2005 Olivier Guyot, Marsannay La Montagne
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. Modest higher tones over a tight core of dark fruit, swirling releases a little more spicy, leathery notes. Rather linear but very good fine tannin and slightly forward acidity. The flavour is mainly confined to the mid-palate and finish, but it’s quite intense if slightly metallic tasting, the finish is today average. This gives the impression that it has already tightened for slumber. There’s not that much to see today, I would leave for 5 or 6 years.
Rebuy – Maybe

From left to right: 1919 Clos Blanc de Vougeot, 1957 Bonnes-Mares, 1959 Echézeaux   

Sometimes opportunities to taste nice wines (maybe I should say exceptional wines) pop-up without expectation. This week I was to taste a fine producer’s 2006 range of Chablis, however, as an aperitif I had the opportunity to drink wine from three other bottles that just happened to be open:
1957 Berry Bros & Rudd, Bonnes-Mares
Medium colour – both alive and interesting – looked super in the glass. The nose was fecund, with interesting if not all-encompassing depth and slowly became sweeter in the glass. A sweet entry, predominantly resolved tannin and just about middle-weight flavours. Slightly warming in the mid-palate with a length that just went on and on. Wonderful length – if not complexity. Not a phrase I would expect to associate with Bonnes-Mares – even one that was more than 50 years old – but this was rather a charmer.
Rebuy – No Chance
1959 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Echézeaux
Medium-plus colour, both deeper and younger looking than the Bonnes-Mares. The nose also has much more depth of an obvious oak note. Soft and concentrated with just a slight lift of the acidity. Apparently much more compact in the mid-palate than the Bonnes-Mares but with equal length. This is clearly a ‘younger’ and more powerful wine but just a little less enticing and balanced than the Bonnes-Mares today. Re-reading this sounds harsh, but it was a very good wine indeed that I’d be happy for you to open for me 😉
Rebuy – Yes
1919 Jules Regnier & Co, Clos Blanc de Vougeot
Jules Regnier was a Dijon-based merchant, interesting then that there is some mainly illegible text referring to Vosne-Romanée on the label! Medium-pale amber colour. Depth and width to the aromas – mainly that wet wool / lanolin that you get with old whites over a creamy base, occasional meaty elements and a faint volatile lift. It’s intense and super despite the occasional hint of mustiness, but a quick swirl and that dissipates. The leading edge of the acidity has a slight tartness which over time became more obvious. Neither the nose nor the flavours show any oxidative notes – what an achievement! – and the wine offers a wonderful creamy length. You occasionally taste that musty element, but not with every sip. Despite a less than perfect wine, this is a stunning experience in a glass.
Rebuy – No Chance

Nice Lunch!

This relatively unassuming label delivers everything that the Girardin label promised but absolutely failed to deliver. Clearly there is a vintage difference, but in the final analysis, this tastes like pinot noir, and a very good one too. Aromatically much more interesting than the Foillard of the day before, though the Morgon had the edge in the mouth. Overall the Morgon is a slightly better package for drinking today, but a dead heat from an interest perspective.
2005 Pierre Morey, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose is deep and heavily scented, darkly fruited, edged with a little cream and with something just a little more floral above – very impressive. The palate is a little more linear than the nose, medium density with good dark fruit, slightly forward acidity and a nice extra dimension in the mid-palate. The reasonably grained tannin is in the background.
Rebuy – Yes

Need some 2006 bourgogne recommendations? Try these.

The packaging is great. The expectation it sets also; Pinot Noir Les Vieilles Vignes. The price is not exceptional for a bourgogne, in fact at 20 Swiss francs it’s far from cheap. Let’s be clear, this is a nice tasty wine but tastes like Beaujolais not pinot – and not a stunning Beaujolais – a top crus Beaujolais can be cheaper and certainly ‘better’. Incredibly disappointing, the laurels easily sit with the Beaujolais in this case.
2006 Vincent Girardin, Bourgogne Pinot Noir Les Vieilles Vignes
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose is fruity, a little gassy and smells like cheap Beaujolais. Sweetly ripe, quite well balanced with a small edge of dissolved gas. Good length. Tastes like Beaujolais. Rock-stable for 2 hours.
Rebuy – No

Clearly above I used the term ‘cheap beaujolais’ above as a negative, but that’s a) because cheap beaujolais is usually not so nice, and b) because I was expecting the Girardin wine to taste like pinot noir – come to think of it, not just pinot noir, but pinot noir vieilles vignes!

As a balm, here is a ‘real’ Beaujolais, admittedly costing 4 Swiss francs per bottle more, but it’s a great bottle and the additional investment is amply rewarded!

2005 Foillard, Morgon Cuvée Corcelette
The table-top is a mess; it looks great, but the red wax capsule is far from user friendly! Medium-plus cherry-red. Wide, faintly spicy, dark-skinned fruit. Quite big in the mouth and very smooth. The acidity creeps up on you because you’re initially engrossed by the sweet fruit, but it sweeps you into a good finish. There’s a fine intensity in the mid-palate. Super wine.
Rebuy – Yes

2006 Seguin-Manuel, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er, Les Lavières
Medium, medium-plus colour. Deep red and black-skinned cherries under faint wood spice, the last drops provide a lovely reccurrant note. Lithe, lovely acidity, ripe fruit and good good mid-palate flavour. The tannin is relatively background. Not the density of a Bouchard Père or Tollot-Beaut Lavières, but this is a lovely middle-weight.
Rebuy – Yes

For me the ‘average’ face of a mid-range 2003 is shown by the Beaune, and that’s the reason you don’t see many notes for 03’s on this page. The Pommard is altogether better, and comes close to being enjoyable!
2003 Albert Bichot, Beaune 1er Cru
Medium red, still some hints of cherry. High tones that are reasonably fresh. The tannin is a little drying and the acid is a little sharp – certainly far from seamless.. Not a great balance here.
Rebuy – No
2003 Albert Bichot, Pommard 1er Les Arvelets
Medium, medium-plus red – again with just a hint of cherry-red. The nose is deeper with a savoury, meaty aspect. The acidity is just a little prickly, but this fades with time. The tannins are ripe and there’s decent length and balance.
Rebuy – Maybe

2005 Bouchard Père, Monthélie 1er Clos des Champs Fulliot
A bright medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. High tones over red berry notes. Mouth-filling with plenty of fine tannin and very good acidity. As the wine lingers in the glass the red berry note of the nose comes through on the palate too. Good intensity and length, it’s a good wine. The price is rather ambitious for the appellation – about 40 Swiss Francs – but the wine clearly has quality.
Rebuy – Yes

My first sip left me underwhelmed, but this really grew both in the glass and on me.
2006 Domaine Lejeune, Pommard 1er Les Argillières
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts with chalky, powdery fruit, slowly opening a deeper dimension thats edged with caramel. The tannin builds to a little grain but is ripe and mainly fine textured, it also attaches caramel flavours to your gums before they very slowly fade – good length. It’s certainly a little behind the concentration of the 2005, but its sweet fruit clearly shows premier cru complexity. Very well balanced, and whilst it gives the impression of being a little dilute to start, most of the flavour comes from the mid-palate onwards and it’s great flavour if a little barrel derived.
Rebuy – Yes