2006 Gilles Bouton, Blagny 1er Sous le Puits
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts a little tight but shows a dark core of glossy fruit. Silky with a slowly building tannin – it remains subtle and has a bitter-chocolate edge. The dark fruit flavour grows in tandem and is really quite impressive in the mid-palate, it holds quite well too. Tight yet with clean lines and a decent depth of fruit. Very nice.
Rebuy – Yes

2007 Gilles Bouton, Blagny 1er Sous le Puits
Hmm, how very, very similar to the 2006. Not quite as tight, but a few redder fruit notes aside this could be the same wine. Medium, plus colour. Both dark fruits and red fruits on the nose – it’s quite deep but not wide. In the mouth the very same flavour perspective as the 2006; perhaps faintly less acidity but it’s marginal. Impressed.
Rebuy – Yes

2008 Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne-Romanée La Colombière
Medium colour. The nose for over two hours wears a background cloak of reduction yet the dark red fruit is easy to discern. Across the tongue it’s light and lithe with a fine layer of velvet tannin and an intensity that grows in the mid-palate. There is a little flavour of reduction too – even the last glass saved for day 2. I’m a little concerned by this reduction but frankly it did little to stop the wine being finished with great enjoyment.
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Vincent & Denis Berthaut, Fixin Les Cras
Medium-plus red, perhaps starting to lose some of the colour of youth. The nose is lovely; invitingly deep, dark fruit with a hint of mineral. Mouthfilling, with excellent acidity and still slightly sticky but smooth tannin. There’s plenty of flavour here and a mineral length too. Drinking very well right now – I’m tempted to try some of the other cuvées. Lovely.
Rebuy – Yes

Sylvain’s first vintage with this wine – it’s a great start – yet it was still surprising for me that the 2007 Rion was better in almost every dimension; though I suppose Vosne was the apogee of the 07 vintage – a very (upside) surprising win that Beaux-Monts. Yet this is a very serious wine – worth a significant premium over the Boutton Chassagne villages, and one I’d be happy to fill the cellar with.

2008 Sylvain Pataille, Marsannay Les Longeroies
Medium-plus, purple-rimmed colour. The nose is a mix of very dark red, almost black cherry and beautiful aromas of violet flowers. In the mouth there are polished, intense dark fruit flavours supported by a lovely acidity. Tannin has a slight grain if you search for it but you need a concious effort to find it. Slowly lingering finish. A beautiful Villages wine.
Rebuy – Yes

2009 Gilles Bouton, Chassagne-Montrachet Les Voillenots Dessous
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has depth plus a range of top-notes taht immediately have me thinking of Chassagne; dark red fruit of some clarity augmented with Chassagne herbs. In the mouth this starts short of a little sweetness and showing ahint of astringency. Aeration opens it up with a little more sweetness, less astringency and and interesting depth. Before aeration I might have guessed a bourgogne, given time this was an interesting village and not one you might expect comes from the easy-drinking 09 vintage. I really enjoy the last half of this bottle and must remember to open the next one an hour earlier!
Rebuy – Yes

I waited before returning. But this is really starting to sing now…

2007 Daniel Rion, Vosne-Romanée 1er Beaux-Monts
Medium colour. A nose to wallow in; faintly spicy with dark plummy fruit and flashes of clean red fruit. In the mouth there is now a nice balance, understated acidity and a good core of dark stony fruit. Slowly finishing, this is now a very tasty wine.
Rebuy – Yes

Bingo – super wine, stunning price.

2009 Gilles Bouton, St.Aubin 1er En Remilly
Medium, lemon yellow. This has a depth of aroma matched by fine high-tones – it’s rather pretty. Width, depth and roundness of texture are obvious, coupled to fine acidity. Currently this is, by far, the most impressive and intense of these St.Aubins – lovely wine – I will have to buy (even) more!
Rebuy – Yes