2012 Le Grappin, Beaune 1er Les Grèves Blanc
The problem with having the same label for all the wines is the following: Hmm – this is a deep and impressive nose – not the high-toned freshness that I remember. In the mouth too – big, opulent, layered and very long – hmm, better check the neck label – okay, it’s not the villages Savigny blanc that I thought I pulled out of the fridge, it’s the Beaune 1er Cru! But do you know what? I might prefer a little more zip, but it’s damn good!
Rebuy – Maybe

2000 Heritiers Louis Jadot, Beaune 1er Clos des Ursules
Hmm – a little sous bois and a lot of depth of dark fruit – this is brilliant! A sweetness on the palate but also layered, melting and slowly mouth-watering flavour too. Wow – great wine – this is a cuvée that has just got better and better with age. A wine that transcends its vintage. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Ardhuy, Pommard 1er Fremiers
Hmm – this is a rather nondescript nose – seemingly a little alcoholic too – apparently 13.5. In the mouth this is big and impressive wine, super-smooth and rather massive in all directions. Here also I have the impression of some alcohol but the wine remains rather tasty all the same – there’s a very lovely, indeed delicious dark fruit here. You might not guess burgundy, you might not even guess pinot(!) but it’s damn tasty wine.
Rebuy – Maybe

2014 Camille Giroud, Volnay 1er Lurets
Hmm – a much fresher nose than the Ardhuy, but with plenty of oak spice. In the mouth this has less weight and muscle – yet – in the mid-palate and finish the flavours are longer and wider – impressively so – though again still with an oak/caramel component. A wine to wait for – tasty as it is – I prefer my wine with less overt oak. Let’s see in another 2-3 years…
Rebuy – Maybe

A few mid-week lubrications, including some more from 1996 – but first a little something from David Clark:

2008 David Clark, Côte de Nuits Villages
Dark coloured. A nose of fresh, crunchy dark-red fruit – very inviting. There’s plenty of acidity here, but delivered in a style that carries you through the wine. A very tasty wine that has a croquant fruit style and the most modest of tannin. Dark, alive and even relatively young. Excellent!
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Michel Juillot, Corton-Perrières
I have the 2003, 1996 and 1990 of this wine – modestly priced auction purchases, all. And I must say that you largely get what you pay for – these wines are rarely grand cru level, though tasty-enough wine. This 1996 is certainly the best of the trio – open, round, easy, with a beautiful red fruit nose. It’s a wine that’s simply delicious – would you guess it was from the powerful Corton-Perrières? – not at all, but it’s a delicious wine all the same. Yum!
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Michel Lafarge, Beaune 1er Grèves
A good wine, not a great wine – in fact (surprisingly!) behind the wine from Juillot. The nose is big and open if without particular distinction. A wine that’s interesting in the mouth if not particularly ‘gourmand’ – but it comes into its own with food – taking on significantly more interest. Still, behind the Juillot today – and whilst that might not be a surprise from the perspective of the label, it’s still a surprise to me!
Rebuy – Maybe

Yes, it was a little Côte de Beaune-y this weekend. I’m thinking that this year I should really attack my 1996s and 1997s – I’ll leave the 1995s and 1998s a little longer. Maybe I’ll do those latter wines in more constructive blocks, rather than as weekend wines – but it’s good to start somewhere!

1992 Jaffelin, Pommard
I originally had two of these, and this bottle is clearly inferior to the first – or maybe the extra 4 years was too much to ask – but it’s certain.y still drinkable. The nose is meaty and faintly balsamic – though without any overt oxidation. This has a nice weight, intensity and texture too – structurally this is still rather good – but though the flavours have a little interest, the wine is not the tastiest. Only in the finish do I find the sweetly floral flavours that urge me to take another sip – so why not. Not great, but not bad either!
Rebuy – No

1996 Germain / Château de Chorey, Beaune 1er Les Cras
I loved the 1996 Teurons from a half last week so decided on a full size Les Cras for today.
Ooh – now this smells good! The nose is deep and – probably the last vestiges of the less than modest oak of this wine’s youth – but there’s inviting almost vibrant dark fruit too. Lots of fresh volume in the mouth – intensity too – perhaps less interesting texture than the Pommard, but there is energy here, abetting the 96 acidity with crunchy bright but still dark fruit. This is still a baby, but such a delicious and fresh one – I don’t think that this wine is going to last long! Long acidulated fruit in the finish – so juicy, so yum!
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Jean-Claude Belland, Santenay 1er Comme
A decent depth of colour here. The nose is becoming balsamic, far from inviting, but there are also flashes floral notes. This has a freshness of flavour and a good width and depth of flavour in the mid-palate. There’s not the richness of texture of the Pommard, nor the deliciousness of intense flavour of the Beaune. Just a little metallic and herby in the flavours – yet the last notes melt well over the palate. A wine that would certainly have been better a few years ago, but it is still clinging to life – drink up.
Rebuy – No

This is actually much more attractive than the 2001 Vosne from last week…

2006 Mugneret-Gibourg, Bourgogne
Medium, medium-plus colour with just a little age. The nose starts with a few floral references and a good depth of red cherry/cherry stone, though with time in the glass it does become a little more meaty. Bright, fresh and with a nice ‘attack‘ in the mouth. The texture is more velvet than silk – anyway nice! The flavour is also a little floral inflected and the mid-palate still shows an accent of fine tannin. So quite a bright attack, but this is tasty wine – particularly so in the finish, which holds really well and with nice flavour. From memory, longer finishing than that Vosne too. Tasty and approaching maturity I would say…
Rebuy – Yes