Quite deeply coloured. The nose is deep, broad and significantly oaked – but it’s rather impressive and fun too relative to the price and appellation. Directly after the Voillot Rugiens there is similar density but nothing close to the clarity, focus or intensity – but then we’re at 40% of the sticker price. Fun and tasty, also very good value – just don’t line it up with anything too flashy.
Tollot-Beaut
2005 Tollot-Beaut Chorey-lès-Beaune Pièce du Chapitre
2005 Tollot-Beaut Aloxe-Corton
2005 Tollot-Beaut Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Lavières
2005 Tollot-Beaut Savigny-lès-Beaune Champs Chevrey
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. Wide, sweet and interesting on the rather yummy nose. There’s plenty of grainy tannin, but it doesn’t overwhelm the lovely fruit background that slides slowly into a good, less obviously creamy and oak inflected finish than the 1er Lavières. I almost always like this cuvée and here’s another to add to the list!
2005 Tollot-Beaut Corton Bressandes
2002 Tollot-Beaut Corton Bressandes
Medium, medium-plus ruby-red colour. A wine and mineral nose that slowly releases dark cherry fruit, gradually becoming higher toned before giving glimpses of coffee notes. The palate is clean, muscular and intense with really good, fresh acidity. The length doesn’t come close to match some of the previous wines, but it’s a very good finish if just a little oak-driven. A very nice package that needs two or three years before it starts drinking well.
2001 Tollot-Beaut Savigny-lès-Beaune Champs Chevrey
Medium ruby-red. A nose that’s wide and relatively high-toned, just a slight estery edge over faint, warm, ripe red fruit. The palate is soft and light with sweet red fruit, even a hint of oranges going into the finish. From a flavour perspective, this actually showing quite a bit of maturity. Lighter and more elegant than many Tollot wines, but it’s made in a very sympathetic way, as in this case there is no oak character at all. Very tasty, but not a wine for the ages…
1976 Tollot-Beaut Aloxe-Corton
Clean and bright, medium, medium-plus colour – a mahogany rim but clearly still a ruby-red core. From opening this was just a little monolithic on the nose; faint baked fruit and a savoury undercurrent. If you wait – over 1 hour – the nose tightens to a very nice and tight powdery red fruit impression The palate is surprisingly plush and intense – it’s hard to keep hold of the wine, as your mouth starts watering in response to the acidity. I’m very impressed by the balance here. Slowly some sweetness builds to counterbalance an edge of tartness in the finish. The tannins are still there and quite chewy. This is a surprisingly robust and healthy wine – just like the label says, this is a village wine so no real fireworks or mind-bending length, but it’s always interesting to drink a wine that was harvested around your 14th birthday!