Clos Frantin

2005 Clos Frantin Grands-Echézeaux

By on March 31, 2007 #asides

Medium-plus cherry red colour. The nose starts quite animale, taking quite some time to subside leaving only the most subtle of dark-skinned fruit aromas. There is a lot of wine here; ragged, chewy tannins leave little room for elegance, but you are left with quite profound, complex wine that bursts across the palate with red and black fruit flavours into the very long finish.

2005 Clos Frantin Echézeaux

By on March 31, 2007 #asides

Medium, medium-plus cherry red. A wide and rather subtle nose showing hints of earth. The palate is lithe and a little tannic. Good acidity and superbly wide, creamy complex flavours that go on and on. This does not have the density of the wines that follow but it’s a marvel in a glass and highly recommended!

2005 Clos Frantin Clos de Vougeot

By on March 31, 2007 #asides

Medium-plus colour. The nose is very fine; high-toned, linear with delicate red and black fruits. Executive packaging on the palate – good fruit, plenty of tannin, quite some extension into the finish – an almost haunting finish. Not even vaguely austere, just very, very classy. Bravo.

2005 Clos Frantin Chambertin

By on March 31, 2007 #asides

Medium-plus colour. The nose is impressive with mineral and faintly animale notes mingling with dark fruit – very complex. Concentrated fruit magnificently covers the tannin. Linear entry to the palate, only subltly widening into the mid-palate before impressively bursting into the multi-dimensional finish. Wow! And I thought the Clos de Vougeot was good – this is fantastic quality.

2005 Clos Frantin Richebourg

By on March 31, 2007 #asides

After the frankly brilliant wines that preceded this, unfortunately we didn’t quite finish with a bang – this was rather unknit and apparently needs some time to settle: Deeply coloured. The nose at first is a little uninspiring – wide but ill-defined – slowly it improves and provides a little coffee depth. The palate is lithe with fairly well covered tannin, but it’s the cream-edged fruit that impresses the most – certainly the most striking of any wine here. The length is also, frankly, superb, but overall this is a wine today of parts and potential rather than cohesion. I’d happily drive some distance to taste it again once it’s settled down though!

1972 Clos Frantin Richebourg

By on February 28, 2006 #asides

A strong core of ruby that fades to a mahogany rim. Whilst the palate is sweet and shows a very interesting weight, the nose was dominated by cork taint…

2004 Clos Frantin Clos de Vougeot

By on February 28, 2006 #asides

Versus the Malconsorts; darker with a much tighter nose – almost unforgiving in nature – classic, austere, young Clos de Vougeot. Very linear in presentation, concentrated, long and backed up with very executive tannins – very fine. This wine makes quite a statement, and rather like their (Pavillon’s) Corton-Charlemagne, a wine for the future.

1999 Clos Frantin Clos de Vougeot

By on June 30, 2005 #asides

Medium-plus red, still with a cherry-red rim. The nose has a rasping mineral, indeed earthy note, behind there’s a lovely deep red fruit aspect – very good so-far. There’s some of that earthy aspect on the palate too (geosmin?) but the fruit is splendid behind, as is the overall balance. I’d like a little more length but this has very good base material – I’m concerned about that earthy aspect, but not enough to stop me buying a couple more for reference.

1997 Clos Frantin Echézeaux

By on February 28, 2005 #asides

Medium, medium-plus red, still with a hint of cherry colour. The nose has just a trace of primary cherry over earthy and faintly ashy notes. The palate doesn’t have the most luxurious of textures but has a real Grand Cru depth and length to the finish. Certainly not a typical fruit-profile for a 1997 – there’s plenty of freshness. Acidity is okay but there is just a trace of oaky bitterness on the finish. No rush to drink and it’s a pretty good drop too.

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