2005 Roger Belland, Santenay 1er Commes
I note a DIAM closure here – that must be one of the earliest. Belland’s wines, certainly the 05 and 06s started big, brash and impressive before becoming fainter and thinner – maybe that was a phase, because this is now quite impressive…
Still deep colour. A deep, dark-fruited nose. Wide. The first impression is silkiness followed by a growth of tannic texture – though that tannin is relatively smooth. Good dimension of flavour with a nice ‘pop’ of mid-palate flavour that is wide and clean in the finish. A fine Santenay with a certain power but no fat – also this seems to hardly be aging, it’s a baby – but tasty!
Rebuy – Yes

2014 Drouhin Vaudin, Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
I’m almost surprised to start with – I think I’ve taken a couple of sips and tasted nothing – I must concentrate – and thus I’m rewarded:
A complex, sleek nose. Round and very complex in the mouth – really a width of complexity delivered in an almost Vosne-style. Supple, and very tasty today with super finishing flavour; really fine fruit flavour – super wine!
Rebuy – Yes

And a few others from memory…

2006 Camille Giroud, Volnay 1er Taillepieds
Very tasty and quite aromatic wine. Super, but not as fine as the 06 Gevrey En Champs tasted from this producer in the last weeks.
2007 Fourrier, Morey St.Denis Clos Solon
Picture perfect – no lack of fineness in eather the nose or the palate – seamless – and that’s not a word you’ll hear too often about 2007s!
2009 Edmond Monnot, Santenay Chainey (Blanc)
Excellent in all respects – a little richness but balance and fine flavour dimension. Simply yum!
1998 Jadot, Beaune 1er Grèves
A négoce wine. Smells not bad but tastes rather good – still something of a baby. Wait another couple of years before re-tasting.
2005 Gaston & Pierre Ravaut, Ladoix 1er Carrières
What a fabulous fruit on the nose. It’s like that on the palate too, certainly with a little structure, but really super wine – showing great.
2012 Christian Moreau, Chablis Les Clos (Clos des Hospices dans Les Clos)
Drunk in Au Fils du Zinc in Chablis. The nose and the palate betray a little discreet oak, but this wine offers both aromatic and flavour joy. A certain richness but concentration and an inner dynamism – this is sooooo good!

Over a year ago when I tasted the 2013s chez Dufouleur Frères, it might well have been a root day; the wines really didn’t show very well, but they certainly did show a strong accent of dark oak – François-Xavier (FX) Dufouleur really wasn’t happy with the overall showing that day. When I tasted the 14s in December, no such problem with those wines, and, when it was time to leave, FX thrust into my hand these two 2013 samples as he was interested how I might find them 1 year on:

2013 Dufouleur Frères, Cote de Nuits Villages Vaucrain
Very faintly accented with reduction, less faint an accent of oak spice but delivered in quite a pretty way. Bright, wide and with a super intensity of layered flavour. I also find plenty of oak here and something of a little salinity too. Overall a bright and perky wine of plenty of appeal despite clear barrel references. The last third of the bottle was even better on day two as most of the oak references had disappeared into the background. Very good!
Rebuy – Yes

2013 Dufouleur Frères, Nuits St.Georges
Unlabelled, so not in the pic!
A little darker colour. The nose starts tighter, but with added depth and less reduction and much less oak spice – this soon delivers a really lovely, indeed striking, fruit – yum! Silkier, and with more concentration and intensity too. There’s a small ripple of tannin and a little ridge of oak texture towards the end of the palate, but really nothing to give much of a second thought to. Simply a very tasty wine today that lingers with a little more mineral note. Very good, tasty wine!
Rebuy – Yes

2007 Dublère, Beaune 1er Blanchefleurs
Hmm – now that’s interesting, the nose has quite a strong accent of vanilla today – I’m most of the way through this case, and I’ve never noted it before! In the mouth this is nicely, smoothly textured with the customary, pretty and fresh red fruit notes, but, here again, there’s a creamy, vanilla oak. More than I would like – but I’ve never seen it before. Maybe I should have checked the cork to make sure that it is the same wine 😉
Rebuy – No – not on this showing anyway. Every other bottle has been a pleasure.

This week I re-acquainted myself with a couple of old friends; Bouchard’s Le Corton. Always a very well-priced cuvée but with a great a quality – I know this is young for Corton, but how are these two doing?

2001 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton
Hmm – a lovely nose of seemingly mature fruit, wide and complex – this is very appealing indeed. Actually the nose is the best part of this wine; the palate has a nice width and shows prettily complex flavour – also seemingly showing in a rather mature but very tasty way. Nothing wrong here but I might have expected more impact and intensity – yet it trips over the tongue in a sweet and easy way – I wouldn’t guess Corton, blind. Although I don’t expect it to fade any time soon, this is surprisingly mature and quite tasty already – if you have, take one out for a test-drive.
Rebuy – Yes

2002 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton
The colour is a little more intense and younger. The nose – hmm – beef broth – a sign of brett perhaps and not the nicest – it does fade a lot though. Nose aside, this tastes great! There is more fat, more intensity and sweet flavour dimension and a very nice line. This tastes super and is easy to drink despite showing really much younger than the 2001. After 3 hours no beef aroma, and there never was any on the palate – still, a bit of a question-mark against this particular bottle. Much younger and very tasty wine – still, this is remarkably easy for Corton!
Rebuy – Maybe