1972 Félix Clerget, Volnay Crot Martin
Medium-pale, there’s a core of bright red colour but it’s more like old mahogany at the rim. Deep, slightly dark aromas of clean soil and baked red fruit, eventually there’s a nice, quite young acid cherry. This is very silky and shows lovely acidity. The broad mid-palate flavours are sweet enough and for some reason remind me of the complexity of old Maderia, but interestingly without any overt flavours (or aromas) that indicate oxidation. Slowly the finishing flavours develop a raisin character. I must say, this bottle performed well-beyond my modest (40 year-old villages) expectation. Very good.
Rebuy – No Chance!

2008 Seigneurs de Bligny, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Craipillots
Medium, medium-plus purple-edged colour. The aromas have a musky depth though the core of fruit shines through, above is a higher tone of faint cedar. Precociously sweet fruit has a little bitter tannin to balance, and balance it does. The acidity is very well judged too. Slowly mouth-watering in the good and mineral finish. Medium density but more than medium interest, I have to say it’s much nicer than I expected.
Rebuy – Yes

Seems we were ‘lucky’ to leave France on Saturday, perhaps a day or two later and we would have been stuck there without ‘juice’ for the car. Still, there would be worse places ‘(eh, dear reader?)’

1985 Guillemard-Dupont et Fils, Pommard
Medium colour with a touch of orange about it. The nose has width, if not depth, and showcases sweetly baked red fruit tarts. In the mouth this is very smooth though if you really search you might come up with a suggestion of tannin near the finish. The fruit in the mouth is also sweet and it’s quite enough to offset a slightly tart impression given by the acidity. This is mature and very drinkable – not significantly complex, but that’s the why its a village label.
Rebuy – Yes

Anybody know anything about the domaine? It seems it was reasonably large and based higher-up the winding road out of Pommard in Meloisey at the time of RM Parker’s 1989 book on Burgundy, but I find no trace of it now.

It’s a shame that you no-longer see tasting notes for wines such as these. In former, more affordable days these bottles were often fun for various get-togethers, nowadays they much more often left in the cellar…

2004 Fourrier, Griotte-Chambertin Vieilles-Vignes
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts with plenty of mushroom rather than the customary reduction, actually with swirling the reduction does make an appearance – a wine that needs a little air. Air dissolves the mushrooms and delivers a lovely pure red berry note, though this is also a transition to deeper, slightly darker red fruit aromas – rather primary though, as is the Griotte fashon. The well-padded palate starts quite silky though there is some bitterness to the finish, that said it’s in a bitter-chocolate style which is far from problematic. Like a number of 04s the acidity is a little elevated but that’s its position on the aging curve, nothing more. There is an interesting and very slowly emerging stony flavour in the finish. None of the disappointingly monolithic Clos St.Jacques proportions here. A very good wine that drinks quite well considering its age. Not a trace of the vintage malaise either.
Rebuy – Yes