A dumb nose. The palate is far from dumb – power-packed with tons of structure but very fine fruit bubbles way below. Good length and certainly austere but in the best sense of the word.
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Clos de Vougeot
2005 Thomas-Moillard Clos de Vougeot
From a parcel of quite well-placed vines, planted just above the Château de la Tour. A tight but faintly sweet nose. Clearly there is lots and lots of structure here, but equally clearly this is the longest finishing wine of the series. Classic, austere, young Clos de Vougeot and probably almost good value.
2005 Mischief and Mayhem Clos de Vougeot
2005 Vougeraie Clos de Vougeot
2005 Clos Frantin Clos de Vougeot
2004 Haegelen-Jayer Clos de Vougeot
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. High tones overlay a nose of considerable depth – earthy and cedar aspects and a slightly ‘lifted’ impression – but throughout our time together the nose remains completely understated. This wine bursts with excitement; it’s intense and the forward acidity makes it difficult to hold the wine in your mouth. The tannin is very well covered and the finish only slowly fades. It’s not as long as the best here but it’s not too far behind. This is an excellent bottle.
1996 Castagnier Guy Clos de Vougeot
Medium, medium-plus ruby-red. The nose is wild and interesting; savoury and fecund maybe even a licorice edge, yet there is tight core of red fruit too that will need more time to fully blossom. This wine shows the most tannin of the 4 Castagniers, faintly drying but leaving a fine, soft coating on your teeth. Really intense, the concentration does a great job of balancing the acidity. The palate is quite backward though perhaps not so much as the Bonnes-Mares. A super nose, the palate just needs another 3-5 years to catch up. Will be super.
2003 Thomas Charles Clos de Vougeot
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.