A lunch with, as you can see, like-minded friends…

2011 Comtes Lafon, Meursault Clos de la Barre
It was very hard to place this wine when first poured – it had a certain sweetness – aromatically and in the flavour – but it kept getting better and better – such a great wine. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

2006 JC Bessin, Chablis 1er Fourchaume
My last of these was about 3 years ago – and it was singing. Slightly brown coloured. This was part oxidised. A second bottle I tried two days later was even worse – I have three or four more to dispose of…
Rebuy – No

1993 François Jobard, Meursault 1er Genevrières
Also a deep colour but more yellow-gold. What a great nose – so enveloping, so inviting. The nose had a certain freshness that made me think of St.Aubin, but I was clearly thinking of a younger wine. Just a beautiful thing – surprisingly round and ripe for the vintage as my earlier bottles of this had much more line – this was more like my magnum of the 1992 over (last) Christmas, but with less overt ripe lemon. I’m looking forward to my last few bottle of these!
Rebuy – Yes

1991 Robert Ampeau, Meursault 1er Perrières
Som colour and aromatic similarities to the Jobard – clearly a little older, more saline and of more direct line – beautifully textured. On the day I had a slight preference for the Jobard – but both were beautiful, proper, mature Meursaults with much more time on their sides!
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Leroy, Bourgogne Rouge
A fresh nose but what a lovely red-berry nose. Of line but also with depth of fresh flavour – this was drunk-up surprisingly quickly – a winner!
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Nicolas Potel, Volnay 1er En Chevret
There are only a couple of owners of vines here. This nose had so much more depth and amplitude versus the Leroy. Good as the Leroy was, this was better in every single direction – more concentration, more complexity more depth of texture – all fabulously balanced. Brilliant stuff and only just starting to drink – so happy that at least half a dozen await in storage…
Rebuy – Yes

2008 Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
What a beautiful aromatic line – such purity – in the style of great wines from Bachelet – but it was Fourrier. Delicious in the mouth, carried by the fine 2008 acidity and Fourrier’s trademark sweetness. I don’t know why I didn’t think of 2008, but I loved the wine!
Rebuy – Yes

2003 René Engel, Echézeaux
Like a recent Clos de Lambrays 03, this showed such a balanced profile that some people were guessing 2002 or 2001 – the vintage is holding very well – the poor wines were obviously poor young, but the good ones are aging glacially. Simply a beautiful, balanced, ‘giving’ wine. Super stuff.
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Dominique Gallois, Charmes-Chambertin
Hmm, a hint of pyrazine on the nose – but at a level where it adds complexity, not a turn-off for me. The line and complexity and depth of the the flavour were just so compelling – great wine. I loved…
Rebuy – Yes

1990 F Esmonin, Griottes-Chambertin
We were being spoiled! Yet, this was the most disappointing nose of all the wines for me, a little tight and borderline unpleasant – yet – in the mouth this was fabulous – clearly ripe, but with a minerality and line that had me thinking Clos de la Roche – such a surprise to find that it was Griotte! Despite the nose – such a treat!
Rebuy – Yes

Whilst nobody has the luxury of tasting, and comparing, everything, I felt confident when first tasting this wine (on release) that it was one of the greatest village wines of Gevrey in that already great vintage. In some of the vintages that followed, I felt that the crown of this cuvée had certainly slipped – but more recently Sylvie has been back to form. This wine still crushes it though!

2005 Sylvie Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles-Vignes
Deep colour – only just transparent! What a nose! Deep, fabulously cushioned fruit and a faint smokiness from the stems – I would automatically say a young grand cru if offered this ‘blind.’ The palate, whilst still a belter is more on a 1er cru level! Wide, a little cushioned – beautifully proportioned – but without quite delivering the depth of flavour that the nose promises. That’s the fault of the nose over-delivering rather than any negatives associated with the flavour. Yet the long finish is once-more a beauty. This is still a wine that would give most grand crus from other vintages plenty of competition. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

A small but perfectly formed selection of whites:

2014 Clotilde Davenne, Chablis Blanchots
Ouch! What a wine! Direct, grapefruit fresh, intense – this wine just begs me to keep taking another sip – what a great wine. I have to scold myself and slow-down – that was 2 glasses in only ten minutes, I’m having to force myself to slow down! – time to chill! Great wine…
Rebuy – Yes

Dinner at Le Soufflot brought out the 2015 Meursault Narvaux from PYCM, followed by the 2015 Meursault Meix sous Château from Jean-Philippe Fichet. Two excellent wines – both showing a little oak, both excellent, but the Fichet had just a little more crisp drive and purity – it was my favourite – though I’m splitting hairs with that verdict as both were top and both easy wines to say Rebuy – Yes. Great value drinking for a restaurant – €60 and €65 respectively – prices that compare very reasonably to retail offers…

2013 Olivier Leflaive, Bourgogne Oncle Vincent
Pale lemon yellow. A narrow, fine nose of clean citrus. Plenty of fine zip to the ever-widening palate, little finishing waves of nice intensity flavour. When younger this needed plenty of air to show its best, but now it’s directly open and delicious. Yum!
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Lejeune, Pommard 1er Argillières
Ooh – now that’s a nose! Perfumed, floral, clean red fruit – simply gorgeous. Mouth-filling, mouth-watering, clean pure fruit – like the nose. Super acidity, intense and it lingers long. Relatively primary, brilliant in the glass and oh-so stable – the last glass two days later was lovely – bravo.
Rebuy – Yes

2015 Dampt Frères, Bourgogne Tonnerre Le Clos du Château
This has more than a passing resemblance to last weekend’s Bourgogne Vézelay with an open, attractive, aromatic sweetness. In the mouth also open and sweet, perhaps lacking a little structure and intensity – yet – the flavour always delivers, faintly orange blossom, faintly ginger. Just a very tasty wine. Missing the incisive nature of the 2014 – from what I recollect, the 2016 misses it too – but I’m holding it to higher standards than is typical for an €8 wine – for the price this remains excellent.
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Louis Jadot, Chambertin Clos de Bèze
Hmm – everything about this wine is a little too ‘medium!’ On the positive side, this wine was terribly young when I first first opened one of my 6-pack in 2007 – today I would say it’s almost drinking, if not ‘giving.’ The nose does have some complexity and interest in its medium-weight delivery. Likewise in the mouth, a medium concentration, though a little less tart than the last time. The balance is actually excellent, but the overall performance is very modest. This wine will be twenty years old next year, but I still wouldn’t countenance opening one for a while longer than that – if it performs like this, it will seem like a wasted bottle and certainly a waste of cash relative to the asking price today…
Rebuy – No
​
2017 Eva Frick, Rheingau Riesling
Simply delicious – grapefruit mouth-puckering but with delicious, refreshing flavour. Yum!
Rebuy – Yes

Seemingly a week that’s dominated by world cup football – if I can ignore Wimbledon (poor Roger!) and the Tour de France! I’ll see if a double Ruchottes can occupy me…

2009 Ramonet, Chassage-Montrachet 1er Les Ruchottes
My run-in to the semi-final wine.
Despite a wet line of wine through the cork, this has a young, lemon yellow colour. The nose actually gets more and more reductive in the first minutes it’s open – a toasty reduction rather than fireworks – though slowly it begins to trend towards fireworks. In the mouth, fat as always (this vintage) but with an outstanding length of finish – all creamy noisette before a mineral line. The mid-palate flavour also has some minerality and even touch of tannin. Always an impressive 2009, but so far, not a particularly delicious one. In the flavour profile it reminds me a little of my 93 Meursault-Cras from Voillot – with a little less acidity and more fat – which implies it needs another 10 years and that strains my confidence due to ‘normal’ corks…
Rebuy – Maybe
​
1999 Frederic Esmonin, Ruchottes-Chambertin
My semi-final wine…
The nose starts with a blast; deep, earthy – exciting! It’s almost a surprise that it tightens a little with air. Plenty of volume in the mouth, impressive intensity, still a suggestion of tannin – and that earthy, faintly bitter, finishing flavour that’s redolent of the first nose. A relative youngster this wine – the energy and flavour complexity making for a great ride. In this era I often found the Ruchottes chez Esmonin a little lacking – but this bottle, not a bit – excellent!
​Rebuy – Yes

A weekend of going further afield:

1998 Giuseppe Cortese, Rabaja Barbaresco
I think there was a smell of something unwelcome on the cork, but the wine seemed okay. Sweetly complex flavour offset by by an earthy nose – an odd nose. By the time I poured the second glass I was finally sure that there was some cork taint – a shame…

2015 Henry de Vézelay, Tastevinage Bourgogne Vézelay
A narrow but fresh and attractive nose. The palate, likewise is clean, easy, but very tasty. Neither a broad nor powerful wine but a very tasty wine with modest but ripe fruit – the bottle was finished in double-quick time – always the best judge!
Rebuy – Yes

2016 Blue Mountain, Gamay Noir
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
A delightful nose; cherry fruit that’s cushioned with very well judged oak – it’s really just the most modest of, but intriguing of, accents. The palate is modestly round with a slowly mouth-watering half cherry, half raspberry fruit – again cushioned by sweet oak – but this accent, like nose, is far from jarring. I’d wait for the oak to fade even more into the background, but this is simply an admirably delicious wine!
Rebuy – Yes

With the help of friends:

1996 Pierre Matrot, Meursault-Charmes
I had modest expectations – and they were met! The colour is certainly older but the the nose is not super-oxidative – not in the context of a 1996, anyway. Unfortunately the modest oxidation mixes with something musty from the cork – not TCA – but anyway musty. This nose is not a beautiful thing. In the mouth it’s classic 1996 – a citric line and certainly an old chardonnay that hints at a little finishing cream. Interesting, but hardly worth 1 star from 5…
Rebuy – No

2009 Vincent Dancer, Meursault-Perrières
Hmm, a nose that starts compact but very clean, slowly building an attractive floral side too. Starting direct and mineral – this is a beauty – only with time does the depth of texture and a modest richness grow in tandem with the warming in the glass. Delicious wine.
Rebuy – Yes

1997 Château de Chorey, Beaune 1er Vignes-Franches
A nose that starts a little rustic and animale but with energy and depth too. As it breathes it cleans-up and becomes ever-more engaging and inviting – super. The palate surprises after the sweetly invigorating nose – tighter, younger, slightly structural – but balanced and tasty too. A 97 that’s not yet fully ready, but it’s close. I have the impression that this may have been quite oaky when a youngster,. but today it’s in really great shape.
Rebuy – Yes

2006 Comte Liger-Belair, Echézeaux
The wine starts cold and tight, but soon lets loose a beautiful floral aroma as it warms – a deeper plum-red fruit in the middle – just getting better and better as it combines with the air, adding a modest but highly attractive musk-spice. This has never been a wine of impact and concentration – but it doesn’t need it! There is width, beautifully silky texture – cushioned yet fresh. A little background oak but also a gorgeous lingering flavour with a suggestion of minerality at its limit. Tannin is still present – but you will be forced to search for it. Essentially a wine that has been open and giving since the very beginning – never having closed – remaining a beautiful expression of the vineyard despite its relative youth. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

2015 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, St.Aubin 1er En Remilly
Hmm, this is showing a very appealing, almost sugared ripe-yellow citrus aroma. Open and fresh with delicious layers of well-defined flavour. Simply an excellent and sweetly delicious wine. There is already great pleasure to be found here.
Rebuy – Yes

2014 Caroline Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Champs-Gain
A much narrower nose, reductive in a vibrant, mineral, way, rather than fireworks or lit matches. The palate is the same – a different style of more direct intensity than PY’s wine, but vibrantly mineral and interesting – yet also less delicious and approachable than the St.Aubin today. An impressive wine of line and mineral interest but definitely one that’s to wait for…
Rebuy – Yes

It was a hot one – the weekend – and we were out a lot, enjoying the views and the fresh (lake) fish – but I still managed to find the time for a couple of cold ones!

2016 Domaine Diconne, Auxey-Duresses Vieilles-Vignes
Modest colour. A deep nose, with a good line of clean freshness that reminds of the young 2010s, plus the faintest whiff of toast. Hmm, width, lovely silky texture and a slowly growing intensity. Despite the width, this is a wine that, like the nose, follows a great line with energy and fine salinity. Citrus-bright finishing waves of flavour that hold very well. 40% of the price of a négoce villages Puligny. Massive value – Excellent wine.
Rebuy – Yes

As the last, aromatically, reminded me of a 2010, what about seeing how one of those is developing?

2010 Alex Gambal, St.Aubin 1er Murgers des Dents du Chien
Deeper colour, but nothing untoward – actually the nose has a little reductive toast to go with the ripe lemon – the reduction maybe helped along by the extra-long cork! Lovely width, and really very complex – lots of little layers of flavour – here also an (old) reductive performance that plays well with a baseline of good minerality. For a 2010 I’d expect a hint more energy, though the complexity is great. A lovely wine, but a wine that you (unfortunately) which you have to pay attention to the serving temperature – if it warms in the glass there’s insufficient energy and it disappoints. Blind I’d guess a 2009 – maybe I should also try one of those 🙂
Rebuy – Yes

And just a few images of our trek for a great fish-lunch on Sunday:
 

Three winners this weekend, including two honorary Burgundians, one of whom sadly missed:

2014 Alain Geoffroy, Chablis 1er Fourchaume
Relatively pale colour. The nose has a small vibration of minerality but is relatively tight. Wide over the palate but with such a ripe, almost honied flavour that I’m surprised I’m drinking a 2014, not a 2015. The flavour holds long with something of a nougat style note in the finish. A wine of width rather than of line – and I was looking for line today. Delicious nonetheless…
Rebuy – Yes

2012 Le Grappin, Beaune 1er Boucherottes
A rare DIAM-sealed wine where the wine has traveled halfway up the ‘cork’ – but clearly not to the detriment of this particular bottle.
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has admirable purity – starting red-fruited but the shade deepening with aeration. Good volume in the mouth and a fine, layered delivery of fresh flavour – slowly mouth-watering with just a faint anecdote of tannin. Pleasingly long. Simply a delicious wine – with almost a black fruit – more open and less strict than it was a couple of years ago and certainly a wine of line rather than depth or texture – it went great with half a roasted Bressé chicken from the Beaune market!
Rebuy – Yes

2008 David Clark, Vosne-Romanée
Hmm – some of David’s other 2008s are a little acid-forward right now – but not this one, not a bit! Directly a pure, fresh, faintly spiced Vosne nose – so inviting! So delicate, and softly complex – but with beautiful definition and also with faintly floral anecdotes in the finish – beautiful! Whilst a long way from ‘mature,’ this is already ravishing…
Rebuy – Yes