#4 of my pre-Christmas Pommard odyssey
2004 d’Ardhuy, Pommard 1er Fremiers
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose has faint cedar and a powdery red fruit aspect of quite some width, depth develops only slowly though I’d like more precision. The palate has just an edge to it, like the acidity is only-just ripe – which would be a surprise considering it was picked at 13.9° natural – on the positive side here you can easily see why this is a premier cru; for the first time we have a wine with more than one dimension on the mid-palate, and nice fruit it is too. There is nothing like the density of the previous Dugat-Py wine, but then this 1er cru is less than half the price of that villages wine!
Rebuy – Maybe

2004 Dugat-Py, Pommard Le Levrière
Deep cherry-red. The nose starts quite reduced with sulfur and hints of mushroom – hard to get at the fruit – slowly it warms to give a bright, high-toned beacon of pure red fruit. The palate has a perfectly (oak) upholstered texture, really impressive concentration, good acidity and surprisingly only a mild grain to the tannin. This is quite mineral and shows a long finish, akin to having (I’m assuming!) a piece of coal in your mouth. From the mid-palate onwards this is much more impressive than the Coche. Very impressive.
Rebuy – Yes

My ‘rebuy’ decision is based purely on the quality of this wine with respect to its appellation – note that I didn’t take the cost of the bottle into consideration! Given my previous experience with Dugat-Py’s 2004 Vosne-Romanée, I would suggest opening 8 hours before serving or very vigorous decating/aeration 1-2 hours before drinking.

2004 Coche-Dury, Pommard Vaumuriens
Medium-plus cherry red. The nose is sweet ripe and only with time betrays the faintest trace of cedar. Wide and friendly, the aromatics are sweet oak with a creamy edge to the red fruit. One sip and you’re hit by fresh, crunchy red and black fruit and grainy tannin – quite the extrovert – given the nose I expected something much more plush. The finish is quite long for a villages, showcasing those grainy tannins. This improved in the glass and was quite a crowd-pleaser.
Rebuy – Yes

Versus tasting from barrel I’ve had occasional reds from Gambal that seemed rather subdued – I’ve come to believe that they need a good deal more aeration than I was allowing, but this was excellent right from the bottle and way more interesting than the recent bottle from Fourrier:
2001 Alex Gambal, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Gruenchers
Medium ruby-red. The nose has some oaky depth overlayed by dense, though initially not so intense, creamy black cherry; with time the oak fades and the creamy fruit comes more to the fore. Understated entry – apparently only moderately concentrated to start with – but this very well textured wine builds intensity in the mouth. The overal picture is of black-shaded fruit just edged with a little oak texture, but this will fade (the oak!) – the finish is a reasonably long one. I enjoyed this a lot.
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Christian Clerget, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Charmes
(From magnum) Medium-plus ruby-red colour. The nose starts very-much in a coffee/mocha vein, but bit-by-bit plums ever-more depth. Time takes the nose into a lovely core of tight, focused red fruit that eventually widens to give a redcurrant aspect – always my favourite. This has depth, intensity and an obvious extra level of tannin vs the older wines. A lovely wine. Rebuy – Yes
1999 Sylvie Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
(From magnum) Medium ruby-red colour. It’s a wide and mineral nose with an almost corky element. With time the corky element takes over – I never found it on the palate though – still, a shame.
1990 Lafon, Volnay 1er Santenots de Milieu
(From magnum) Very deep colour – close to black. No obvious oak on the nose, but it’s so dense and unforgiving – perhaps this is a harsh adjective, but this wine is so fresh, linear and dense that it could be 2002 in presentation. The only clue to its age, is that the tannins have started to melt, but super concentration remains – it’s a tour-de-force – but wait for 2015. If there is one criticism, the wine doesn’t seem so long and is unlikely to gain length with extra age – but I’m still very, very impressed. Versus the Clerget Chambolle this has twice the depth & concentration, but the Clerget is significantly more refined – the choice is yours. Rebuy – Yes

1993 Géantet-Pansiot, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Les Poissenots
(From magnum) Deep ruby-red colour. Even at 13 years-old the nose still has some fall-out from the toasty oak of its youth; mixed with sweet, predominantly black shaded fruit and a little coffee – it takes some time in the glass to lose the oak, but it becomes ever-more primary with a strawberry/raspberry impression. Instant impressions are of concentration and very good acidity but only average length. Despite the length, this very youngly presented wine is certainly the most interesting Géantet-Pansiot I’ve ever had, all that I tasted from 2000-2002 seemed too soft in the middle. Expanding well in the mid-palate I even get the impression that the length improves with time, but following the hights of the ’93 Rousseau Clos St.Jacques this is very-much on a lower level. Rebuy – Maybe
1993 Bertrand Ambroise, Nuits St.Georges 1er Rue de Chaux
(From magnum) Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is quite estery, masking any real depth – at least at the start – very slowly this lifts giving a 20 minute window of nice red fruit and the start of a cedar note, but later becomes very high-toned again. The palate has a fresh yet concentrated stance with a heavy emphasis of nice black fruit. The finish is understated but long. An interesting wine that for me – apart from that 20 minute window – was spoiled by the aromatics. Rebuy – No.

1997 Mugneret-Gibourg, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Feuselottes
(From magnum) Medium-plus colour. The nose is surprisingly meaty and spicy, opening ever-wider and at the same time denser red fruit and a more mineral, cedar note comes through. The palate is very fresh and interesting for a 1997 – no dodgy acidity here – though perhaps only medium-plus length. Like the nose, the red fruit on the palate is rather dense and wall-like (like some ’95’s) – little in the way of delicacy is available and I’m not sure if more time will bring it, but this is quite young and almost impossible to pick blind as 1997. It’s still a fine young wine. Rebuy – Yes
1993 Armand Rousseau, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
(From magnum) Medium-plus ruby-red colour. A deep, intense, meaty nose that starts with a slightly diffuse width. There is also a faint oaky component to the depth, but it’s mainly consumed now – with time the fruit really tightens and focuses. In the mouth this wine is still immensely youthful – 10 extra years would provide ample benefit – the acidity is like a roller-coaster into the finish, and a very impressive and intense finish it is too. Bravo, but still a baby. Rebuy – Yes