Medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose starts with a forward blast of oaky and mineral tones. Time in the glass gives red fruit and a coffee, mocha-tinged almost texturally furry nose – it just shades more blue with time, and it never stops improving. The palate is muscular though the tannin is buried by the concentration, but what is discernible is finely textured. Excellent acidity with good dimension in the mid-palate. The finish has decent length but is currently one-dimensional. It’s an excellent Nuits – no question, approaching grand cru
Bouchard Père et Fils
1997 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus
The nose is reasonably fresh and quite wide. In this company the palate is very fresh yet still appears balanced. The fruit is tight yet ripe, but is wrapped in fine tannin that adheres to your teeth – they seem ripe enough. This is the youngest wine I’ve yet come across in this series of ’97’s, I would not hesitate in saying leave these for another 5 years. Seems to have real potential.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Nuits St.Georges Les Cailles
From just over 1 hectare of owned vines that give Bouchard P&F close to one third of the appellation. High-toned fruit over a sweet base of blue and black-skinned fruits. Apparently Les Cailles is often colder than the surrounding vineyards so can be a harder wine. Soft, with quite sophisticated though abundant tannins. A nice kick in the mid-palate moves you into a lovely clean finish.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots
From a grower with whom BP&F have a long-term contract, 6 or 7 barrels worth. The nose is a little understated; faint cinnamon tops warm, creamy-red fruit of quite some depth. Christophe Bouchard pointed out a little extra dried currant on the nose which he described as indicative of ‘vendanges entier’ where after pressing the last few grams of sugar ferment in the barrel. The palate has a sweet entry and is concentrated with good acidity and plenty of tannin – velvetty – with a very long, lingering finish.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune du Château
From just under 10 hectares of vines from 4 1er crus. I mentioned to Christophe Bouchard that whilst I often find the red version of this cuvée, I hardly ever encounter the white – he just laughed and said ‘that’s because the Swiss prefer their reds!’. This has a nice wide nose – understated but quite focused and interesting. Richness is quite well balanced by the mouthwatering acidity. Good length too. Almost good, but I don’t see the stunning quality of the red.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Bourgogne Rouge Les Coteaux des Moines
Made for the first time in 2003, this is a selection of the best purchased grapes which for the first time in 2005 will be sold outside of France. It’s a wide, soft and ripe nose. Equally soft on the palate but combining nice width and well balanced acidity. The finish has nice length with just a trace of young-oak bitterness, but this looks like it will be a super little wine. Approximately 1,000 cases made.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault Les Clous
Bouchard own 8.7 hectares in this vineyard – almost 50% of the appellation. The vines are set high on the hill, so this is often one of the very last vineyartds to be harvested. Nicely crisp and fresh aromatics that never really develop further while we’re together. The palate is still quite rich, but is mouth-filling in quite a mineral way – there’s a nice character to this wine.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Bourgogne Blanc Les Coteaux des Moines
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault Gouttes d'Or
Given my preference for the fresh and mineral plus 2005’s rather rich expression I was preparing to dislike this bottle – but I was rather surprised: The nose is waxy, wide and concentrated – smells lovely. There’s almost an oily concentration on the palate but with a surprisingly wonderful balance. This is a really lovely wine that shows super length. I could get to like this – really!