2005 Pierre Bourée, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
Deeply coloured – purple at the rim. The nose starts with plenty of oak that has a hint of toast but no more – it’s very wide and covers dark-skinned fruit. It slowly evolves, but never shows the complexity and stems of the 2004. Mouth-filling, again there’s oak flavour and some well grained tannin too. The acidity starts a tiny bit forward, though only exacerbates the superb length – those flavours are a lot to do with oak and are eventually just a little bitter, but this is very impressive. Quite some concentration in the mid-palate and certainly it’s a little rustic, but it’s clearly full of wine – better than some GC’s! This will need several years for the wood to move into the background, but it’s a real quality effort that shows personality. I initially bought three, but am now going back for a couple more – clearly built for the long-haul. As a post-script, day two shows little obvious oak, still no stems and a better balance. All good signs – okay, maybe I’d have liked a little stems…
Rebuy – Yes

I had a glass of a more than worthy 2005 Corton (note tomorrow) next to this. The Corton was long and more elegant though didn’t have the oomph or chutzpah of the Bourée!

Currently the only ‘other’ négoce St.Jacques I can think of outside of Dominique Laurent’s – though I’ve heard of a Patrice Rion(?) – drop me a line if you can think of others…
2004 Pierre Bourée, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
A rare négoce bottle of Clos St.Jacques. A deep core of already ruby-red colour – quite deeply coloured for a Bourée. The nose is the usual interesting blend of smoky Bourée stems a faint undertow of cedar, earthy Gevrey notes and another faint undertow of mushroom – the last droops in the glass hold a lovely pure redcurrant note. In the mouth there’s good texture; the plentiful tannins are not so astringent and are very well covered. There’s clearly plenty of concentration here, though the acidity shows a little too tart for the first hour, hence, defining the wine and becoming the major aspect of a very long finish. Density and complexity on the mid-palate is very good. This is a very young wine that improved in the glass such that the acidity was much less forward (maybe I was just ‘used’ to it) after an hour or so, but it is also today, slightly compromised by low levels of the 2004 green but there’s is plenty of wine here so my remaining bottles will stay at least 10 years in the cellar – if the green fades into the background it will be an excellent wine.
Rebuy – Maybe

A nice restaurant with a super wine-list. Actually they don’t have a list, you have to wander around the underground rooms that make up the cellar and just find a bottle – or two! About 50% of the bottles are priced, for the rest you must ask. I wanted something reasonably mature, so ended up with a short-list of 3: 1991 Dujac Gevrey 1er Combottes, 1991 Ponsot Latrcières-Chambertin and 1992 Dujac Clos St.Denis. All were roughly the same price – I could have taken any number of 1995’s (Rousseau St.Jacques, Drouhin Musigny etc.,etc., for less money – but in the end I went for the (expected) mature 1992 and saved the 91’s for another day 😉
1992 Dujac, Clos St.Denis
A medium, quite mature colour. The nose starts deep, stemmy and interesting – over the next two hours it goes from strength to strength, with red berries, mineral notes of pencil lead, occasional caramel or cream etc., etc. – it was first class. In the mouth I expected it would have little chance of competing with the aromatics and so it turned out – but it was still a worthy choice. Not the density of of a grand cru from most (recent) vintages, medium bodied with very slightly elevated acidity, but as the wine developed and became sweeter this was hardly noticeable. The faintest hint of tannin remains and the wine never withered in 2 hours, rather it became more interesting and complex. This is mature, reasonably long and tasty. Nine from ten for the nose and more like seven for taste. Lovely.
Rebuy – Yes

Beaune 1er cru blanc today!
2005 de Montille, Beaune 1er Blanc Les Aigrots
Medium-pale yellow. Lot’s of high-toned, sherbet notes over stony fruit and occasional hints of brioche. Good freshness, and not too much of the plump fat you often get in white Beaune. Actually there seems a slight family resemblance to the domaine’s Puligny – though clearly the considerable depth of flavour in the mid-palate lack’s for the Puligny’s fineness. I’d like a little more focus on the nose, but there’s no doubting how tasty it is.
Rebuy – Maybe

2005 Alain Michelot, Nuits St.Georges 1er Les St.Georges
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose hangs with heavy mineral notes, a lovely pure cherry note and faint mushroom in the background. The entry texture is soft and smooth until a strong wall of grainy tannin raises its head. The acidity and the fruit extract are certainly up to the competition, providing a slight burst of complexity in the mid-palate and an oak-tinged lingering flavour. Showing mainly linearity and structure now and muscled structure at that. Tuck it away for a few years, it will need it…
Rebuy – Yes

Ah, those were the days, now where was I?

2005 Jean Tardy, Chambolle-Musigny Les Athets
Medium, medium-plus colour. A deep, slightly baked fruit impression intertwined with a dark oak note – I think the oak is influencing the fruit. In the mouth the texture’s okay but I have the impression there’s some dissolved gas here making the tannin a little forward and the acidity slightly prickly. There’s some extra dimension, but it’s clearly not showing its best. Day 2 and the nose starts less interesting, but slowly a red-currant note tries to assert itself. The ‘rasp’ that I associated with dissolved gas is still there on the palate, though the tannin seems less forward. Tight? For sure, but versus some other village chambolles I could mention there’s little here that demands a second look…
Rebuy – No

2006 Louis Chenu, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Talmettes
Medium, medium-pale cherry-red colour. The aromatics are wide, perhaps a little high-toned and alcoholic but over a denser slightly savoury fruit core. A little dissolved gas on the palate, good red fruits and young tannin – accentuated by the gas. There’s a nice burst of interest on the mid-palate and there’s good, if slightly prickly, acidity (gas again). This needs a year in the cellar, and the performance will be far better than described above if you decant an hour before serving. Excellent value wine in an elegant package.
Rebuy – Yes

2001 Mugneret-Gibourg, Vosne-Romanée
Medium colour. The nose is just a little alcoholic at the top over pretty, spicy red cherry and occasional wafts of coffee. Lovely texture but at this age the ‘puppy-fat’ has faded and the acidity is now more to the fore – the overall effect is now ‘only just ripe’. Cool red, tart cherry-fruit remains at the core and the finish is quite long. Just a little gawky now, but there are a few in the cellar for another day.
Rebuy – Maybe

I admit that I rather fell out with the wines from this domaine following the release of the 1997 and 1998 vintages, wines with hair-raising tannins and little redeeming features to balance – or at least to stake a case for patience – but the 1995’s and 1996’s I always loved. A handy half-bottle provides the opportunity for a status report – given the performance I’m sure my Richebourgs will not be touched before their 20th anniversary…
1996 Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot
Still medium-plus colour, now it’s quite ruby-red though still a slightly cherry-red reflection remains. The nose is super-deep, chocolate-coated undergrowth with just a hint of more volatile elements. Lithe – actually quite muscular – with fading velvet tannin and real extra dimension in the mid-palate. This has a super, chocolate framed, finish that’s borne on great acidity. Powerful, concentrated but balanced; even in half-bottle format this is halfway between an intellectual challenge and pure pleasure, so in well-stored, larger, formats I would suggest waiting at least another 5 years.
Rebuy – Yes