Out of (drinking) order – the rest of the bottles from this week are still to come – but as I have this in my glass now…

2021 M&C Lapierre, Le Beaujolais
I still don’t know what I was thinking when I so enthusiastically tasted this wine in February – it was so juicily delicious and I had to have some. All the bottles at home have, however, shown quite a high pyrazine content, though if you can get past that – or are not sensitive to it (80%+ of people) then this remains a delicious and juicily red-fruited thing of just enough textural cushioning and silk to balance the energy – so good in fact that I’m still drinking it myself – it’s still a great wine for, mainly, other people!!
Rebuy – No

Going partly ‘off-piste’ for some of the bottles this weekend:

2020 Jacques Picq et ses Enfants, Chablis
A wine that depended on the moment that you caught it – sometimes with a little 2020 pyrazine but other times not. The fruit is fleshy and ripe but with the requisite drive and direction that puts the wine firmly in Chablis – and without the pyrazine, it’s delicious!
Rebuy – No

2018 Alex Gambal, St.Aubin 1er Murgers des Dents du Chien
A nose that’s still cushioned by a little creamy barrel – but still a fine invitation. Open, structural, though like the nose, these fine citrus flavours have a bit too much padding from the oak today. I think I’ll wait a couple of years for the next one! Still a very good bottle.
Rebuy -Yes

2017 Dr Loosen, Riesling Kabinett Ürziger Würzgarten
Fresh, airy, yellow fruit invitation. What an easy, delicious energetic wine to drink – maybe the 8.0% alcohol is the reason – but this is damn good, just a bit too sweet!
Rebuy – Maybe

2019 François Labet, Pinot Noir Isle de Beauté
Yes, that François Labet – but from vines in Corsica that delivered just 12% alcohol.
Dark colour but a fine and energetic cherry-red pinot nose. Round in the mouth but with plenty of acidity to provide the direction. Good texture and vibrant energy. That was very tasty!
Rebuy – Yes

2020 Möhr-Niggli, Pilgrim
Swiss pinot from Maienfeld.
Lighter colour – almost with a hint of age. The aromas are round and faintly smoky – round, warm, red fruit and occasional flashes of perfume that suggest some whole clusters. Round in the mouth too – but here is a wine with good balancing structure and a lot of middle and finishing complexity. For such a young wine it’s very approachable and the flavours, like the nose, occasionally suggest a little whole clusters too!
Rebuy – why not!

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this early (for those days) red vintage, because too many of the wines, whilst ripe, had a soupy quality to them – where was the clarity(?), I thought. Time has made the wines more interesting and complex – though not always with more clarity – but this one’s quite good now!

2007 Lignier-Michelot, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles-Vignes
There’s plenty of colour development here – the wine tending to brown at the rim. The nose is wide-open with a broad bass-line that’s leafy and of dark, plummy, fruit, the high tones tending to a sweet and ripe floral – not classically pretty Chambolle flowers but still inviting. More time in the glass and the nose has more vibrancy and is starting to pick up on a more classical line of violet perfume – good! Like the supporting aspects of the nose, this is broad across the palate – a little mineral and still showing some faint, dark, bitters – maybe originating from the barrel – but there’s enough sweetness of fruit to balance these bitters without a problem. The finish is narrower – a more direct line of flavour – and mineral with more than a glimpse of salinity. It’s worth a second glass.
Rebuy – Maybe

It’s good to get back to a four-bottle weekend 😉

2018 Alex Gambal, Aligoté
Yes! Fresh, clean lines and attractive purity, with an occasional glimpse of some creamy oak. More incisive and precise than any 2018 has right to be – that’s simply delicious stuff and was a steal at the initial price. The last flavours still accented by some faint barrel. A wine that was drunk far too fast – it is that good! Bravo Aligoté!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Antoine Sunier, Morgon
This nose starts in the low sulfur vernacular – a beefy, savoury style that, whilst not unpleasant, is still far from an invitation – yet there are also flashes of fine and attractive fruit. In the mouth this is altogether more pleasurable – broad, mouth-watering wine of fine fruit clarity and delicious energy. The nose is on-off – good-not so good – but the flavour is super. Half the bottle was left in the refrigerator for two days – the wine didn’t survive that – so drink it when you open it.
Rebuy – No

2020 Beaune-Grandchamp, IGP Saint Marie la Blanche
The words ‘Burgundy’ or ‘Bourgogne’ are not allowed anywhere near the label!
They tell you that Melon de Bourgogne must be drunk young as it’s prone to age much faster than aligoté or chardonnay – but this wine, sealed with DIAM³ was fresh and pristine. The nose is attractive and slightly floral. In the mouth there’s a combination of attractive fruit and energy – the flavours clean and delicious – that floral of the nose haunting the tasty finishing flavours. Not better than a good aligoté but in itself a very tasty wine – yum!
Rebuy – Yes

2005 AF Gros, Vosne-Romanée Clos de la Fontaine
Now into the second half of this six-pack, bought en-primeur.
Lots of colour. A forward and powerful nose – dark and spiced – though possibly more of this spice comes from the barrel than from Vosne – darkly fruited too. In the mouth, the power of the nose is amplified – this is a wine of scale. The texture is good and there’s obviously still plenty of tannin supporting this wine but neither with grain nor astringency. The fruit is deep here but for drinkability today needs a little more energy and/or clarity. I’ll drink this no problem – but today a second glass is not invited – it’s still far from a wine of maturity. Today, I think I’ll take another glass of melon!
Rebuy – No

Wines worth a special search to acquire are highlighted – as in the reports:

First from Faiveley:

2014 Mercurey 1er Le Clos du Roy ‘La Favourite’
Just from the top part of the climat
I like the volume of aroma here – a base with some dried leaf maturity and quite a strong floral perfume – potpourri in style. Open, lovely waves of fine acidity that add a certain tension to the flavours. That’s even showing a subtle, grainless, finishing tannin – subtly accenting the texture. I might even wait another year or two to drink this but it’s a very tasty wine.

2016 Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Chaignots
Narrower but deeper aroma – dark and cushioned – a little fine cooking spice – there are some stems here but I didn’t note them. Incisive, cool, fresh in the mouth – I love it! The spice and salt are stronger in the finish. Simply excellent – that’s a delicious, still young wine.

2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cazetiers
A fine, almost airy, width of aroma – less power but some fine perfume here again. Like the previous wine this is beautifully expansive – more oak visible in the flavours but, again, not too distracting. The structure is moderately visible in the middle and finishing flavours. A wine that’s more to wait for – but a super wine.

And some whites:

2020 Ladoix Les Marnes Blanches
A nice puff of freshness – round, lovely fruit – rich but with nice energy. Mouth-filling, even a hint of structure but still roundness – a halo of fine tannin and stony length. I would wait 2-3 years for the oak to fade and accentuate the freshness but this is a remarkably tasty wine.

Domaine Trapet

2017 Gevrey-Chambertin Ostrea
A faintly spiced, a nicely transparent width of aroma – the depth with a slightly darker-red fruit. Super in the mouth – mineral, modestly structured, lots of freshness. Drink with pleasure now, despite the structure – but wait 10+ years with ease!

2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos Prieur
Less spice and maybe more clarity to this nose. Bigger, more energetic and mouth-watering – almost juicy. Right at the end a little chalky structure. A simply gorgeous wine…

2017 Chapelle-Chambertin
A lovely round cushioned fruit – not a full-power nose but a very attractive nose. Ooh – that has a super and quite intensely direct flavour. A baby but such an attractive one.

2017 Latricières-Chambertin
This nose has more width and a more rose-petal perfume. Those rose-petals visible in the flavours too – more delicate yet complex at the same time. Not more delicious than the Chapelle but more my personal style of wine – a beatiful 2017 in a delicate style.

2014 Chambertin
A tighter, less expressive nose. More mouth-filling, energetic and complete wine in flavour. Structural too – I’d drink this happily today but give it another 10 years for the ultimate joy.

2017 Verret, Bourgogne Côte d’Auxerre Les Gaudiers
Now that’s a really good one – fresh, mineral, and with plenty of pure citrus complexity – yes! In the mouth this has a little generosity but a lot of energy too – I like the direct line of this wine despite there still being plenty of creamy oak in the middle and finishing flavours – for my own taste a bit too much – but your mileage will vary. It’s still a very impressive wine!
Rebuy – Maybe

2011 Camille Giroud, Beaune 1er Aux Cras
Wow – what a cork! I could hardly extract it – it was like concrete – but (unsurprisingly!) less than 1mm of wine travelled up its length!
Here’s a nose that starts solid, a bit monolithic, and not much fun – air works wonders. If opening a second bottle (with a similar cork!) I’d definitely carafe. The wine is a fine middle-weight with super clarity of mainly red fruit and a little sizzle of minerality. After half an hour the nose has opened up well with a good blend of red fruit and flowers. It’s a very nice wine and there are still no overt signs of impending maturity – you can keep this, no problem. I never saw any pyrazines here when young, and still don’t. Yum!
Rebuy – Yes