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…

2017 Armelle et Jean-Michel Molin, Fixin Blanc VV Les Ormeaux
A wine raised in a jar (amphora) with plenty of skin-contact it seems. The label proudly announcing Vin Biologique! A robust cork.
Plenty of colour; a little golden and not with 100% clarity. The nose is heavy with the aromas of grape and is a little bready – not elegant but definitely not a turn-off either. Mouthfilling, and with a nice fresh wave of flavour that holds quite well in the finish. There’s plenty of concentration here. You may be forgiven for not being sure whether this is chardonnay or not – so forget ‘Fixin!’ – but this remains a more than tasty glass for all that, one that I’ll happily take a refill of!
Rebuy – Maybe

1985 Guillemard-Dupont, Pommard
A domaine in Meloisey at this time. The cork breaks in more than one place, but I just about kept all of the parts on the corkscrew…
This is a big and open nose – the age is showing with its ‘forest floor’ of wet leaves plus a certain sweetness from the fruit – if you like the smell of older wines, you’ll love this! Mouth-filling, complex, still some layers of oak too. There’s a sweetness to the flavour and generally speaking, this seems a robust specimen of an ’85 – perfectly clichéd Pommard, if you like. The weight and length of finishing flavour is on another level to the Fixin. For what it is – bravo – drinking well over three days (kept in the fridge after opening) and not a hint of brett developed!
Rebuy – Yes (Luckily, I think I’ve more!)

2009 Gilles Bouton, St.Aubin 1er En Créot
I still have a few of these handily-sized 50cl bottles – in this case still drunk over two nights. A robust cork.
On first opening, this is a strange blend of sweet fruit and more herbed notes that might imply under-ripeness – both in the flavours and aromas. Yet this is a wine that pulls together very well with aeration – I’m sure it’s still going to improve in the cellar – assuming it takes on the aerated character rather than exacerbating the first impressions! Slowly coming together with some moderate sweetness of red fruit and a less forward herbacity; here is a wine that seamlessly transitions from ‘something to drink’ to a wine where I’m looking forward to a top-up.
Rebuy – Yes

After the abortive – actually horribly corked – 1985 Bertagna I tried my luck with another 1985.

This, a no-name (at least today) négoce. The cork broke in the middle but fortunately in this case I managed to keep it on the worm of the corkscrew. A previous bottle of this had been ‘okay‘ but this was metallic tasting and seemed rather structural – not a particularly attractive glass. This did make it into last weekend’s beef bourguignon! 🙂

Two grand crus from 1997 – both from Bouchard Père – the Le-La‘s…

1997 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton
A wine that went through a strange phase about 5 years ago – the wines all (3 consecutive) seemed corked so I gave up trying them – or maybe they were corked! All my recent bottles, like this one, have been super.
Hmm, a much more forward nose from opening versus the next wine; a little whole-cluster-style complexity and with much to find – this is a great nose! Expressive, open-flavoured – I’m not sure that I would guess Corton, or even Côte de Beaune – this is absolutely delicious though, with beautifully balanced concentration and a sneakily mouth-watering long finish. Ooh – this is really in a great place at the moment. More than excellent.
Rebuy – Yes

1997 Bouchard Père et Fils, La Romanée
My previous bottle of this – 3 years ago – was fabulous. This was also not too shabby!!!
A nose that takes its time to grow in the glass – always fresh but taking its time to captivate – but in time it does with a growing floral accent to the spice – it makes for a very fine invitation. Pow! The nose was certainly understated in comparison to the impact in the mouth – full and wonderfully complex. After 23 years this is still youthful and even a little saline but absolutely a wine that holds my attention – it develops, seemingly without end, in the glass for over 2 hours. Bravo, no question!
Rebuy – Yes

Inserting a little extra juiciness into my weekend drinking…

2017 Château Ravatys, Côte de Brouilly Mathilde Courbe
Deeply, deeply coloured. The nose has a darkness of fruit to match the colour – slightly alcoholic and a little liqueur but not quite enough to be a turn-off. In the mouth, the black fruit is just so juicy and shows great energy. This is frankly delicious with a finely persistent finish. In the end, I just wish that the nose was a little fresher. An excellent wine that’s great in parts.
Rebuy – Maybe

2018 Manoir du Carra, Fleurie Clos de la Deduits
Compared to the Ravatys, this has a much more modest depüth of colour. The nose is easy-going and quite a good invitation with classical Fleurie red fruit and flowers. The palate, likewise, is easy-going and tasty – a wine that asks nothing of you – though I’d like to be challenged a bit more. Very good and faultless in this modest style…
Rebuy – Maybe

2015 Daniel Bouland, Côte de Brouilly Mélanie
Deeply coloured. The nose is a little alcoholic but majors on a sweet, dark cherry – time (and air) fills the glass, first, with an additional floral lift and, second, modifies the cherry as much more acid-cherry in style – that’s really super. A young flavour profile, of course, but here is concentration and a classy balance. Muscular but with fine intensity and freshness. Super – and easily my favourite of this trio…
Rebuy – Yes

2002 Pierre Damoy, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Tamisot
Here is a beautiful nose; complex, spiced, faintly whole cluster, a core with a balsamic suggestion but in time a little violet aroma – aromatically that’s a very intiving impression. In the mouth, this is wide, energetic and shows a lovely acidity and simply super energy. In many vintages I find this cuvée aromatically beguiling – practically a grand cru level – but less exciting from a flavour perspective. In this vintage it is a much more balanced wine and one that may embarrass many premier crus. I’d happily start harvesting these now. Very tasty, complex and energetic wine.
Rebuy – Yes