My weekenders came from north of Beaune – but not so far north!

2017 Françoise André, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Sous Frétile
A recent 2016 of this was outstanding – this needs more time…
A big, punchy nose of ripe pineapple and a sweet creaminess of oak. That more than adequately describes the palate too. A crowd-pleaser but not a me-pleaser as I find the oaky sweetness leaves something to be desired. The oak is the style of this domaine’s whites and, happily, it fades – but not yet for this wine. I’d wait a couple more years before returning – and drink the 2016 if you can find it – there wasn’t much due to the frost…
Rebuy – Maybe

2011 Camille Giroud, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Peuillets
A fine cork.
The nose is a bit one-dimensional but it’s a nice dimension of red-fruited purity. In the mouth we definitely move to the next level, with a flavour that entertains from the start but grows and widens over the palate – really nice balance and flavour complexity here – still young in many respects but rather fine and balanced all the same. Red fruit, ripe but not a bit of the extra-ripeness that we have ‘enjoyed’ over recent vintages. Probably starting to peak in another 4 or 5 years but anyway delicious today…
Rebuy – Yes

Life’s not just about grand bottles – it’s about different corners of a region, different grapes – and of course, different vintages:

2015 Châtaignier Durand, Juliénas
There’s deep colour here – as in most places in 2015. The nose has plenty of freshness, indeed a crunchiness to the fruit that’s not overtly 2015 – but then much of Juliénas is planted at quite a high altitude – so perhaps here is the reason for that. Anyway, the nose is a fine invitation to drink. In mouth, this wine has a much riper style compared to the aromas. All the same, there’s good acidity, but a wine that from a flavour-perspective is quite true to the vintage. Delicious in this riper style, it drinks quite well given the stated 14% alcohol… I have to say, yum!
Rebuy – Maybe

The first few vintages of this label were put on general release with the domaine’s other wines. Latterly the cuvée was reserved only for clients in the restaurant trade, though any number of those would later appear in auctions. I was lucky enough to secure bottles of the 1999 and 2002 when released by the UK importer at what, today, seems a ridiculously low price – I wish I still had those catalogues!

I’ve never quite understood the current market pricing of this 2002 wine versus that of the 1999. That’s because I’ve never found the 1999 as complete an experience as that delivered by this 2002 – the acidity of the older wine has always been a little insistent, practically pointy – consistently so. The 1999 was the first of these modern-day Duvault-Blochets and perhaps therein lies the answer to its even more ridiculous price – or perhaps it’s scarcity – but hey, it’s what’s in the bottle that counts, or…(?)

2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Vosne-Romanée 1er Duvault-Blochet
It’s a fine, long cork, but it slips out of the bottle worryingly easily – the wine, however, is clearly unperturbed!
Medium, medium-plus colour – quite unlike the brutishly deep colour of the most recent vintages. Now that’s a nose! Faintly spiced, perfumed from the stems, just a little plummy and with the right amount of leafy forest floor – yep, you got me! Here lies the perfect balance and clarity that embodies, indeed emphasises, how good 2002 can be. Never a big or powerful wine, but with such an elegance over the palate, perfectly mouth-watering acidity and lingering flavour. I scold myself for opening it before it is 20 years old but how could this wine ever be better than today? Chastised but happy 🙂 A thimble-full remains for day 2 and the wine seems relatively stable – just a little more ‘pinched’ aromatically.
Rebuy – Clearly if you’ve no other use for the cash!

But we weren’t finished, though I wasn’t sure whether this should be served before or after the last wine, it worked well though:

2001 Frederic Esmonin, Chambertin
‘Only’ 49mm but it’s a nicely sealed and robust cork.
The nose starts open and directly complex – some old oak and florals in the depth but the flowers are on an upwards trajectory. The palate starts almost watery but grows and grows in dimension – it’s also super-silky. This is a wine that never stays in one place, the nose heading more in the direction of leather and beef but the florals growing and balancing. This wine seems so much bigger with air – filling your mouth, slowly adding a little granular tannin. It’s a long way in style from the almost ethereal quality of the DRC – that wine is a more complete experience – but this is a wine that has more impact and more complexity. More is not always better, but this is a super wine, one that has grown from its more meagre youth when Esmonin’s Bèze was clearly better than this – but that’s what I expect from Chambertin – a good one, anyway. A treat – in fact tonight, a double treat! Day two – and let’s be honest, there wasn’t much left over – the leather aroma is fainter but happily there’s no development of brett – the palate remains delicious.
Rebuy – Yes – I seem to remember less than or around £40, way back when…

For a reason that will soon become obvious, I have some less value-oriented notes coming, but these wines showed a very friendly side for not too much outlay…

2018 Thevenot-le-Brun, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits ‘Clos du Vignon’
Cork-selaed.
Open and sweet aromas – there’s citrus too – a good invitation to drink. Starting with a good blend of volume and concentration, here is a wine with a growing intensity of the same sweetly citrus notes from the nose, wrapped in a lovely texture. Like most 2018s with a fine finish too. Far from a ‘simple’ Bourgogne, certainly a very tasty one!
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Le Grappin, Fleurie Poncié
This from high on the hill in Hautes-Poncié – here the view is down to Moulin à Vent – indeed the neighbouring vines are AOC MaV. DIAM-sealed
Lots of colour – well, it’s a 2018! Here is a forward nose of graphite minerality and dark-fruited freshness – A modest accent of pyrazine perfume blends with the graphite. Mouth-filling, fresh and tasty. Ooh – there’s great finish here. That’s soooo drinkable!
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Château de Chatelard, Fleurie Les Vieux Granits
Aromatically this is fresh and very inviting – almost a crunchy aspect to this dark fruit. Wide on the palate with good freshness – more fruit, less mineral vs the Grappin but with fine, indeed delicious clarity. But finish it on day 1 – the second day, the aromas were clearly a step down.
Rebuy – Yes

2017 Schalentier, Riesling Trocken (Mosel)
Sent by a friend who actually made the wine – a small cuvée and there’s some skin-contact here.
Plenty of colour. I simply love the aroma of riesling, particularly with a little age – this isn’t old, but the skin-contact seems to have endowed it with some of that aromatic extra. In the mouth – yes, trocken – more or less-so is the impression depending on what you eat with it. I found it delicious – I don’t know the pricing, but I liked it very much…

My many thanks for the vigneron(ne)s that put up with my questions this week – many covetable wines for sure!
Purely alphabetically:
Au Pied de Mont Chauve
Jacques Carillon
Jean Chartron
Comtesse de Chérisey
Thomas-Collardot
Le Grappin
Antoine Jobard
Albert Joly
Marc Morey
Georges Noëllat
Sophie & Arnaud Noëllat
Alvina Pernot
Baronne Thénard

‘Wider Burgundy’ offers tremendous value when compared to the over-pricing of many wines from better-known villages in the Côte d’Or. Over the last week, these have been thoroughly enjoyed:

2017 William Fèvre, Chablis
As, together with the 2018, my ‘house white’ this year, I won’t bore you by rearranging the same words used to describe this wine before. Save to say for drinking now or keeping 15 or more years if that’s your wish – simply a great, villages, domaine wine.
Rebuy – Yes

Heading south:

2018 Aegerter, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc Les Corvées
Such an open and floral nose – that’s a great invitation. Wider and more panoramic than the drive of the Chablis, a little plumper too – though never fat – and that’s because there’s a lovely, still slightly mineral energy that runs through this wine. Completely delicious.
Rebuy – Yes

Only a little further south:

2016 Bourgogne-Devaux, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Rouge La Dalignère
Lots of colour. A forward red fruit aroma that has a modest vanilla accent. Silken texture, mouth-filling, ripe and layered flavour. Like the nose, there’s a subtle accent of oak-vanilla – which I hadn’t noted on previous bottles. All the same, delicious, excellent wine.
Rebuy – Yes

Much further south:

2017 Domaine Girin, Beaujolais Séduction
A fine vintage for the base classification. From one of the best producers, it doesn’t get better than this from the perspective of value:
Deeply coloured. A nose thats almost as darkly, juicily-fruited as the plate. A waterfall of juicy fruit – almost a hint of kirsch but mainly plump dark cherries. It cost about €5 at the domaine, it’s worth easily more than double that. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

Not all the usual faces – okay some, but they smiled 😁

Aiming for a balance between the bright new things and the things you either can’t afford or can’t get hold of 🙂

My first tranche of appointments, including a little terroir insight, though mainly the 2019 vintage for the October report. I was bouncing around the villages a little this week – next week I’ll try to keep it much more focused for both you and the Subaru – 435,000 km!

Alphabetically – though not the same order as the images – they are chronological:

Lauriane André & Jerôme Despres
Thomas & Brigitte Berthelemot
Marthe Henri Boillot
Alexandre Brault
Sébastien Caillat
Lucie Coutoux
Jane Eyre
Philippe Jomain
Fiona & Michael Ragg
Jérémy Recchione
Catharina Sadde
Pierre Vincent

2005 Pierre Labet, Beaune 1er Choucherias
I remember, 2-3 years ago, this wine being so impressive. Like this wine, my memory has faded, it has actually been 7 years – and for this particular bottle, despite a robust and okay looking cork, time has not helped…
The nose from the very start shouts old and bretty – you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s at least 30 years old, not 15. I find none of the aromatic interest of before. The palate has fared a little better – layered, concentrated and complex – but never losing the bretty undertones. Such a shame. Aeration lessens the brett a little, but overnighting in the fridge exacerbates the problem – spiced brown sauce the resulting aroma – HP or Hammonds – if that means anything to you. Not what I want in my glass.
Rebuy – No – not this particular bottle, anyway…