1998 Pierre Gelin, Fixin 1er Clos Napoleon
The last bottle of this was pretty good, so: A pale cork but it came out in one with a satisfying pop. Unfortunately, the cork with similar (aural) performance was the d’Angerville 99 Clos des Ducs over Christmas and that was wrecked by TCA. This smelled better than that – but not by much. In this case, it was very bretty – the wine seemed even worse than the cork. My head told me DNPIM – but I did – and I was wrong to do so…
Rebuy – No

2020 Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly Clos Bertrand
A robust darker, statement cork – all good!
Deeply coloured. Deeply, darkly fruited too. The flavours have width over the plate the texture is silky but here is tons of balanced concentration. Frankly, and as (really!) good as it is, this needs time – right now it’s hard to drink two glasses in a row, such is the richness of the vintage.
Rebuy – Yes

1995 Jean Grivot, Vosne-Romanée Les Bossières
We lost Jean Grivot this week – he was 95 years young. Here’s a wine whose cork snapped in 2 – you know it happens a lot chez-moi – but below the wine was good!
A deep colour though certainly starting to brown at the rim. A full nose, a complex nose – brown sugar, a little balsamic too, spice and perhaps some pine-forest – I could go on! Mouth-filling, still framed with some tannin – growing from the depth – some grain here but there’s nothing astringent. Dark flavours, complex, occasionally almost meaty. Really broad in the middle and finishing flavours – the brown sugar, the tannic grain and that slightly spiced balsamic flavour crowd the finish too. This is still a powerful wine – structurally younger than the flavours that it shares – but wasn’t 1995 always like that? Very drinkable at this stage on it’s journey, despite the large-scale impression that it brings.
Rebuy – Maybe

And one from last week that I didn’t post on:

2020 Richard Rottiers, Moulin à Vent Les Thorins
Just a couple of minutes of air is enough to remove a confused aromatic, replacing it with one of seamless attractive fruit – yes! In the mouth a lower level of concentration vs the Thivin but a wine that’s so much easier to drink because of that. Ultra delicious wine which is already in a really great (drinking) place.
Rebuy – Yes

Next week I start my 3-week tour of Chablis’ 2021 vintage with my first 18 visits. So, it’s time to start my preparation!

2019 Alain Geoffroy, Chablis 1er Beauroy
New label design! Cork sealed.
Plenty of colour. The nose is open with plenty of agrume action – a little pineapple for sure. In the mouth, like the nose, lots of volume – yet – despite lots of agrume energy and a nicely mouth-watering, almost creamy finish – I’m looking for a bit more incisive attack and precision to these flavours – good as they are. The finish is easy, suggesting minerality. A tasty wine that’s very, very easy to drink – I just wish that it was a bit more strict 😉
Rebuy – Maybe

Adequate wines, mainly, I could have chosen better – but the food was lovely… 🙂

Maison Henry, Crémant de Bourgogne
A producer near Chablis
Easy, pure delicious wine – exactly why I asked to buy some – lovely!
Rebuy – Yes

2012 Clotilde Davenne, Chablis 1er Montmains
Screw-cap!
There’s some aromatic development here – but airation cleans this up nicely – a nose of direction and minerality – not particularly of salinity. Direct and mineral in the mouth too – great texture and certainly plenty of concentration. The fruit slowly added some ripeness but this is a wine carved from rock – not the highest of energy but very impressive stuff. The last part of this bottle was even better on day 2 when it progressed from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes!’
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Marquis d’Angerville, Volnay 1er Clos des Ducs
This robust cork came out in one piece with a very satisfying ‘pop!’ But the cork didn’t smell very nice – a quick pour into a glass – awful, DNPIM! It was as corked as a very corked thing. Fortunately, I still had half an hour to prepare (temperature and opening) a replacement.
Rebuy – Not corked, obviously

2010 Nicolas Rossignol, Volnay 1er Les Caillerets
As always in this period for Nico – an unbranded cork.
A beautiful colour – not the pitch-dark of recent vintages but also not any over colours of age. A nose of decent width and still primary aromas – a nice invitation. In the mouth, this wine is broad over the palate and oh-so silky – just a beautiful texture. Red fruited but like the nose still a baby – the finish, today, a modest thing. Some fine parts to this wine but one that will be much more interesting in another 5+ years…
Rebuy – Maybe

PX from a 1927 Solera
Just a couple of glasses per year for me of this ‘engine oil’ – so lovely!

2020 Alice & Olivier de Moor, Bourgogne Chitry
Medium lemon-yellow colour. The nose has a hint of yeastiness – common for here and an echo of apple too – but it’s still a fresh nose of citrus energy and very inviting. Really mouth-filling, full of energy and that slightly malic (apple) acidity – but so juicy and so moreish. A mineral clarity to these flavours – absolutely delicious – a wine that drinks far too quickly. It’s also one of the rare 2020s I bought with no green pyrazines at this stage – thank goodness! Delicious stuff!
Rebuy – Yes

1998 Dominique Laurent, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
The cork is wet with wine through its length – spongy too – but it comes out in one piece and the wine is in good shape.
Not much more than medium colour with plenty of more amber colour at the rim. What was once a hint ashy is now a nose of width and more refinement – there’s still an echo of smokiness about this fruit but it’s very inviting. Broad – there’s really some mouth-filling width to this wine. A couple of mm of cushion to this texture and tannin that’s all but assimilated. Then comes the burst of finishing flavour – for a CSJ this is very powerful so probably not a wine you will finish in one sitting. Just a hint of blood-iron and more than a hint of salinity to this finishing flavour. No shirking violet this wine but it’s a pleasure! Luckily it’s not my last 98 and I may have a few 99s too 😉
Rebuy – Yes

Wines from yesterday – the holiday season progresses!

2018 Jean-René Nudant, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Folatières
Quite a deep colour – more so than the 2-day-old last glass of the 2012 Les Preuses – which was anyway dead! Depth and some concentration to this ripe, golden-fruit nose – a vibration of energy with some barrel too. Mouthfilling, supple with fine texture and quite some saline intensity. Impressive energy but, for me, not that drinkable today as there’s quite a bit of creme-brulee from the barrel. Of all the 2018s opened in the last days, this is the one that’s clearly being drunk too young. Whilst there’s clearly more oak on display than would be my preference, there will surely be more balance in 2-3 years – on the other hand, you have to balance that with taking a risk over the natural cork seal…
Rebuy – No

1999 Sylvain Cathiard, Romanée St.Vivant
The second from this domaine in the last days – but 10 years younger than the Suchots! Ooh – not a nose of power, but what beautiful clarity and energy – really beautiful fruit here with occasional flashes of floral perfume too – this is such a fine invitation. Direct, crystalline flavour – purity like the nose – but here’s a wine that’s only just getting going, broadening out over the palate. Architecturally structured but nothing that’s hard, just endlessly inviting. Grand wine and a wine that’s really far too easy to drink. Absolutely ready yet still with quite a young fruit profile, so no leftovers for day 2 here!
Rebuy – Yes

1989 André Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Suchots
My last bottle of these labels – the one before ‘Sylvain Cathaird.’ The cork slides out far too easily, soaked to its length in wine – but in one piece!
Medium colour, not with any obvious browning – clean and bright. The nose is still fresh and majoring on fruit – sweet and red – just the faintest spice – of age more than Vosne, I think. A very easy wine to drink, properly ripe but of only modest concentration and complexity. Blind, I’d have positioned this more like a villages than a 1er cru – it didn’t deliver 30 years’ worth of aging complexity, that’s for sure. But it was easy to drink and everyone enjoyed it too.
Rebuy – No

2012 N&G Fèvre, Chablis Les Preuses
Magnum, DIAM-sealed. I thought this might have been ‘ready’ but it was still a little too young…
Fresh, wide and impressive nose – this is clearly Chablis – and there’s some concentration here too – though not showing much development. In the mouth too; taught, nicely structured, tons of mouth-watering flavour but still quite primary in style. Day two (it was a magnum ;-)) showed a bit more fat and also a bit more ripeness to the citrus fruit. Possibly still opened 5 years too young – but in very fine shape. It may have been my only 2012 though…
Rebuy – Yes

2020 des Croix, Bourgogne‘Cuvée L'(?)
During his time at Camille Giroud, David Croix made a couple of Bourgognes labelled ‘Cuvée L.‘ These were an assembly of all the lees of all the (red) wines from Bourgogne to Grand Cru, with extra ageing time to allow the lees to settle. I think my remaining bottles of 2008 may be ‘past it’ but perhaps not the 2010s. Here he did the same in 2020 at des Croix – ‘Are you interested to try one?’ Well, of course! Sealed with and a DIAM cork too – he usually uses only natural cork.
After all the older wines I’ve been drinking – including, this week, one of his 2008s – this dark-coloured wine has such another level of intensity – wow. The flavours and aromas are framed with some creamy oak that’s less to my liking but this has purity, presence and great texture. More ‘2020’ than ‘Burgundy’ – a second bottle might be much more interesting in 10 years…
Rebuy – Maybe

You already met the M&C Lapierre, so time for the other two:

2010 Joseph Roty, Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire
This case of 12 has almost completely expired – just one, or maybe two, of these remain hidden in the cellar. The cork extracts in one.
Wow – that still smells so pure, clean and deliciously inviting – such a counterpoint to some of the 2019 Beaujolais in my cellar from producers who use next to no sulfur! This wine doesn’t quite have the extravagantly delicious energy that it once showed, but boy is this still a great bottle – despite supporting the base wine of this domaine’s whole range! Clarity of flavour, darker red fruit of energy and precision. Just a very easy but properly shaped wine. For the label, brilliant wine – bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Xavier Monnot, Meursault 1er Les Charmes
A faint toast to this nose slowly gives way to more yellow-citrus elements and a faintly creamy oak. Charmes and from 18 too but here is a wine of direction and some structure too. Not a concentrated Charmes but one whose shape and drinkability are never in question – I often complain about the creamy oak taste of many whites – I prefer to taste the wine! – but in this case it’^s just another moreish ‘extra.’ Simply delicious wine.
Rebuy – Yes

I thought that I should get the rest of these out of the way before starting on the Christmas holiday period bottles. You already met the dreadful Penfolds and the delightful David Moreau, so:

The 2018 whites theme continues – over Christmas too 😉

2018 Céline & Frederic Gueguen, Chablis 1er Vosgros
Here the nose invites with such an obvious expression of salinity – super! Bright and energetic in the mouth with a slightly direct intensity and tons of purity. That was a super wine and on that was far too quickly drunk. Excellent stuff!
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Julien Brocard, Chablis Boissonneuse
A rounder nose so less intense than the Gueguen. In the mouth less muscled but I sense a wine that’s becoming more taught than was once the case – I’m liking this more and more with a bit of cellar time. I would probably still say Chablis, blind tasted so that’s a good thing. Very much enjoyed.
Rebuy – Maybe

1997 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton
A cork that was stained for much of its length with wine but coming out in one piece.
Hmm, now that’s a rather attractive and involving nose of faintly spiced, complex red fruit – that’s very lovely! Open, indeed almost panoramic flavour – the merest suggestion of structure – certainly not with any ‘Corton-austerity.’ Balanced and drinking beautifully right now – for at least 5 years now, the higher 1997s have been drinking beautifully. A subtly long finish too. Lovely!
Rebuy – Yes

2008 des Croix, Beaune 1er Grèves
DC was one of my last visits in December to taste 21s. I mentioned that I was thinking of making a start on my 2008s of his – I’ve some bottles and magnums – to which he, almost apologetically said ‘Okay, but the 2008s were not my finest hour.’ Well, let’s see – but the cork did break into 2 on extraction…
Medium colour. The nose is fine – indeed nicely inviting – so no problem from the cork. In the mouth, this is rather good – quite easy drinking for Grèves – but there’s a bit more cushioning fat than is often the case (currently) with 2008s. We both enjoyed this over 2 nights – so no problem here – very good wine.
Rebuy – Maybe