Actually, I drank this last week, but only now got around to typing the note. We started with two bottles, but the first showed a mild corkiness that was enough to spoil our enjoyment, particularly so, when we realised how good the second bottle was!

1999 Jean-Noël Gagnard, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er les Caillerets
Lemon yellow. The nose is open and fresh though seems to close a little – for just a short time. The flavours are wide and mineral and there is a lovely energy to this wine. The flavour just grows more and more intense as you head into the mid-palate. This is very ‘Caillerets’ in that it is mainly about energy, texture and intensity – there is little fruit to comment on. Super wine!
Rebuy – Yes

2008 Leflaive, Chevalier-Montrachet
Wow – this is showing its wares: Beautiful aromas of fresh citrus fruit, and there’s a really gorgeous depth too – this is just so ‘open’. Intense – I’ll say that again – intense, beautiful flavours and again it’s just so open. A core of agrume fruit – it’s like summer dish of grapefruit and mandarin oranges – oof! Given how sullen, massive, and basically ‘not very tasty’ the 2005 was at the same age, I’m simply amazed. Beautiful, beautiful wine!
Rebuy – Yes

You may remember, that I was more than just pleasantly surprised how good the wines from this ‘maison’ could be. I don’t hold out the same level of hope for some of the grander wines, as clearly Clavelier will have less and less input into the final product, but this is a simply brilliant villages. I think I may have given the ‘Villages Nuits of the Year’ to Potel’s Domaine de Bellene in 2010 and 2011, but this wine would be an interesting competitor for that 2010. It’s excellent.

2010 Maison Clavelier et Fils, Nuits St.Georges
Medium, medium-plus colour. Fresh, mineral width with a more modest but glossy dark-red fruit is also in attendance. Hmmm, this is really silky and fresh, and shows a brilliant depth of dark-fruited flavour – slowly becoming higher-toned and ever-more impressive. There are a few added barrel flavours for complexity too – they take about 30 minutes to fade into the background – long, long, long. This wine is more pleasurable and interesting than about 50% of all the Nuits 1er Crus I’ve tasted in the vintage – and you know how good a vintage it is! Still, at about €30, it is not much cheaper than some of those – you sometimes get what you pay for. Class!
Rebuy – Yes

I guess this could have turned out to be a faux-pas: I know that I consider the winemaking here to be very good, but I should probably have drunk this one before the excellent wine of Nico Rossignol – but c’est la vie! Mind-you, it’s good test!

2010 Louis Max, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Fourneaux
Here the colour is a shade paler than the Rossignol, but still medium, medium-plus. The nose is higher toned at the outset but has a beautiful and clean dark-red fruit note – this is very pretty wine too! Less padded that the last wine and perhaps with just a hint more acidity and a similar hint less tannin, but I also find real depth and concentration to the flavour. Here lies the travesty of points for wines: I would probably have to score this wine one point less than the Rossignol, but there is no gap in pleasure. Another great Fourneaux in 2010!
Rebuy – Yes

2010 Nicolas Rossignol, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Fourneaux
Medium-plus colour. The nose starts and ends with faintly toasted bread, but in the middle is dark-red fruit with a faint spice element – it begs you to take a sip. Here is an uncommon density and padded texture for a Savigny, but with quite enough freshness. There is tannin, it brings a slightly velvet-texture, but you will have to search it out. Mouth-watering and red-fruited, perhaps faintly plummy flavours. Just a very, very, very tasty wine. Excellent Savigny…
Rebuy – Yes

Although you (I) might expect this to have been the best wine in the cellar chez Mikulski, it wasn’t quite on the same level as François’ other premier crus when I tasted the 10s at the domaine – afterwards he explained to me why: To complete his range, he actually buys these grapes. Still, as part of a mixed case that I bought, and without other ‘benchmarks’ to compare it to, this tastes damn fine today…

2010 François Mikulski, Meursault 1er Perrières
Medium-pale, lemon-yellow colour. The nose has impressive depth, there’s some minerality for sure, and the fruit that shows itself is yellow and citrusy. In the mouth there’s a faint suggestion of tannin, width and a fine depth of mineral / ripe lemon flavour. A good extra dimension of flavour forms a reprise in the finish too. It perhaps could be improved by a hint more acidity to sharpen its focus, but not being picky, this is very tasty indeed. I am savouring it!
Rebuy – Yes