It’s a while since I opened one of these. Eight bottles from the case were drunk during that summer – but here is a reprise – the cork was a nightmare to remove, the corscrew just boring a hole through the centre (tsk!) so I filtered it through a tissue into the decanter.

Overall it seems like the same wine with maybe a hint more structure(?) and no mushrooms – anyway, it was clearly ‘fit for purpose’ 😉

I’ve been lucky enough to have this wine in my glass twice already this year, this time with the opportunity to reflect on it a little…

2000 Jean Raphet, Chambertin Clos de Bèze
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is a real babe – nothing masculine here – cushioned, soft with a super-elegant, yet fresh, perfume of red fruits with just a hint of something musky (dusky?) in the depth that envelopes you – forget the vintage, aromatically this is simply fabulous. Elegance might be a reasonable descriptor for the flavours too; softly textured but with depth and complexity. Fair to say that the palate cannot quite scale the same heights as the aromas but this wine simply left me purring.
Rebuy – Yes

A couple of bottles of the Gilles Bouton 2010 St.Aubins were consumed during the warm weekend, but here’s a wine that I haven’t had a note on for a while…

2003 Camille Giroud, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Some of these bottles are on the way down – not due to the wine itself, but due to a bottling machine that forced the corks into the neck, in the process causing the cork to crease slightly and leave a channel for air. Those bottles taste old and should be drunk-up forthwith. This is a different wine – a wine with deep colours and deep aromas – certainly quite ripe but also with flashes of redder fruit and hints of flowers. In the mouth this is smooth and round, some of the flavours recall dried cranberry and raisin fruit – other times you have a much fresher impression – certainly the wine is adequately balanced by its acidity. This is just a lovely drink, easily of a villages (or better) stature; I think I have one more bottle left from the original 12 – two recent bottles were duds – I hope that total doesn’t rise.
Rebuy – Yes

In the last couple of years I’ve encountered the occasional bottle of Louis Max in blind tastings, and thought them rather good. Time for a closer look?

2010 Louis Max, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos Prieur
Medium, medium-plus colour. Textured dark fruit and higher toned notes. Starts lithe and a little lean – lovely acidity. Then an unexpected extra dimension of flavour, and then another – the flavour really widening and delivering an impressive length. All the action is at the ‘back-end’ here. 20 minutes in the glass and there seems a little more richness and silk to the texture, the high-tones have also coalesced to bring a floral note. A lovely clean and tasty wine, no question…
Rebuy – Yes