I needed an antidote to the last two night’s 2004s. Rather something to banish the aromas and flavours of the Bouchard Père – it is a very rare occurence for me to tip wine away, but I really couldn’t face drinking the other half of that bottle. It seems that (today, at least!) I chose wisely!

1985 Joseph Drouhin, Gevrey-Chambertin
Medium amber-red colour. The nose, unlike previous bottles, has no oxidative references, just warm, sweet stewing/roasting fruits – perhaps a little sweet rhubarb compote! Clean, sweet fruit rolls over the tongue aided by understated, yet slowly mouth-watering acidity. There is the last vestige of tannin, but today is no more than a slight drag on the texture of the wine. Medium, but very tasty length. Relatively simple but very tasty and of-course mature as you like. In the end, this turned out to be a wine to drink quickly – after 40 minutes there was the flavour of something oxidative developing in the finish – never really more than an anecdote, but still something to focus on, rather than simply enjoy what was in the glass – but I managed to persevere!
Rebuy – Maybe

How disappointed am I(?) I really don’t like the tag of being a Jonah, but here’s a bottling which I’d always thought had avoided the 2004 malaise, yet I must be fallible – it hasn’t.

2004 Bouchard Père et Fils, Volnay 1er Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot
Medium colour. The nose starts absolutely gorgeously – fine red fruit, very fine actually, with a slight musk. Like the Jadot of yesterday, this seemed clean for the first pour, but slowly the musk faded to reveal P2-3. It must be on a higher level than the Ursules, because I can taste it too. Putting that to one side, this wine has a similar freshness and vivacity to that Jadot, so anyone less sensitive than me will find much to enjoy here. For me it’s just about drinkable – but it’s not putting a smile on my face…
Rebuy – No

Doing my rounds of the cellar, and after much case moving, I came across a couple of 6-packs of 2004s, this one and Bouchard’s Volnay cuvée Carnot. Both seemed clean of pyrazine when I last tasted them (years ago) so it would be interesting to see if that was still the case – and if it was, then the perfect duo to take a view on what 04 had the potential to offer. Let’s start with the Jadot…

2004 Jadot (Héritiers), Beaune 1er Clos des Ursules
A rather beautiful medium colour when it catches the sun. The nose starts understatedly unimpressive but I can’t be sure there’s any pyrazine here. Time in the glass and this opens, becoming very pretty indeed, showing a lovely transparent red fruit and yes pyrazine, but at the most, P1. I thought this was a ‘clean’ wine when tasted in its youth, but at this level its honestly not a negative. Middle-weight, with very understated tannin and quite nice texture. High-toned fruit never displays the pyrazine on the nose. Drinkable, indeed quite tasty wine.
Rebuy – Maybe

Whilst most wines from 04 (that are not taint dominated) have a delivery that reminds me of the generally hard and miserly ’94s, this wine seems more like a good ’92 – and I like good ’92s very much. This is a wine where I would eventually pick out the vintage, but also one I’d be quite happy to drink again

Probably my last 05 for a while, but a good one – note that the wax is a little brittle, so extract your cork over the sink or the bin!

2005 Vincent et Denis Berthaut, Fixin 1er Les Arvelets
Like most 05s, this is impressively deep coloured. The aroma is deep, relatively dark fruit mixes with faint herbs – eventually there’s a cracking high-toned acid-cherry note. Mouth-filling, with growing intensity – indeed it’s hard to keep it in your mouth – either spit or swallow – I was happy with the latter! There is a strong undertow of well-textured, ripe tannin that underpins the long finishing flavours with a little bitterness – that’s an observation of style, not criticism. Because of this style, this should be regarded as a masculine wine of muscle and concentration, but not brutish; very much in a clichéd Gevrey / northern Nuits style, indeed though, its structure could be mistaken for its Pommard namesake! It is excellent!
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Camille-Giroud, Gevrey-Chambertin En Champs
Medium, medium-plus rather young looking colour. Gorgeous detail of sweet, dark red berries with some rounder depth. Transparent, detailed, beautifully balanced, fine intensity with just a hint of distracting vanilla make-up as you head into the finish – just a beautiful drink. A little less concentrated (though less oak too) when compared to yesterday’s Lignier-Michelot, but just as fabulously drinkable. Is it from Gevrey? I really can’t tell, but it’s certainly from 2005 and it’s certainly a winner.
Rebuy – Yes

At the outset, I would have been one of the first to underline the need to bury these wines in your cellar, and there was much anecdotal evidence (perhaps a hint of urban myth too) of wines that closed up tight. But I have to say that the 05s that have passed my lips this year, have been nothing short of stellar – clearly not mature drinking, but fabulously delicious drinking…

2005 Lignier-Michelot, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes
Very deep colour – yet transparent – just! What a nose: a depth of wonderfully creamy dark fruit, with a faintly candied aspect that slowly becomes violet flowers. Fine, very ripe tannin. Beautifully balancing acidity is delivered for showcasing the concentration on offer, perhaps still with a hint of oak flavour in the finish. The finish is medium-plus, but everything else about this wine is better. Completely delicious, right now.
Rebuy – Yes

2001 Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Vosne-Romanée
Medium, medium-plus colour. A nose of soft, sweet fruit and flowers – a hint of herbs too. Acidity, then the fresh flavour wells up into the mid-palate than very slowly fades into the finish – very nice flavour too. There’s still a reasonable slug of tannic texture too, but this wine is schlank. Thin, wiry, perfectly sculptured – but not an ounce of padding. In its youth, this wine was wonderfully generous, rich and textured – over-achieving villages – today it is very different, like Madonna age 20 and 50, very, very different in shape and style. I loved it, but my wife said ‘tastes like vinegar’ – harsh, but beware…
Rebuy – Yes