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

We picked up a few of these at the domaine on Saturday:

2019 La Croix Montjoie, Vézelay ‘l’élégante‘
This 2019 sports an impressively long diam origine. Well done!
A young yellow-gold colour. The nose has concentration and an almost smoky whiff of clean, chalky, minerality – a great start. Nicely concise, precise citrus acidity which makes the flavour finely mouth-watering – the balanced concentration is clear to see. That chalky minerality to finish too. This is a great, young, chardonnay from an unexpected quarter – bravo – and one that you can keep and keep should you wish.
Rebuy – Yes

A ‘northern Burgundy night! A few ‘house’ Chablis to start the night – because we were 4!

2010 Benoît Cantin, Irancy
‘Only the standard Irancy, but a magnum! Of-course, a cork that broke in two!
Medium colour – just! The nose has a small vibration of fruit and a herby note – rosemary – interesting and quite inviting. Nice and freshly mouth-filling, I like the energy here. Not über-concentrated, more of an airy style to this, but this is tasty, easy to appreciate wine: a magnum of not so great wine tends to hang around, but this was a bottle that emptied quite quickly for its size. A similar level to a very good Bourgogne here.
Rebuy – Yes

I’d hate to think of myself as an ‘evangelist’ for anything because I’m a fan of balance; as such, when it comes to sealing a bottle I’ll buy wine that has been stoppered with anything if I’m intending to drink it within 2-3 years – both colours – but if I’m cellaring whites I want DIAM. The ‘traditional’ alternative has cost me too much over the years. I’d take screwcap too, but I so rarely see them. For reds I don’t have any problem staying with cork, but here’s an interesting example of one of the earliest DIAM bottlings, but still in perfect condition after 15 years.

2005 Roger Belland, Santenay 1er La Comme
DIAM seals were commercially available since 2004, here’s an example for an early adopter, but in red. This seal was in perfect condition – wine ingress amounting to no more than 2mm – at that rate the wine will age 100 years before the seal is breached!
Plenty of colour. Fresh, intense, the last vestiges of creamy oak – this nose is now far more interesting than when the wine was young. There’s a little grain of tannin at the base of this wine but the texture is good and the concentration for the label is very impressive – that’s the vintage of course. The creamy oak on the nose overlays the fruit on the palate too – but gives this wine an extra something to its baseline and little extra gloss. The flavour widening impressively in the finish. It’s a shame that this is my last of these; what was once concentrated, oaky and lacking a little clarity is now very good – another 5 years and it could be a dry fine Santenay indeed!
Rebuy – Yes

Well, you have ease yourself out of such things – no(?)

2018 Françoise André, Pernand-Vergelesses Les Pins
Plenty of colour. A nose that has depth but is floral and forward too. Plenty of saline edge to the concentration, practically a little mint in the middle structure too. Young but already accessible – still, the least ready of these three wines – so I’d wait 2-3 years …
Rebuy – Yes

2013 Bouchard Père, Chassagne-Montrachet En Remilly
54mm diam 10 – top!
A wide nose, of textured floral depth and faint tarte au citron – I would say not just an inviting nose but distinguished too. Silky, lithe, direct – more Chevalier than Chassagne without doubt – widening with citrus intensity. Gorgeous wine…
Rebuy Yes

2018 Françoise André, Corton-Renardes
A little test of some whole-clusters in this vintage – and here’s a lovely, fresh, floral complexity with a finely focused and pretty berry fruit. Silken texture, melting structure – far too easy to drink but that’s the new Corton vernacular. Too delicious…
Rebuy – Yes