2004 Vincent et Denis Berthaut, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Chézeaux
Medium cherry-red. The nose starts with a dark oaky element intertwined with plenty of the 04 cedary green thing – after five minutes you have lost the dark part, it’s even eventually asparagus! In the mouth The fruit is sweet, but it’s really pushed into the background by the slightly mouth-puckering effect of the tannin/acidity. There’s plenty of that cedar thing in the mouth too. It may have a future, but it’s hard to see it.
Rebuy – No

In most respects, initial impressions of this wine were of the Chambolle Charmes ‘plus’ – shame there was some dodgy cork-taint…
2006 Chézeaux/Ponsot, Griotte-Chambertin
The colour is just a little darker. Aromatically I started with some concerns; the cork had a bad, rancid, almost volatile smell to it, some of that showed up as ‘inner mouth perfume’ as Burghound would say – far from perfume though – but fortunately it was only very faint on the nose. Mouth-filling, plenty of very fine tannin and a width of fine red fruit that’s both sweet and lingering. It’s quite a long way from the stunning depth of the 05, but then there is enough of that strange taint that I won’t rate it and would certainly send it back in a restaurant. I didn’t open a second one right away to see if it was better…!

2006 Chézeaux/Ponsot, Chambolle 1er Les Charmes
A relatively pale young wine – medium cherry-red colour. The nose is quite tight – some depth but little width, only slowly does a little definition and a pure red note start to build, eventually there’s also a floral aspect. Super texture, the tannin slowly builds in the mouth to give a little ripple of grain, astringency and also a little bitterness. Acidity is finely balanced and there is very good intensity to the fruit, fruit that seems to become sweeter with time. Not completely full of ‘charm’ at this stage, but everything is in place – wait at least 5 years before returning.
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Pierre Bourée, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
Deeply coloured – purple at the rim. The nose starts with plenty of oak that has a hint of toast but no more – it’s very wide and covers dark-skinned fruit. It slowly evolves, but never shows the complexity and stems of the 2004. Mouth-filling, again there’s oak flavour and some well grained tannin too. The acidity starts a tiny bit forward, though only exacerbates the superb length – those flavours are a lot to do with oak and are eventually just a little bitter, but this is very impressive. Quite some concentration in the mid-palate and certainly it’s a little rustic, but it’s clearly full of wine – better than some GC’s! This will need several years for the wood to move into the background, but it’s a real quality effort that shows personality. I initially bought three, but am now going back for a couple more – clearly built for the long-haul. As a post-script, day two shows little obvious oak, still no stems and a better balance. All good signs – okay, maybe I’d have liked a little stems…
Rebuy – Yes

I had a glass of a more than worthy 2005 Corton (note tomorrow) next to this. The Corton was long and more elegant though didn’t have the oomph or chutzpah of the Bourée!

Currently the only ‘other’ négoce St.Jacques I can think of outside of Dominique Laurent’s – though I’ve heard of a Patrice Rion(?) – drop me a line if you can think of others…
2004 Pierre Bourée, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
A rare négoce bottle of Clos St.Jacques. A deep core of already ruby-red colour – quite deeply coloured for a Bourée. The nose is the usual interesting blend of smoky Bourée stems a faint undertow of cedar, earthy Gevrey notes and another faint undertow of mushroom – the last droops in the glass hold a lovely pure redcurrant note. In the mouth there’s good texture; the plentiful tannins are not so astringent and are very well covered. There’s clearly plenty of concentration here, though the acidity shows a little too tart for the first hour, hence, defining the wine and becoming the major aspect of a very long finish. Density and complexity on the mid-palate is very good. This is a very young wine that improved in the glass such that the acidity was much less forward (maybe I was just ‘used’ to it) after an hour or so, but it is also today, slightly compromised by low levels of the 2004 green but there’s is plenty of wine here so my remaining bottles will stay at least 10 years in the cellar – if the green fades into the background it will be an excellent wine.
Rebuy – Maybe

A nice restaurant with a super wine-list. Actually they don’t have a list, you have to wander around the underground rooms that make up the cellar and just find a bottle – or two! About 50% of the bottles are priced, for the rest you must ask. I wanted something reasonably mature, so ended up with a short-list of 3: 1991 Dujac Gevrey 1er Combottes, 1991 Ponsot Latrcières-Chambertin and 1992 Dujac Clos St.Denis. All were roughly the same price – I could have taken any number of 1995’s (Rousseau St.Jacques, Drouhin Musigny etc.,etc., for less money – but in the end I went for the (expected) mature 1992 and saved the 91’s for another day 😉
1992 Dujac, Clos St.Denis
A medium, quite mature colour. The nose starts deep, stemmy and interesting – over the next two hours it goes from strength to strength, with red berries, mineral notes of pencil lead, occasional caramel or cream etc., etc. – it was first class. In the mouth I expected it would have little chance of competing with the aromatics and so it turned out – but it was still a worthy choice. Not the density of of a grand cru from most (recent) vintages, medium bodied with very slightly elevated acidity, but as the wine developed and became sweeter this was hardly noticeable. The faintest hint of tannin remains and the wine never withered in 2 hours, rather it became more interesting and complex. This is mature, reasonably long and tasty. Nine from ten for the nose and more like seven for taste. Lovely.
Rebuy – Yes

Beaune 1er cru blanc today!
2005 de Montille, Beaune 1er Blanc Les Aigrots
Medium-pale yellow. Lot’s of high-toned, sherbet notes over stony fruit and occasional hints of brioche. Good freshness, and not too much of the plump fat you often get in white Beaune. Actually there seems a slight family resemblance to the domaine’s Puligny – though clearly the considerable depth of flavour in the mid-palate lack’s for the Puligny’s fineness. I’d like a little more focus on the nose, but there’s no doubting how tasty it is.
Rebuy – Maybe

2005 Alain Michelot, Nuits St.Georges 1er Les St.Georges
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose hangs with heavy mineral notes, a lovely pure cherry note and faint mushroom in the background. The entry texture is soft and smooth until a strong wall of grainy tannin raises its head. The acidity and the fruit extract are certainly up to the competition, providing a slight burst of complexity in the mid-palate and an oak-tinged lingering flavour. Showing mainly linearity and structure now and muscled structure at that. Tuck it away for a few years, it will need it…
Rebuy – Yes

Ah, those were the days, now where was I?

2005 Jean Tardy, Chambolle-Musigny Les Athets
Medium, medium-plus colour. A deep, slightly baked fruit impression intertwined with a dark oak note – I think the oak is influencing the fruit. In the mouth the texture’s okay but I have the impression there’s some dissolved gas here making the tannin a little forward and the acidity slightly prickly. There’s some extra dimension, but it’s clearly not showing its best. Day 2 and the nose starts less interesting, but slowly a red-currant note tries to assert itself. The ‘rasp’ that I associated with dissolved gas is still there on the palate, though the tannin seems less forward. Tight? For sure, but versus some other village chambolles I could mention there’s little here that demands a second look…
Rebuy – No