There’s only one thing that I really dislike about this wine – the cork – or should I say the cork ‘amalgam’. It’s purely empirical, but I find a very high taint rate from similar ‘cheap’ closures – no problem with this bottle though.
2004 Louis Jadot, Bourgogne Chardonnay
The 2002 was my house wine last summer so it’s only fair to try out the 2004. Medium yellow. The nose is less sweet oak dominated than the 02, it’s higher toned, just a little floral with a quite subtle oak base. This has a quite rich texture that’s offset by a little dissolved gas which makes the acidity a little prickley. There’s a nice expansion of creamy flavour in the mid-palate and a more than reasonable length. Give it time and the prickle is gone and the palate is nicely smooth. Just a little less rich and sweet than the 2002. It’s very good for the price if not quite as good as the 2002 – though this very young – it has a chance of being a house wine for summer 2008, but won’t make it for 2007, the 05’s are currently too good.
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Domaine Thomas-Moillard, Corton Clos du Roi
A medium-plus ruby-red core. The nose is about iron and soft, sweet, musky notes topped with fainter blackberry. Linear and intense, this is classic 1996 with mouth-watering acidity and a faint but lingering length. It’s a very clean, concentrated and tidy wine that’s showing little in the way of development and will probably require at least another 5 years to turn a little friendly…
Rebuy – Yes

2004 Domaine des Varoilles, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos des Varoilles
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose hovers close to fantastic – beautiful red berry fruit edged with cream – but from time to time there’s a rather powder and indistinct edge, the wine could never quite make up its mind. The palate is nicely textured with good intensity and acidity. The tannins are well covered with sweet fruit and a lovely creamy edge to the finish too. There was no sign of green in this wine, but one-third of the bottle lay in the fridge overnight; the nose is now earthy with a strong cedar streak – no red fruit and ‘no love’! A Jeckyll and Hyde performance reminiscent of this Clos St.Jacques.
Rebuy – Maybe

This 3.5 hectare Gevrey domaine has only bottled since 1989. A small selection of wines that include a Bourgogne, a villages Gevrey, 1er Crus in Goulots, Petits Cazetiers and Combe-aux-Moines, finally this grand cru.
1996 Dominique Gallois, Charmes-Chambertin
Medium-plus ruby-red colour. Bloody with sweet, dank, faintly sulfury oak and tonnes of turned leaf litter on the forward nose. In the mouth your main impression is the sweet river of acidity running through the core. As you reach the mid-palate the wine expands before slowly contracting into a good finish. I would say that there are many, many years in this wine yet, but it seems to be entering an early window of drinkability
Rebuy – Yes

I remembered a note from Allen Meadows on this wine, it went something like ‘Malconsorts as it should be, but so rarely is’. Having spotted this and a number of other potential gems in a merchants cellar, I quite forgot about 2005’s – this week at least!

Although the vineyard is quite large, you will rarely find this ‘Au-dessus des Malconsorts’ label – pehaps it uses too much ink – most producers simply choose to describe their wine as Malconsorts. Not all the maps show the location either, but you can see it on this older map, sitting at the top of Malconsorts and touching on today’s La Tâche.
1999 H & G Remoriquet, Vosne-Romanée 1er Au-Dessus des Malconsorts
Medium-plus colour – only the faintest traces of cherry-red still remain. The nose is absolutely splendid; forward, very wide, mineral, a little feral, hints of coffee, spice and spruce – it could only come from Vosne, and though it misses a touch of decorum, such is the complexity that you would expect (blind) that it was a very good grand cru. The bar is now set and I’m judging this wine to grand cru standards: The palate starts with a blast, wide interesting and complex – there’s little fat. It slowly fades rather than expands. Under their blanket of fruit the tannins are a little grainy and the finish is in the ‘good but not great’ category. This is an excellent 1er cru but misses a little mid-palate density and length for a truly fine grand cru. All the same, this is open for business and is a very ‘giving’ wine that brims with complexity and interest – if not elegance. Highly recommended…
Rebuy – Yes
Clicking on the dollar sign above I see (once more) that Berry Bros stock this wine – 31 bottles left – and at their case price of ~£22 per bottle it’s a bargain of epic proportions…

1998 H & G Remoriquet, Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Damodes
The colour is very deep and surprisingly still clings to a young, faint cherry-red hue. The nose is brooding, dense and very focused – eventually a little underbrush compliments the black-skinned fruit. Concentrated, slightly metallic flavours and plenty of well covered fine tannin are the first impressions followed by faintly mouth-watering acidity and a long, fresh finish. This wine impresses with its very fresh, linear and concentrated yet still quite primary delivery – it is quite aloof – haughty even – but there are no hard edges. I would say it will benefit from at least another 3 years in the cellar.
Rebuy – Yes

2001 Denis Bachelet, Bourgogne
Medium cherry-red. The nose is wide, faintly funky and softly sweet and red. The palate is relatively soft with a red fruit complexion but initially simple with slightly shrill acidity. Aeration bit-by-bit subdues the acidity and you are left with a soft and friendly wine that shows little tannin and a reasonable length. Given a similar performance on day two (the bottle spent the night in the fridge) it seems more of a temperature effect – quite tart cold, smoother at room temperature. Easy drinking.
Rebuy – Maybe