2005 Alex Gambal, St.Aubin 1er Les Murgers des Dents du Chien
Golden colour though no browning. A perfumed roasted lemon is my first impression, a little spiced too. Time adds faint lanolin to the nose. In the mouth to my surprise, is a lovely sweeping line of freshness – waxily-fine textured and mineral. Such a difference in the delivery of flavour versus the Chablis of last week. The finish mineral and has some caramel aspects – probably the barrels talking here. Concentrated but alive, beautifully proportioned and very long. A point! Opened on Friday, this was completely stable/robust, such that still delicious on Sunday – narrower, but not a suggestion of tiring in either flavours or aromas. Bravo – I hope it’s not my last!
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Bouchard Père et Fils, Chambertin
Not a wine you see very often – it’s a domaine wine – but with only 0.15 hectares, it’s not a wine that they tend to (need to) show in tastings. A couple of years ago the 1998 was brilliant! Here a poor start, but only because the cork breaks in half – the second part coming out in a thousand pieces! I asked Frédéric Weber if he could tell me a little more about the plot and he responded right away! “Yes, it’s a plot of 0.15ha in the upper part of the Chambertin (close to Les Latricières) I think it is a very nice situation particularly in the hot years because we are close to the forest and that permits us to keep freshness and a good balance, the soil is poor and very thin, the yield is low in average, in the best year I produce only 2 barrels. I like to vinify with whole clusters and a soft maceration to express the aromatics and elegance of Chambertin, we do not produce a deep Chambertin in this part.”
What a beautiful nose – not the pure and powerful that I remember from the 1998, rather a beautiful and elegant floral bouquet. Rather silky in the mouth, still a grain of ripe tannin if you search hard enough. Elegant and floral here too – slowly becoming a little more mineral and mouth-watering. Very long. Not a powerful wine but such a beautiful thing – I would say ready but hold for as long as you wish. None of the overt structure remains that you can still see in many of the higher 1999s
Rebuy – Yes

2014 Michet et Sylvain Tète – Clos du Fief, Juliénas Cuvée Prestige
I’m in Chablis today – the start of my 60(+) domaine tour of 2018s – but before I left Swaziland I decided yesterday evening to remember Georges Duboeuf with this very impressive Beaujolais – but I didn’t have any from him – sorry Georges! I decided not to go the dark and obvious route (2015,16,17,18) and didn’t directly find anything more complicated (2012, 2013) so here you go:
Medium-plus colour. A slightly round nose that hinted at a little reduction – but after 5 minutes this was singing – almost a floral/spice note to this nose that’s mirrored in the flavours. Elegant, complex and a delicious winner of a wine. Bravo to Georges!
Rebuy – Yes!

It was never really going to be possible to beat Friday’s wine on Saturday, was it? – Or was it!

1999 Frederic Esmionin, Mazy-Chambertin
Frederic always preferring the (Maz)’y’ to the (Maz)’is!’ I haven’t opened one of these for 10 years – perhaps now’s the time!
Hmm – now that’s an inviting nose. Only modest amplitude, but a nose with more maturity than the Potel Clos des Chênes and still ‘clean’ & fresh. In the mouth, less innate density than the Chênes, but here is a more open, almost sparkling, complexity – a little mid-palate oomph too – like all good Mazi should have. The middle and finish of this wine are really quite something – energetic and vibrantly intense. Never the same weight of impact of the Chênes but altogether more complex and welcoming – did I mention ‘easier to drink?’ Hmm, this moreish wine didn’t need two days to finish – though in this case, help came from someone else who tends to prefer whites. Less than a glass laid in wait for day two – cloudy with sediment – less good but no brett or unsavouriness. My best wine of 2020 – even after the brilliant Potel, though I think that the more concentrated Potel may have more longevity!
Rebuy – Oh Yes!

Did I mention how much I’m liking 1999s right now? 😉

1999 Nicolas Potel, Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
It was good on the Thursday too 😉
Even from a baby, this was ‘grand vin.’ On release, it was an absolute quality match for d’Angerville’s 1999 Clos des Ducs and Dom Lafon’s 1999 Santenots de Milieu. Only from the age of ~3 did those other wines start to show a little extra – but not much – and it seems that this wine hasn’t lost much of anything. Plenty of colour. A nose that has power but depth and interest too – only very modestly showing some aromatic excitement of maturity – still a baby it seems. In the mouth this is full and energetic, chiselled – indeed structural – but with no hard edges. A style of balance that 2017s and 2018s can only dream of. Delicious wine, still predominantly of fruit. I drank the whole bottle myself over 2 nights – and it was not a bit worse for wear on day two – bravo – a great 1999 that will easily live 15-20 years more! Actually, I’ve never met a better Clos des Chênes, ever…
Rebuy – Oh Yes!

Wishing all you readers the very best for 2020 to come – let’s hope it’s an interesting year!

For the Burgundy Report, virtually all the individual domaine reports are now online – just 5-6 more to add today/tomorrow to the November report. Then there will be the December report for the ‘Grand Maisons’ which will be online in the next 10 days – many highs there, but a particular fail too!

Already about 1,500 wines from their domaine’s profiled for you. And ‘what of the last days?‘ I hear you ask!

2015 Nathalie & Gilles Fèvre, Chablis Les Preuses
From magnum, DIAM sealed.
One of my favourite wines of the holiday period. Drunk over 2 days it was reliably delicious, mouth-filling and fresh – a wine that anyone and everyone can appreciate – so good!

2009 Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Ruchottes
A beautiful, long (54mm?), Trescasses cork – but to no avail!
Deeply coloured, a little sherried aromatic – a wine that cleans up considerably with air, but never loses that ‘prematurely old’ feeling. These and the 2010s were among the last whites I bought for cellaring (magnums excepted) that were sealed with natural cork – and here’s the reason.

2010 Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Ruchottes (not pictured)
The same, long, Trescasses cork – this time okay.
Plenty of colour, but much less than the 2009. A nose of toasted bread, slowly fading to become more mineral incisive. The palate is automatically, directly great – clean lines, very mineral, so sweetly juicy too – it’s great – perhaps a little too much barrel-caramel in the finishing flavours (still) but a great bottle.

1997 Nicolas Potel, Volnay Vieilles-Vignes (not pictured)
This either my last, or next to last, from the original dozen. A wine that has always suggested great things, but never delivered.
Ooh, this cork stinks of TCA – I’m shocked to find that the wine itself is okay – and not seemingly attenuated by its smelly bung. The nose is hardly attractive to start – with plenty of balsamic-style oxidative notes, but aeration really brings a lot more interest. Mouth-filling, nicely textured – this is actually quite good in the mouth – a second glass without hesitation – so good wine – but I always thought that there was some inner greatness in wait – but no…

1995 Sylvain Cathiard, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Malconsorts
I thought I’d pulled a 1997 from the cellar, to follow the Potel 1997 – but – doh! – it was a 1995 again.
A very similar wine to that linked. Good older wine that everybody happily drank, but with no hints of greatness.

1999 l’Arlot, Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos de l’Arlot
This wine has great written all over it – a fabulous and complex and brilliantly inviting nose. A palate that doesn’t for a moment shrink in the face of that aromatic challenge – my greatest wine for many a day – fabulous, great wine – underlining why I love the style of the domaine! Also rather puts into context my summary for the domaine’s 2018s!

1999 Guy Castagnier, Clos de la Roche
A big and attractive, sweeping, nose of quite some depth. Fuller with more concentration than the Arlot, but with a sense of unready tightness. I’ve had more approachable bottles of this, it’s fine enough but insufficiently expressive today to best the brilliant Arlot.

2006 Alex Gambal, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
Of-course no visit to Gambal in 2019. This from magnum.
Not a nose of power but certainly one of red-fruited finesse. In the mouth this is nicely shaped – though there’s a ‘thin’ impression to the palate after (literally) thousands of 2017s and 2018s. Nice wine, tasty wine – slowly adding a little weight with time in the glass. A very good wine – maybe next year it’s time to try the 05 Amoureuses?

Happy new year!