The ardea plastic seals are still in attendance, but with a variation this year – the little black ring of yester-year is now a red ring! Oh, and I still find them a nightmare to remove: lever corkscrews can even chip the glass, such is the pressure required to get the ‘cork’ moving – reverting to a screwpull, the seal comes out halfway then just goes round and round! Then I really struggle to get it off the damn screwpull worm too – so, it seems that we (not the producers!) must we work harder to avoid cork issues…

2011 des Chézeaux, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
The first whiff has me smiling – yes! – very, very pretty red fruits and not a hint delicate – it really wants to show you everything. In the mouth this has a crystalline clarity – glacier-like? (that’s enough about mountains!) Compelling, beautifully flavoured, just downright great. Approaching the hour-mark (…yes, unbelievably, there is still some left!) and the nose is less fun; a low-level P note comes centre-stage and there’s a growing aniseed note too – a bit bizarre if you ask me. Next time I’ll drink it in an hour – it’s that good!
Rebuy – Yes