The nose has quite a heavy central fruit. In the mouth this seems much more elegant than the nose; supple and very, very wide. I see the Volnay in the flavours if not (yet) on the nose.
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Villages
2001 Bichot Albert Vosne-Romanée
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is still interesting, if with a slightly heavy emphasis on coconut-oak but a nice acid-red fruit bubbles below. In the mouth this is slightly narrower and sharper than its youth but despite a little coconut flavour there’s good acidity and a nice dimension of fresh finishing flavour with fine length. Half the bottle was left overnight in the fridge. Next day the aromas are more interesting; the coconut is gone and it’s replaced with a little ginger-cake. In the mouth the wine also seems rounder and again no coconut – less narrow, more generous. I’d definitely rebuy this based on the day two performance, as for day one, I’m not the greatest fan of coconut!
1999 Barthod Ghislaine Chambolle-Musigny
Medium, medium-plus colour. There’s a depth of really super dark red and black fruit – quite glossy and initially very primary – given time there’s a floral dimension, rather heavy but not to worry, it’s young. Wow; swirl this around in your mouth and there’s a hint of silk but more importantly there’s an intensity that soon rebels – you have to swallow. Okay the acidity is reasonably bright, but the intensity is really about flavour and the depth of that flavour is enough to balance. An impression of tannin remains and a little bitter edge to the long flavour too – eventually the mid-palate takes on an extra dimension of higher-toned, pretty fruit. This really will become one of those sweet and delectable mature wines. Very impressive – you might think was only four or five years of age – not 12; unfortunately that means you should still wait another 4 or 5 years! Super.
2007 Lignier-Michelot Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Quite deep in colour. The nose starts with some background reduction, but as this blows off, there is a deep and quite dark core of fruit, seemingly dusted with a little cream. Plenty of dark, creamy fruit on the palate too – hmm, also fine length! The acidity is just slightly forward, but not too bad. I’d like to see a little more sweetness, but this seems much better than when first tasted, maybe it’s time to take another look at some of my 07 purchases. Day two and this this better still. Is it a hint too extracted for the vintage? Time will tell…
2006 Boisset Jean-Claude Morey St.Denis Monts Luisants Blanc
Pale yellow. The nose has hints of vanilla and botrytis – neither over-powering but it doesn’t give the impression that the wine will be a whirlwind of energy. As a complete contrast the acidity and, hence, the overall impression this wine delivers is quite ’2008′; fresh, some minerality but also still a depth of rich, faintly vanilla-inflected flavour. This is a very, very successful wine for the vintage – it’s so good in-fact, I could even be tempted to buy more, even though there was only one barrel! Yum!
2009 Voillot Joseph Meursault Chevalières
Medium, medium-plus lemon yellow. The nose is round with hints of ginger and fuller base of fruit. Sweetness from ripe fruit and a lovely acidity that lingers, mouth-wateringly into the finish. The ginger on the nose is reflected in a spiced-bread flavour too. Rounder than same domaine’s Meursault Cras – possibly a more classic Meursault too. Anyway – lovely.
1998 Clair Bruno Marsannay Les Longerois
Medium colour. The aromas plumb a great depth of clean dark fruit and a little forest floor – occasional halves of these are showing VA, but not this full bottle. A narrow entry slowly widens; the tannin is almost all resolved but still delivers a little bitter chocolate in the finish. The acidity is just a hint prominent, but there’s nothing currently to worry about. The fruit has plenty of sweet maturity about it, particularly I like the strong note it holds in the mid-palate. No shame in drinking these now, and to my taste the last bottle about three years ago was better, but like most burgundy there’s no rush!