1997 Chandon de Brailles, Pernand Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
(Magnum) Medium yellow. A waxy brioche nose. The palate is fresh with very good acidity that’s coupled to quite some dimension and personality – very good length too – a very worthy 97.
Rebuy – Yes
1997 Lucien Jacob, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Vergelesses
Pale gold colour. The nose remains rather understated, majoring in high-tones. Soft texture with lowish acidity but seems nicely put together. Quite nice.
Rebuy – Maybe
1997 Louis Jadot, Beaune 1er Grèves le Clos Blanc
Medium yellow colour. The nose is high toned and just a little understated – the palate is anything but; it’s full-packed, concentrated and ripe. Deep and creamy length. The acidity is relatively low but the power and delivery are impressive.
Rebuy – Maybe

1992 des Chézeaux, Griotte-Chambertin
There has been some obvious seepage from the cork, but the bottle/label remains clean. A medium-plus garnet colour. The nose starts deep and brooding, perhaps a little sweet – but little else – the last drops in the glass, however, are of a lovely penetrating red berry. The palate is lithe, quite well concentrated and pleasingly fresh. The fruit remains nicely sweet but is set against slightly bitter tannin which is the main note of the finish. Aeration softens the bitter edge but never quite removes it. No obvious heat damage and very drinkable, but the 1994 is better.
Rebuy – No

1994 des Chézeaux, Griotte-Chambertin
Good 94’s are hard to come by but I’ve never been disappointed by this cuvée – apart from one corked bottle. This Ponsot elevaged wine shows medium ruby-red colour and a lovely forward nose of sweet red cherry and faint sweat oak – eventually there’s a little strawberry confiture, finally a lovely pure red berry and a little mocha peeking out – there’s much more density than most 94’s show. The palate is well-textured with creamy flavour that clings to your mouth – it doesn’t have the length of a great year but it’s unmistakedly grand cru. The acidity is mouth-watering though could be a little smoother in the mid-palate, likewise the tannins are not perfect but their texture is not bad either. Coming close to, but not quite at maturity, this wine has very impressive fruit for the vintage, whereas the structure is just a little less sophisticated than normal. Still an easy 90pt wine and it provides a lot of love – that’s is quite a compliment for a 1994!
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Remoissenet, Bourgogne Renommée
Since mid-2005, Remoissenet have been under new ownership – it has to be all the better from a quality perspective as good premier crus from great vintages e.g. 1999 were at best dull and lifeless. What better way to start the assessment of the new regime than with their most basic product? The colour is medium cherry-red. The nose is rather good; fresh, ripe, slightly powdery red cherry – no confiture – some high tones and nice depth. The palate is rather fresh with plenty of mouthwatering acidity. The fruit is high-toned in the mouth and (for a 2005 at least) just a little tart. The relatively fine grained tannin is there if you search. Overall much fresher than many fruit-bomb 2005’s and if that’s your style, at this price it’s very much recommended.
Rebuy – Yes

2005 Maison Blanche, Chablis
Medium-pale yellow. The nose is wide, fresh and shows faint citrus hints – it’s a hit. The palate is very concentrated and plush for such a ‘lowly’ wine with almost good acidity – I would have liked just a little more – but a good-plus length. Base Chablis from this vintage can be incredibly successful and I have to say I’ve had (so far) more bulls-eyes from Chablis than the Côte de Beaune. An excellent potential ‘house-wine’.
Rebuy – Yes

For background on this domaine I recommend you check out Bert’s super piece here. These were my first taste of wines from this interesting Beaune estate, and given the vintage I think I’d be very happy to try more:
1997 Emmanuel Giboulot, Rully 1er La Pucelle
Golden colour. The nose is honied and very faintly oxidative – but in a mature wine way rather than a premature problematic way. This is a big mouthful of wine with soft, nice texture coupled to toasty depth. Ready now and very good.
Rebuy – Yes
1997 Emmanuel Giboulot, Côte de Beaune Le Grand Chatelaine
Pale golden. The nose is similar to the Rully and quite interesting. The palate is ripe, pleasant and has almost good acidity. Not the punch of the Rully but a nice, mature drink still.
Rebuy – Yes
1997 Emmanuel Giboulot, Beaune Lalune
Roasted red fruit notes on the nose. The palate shows good concentration, sweet ripe fruit and a good balance. There is still some tannin and no rush to drink this. A very successful 97.
Rebuy – Yes

1997 Domaine Stéphane Aladame, Montagny 1er Cru
(Magnum) Pale yellow coloured. The nose is high-toned – plenty of ripe fruit yet remains quite fresh. Good fruit with nice enough acidity – a successful wine.
Rebuy – Yes
1997 Jean-Yves Devevey, Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Les Chagnots
(Magnum) Pale yellow. The nose is unusual, lots of peardrops and just a little sickly to me. The palate, however, is has plenty of acidity that is not perfectly refined but there’s plenty of dimension and good length. A bit of a Curate’s Egg.
Rebuy – No
1997 Louis Jadot, Auxey Duresses
Pale yellow. A deep oaky nose. Lots of dimension on the palate and quite some depth too. The acidity is just a little spiky, but this is serious and very interesting – oh and tasty too!
Rebuy – Yes

This cuvée doen’t usually start singing until it reaches it’s 15th birthday – the beautiful 1985 is still right in the middle of it’s drinking window. Time to open the lonely six-pack for a status report…
1995 Domaine Dujac, Morey St.Denis
Medium-pale ruby-red. The nose is heavy with the musky scent of strawberry, raspberry and the smoky stems – it’s a beauty. The palate has a soft entry that nicely widens with the help of understated acidity. The equally soft tannin is still there as an undercurrent as you head into a finish of creamy baked red fruit and still just a little bitterness – here for the first time the acidity is not so seamless. As is usual for this village cuvée in a reasonable vintage, it’s still not quite ready to drink at 12 years of age, but I’m happy there are more in the cellar!
Rebuy – Yes