For me the ‘average’ face of a mid-range 2003 is shown by the Beaune, and that’s the reason you don’t see many notes for 03’s on this page. The Pommard is altogether better, and comes close to being enjoyable!
2003 Albert Bichot, Beaune 1er Cru
Medium red, still some hints of cherry. High tones that are reasonably fresh. The tannin is a little drying and the acid is a little sharp – certainly far from seamless.. Not a great balance here.
Rebuy – No
2003 Albert Bichot, Pommard 1er Les Arvelets
Medium, medium-plus red – again with just a hint of cherry-red. The nose is deeper with a savoury, meaty aspect. The acidity is just a little prickly, but this fades with time. The tannins are ripe and there’s decent length and balance.
Rebuy – Maybe

2005 Bouchard Père, Monthélie 1er Clos des Champs Fulliot
A bright medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. High tones over red berry notes. Mouth-filling with plenty of fine tannin and very good acidity. As the wine lingers in the glass the red berry note of the nose comes through on the palate too. Good intensity and length, it’s a good wine. The price is rather ambitious for the appellation – about 40 Swiss Francs – but the wine clearly has quality.
Rebuy – Yes

My first sip left me underwhelmed, but this really grew both in the glass and on me.
2006 Domaine Lejeune, Pommard 1er Les Argillières
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts with chalky, powdery fruit, slowly opening a deeper dimension thats edged with caramel. The tannin builds to a little grain but is ripe and mainly fine textured, it also attaches caramel flavours to your gums before they very slowly fade – good length. It’s certainly a little behind the concentration of the 2005, but its sweet fruit clearly shows premier cru complexity. Very well balanced, and whilst it gives the impression of being a little dilute to start, most of the flavour comes from the mid-palate onwards and it’s great flavour if a little barrel derived.
Rebuy – Yes

2006 Lamblin et Fils, Chablis Vieilles Vignes
Pale yellow. The nose is bright and forward with plenty of candied fruit; pineapple and grapefruit. Mouth-filling and quite fat, the texture is very silky/oily. Certainly very rich for a villages and a massive bargain at 86 francs for 6 bottles – provided you don’t want for a little more acidity – and I do! I’ll certainly look out for the 2007 though!
Rebuy – Maybe

2006 des Varoilles, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos des Varoilles
A slight update to the label for this vintage. Only just a little more than medium colour. Wide, quite high-toned floral, violet aromatics, underneath a more cherry-type fruit. The palate is soft, slightly fat and shows good fruit that’s edged with a little bitter chocolate / coffee. A reasonable amount of decently grained tannin – perhaps not 100% ripe given a trace of bitterness, but tannin fades. Good acidity and a very nice burst of interest in the mid-palate. Drunk over 3 days it was just a little better each day and the only thing lost was that bitter edge to the tannin. A very nice 2006.
Rebuy – Yes

Drunk at lunch and dinner last week during the harvest in Beaune:
2006 Catherine et Claude Maréchal, Bourgogne Aligoté
Apparently made in a ‘hyperoxigenated’ way. Medium yellow. The first aromas are high-toned over a base of fruit that reminds me of pinot blanc. In the mouth it starts a little spritzy but slowly became softer in the glass. Blind, I didn’t guess aligoté. Reasonably long, relatively light bodied but with good balance.
Rebuy – Maybe
2006 Camille Giroud, Corton Chaumes
2 barrels, one new, made with 50% whole clusters from 90 year-old vines – sadly now ripped out and planted with chardonnay which may take the (more commercially attractive) Corton-Charlemagne appellation. Medium, medium-pale colour. The nose starts tight, slowly opening with red and blue-skinned fruit and an undertow of subtle stems – goes from strength to strength in the glass. In the mouth it starts with a little gas. It’s a narrow entry that suddenly widens into a very complex mid-palate and plenty of length – though much of that is still contributed to by the oak. A super ‘sniffer’s’ wine that kept improving in the glass. A super mid-term wine.
Rebuy – Yes
1998 Casanuova delle Cerbaie, Brunello di Montalcino
A deep and dark core of fruit on the nose, slowly you also get pretty red fruit and a hint of anise. Mouth-filling, plenty of tannin, but after the tannin hurdle it slides slowly into a nice finish. Very young wine…
Rebuy – Maybe
The bottle of Griotte from last week had some strange taint from the cork, this cork also had a similar smell though on a lower order – fortunately I couldn’t detect it in the wine. That said, I expected this wine to be a little better so maybe it was still influencing(?)
2006 Chézeaux/Ponsot, Clos St.Denis (Tres) Vieilles Vignes
Medium, medium-plus colour. A wide nose of delicate red and black berries, some high-toned alcoholic notes and a little dried cranberry. The palate needed time in the glass – a little prickly – becoming ever-smoother and and longer, showing the silkiest of tannins. I have to say that it impressed but didn’t ‘wow’ – normally I am wowed by this cuvée.
Rebuy – Yes

The accumulated wealth of (conventional) wisdom says that this is a dumb thing to do, but given the two remarkably open Faiveley’s in this tasting, I thought I’d give this bottle a try. Note that this is a négoce wine, not domaine.
2005 Joseph Faiveley, Volnay 1er Santenots
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose is not exactly effusive, but it has quite some depth of dark dried fruits and a more herbal top note. Very good texture then quickly a grainy tannin builds and the acidity seems just an afterthought – yet perfectly draws you into the finish. The mid-palate flavour and finish are cracking – intense and very long – chocolate and a little strawberry shaded oak tannin is the diminuendo. Not as typically brutal as the Lafon version, nor indeed what you might expect from Faiveley, but a super wine.
Rebuy – Yes

2004 Nicolas Potel, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
A good, medium, medium-plus colour. The nose alas is a mix of cedary green and mushroom, there’s a pretty red fruit trying to peek through but frankly it’s drowned. In the mouth it’s nicely concentrated with good fat and a lovely red fruit base. The acidity is good but slides you into a finish where the green raises its head again. Such a shame.
Rebuy – No