A nicely forward nose with both width and depth. Full of flavour and just a little brioche depth. Stylish and tasty – a super bourgogne.
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Bouchard Père et Fils
2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
The same supplier for the last 17 years – so Philippe Prost suggests it can virtually be considered ‘domaine’. Wide and complex if not so deep as Le Corton. In the mouth it’s intense and complex with super acidity and plenty of tannin. It’s very long, though a good proportion of that length is oak derived. Always an excellent bottling.
2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Savigny-lès-Beaune
1998 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne
From magnum. Medium golden. A nose that eventually gave up a creamy width and some savoury tones but consistently focused on the mineral. The palate was likewise mineral with good acidity and a number of waves of flavour prolonging the finish. Vibrant and tasty and stayed strong in the glass for the 2 hours we were together.
2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault Les Clous
1948 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet
From a merely ‘average’ vintage. Possibly recorked twice but otherwise never moved in almost 60 years. The wonder of an old wine – deep colour, almost orange – it must be oxidised right? The nose is deep and truffle-laden but not a hint of oxidation. The aromas are those of your favourite woollen pullover, a little faint hard cheese and eventually creme brulee. The palate also shows a truffle flavour and an immense length. The texture is soft though there’s just a sharpness to the leading edge of the acidity, but what follows is perfection. For 3 hours this grew and grew in the glass, both aromatically and from a flavour perspective, not even a hint of oxidation. Based on comments from the other tables this was very consistent from bottle to bottle. Possibly the greatest wine I ever drank – a privilege.
1928 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune Avaux
From a heavy glass bottle that at first glance looks more like a magnum. The label indicates this as a premier cru, though the vintage pre-dates premier cru AOC’s by about seven years – it was labelled after 1935 says my host! Vernal colour, medium at the edge, deep at the core. The nose is hardly older than Le Corton and slowly widens to provide tiny red berry fruit aromas. In the mouth it’s ripe, but not too ripe and very long. Despite the quantity of solid material in the bottles (and some glasses) this vigorous wine still shows a lick of tannin and never faded in the glass over 2 hours. It isn’t magical in terms of complexity – it shows too damn young – rather it’s magical in terms of what it delivers from a a very different world of eighty years ago. Blind you might place this as late 1980’s early 1990’s – that’s clearly magic!
2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet
From 2.5 hectares of vines – BP&F own one third of the appellation, all purchase in the 1800’s. The nose focuses on fruit, higher and mineral tones. Fantastic, mouth-filling, clean, pure and mineral. Long, very long, eventually with a little cream – superb. I delayed as long as possible tasting the Charlemagne as the taste of this lingered for minutes…
2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune du Château
A mix of red berries and an additional darker aspect which seems to be from the oak. Ripeness, intensity, lovely acidity and a creaminess to the fruit that covers the slightly grainy tannin. There is some oak flavour but it’s not overdone. Lingers well on the tongue – as usual it’s an easy ‘buy’ recommendation.