Having finally got around to picking up my 6-pack of the redoubtable 2008 Corton I noticed that they have a little wine-sales boutique chez Marchand. I really don’t know who will find it (going through the courtyard and in through the closed door) but this was a very well priced bottle.

2007 Pascal Marchand, Morey St.Denis 1er Clos des Ormes
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is quite interesting; clearly a few stems that are partially obscuring violet flowers but the stems are far from gothic plus, if you swirl, you get a great punch of floral aromas. In the mouth there’s decent weight that despite being a little light on acidity never seems overly heavy. There is sweetness from the fruit, a little more than a suggestion of minerality in the mid-palate and eventually a mouth-watering finish. This is very moreish wine, it shows the vintage more than the village today, but it is very tasty indeed – and that’s before you look at the great price ex domaine.
Rebuy – Yes

1982 Duchet, Corton-Charlemagne
Deep golden hue. The nose started as an old (but correct) white does; interesting, a little diffuse but nuts an d a faint impression there may be some oxidation. In minutes it comes together, delivers more focus and adds a little caramel, some struck-match too. In the mouth, this is less sweet than the nose suggests – you even have the impression that there is a hint of tannic astringency. Quite long flavours and even a little more flavour development in the mid-palate. Certainly this is interesting and even a little rewarding but it will never be cosseting, nor ever was (probably) ‘great’.
Rebuy – No chance

No, I know that wine is not a competition, but with chance to compare two bones what’s a dog to do?

2007 Lucien Le Moine, Beaune 1er Les Avaux
The nose starts as pure oak but needs only a handful of minutes to start coming together in the glass, leaving a prominent but quite nice spicy dimension to the red fruit that has now come into frame. Here is an excellent depth of fruit flavour and a very nice intensity too. Clearly there is the carpenter’s hand here, but this is a wine that works very well indeed. The final twist of tannin gives a bitter-chocolate tang to the finish. Very tasty.
Rebuy – Yes (only at a ‘normal’ price, there is no value here)

2007 des Croix, Beaune 1er Les Grèves
The nose shows depth, width and complexity – of fruit – a totally different animal to the previous wine, eventually also delivering a floral aroma too. Silken entry, this is round and concentrated, and like the Le Moine also delivers a bitter-chocolate tannin in the finish – the first obvious oak artefact. Very lovely wine – you would be hard pressed to guess the vintage.
Rebuy – Yes

Not unexpectedly versus the ‘hearsay’ there seems more of the cabinet-maker’s art in the wine from Le Moine, but it’s a good wine, the de Croix, however, is a very good wine. It is entirely possible that the Le Moine was bested not because of style, but rather the more completeness of the Grèves terroir versus that of Avaux – the Grèves is certainly the wine I would buy again, even forgetting how much cheaper it is! On day two, both of the wines had tired versus their opening performance – that is 07 for you – the Le Moine now clearly with the more bitter tannins.

I’d be tempted to save the de Croix, the Le Moine I would rather drink now, as I’m not sure its oak will ever completely fade.

The wines of Le Moine seem to have polarised opinion – at least the wines of their first few vintages. Yet I’ve heard many recent reports of their transparency that are at odds with early pronouncements of ‘spoofulated’ wines. I have hardly visited for one simple reason; the wines seem rather expensive. But I can’t just rely on ‘hearsay’ can I? Hence, biting the occasional bullet…

On Saturday we started with a Mischief and Mayhem 2009 Puligny 1er les Pucelles and finished with their 2009 Puligny 1er Les Caillerets. It’s not long since I tasted these wines, and frankly I have nothing more to add to these notes, except that the Pucelles was more open. Sandwiched in-between was this wine from Le Moine:

2008 Lucien Le Moine, Meursault 1er Les Perrières
The bottle, I’m afraid to say, seems the glass equivalent of a red sports car; heavy, and with a punt into which you could lose your arm. Clearly the nose ushers in the presence of quite a bit of oak, a little transient gunflint/struck match too, yet this is far from jarring wood, indeed it is very well polished. In the mouth I have a faint hint of surprise; despite a perfectly smooth texture, this is a wine that’s clearly cut from the chalk of Perrières; mineral with some 08 tension and undoubted density and intensity. There are a few other MPs that I might might prefer to drink, all of them lower priced, but this is a very fine wine – no discussion. I have the impression of pear fruit on the palate yet without a hint of obvious sweetness. Very good line into the considerable finish. Clearly I have listened to too much hearsay, because this is super wine.
Rebuy – Yes