and better. Fresh and still quite astringent in its ‘attack’, yet the dark fruit mirrors the nose with some creamy packaging. Quite intense and, all-in-all, quite impressive in a burly Nuits sort of way. I was ready to dismiss it early-on, but clearly that would have been at my own loss! Definitely needs another 3 or-so years to mellow the astringent tannin – though it’s far from in the ascendant when taken with food – but it’s velvet tannin so ought to be worth waiting for.
Rebuy – Yes

Until I opened this bottle the concept of the green meanies (coccinelle, mirepoix, green, can’t smell anything or whatever suits you) was merely anecdotal to me in the context of white burgundy, and that despite such a luminary as Christophe Roumier telling me they were there for all to find. Anyway, until now I never noted it in whites, indeed I loved early-opened whites much more even than I did the reds…

2004 Françoise et Denis Clair, St.Aubin 1er Murgers Dents du Chien
Last tasted April 2007 it was quite okay, today there starts a hint of mirepoix but it’s wrapped in a little cream so it’s far from offensive, it’s there in the finish too. Right now it’s been open for 30 minutes and aromatically it’s much more pronounced yet somehow mollified by the lemon/cream that partly moves it towards a mushroom note. The finish is much stronger tasting, but the sweet/acid of this wine carries the flavour much better than a dry red would. I left half this bottle for day 2 – the aromas are now more about white burgundy than the ‘2004 character’, the flavour in the mid-palate is, however, a consistent theme.
Rebuy – No
So, a first time for me. It’s blindingly obvious to find, yet it seems to me that an 04 white can handle the character much better than an 04 red…