Getting bored yet? I hope not, I have one more after this! Maybe I’ll have a short daliance with something else in-between though!

1993 Vaudoisey-Creusefond, Pommard 1er Epenots
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has an extra dimension of dark-fruited depth, again a little brown sugar but this time with almost no leaf. Cool, intense, rather smooth and an understated tannin that only presents itself if you swirl the wine around your mouth. There is some of the flavour profile of the previous two wines, and like them, the outer-edge of the flavour has a slight bitter element, but this wine delivers far more in terms of ‘presence’. So there is more depth to this wine – a vintage aspect – but the key difference is that this wine has held onto its youth.
Rebuy – Yes

Onto the 1992. This was for a long time, a vintage of which nobody spoke, like a mad aunt hidden from view – but the therapy of time has seen many wines blossom in the last 5 years, or so.

1992 Vaudoisey-Creusefond, Pommard 1er Epenots
Medium, medium-plus colour. Here the nose leaves an impression of sugar dusted leaves over a dense core of plum, occasional accents of mocha too – a couple of hours also betray a brown-sugar note. Decent freshness and fruit that has a nice sweet-sour balance to it. Unlike the ’91, if you roll this wine around your mouth you will find some tannin, and, heading into the finish, it still has a faint edge of astringency – but without too much bitterness or, significantly, the brusque nature of the ’91. Decent enough expansion of flavour in the mid-palate, and a slowly lingering, not particularly modest length. A wine that you can easily drink and savour, if not a resounding Epenots.
Rebuy – Maybe

I ‘scored’ a number of vintages of this wine at auction, time for a first look. I’ve long been a fan of the 1991 vintage, but for reds of the Côte de Nuits – from my modest sampling it seems to me that the Côte de Beaune is much less consistent. Here is a wine that sort of straddles the line – nice aromas but a flavour profile that’s far from cuddly – for the first hour or two after opening anyway…

1991 Vaudoisey-Creusefond, Pommard 1er Epenots
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has a little classic ‘leaf’ and fainter, higher-toned, herbs. As the glass drains a classy red fruit note comes to the fore. There is sweetness and a little plumpness to the texture too. Hardly any tannin of note but the mid-palate, despite it’s intensity, delivers a rather harsh flavour. Long finishing, it’s true, but for at least 90 minutes this was a wine only to sniff. The harshness slowly fades, but never completely. Still, this is quite robust and will easily stand up to another 10 years wait before I broach my last bottle.
Rebuy – No

1978 Pierre Boillot, Meursault 1er Charmes
Medium-plus golden colour. The nose betrays no overt oxidation, rather it is the classic nose of an older wine but with extra bolstering from a strong herbal note too. That herbal note is also part of the flavour profile; this is a little fat but with a lovely acidity that cleaves through the centre of the wine and emphasises its intensity. To be honest, this isn’t that complex a wine despite its mature profile. Tasty, and it holds the attention too – but based on the first two bottles, I think the 1976 significantly the better wine. I wonder if subsequent comparisons will agree…
Rebuy – No Chance

These two bottles had been standing side-by-side for a while, so I decided the football semi-finals would be a good time to broach them.

2003 Dominique Gallois, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
Quite a young colur – seemingly holding onto just a hint of purple. The nose – oops – sweet, medium toast oak is the dominant note, and on a wine that’s approaching its first decade too. The flavour is of oak and a faint impression of reduction too. Day 1 I didn’t think much of it – albeit sweet and easy to drink – indeed it reminds me exactly of why I didn’t enjoy some of the Pousse d’Or wines. It’s quite a feat to dominate Gevrey in a similar way to Chambolle and Volnay! Day two and this is a different proposition; there’s ripe red fruit on the nose and little obvious oak. The palate is plush and textured – all that oak flavour is but a memory so it must be quite a volatile element. This wine is starting to talk of Burgundy now, albeit 2003 Burgundy, so you’d hardly guess it was from Gevrey – but at least today there’s clear interest on my part.
Rebuy – Maybe

Leaving this wine to try something that won’t show too much oak…

2003 Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
Nope, it’s not oak on the nose, it’s cork – cork taint – such a shame…
Rebuy – No

Just a little something that was polished off in double-quick time without any real note-taking. A very drinkable, if young-ish wine. Maybe a little too simple for a Grand Cru (and I’m a big fan of Perrières) but what there is, is delivered with a nice intensity. Not a wine to turn down, I’m perfectly happy to have a couple more in the cellar, though I wouldn’t make a special search to buy more.