Well, it’s not Musigny Vieilles Vignes, but it is very drinkable…

2006 David Clark, Bourgogne Au Pelson
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose has dark flashes of oak, suggestions but never any hard evidence of reduction and a very nice brambly dark fruit. Intense, very good fruit and a good villages-level of depth and complexity. Mouth-watering modestly in the finish. David delivers another superb bourgogne. He confided in me that maybe his 2007s were not so exciting as his 06s or 08s – I’m quite content to pay to find out. Stunning bourgogne and even better that the BGO…

1997 Comte Georges de Vogüé, Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Do you ever find yourself trying to find an excuse to drink a corked wine? Initial cost of purchase may have had something to do with it. I have to say that for about 3 or 4 minutes I’d convinced myself that if I swirled the glass I could hardly smell it, and the taste wasn’t so bad, indeed it was very long for a corked bottle. I passed the glass to my wife who muttered something about me trying to poison her and she needed a beer to take the taste away – I was back, grounded. Very corked and very yuk.
Not Rated

So what to do while watching all the visitors (5,450 during the day though only 3,600 unique…) pile into the Spring report. Something modest, but very tasty methinks…

2005 Albert Bichot, Nuits St.Georges
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour – it still looks a baby. The nose is a little tight but still manages to round-out the dark red fruits with herbs, faint spices and a suggestion of cream. Quite silky until the tannins give a little more bite in the mid-palate. A little fat remains, padding out the sugary dark red fruit on the palate. Excellent acidity and there’s an additional dimension of dark oak-led flavour in the mid-palate. Still drinking rather well, and if anything the bottle empties too soon. I could criticise and call it facile and ‘easy’ as it’s much too elegant for a Nuits(!) but there’s an underlying ‘oomph’ (perhaps ‘the typical depth of 2005’ would make me sound more like a pro!) that means I may have to buy a few more…
Rebuy – Yes

En Bollery is immediately opposite the Clos Vougeot in Flagey-Echézaux so only the road separates it from being a grand cru – yet it doesn’t even have a Bourgogne classification. The sections on either side of it, in Vougeot and Vosne are both classified as Bourgogne! What were the people in Flagey up to…?

2006 David Clark, Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire En Bollery Pinot Noir
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose has some reduction that takes an age to fade – in fact doesn’t completely – and a wide red cherry fruit, it’s rather fine. Some sweetness to the ripe fruit, a background of slightly astringent tannin, and good intensity too. The quality of this wine absolutely belies its lowly appellation, if not the actual position of the vines. It’s one of those wines that gets consumed all too quickly – excellent!
Rebuy – Yes

2001 Henri Boillot, Corton-Charlemagne
My last two bottles showed a hint of oxidation, so here’s the last one of six. Medium gold – it seemed lighter on pouring. The nose has no obvious oxidation, rather caramel and toffee over sweet fruit. Soft textured with understated acidity. Versus its youth there’s an understated intensity and equally understated – though long – finish with just a hint of gunflint. Just a youthful wine going through a tight phase. Given the track record in my cellar I won’t be rebuying, but this was a very nice bottle.
Rebuy – No