Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. A soft and dusty fruit nose, red fruit, some cream and relatively modest toasty/spicy oak – eventually coffee/mocha overtones. On the palate the ripe fruit is a little oak-marked, and that oak is slightly bitter and for a while dominates the quite long finish. Slowly some creamy fruit comes through, eventually aeration provides a nice balance.
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. The wide nose showcases well delineated soft red fruit and a little coffee too. High-toned fruit in the mouth that is both concentrated and bursts into life on the mid-palate. There is some astringency to the tannin but the combined sweetness of the fruit and the considerable spicy oak means that it’s not overpowering in the finish which also shows plenty of cream and just a touch of espresso. In quality terms this wine is quite close to the previous wine, just a little shorter and less precise – mainly due to the layer of sweet oak which I don’t find ‘additive’.
Medium yellow. The cooler the wine, the more mineral the aspect, but at the correct temperature, aromatically this is a more about honey than rocks, with just a faint savoury edge. The palate is soft and supple – ripe obviously – good texture and a medium-plus length. The vintage is doing the talking here, so this is not a great Bougros, but it is a great value wine enjoyed in a restaurant.
An oversize and overweight ’statement bottle’ with a super-deep punt. Medium yellow. The nose shouts ‘pear-drops’ before becoming a more subtle blend with classic white blossom and higher-toned alcoholic notes. The palate is quite well concentrated and reasonably long, it just needs an extra dab of acidity to carry the ample mid-palate through into the finish. Almost good.
Deep colour. The nose shows more than a passing resemblance to the Combottes but is more tightly wound – it does take on a more musky and heavy impression with time but never opens out to the level of that wine. Über-concentration, achingly intense in the mid-palate and super-long. Behind is (almost) hidden tannin with just an edge of grain. This is Combottes’ bigger brother, seems less mineral and focused but then that could the masking effect of the extra concentration. Leave the glass still for a while and it fills with toasty oak aromas. Very expensive, but very impressive too.
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. A high-toned rather narrow nose – you have to work to get at the fruit at its base. Concentrated, reasonable texture too. Reasonable acidity. The wine opens out nicely on the finish. Whilst it might not be a classic Clos de Vougeot, it certainly has the classic austerity. A good wine, but only almost good Clos de Vougeot.
Medium-pale yellow. The nose has many plusses – lovely high tones and a tight, linear depth – they just seemed a little unconnected at the start; eventually widens, coming together more and much more forward. The palate is quite unformed yet intense, almost good acidity and certainly very long, though just tending to bitterness at the end. Quite impressive, and definitely not a 2003 for early drinking.
Medium-pale yellow. The nose has many plusses – lovely high tones and a tight, linear depth – they just seemed a little unconnected at the start, eventually widens and comes together more, much more forward. The palate is quite unformed, intense, almost good acidity and certainly very long, though just tending to bitterness at the end. Quite impressive, and definitely not a 2003 for early drinking.
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