The 2005 was just so good that I ‘needed’ to buy some 2006 – even without tasting! Actually the 2006 was the last vintage that Giroud had grapes from these 80 year-old vines – such a shame. This is much easier drinking than the 2005 – right from opening – as it seems to contain much less dissolved carbon dioxide. Anyway these are my first Giroud bottles with the new ‘livery’ – a cleaner and more contemporary design though not quite ‘there’ perhaps.
2006 Camille Giroud Gevrey-Chambertin En Champ
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is a sweet concoction of very well dovetailed dark oak notes and equally dark cherry fruit. In the mouth you start softly, plenty of sweetness, though the fruit doesn’t seem too ripe. Tannin is only really ‘suggested’ quite late, as flavour that peaks in the mid-palate just keeps rolling along. If anything (versus memory) this wine seems slightly denser than the 2005, but the way it just lingers on the tongue is quite the same. A super, if seemingly slightly sweet wine that will drink beautifully for the next year or two, but then you should be patient as it will probably peak closer to 2020.
Rebuy – Yes

I’ve always had a ‘special’ love for Clos St.Denis, and a bottle such as this does nothing to assuage my predilection! It’s still surprisingly ‘wide open’ and ‘giving’, it’s really a beauty.
2005 Bertagna, Clos St.Denis
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. Whilst not the deepest, the nose offers many layers of fruit; red, bluer and blacker and then with a swirl you release violets – it’s a real beauty – give it time and it does deepen, showing a musky edge to the fruit and a faint caramel note. In the mouth it’s not over-ripe, and the first attack comes from the acidity, dragging with it a lovely intensity that peaks on the mid-palate before slowly decaying in a very long finish. The tannin is all-but hidden in the all-enveloping, nicely textured, extract from the fruit – it’s currently more about texture and density than layers or complexity. There is a hint of oak flavour in the finish but it is a minor component next to the lingering creamy fruit. It may only be the 7th of January, but, drunk over two evenings, this is, by a very wide margin, the finest wine I’ve opened this year!
Rebuy – Yes

A domaine that has become rather ‘over-hyped’ in the last couple of years, as a consequence availability is down and at the prices currently asked only the Nuits wines of the domaine continue to show value – perhaps that’s simply a function of the fact that they are the only ones that seem to be in free supply! Five or six years ago when the wines were well priced and not continuously on the lips of ‘opinion formers’, I bagged quite a few 98 and 99’s including a case of this wine in halves – it’s been a while since I opened one, so I’m interested to see how it’s getting along.
1999 J-F Mugnier, Chambolle-Musigny
From a half bottle. Medium ruby-red colour. The nose shows understated but heavily perfumed notes of dark flowers over tight red fruit notes. In the mouth it’s fresh and shows almost no tannin. Initially linear, it slowly unwinds in the mouth with decent intensity and a slowly growing width of flavours – it seems just a little fatter as it reaches room temperature and there’s quite a nice high toned ‘mouth perfume’. The flavours in the almost good finish are becoming just a little secondary. Clearly it’s a little tight showing not even close to the extra depth of flavour you currently find in a good 2005 villages Chambolle or even what it showed itself 5 or 6 years ago. Clean, pretty, slightly acid forward and easy drinking is the report today – not too much here to set the pulse racing. Return in another two or three years…
Rebuy – Maybe

It’s a new year, so I thought I’d start with something interesting from the cellar…

Another auction purchase, so no information on provenance, but despite never hearing of the producer and the fill being quite low, two bottles of 1964 Clos de Bèze for less then than 100 swiss francs (if I remember correctly) make for a good each-way bet.  The labels are in poor shape, so at least I have the confidence that they have been cellared for some of the last 40 years!

A little digging shows a hint of confusion; the auction catalogue describes this wine as ‘Maurice Protheau / Château d’Etroyes‘ and indeed there is a gold label around the capsule saying Château d’Etroyes – but – the neck label which includes the vintage, shows ‘FP’ not MP and a François Protheau label is exactly the same as mine. I’ll go with the maker being François perhaps for a family member at Etroyes…

The screw-pull worm managed to pull the cork almost half-way out before it started to fracture – so the ‘ah-so’ came to the rescue – just a couple of small pieces of cork ended up floating in the bottle – with such a low fill there was no chance to retrieve them, so I pretended they weren’t there!  I poured a small sample then stoppered the bottle, leaving it in the cellar for 6 hours before returning.
1964 François Protheau, Château d’Etroyes, Chambertin Clos de Bèze
The ‘sample’ was medium-pale and slightly brown looking, but when it caught the sun the colour was pure ruby-red at the core. The nose is superbly clean for an old’un; a little turned soil and beef stock against sweet, decaying leaves – much nicer than it sounds. Bright acidity (like every ’64 I’ve tasted) is on display, but somehow with ‘cut’ and focus. Linear, tannin-free, very mineral and subtly long – though it certainly won’t win any prizes in this area. Six hours on the nose has a faint but appealing volatile edge, otherwise it’s as steady as a rock. Texturally the wine fills out a little – perhaps it’s a (warmer) temperature effect – moderating the acidity just a little, it also seems just a little more intense and long, though certainly there’s now a metallic edge to the flavour. It didn’t fade a bit over 3 hours (so that’s 9 in total) of drinking.

Just a hint austere throughout, but vibrantly alive – a great fit to the DVD; Batman, The Dark Knight to which it was paired – wine and food pairing is so passé don’t you think?

Thanks for your messages, both here and in my mailbox. Here’s to 2009, let it be less ‘hard’ than many people are suggesting!

A nice bottle to start the year: provided you live in ‘Euro-land’ (i.e. not buying with pounds or dollars) this is a real bargain at only a little over €30…
2005 Pierre Bourée, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Les Cazetiers
A little more than medium colour. The nose is awash with iron-infused soil, milder stem smoke and minerals – it’s very, very nice. Medium bodied, with very good fruit that almost completely obscures the tannins. Depth and interest here despite it showing far from all it has. Good length. 2005 is clearly the perfect to vintage to buy from a producer with such a traditional approach – it may never be the greatest of 2005’s, but is a great alternative to (for instance) a Dujac from other vintages and it will surely last and last if that’s your wish. Very tasty.
Rebuy – Yes

2001 Charles Thomas, Corton Clos du Roi
Medium, medium-plus colour. A nose of macerating cherries, slightly alcoholic but focused. Full in the mouth with concentrated fruit and equally concentrated, reasonably fine and ripe tannin. Very nice fruit that hints at an extra creamy dimension and lovely acidity. This wine has plenty of muscle and I wouldn’t hesitate to leave it another 10 years, yet was a tasty wee dram. Very good.
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Louis Latour, Aloxe-Corton 1er Les Chaillots
Medium colour. Limited high tones but decent depth of sugary red fruit. Medium density, slightly astringent but very fine tannin plus a super expansion of fruit in the mid-palate. This is surprisingly long, though much of that flavour is slightly bitter oak-juice. It’s far from seamless but it’s ebulliant delivery has made a friend of me.
Rebuy – Maybe