It’s a deep nose – not much width – very slowly a few high-tones start to fill the picture. Very mineral in expression, almost hiding the fruit. This is a very good wine and has quite enough acidity.
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2003
2003 Mommessin Clos de Tart
Deep colour. Thick and heavy nose of coffee edged sweet plum and herbs. Tasting provides an unctuous, and sweet mix that avoids being ponderous because there’s just so much of everything. Elegant it isn’t, but this is so jam-packed with material that you have to be impressed. Give it 15 years in the cellar and see what develops.
2003 Romanée-Conti Echézeaux
Medium-plus colour. Bright, ebullient nose: at first it’s wide and fat, becoming sleeker with time. Eventually there is a dense core of slightly indistinct fruit overlayed with a minty tone. The instant impression in the mouth is from the texture of the tannins, they’re not the most cultured – plenty of rasp – followed by ripe, sweet fruit that ends with an interesting touch of sourness. There’s a long, intruiging finish that has a little saccharin about it. I’d have no concern over drinking this today as it’s a lovely wine, but vs other recent vintages it’s just a little more simple.
2003 Romanée-Conti Grands-Echézeaux
There won’t be so many press tastings for this vintage as the average harvest across the domaine was a mere 18hl/ha – I guess I was lucky to taste this. Medium-plus colour. The nose is wide and deep with fresh berries, a little time in the glass gives up an extra spicy edge and extra purity to the fruit. In the mouth it’s fat and creamy and is loaded with velvety tannin and concentrated dry extract of fruit on the finish. This is a fascinating expression of the vintage, drier and less fresh than 2004 which I prefer.
2003 Arnoux Robert Clos de Vougeot
From the ‘Quartier des Marei Haut’. Some freshness on the nose, sweet, ripe fruit – but not overly so. Fresh palate with dense but beautifully textured tannins and plenty of fruit extract to balance them. Like almost all 2003’s this is very ripe, but still manages to offer a ‘classicly’ balanced wine. Very good.
2003 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne
Bottled in January, 2-3 months after the other whites. The vines are at the fop of the hill and north-east facing, Philippe believes that this cooler spot helped to preserve acidity this year. Lovely nose, hints of green, cream covered apricots. Instantly classic palate with tons of complexity – really good mouthfeel. The finish is a strong one, fading only slowly. A very good wine that speaks more of Corton-Charlemagne than of 2003 – excellent.
2003 Pavillon Corton Clos des Maréchaudes
2003 Bouchard Père et Fils Le Corton
Philippe Prost is very proud of this wine, he thinks it could be the best he’s ever vinified. The nose is deep and brooding, only grudgingly gives up it’s complexity at this temperature. It’s not so fat as the previous wines, much more classically balanced. Excellent length, quite a flourish too, with mouth-gripping tannins that underline 10 years sleep in the cellar for best results. I will most likely buy some of this.
2003 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Aromatics that are wide and deep, a little blurred vs the previous Nuits, but there’s certainly more going on. Slowly a note of violet comes to the fore, focus improving all the time. Like the Corton, a more classically proportioned palate. Really good balance between the structure and fruit. Very, very good.
Aromatics that are wide and deep, a little blurred vs the previous Nuits, but there’s certainly more going on. Slowly a note of violet comes to the fore, focus improving all the time. Like the Corton, a more classically proportioned palate. Really good balance between the structure and fruit. Very, very good.