2010 Rebourgeon-Mure, Beaune 1er Vignes-Franches
Medium-plus colour. The nose remains tight but with glossy dark fruit. Wide and rather acid-led intense – that’s not a complaint by the way, it’s an exciting and tasty wine. The dark fruit insinuates its way into your tongue and gums – it’s very nice but could be a bit more complex I think – the 2009 was much more ‘involving’ at this same stage – but it’s young and it’s a well-made baby that sits in my glass, and I have to say, doesn’t sit around very long before the glass is drained. Clean, sharp and hinting at more to come – I’m game…!
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Denis Bachelet, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Medium-plus colour. Drunk directly after the 2010 Camille-Giroud cuvée ‘L’, and this has a little more energy and a lot more dark fruit. To start there a few pesky sulfites on the nose, but they quickly lift – what’s left is a dark, clean, black fruit conserve and just the early impressions of mature leaf notes. In the mouth this doesn’t have the breadth of concentration or texture of the Camille-Giroud wine, it is (not surprisingly) narrower but perhaps because of that seems more intense. Lovely dark fruit flavours reflect the aromas and there’s a super mid-palate crescendo of flavour – it’s just beautifully balanced/fresh. This, whilst still a relative baby, is drinking beautifully now – definitely no shame to pop the cork on a bottle or two!
Rebuy – Yes

Cuvée ‘L’, as I’m sure all readers here will know by now, is the code for the combination of all the lees (at bottling time) of the C-G’s reds – villages, premiers and grands crus – a blend of which is left in tank for a good few months more to settle out the fine lees.

2010 Camille-Giroud, Bourgogne Cuvée L
Medium-plus, rather purposeful colour, and it’s perfectly bright too. The nose is less demonstrative, indeed a little tight, but wait long enough (30 mins?) and a beautiful high-toned floral note is your reward. In the mouth this has balance, poise, and a decent slug of ripe tannin too. The flavours seem a little tight too, but there’s no missing the depth of concentration, good texture – clearly not a ‘Bourgogne’. Whilst eminently drinkable now, this is very much a wine to wait for – I’m sure my magnums will eventually herald some interesting blind guesses! Very good Burgundy despite the lowly label…
Rebuy – Yes

I have to say, I’m slightly at a loss how to describe this wine. The cheap plastic capsule and the cork bear a stylised ‘MB’ (possibly!) but the label has no more info, except that the wine was selected in the cellar of Stanislas – but by who? I’ve recently seen other Burgundies at auction 1991-1993 with identical labels/capsules but for other producers such as Rapet. So a négoce wine that puts the producer name centre-stage, but anybody’s guess who!(?) Well, that would be one interpretation, anyway…

1991 “Stanislas Heresztyn”, Clos St.Denis
Medium colour. The nose is clean and has a little pinot interest, but far from a 1991 grand cru I’d say. In the mouth this is also spotlessly clean, balanced and I would go as far as to say rather tasty – yet some way short of my expectations for a Côte de Nuits Grand Cru from 1991. Nice wine but maybe it was triple-filtered to make it clean and long-lasting but without significant interest…(?) I have a couple more, but they are quite drinkable, so no great loss…
Rebuy – No

Stanislas Heresztyn 1991

Capsule for all

Jean-Pierre Colin 1989

Domaine Raphet 1993

2005 Pierre Labet, Beaune 1er Choucherias
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is detailed, clean, and shows a perfectly polished red fruit – initially more redcurrant than red cherry, but given time, maybe the cherry comes to the fore. Lithe, and rather intense too, to such an extent that everything from the mid-palate on is necessarily just a diminuendo, but the wine is carried along on excellent acidity, causing the dried fruit flavours to become ever-more mouth-watering. Perhaps there is a little too much of everything today – you can be the judge of that – but I’m appreciative, and these bottles will only mellow with time, and what a great catch these bottles were.
Rebuy – Yes