ghislaine barthod 96 chambolle

By billn on February 11, 2007 #degustation

barthod chambolle
I bought a full case of this ‘en-primeur’ – frankly almost every bottle has disappointed due to an excess of sulfur;
Bottle one – undrinkable for 2 days due to strong bottle stink (1999), bottle 2 (2001) undrinkable as the sulfur never lifted – even after 2 days. Bottle 3 (2004) started stinky but slowly improved becoming almost good as did another bottle last year – here’s another try.
1996 Ghislaine Barthod, Chambolle-Musignytry to find this wine...
A soft and spongy cork. The colour is a medium-plus ruby red showing just a faint amber edge. The first note is a hard sulfur note and it takes quite some time to lift, slowly a quite striking violet note over soft red cherry comes through – quite a compelling impression. The palate starts quite short, but lengthens in tandem with the improvement in the nose. The tannin is still quite astringent and the overall impression is still a little harsh. The acidity is good and the nose eventually shines but this wine remains the Curate’s egg. If you want to drink now, decant or open a couple of hours before pouring.
Rebuy – No
I’ll give the 1999 a run for its money this week to see if I can say something nice about a Barthod – everyone else thinks they’re great!

leroy 96 bourgogne rouge

By billn on February 09, 2007 #degustation

leroy bourgogne
1996 Leroy (Maison) Bourgogne Rougetry to find this wine...
I bought a case of this in ’98 and that first bottle majored on mouth-puckering acidity; time has worked a little magic. Medium ruby red. The nose is a mix sweet red cherry and not too heavy plum. Nicely textured, this is elegant, again nicely plummy red fruit with very good but certainly not overstated acidity. The finish is understated and interesting. The table finished this bottle in double-quick time! There’s lots of life left in these bottles.
Rebuy – Yes

2005’s from nicolas potel pt.4 (last)

By billn on February 08, 2007 #degustation

These wine all tasted in their last week or two in barrel. Xavier Meyney (NP business manager) was was a little disappointed how the wines were showing from barrel – saying that we were out of phase with the moon – despite his disappointment, these wines did little to hide their apparent quality. We started with a good quartet of Nuits – the last was a real cracker – it may be a little dull, but there’s little here I wouldn’t buy:
2005 Nicolas Potel, Nuits St.Georges 1er Prulierstry to find this wine...
A tight nose with an undercurrent of bright red fruit. Powerful but with fine tannins and super intense mid-palate. There is just a little oak-derived bitterness on the long finish, but this will quickly fade. Sauve and accomplished for a Nuits
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Nuits St.Georges 1er Murgerstry to find this wine...
This vineyard sits close to ‘Richemone’ from 45 year-old vines. Much more ebullient nose, just an edge of malo to be found but this is wide and interesting. Also very fine tannin and intense concentration. It’s hard to hold in the mouth and has super acidity. Just a little oak-derived texture on the good finish. A wine that impresses.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Nuits St.Georges 1er Damodestry to find this wine...
A dense nose that still shows a little malo and just a little reduction too – it starts deep and tight, but slowly widens. The palate is well delineated and a little mineral. Good acidity and the tannins are so well covered they are just an after-thought.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Nuits St.Georges 1er Boudotstry to find this wine...
There’s plenty to see on the nose, and it’s not just about fruit – a nice toffee note comes through too. In the mouth it’s all about fresh fruit and acidity followed by a real extra kick of concentration in the mid-palate and into the finish. This really does have an extra dimension vs the last wines and comes across just a little Vosne-like. Really super, bravo.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Vosne-Romanée 1er Petits Montstry to find this wine...
A dark and interesting nose of spice-edged damson and a suggestion of toffee. A subtle and elegant wine, with real depth and quite some complexity. Slightly grainy tannin is a fleeting impression before the acidity whisks you into the long finish.
Rebuy – Yes I did.
2005 Nicolas Potel, Vosne-Romanée 1er Malconsortstry to find this wine...
Understated, edgy, coffee-tinged fruit on the nose – the nose never really expands in our time together. Roll this concentrated wine around in your mouth and you get sweet, dense fruit and many dimensions of flavour. The wine still seems to be opening out as you move from the mid-palate into the finish – a peacock’s tail.
Rebuy – Yes

We sampled both the brassy and forward Echezeaux and the denser, more sullen Clos de Vougeot, both were impressive, but both showed too much gas on the palate for a formal note.
2005 Nicolas Potel, Chambertin Clos de Bèzetry to find this wine...
A very fine and sweet nose with well delineated fruits – very impressive. Wow – almost everything is available here; concentration, never-ending complexity and dimension. Marvellous, multidimensional stuff. This wine almost left me out of breath!
Rebuy – Yes I did!
2005 Nicolas Potel, Bonnes-Marestry to find this wine...
A deep nose that also shows quite some width. Warming and swirling fills in the picture with some higher toned notes. Big and impressive in the mouth with chocolate covered fruits and a wave of tannin that keeps abreast of the fruit. Incredibly impressive stuff, but for my own preference it’s just a little brutal today. Really impressive stuff.
Rebuy – Yes

plans for lunch?

By billn on February 07, 2007 #other sites

If you are feeling peckish, let me suggest this small gala dinner offering:

  • Dish: Creme brulee of foie gras with Tonga beans
    Wine: 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal
  • Tartare of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belons oyster
    1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil
  • Mousseline of pattes rouges crayfish with morel mushroom infusion
    2000 Corton-Charlemagne, Jean François Coche-Dury
  • Tarte Fine with scallops and black truffle
    1996 Le Montrachet, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
  • Lobster Osso Bucco
    1985 Romanee-Conti
  • Ravioli with guinea fowl and burrata cheese in a veal reduction
    1961 Chateau Palmer
  • Saddle of lamb “Leonel”
    1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild
  • Sorbet “Dom Perignon”
  • Supreme of pigeon en croute with cepes mushroom sauce and cipollotti
    1961 Chateau Haut-Brion
  • Veal cheeks with Perigord truffles
    1955 Chateau Latour
  • Imperial gingerbread pyramid with caramel and salted butter ice-cream
    1967 Chateau d’Yquem

alex gambal 04 dents de chien

By billn on February 07, 2007 #degustation

gambals chien
Whilst I thought François and Denis Clair’s Dents de Chien was an okay wine at the price, this is on a completely different level, and to be frank, not that much more expensive…
2004 Alex Gambal, St.Aubin 1er Les Murgers des Dents de Chientry to find this wine...
Pale lemon-yellow. A smooth nose of brioche and mineral notes and some quite bready depth – very appealing. This really stands apart on the palate, very good acidity coupled to nice minerality, yet there is good mid-palate impact. The finish is just a little oak driven at the moment, but this wine has drive and personality. Everyone enjoyed this very much.
Rebuy – Yes

2005’s from nicolas potel pt.3

By billn on February 06, 2007 #degustation

Three more bottled wines:
2005 Nicolas Potel, Nuits St.Georgestry to find this wine...
A fresh and forward, though initially slightly diffuse nose of predominantly red fruit – becomes more interesting and ‘coulis’ in style in the glass. The concentrated palate strikes a masculine pose. Good acidity and intensity too. The finish is a good one, there’s nothing wimpy about this rather ‘honest’ bottle of Nuits. Recommended.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Gevrey-Chambertintry to find this wine...
This wine also starts a little slowly the glass, but after a short while the aromatics become quite interesting with faint coffee supporting a nice black fruit profile. In the mouth this is very wide and concentrated with a little grain to the tannin. There’s real mid-palate intensity and just a little oak texture on the long finish. Very high-class villages.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Lavaux St.Jacquestry to find this wine...
Medium-plus colour. The nose is similar to the village gevrey – if anything tighter, more understated and consistent. Very intense; this is hard to keep in your mouth. Super acidity dovetails with plenty of tannin. Despite the concentration the personality is rather cool, clean, mineral and understated.
Rebuy – Yes

coche-dury, meo-camuzet, romanee-conti

By billn on February 02, 2007 #degustation

Could it be the hyphen in the names?

The wines are too expensive – there’s no argument – but they offer the opportunity to deliver something truly sublime. Last night it was multiple Coche and Meo washed down with a bottle of Armand Rousseau. Today it was the 2004 reds from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti – most weeks are not like this!

I will probably wait for the next ‘issue’ to give you the notes – otherwise it will be a very thin edition! But despite a number of older Coche wines, only one of them really ‘hooked’ me, and that was a villages. The Meo’s were very good, the Rousseau even better, but the DRC’s are a dream to anyone who wants to make their opinion known: if you’re a believer, they are elegant and transparent, and they are guaranteed to improve for 20+ years. If you’re a non-believer, they are light, insipid and have no chance to get better – everyone’s a winner!

By the way, I’m a believer…

2005’s from nicolas potel pt.2

By billn on February 02, 2007 #degustation

nicolas potelMany apologies for the ‘piece-meal’ approach to delivering these notes, but frankly I don’t have the time available to write them all in one shot – besides it might get a little boring around here if I gave you 20 notes and nothing else for the next week 😉
The wines below are all Côte de Beaune reds and were tasted after bottling. I have notes from another 3 bottled wines from the Côte de Nuits and lastly 8 sampled from barrel about 2 weeks before bottling which will followin the next days. I’d buy any othe wines below – no problem – but special mention (for my preferences) goes to the Volnay 1er Caillerets.
2005 Nicolas Potel, Volnay Vieilles Vignestry to find this wine...
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. There’s a concentrated core of red fruit on the nose, pure but linear. The palate is very serious; there’s plenty of faintly grained and slightly astringent tannin. The acidity is fine, and leads to a very good, mouth-watering length. Super villages.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Peuilletstry to find this wine...
Again, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose is about sweet, focused fruit, plus occasional hints of malo. Sweet and ripe, the palate remains very fresh. Quite narrow in the mid-palate, but much longer finishing than I was expecting. Very nice, but certainly needs at least 1+ year to integrate…
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Volnay 1er Cailleretstry to find this wine...
Medium-plus colour – almost purple. A wide and really interesting nose of black-shaded fruit over a base of coffee. The finest tannins yet – they are only faintly astringent, despite their abundance. The fruit on the palate is very clean and understated yet very long. This is a fantastic wine and worth a special search.
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Nicolas Potel, Pommard 1er Rugienstry to find this wine...
A nose of real depth with forward black fruit and just a touch of reduction. The palate shows real concentration and plenty of tannin, but the tannin is amply covered by black shaded fruit. The fruit widens and widens into the finish. Large-scaled and concentrated without being over-blown. Impressive juice.
Rebuy – Yes

germain 96 beaune 1er teurons

By billn on February 01, 2007 #degustation

geramin beaune theurons
I really enjoyed the 99 Santenay from the other day, but this 96 didn’t quite do the business…
1996 Jacques Germain, Beaune 1er Les Teuronstry to find this wine...
Medium-plus ruby-red colour. The nose is high-toned and wide with a pronounced meaty/savoury aspect – characterful but it didn’t work for me. The main impression from the palate is the acidity – forward but quite soft. The wine is certainly intense and long, but at this stage in its development the aroma and flavour profile don’t endear it to me – more of a spotty adolescent than mature interest. Previous bottles have been much nicer so I will give this the benefit of the doubt. Remaining bottles will not be touched in the next 3-4 years…
Rebuy – Maybe

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