The colour raises suspicious eyebrows – medium golden – but despite slightly heavy fruit aromas at first, the nose is rather clean and there’s not a trace of oxidation. A little swirling reveals rather young, mainly pineapple, fruit – a good start then. Nice texture, acidity that unobtrusively shepherds you through to the finish and a little extra mid-palate dimension. In its current adolescence the amplitude of the peaks and troughs of this wine have been squeezed a little since it was bought, but that’s what you get when talking to adolescents! Drunk over 4 consecutive nights without a hint of oxidation, and confidence renewed, I’ll wait another 5 or 6 years before taking another look.
Gambal Alex
2006 Gambal Alex St.Aubin Murgers des Dents de Chien
The colour is a medium, medium-pale lemon-yellow. Dense, though not lush, aromas that are supported with citrus fruit elements. In the mouth it’s round with nice concentration and in the mid-palate shows the typical extra dimension of this cuvée. It’s fair to say that (in the 2006 vernacular) that this is a little plump, but the acidity is enough that it doesn’t become wearisome. Nice length. Another good showing.
2007 Gambal Alex Bourgogne Pinot Noir Les Deux Papis
2007 Gambal Alex Savigny-lès-Beaune Vieilles Vignes
2007 Gambal Alex Fixin Blanc
Bought from the same supplier ’sur pied’ – they do all the vineyard work and decide when to pick – since 1999. Pale colour. Good depth with faint brioche. Wide and acidity-driven – will need to soften in bottle, but the track record here shows that they do. Mineral and fresh – unlike other Côte de Nuits whites. Very moreish.
2007 Gambal Alex Puligny-Montrachet
Picked a full 10 days later than the grower wanted, gaining 1.5° – still ‘only’ 12° when harvested! Starts just a little diffuse but belowis both width and depth. Good concentration, again slightly bright acidity but very good length is driven by it. Another clean and characterful wine that will need some bottle time.