2000 Hervé Sigaut, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Chatelots
Medium, medium-pale ruby red. The nose is wide with cooked red fruit notes. The palate is soft and sweet, again with a slightly roasted fruit profile. Low acidity and a medium finish – little tannin to speak of. It’s okay, but lacks both freshness and complexity.
Rebuy – No

There was a little trepidation when I opened this – the cork didn’t smell that great – but the first sniff from the glass came with a clear message “you have been drinking too much young stuff!” Wonderful aromatics. I have to say that I shy away from pulling older bottles out of the cellar, they somehow seem so finite vs the shelves full of 2001 vintage and onwards.
1995 Pousse d’Or, Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets
Medium garnet core with a more mahogany rim. The nose started wide and forward with bloody, earthy tones. Plenty of time in the glass and you settle to a mineral, raisined cranberry expression, very lovely. The palate is much more understated and lithe, still with just a faint ‘jarr’ to the fine tannin. The acidity is good and you’ll find an equally good intensity from the mid-palate into the finish. Could still do with another 3 or so years in the cellar, but no crime to drink now.
Rebuy – Yes

Rather than an oak-based savoury and serious wine in the style of the 2004 Jadot Chardonnay, this wine (which is usually quite simple) shines with energy and flavour in 2005. It’s about 60% more expensive than the Jadot 04, but is worth the extra outlay.
2005 Jean-Marc Boillot, Montagny 1er Cru
Medium yellow. The nose is quite deep with a little spicy butterscotch, swirling releases a denser and higher-toned fruit aspect. Lithe, sweet with a kick into the mid-palate before the mouth-watering acidity rushes you into the finish. The sweetness of the ripe fruit brings fine balance. A lovely ebullient wine that is yet another contender for house wine this summer.
Rebuy – Yes

There’s only one thing that I really dislike about this wine – the cork – or should I say the cork ‘amalgam’. It’s purely empirical, but I find a very high taint rate from similar ‘cheap’ closures – no problem with this bottle though.
2004 Louis Jadot, Bourgogne Chardonnay
The 2002 was my house wine last summer so it’s only fair to try out the 2004. Medium yellow. The nose is less sweet oak dominated than the 02, it’s higher toned, just a little floral with a quite subtle oak base. This has a quite rich texture that’s offset by a little dissolved gas which makes the acidity a little prickley. There’s a nice expansion of creamy flavour in the mid-palate and a more than reasonable length. Give it time and the prickle is gone and the palate is nicely smooth. Just a little less rich and sweet than the 2002. It’s very good for the price if not quite as good as the 2002 – though this very young – it has a chance of being a house wine for summer 2008, but won’t make it for 2007, the 05’s are currently too good.
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Domaine Thomas-Moillard, Corton Clos du Roi
A medium-plus ruby-red core. The nose is about iron and soft, sweet, musky notes topped with fainter blackberry. Linear and intense, this is classic 1996 with mouth-watering acidity and a faint but lingering length. It’s a very clean, concentrated and tidy wine that’s showing little in the way of development and will probably require at least another 5 years to turn a little friendly…
Rebuy – Yes

2004 Domaine des Varoilles, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos des Varoilles
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose hovers close to fantastic – beautiful red berry fruit edged with cream – but from time to time there’s a rather powder and indistinct edge, the wine could never quite make up its mind. The palate is nicely textured with good intensity and acidity. The tannins are well covered with sweet fruit and a lovely creamy edge to the finish too. There was no sign of green in this wine, but one-third of the bottle lay in the fridge overnight; the nose is now earthy with a strong cedar streak – no red fruit and ‘no love’! A Jeckyll and Hyde performance reminiscent of this Clos St.Jacques.
Rebuy – Maybe

This 3.5 hectare Gevrey domaine has only bottled since 1989. A small selection of wines that include a Bourgogne, a villages Gevrey, 1er Crus in Goulots, Petits Cazetiers and Combe-aux-Moines, finally this grand cru.
1996 Dominique Gallois, Charmes-Chambertin
Medium-plus ruby-red colour. Bloody with sweet, dank, faintly sulfury oak and tonnes of turned leaf litter on the forward nose. In the mouth your main impression is the sweet river of acidity running through the core. As you reach the mid-palate the wine expands before slowly contracting into a good finish. I would say that there are many, many years in this wine yet, but it seems to be entering an early window of drinkability
Rebuy – Yes