Well, it was my birthday – so they tell me – I stopped counting a long time ago!

Just passing comments: The 2014 Jean-Claude Courtault, Chablis was fresh, phenolic, questionably ripe, but unquestionably energetic and enjoyed – then once the guests had all arrived I opened the champers! The Jacquesson Cuvée 741 is my style of wine – the nose could certainly have been more precise but the mid and finishing flavours had both nice energy and an engaging clarity – good! Then came three 2016 Pouilly-Fuissé, Roc de Boutires – samples – but why not let an audience appreciate them – details to follow. Then a brace of Chambolle-Charmes from Alex Gambal – the 2007 had a nose that was approaching if not fully volatile but as it began to blow off became engagingly floral. The palate was round but balanced and tasty – good. The 2008 was much nicer with more drive to both aromatic and flavour – it lingered well too – definitely a notch higher interest here. The 1998 Maume, Mazis-Chambertin will be written up in my forthcoming Burgundy Report (on 1998s) – but it was, just for the record, excellent. Lastly a half-bottle of something that looked like engine oil – a magnificent half-bottle of ’20 year-old’ Pedro-Ximenez, Fortnum & Mason – bought there in the summer – magnificent (encore!), great wine – totally unperturbed by either ripe Epoisses or desert. Fabulous stuff!

2014 Sylvain Pataille, Bourgogne Blanc Le Chapitre
Quite a deep golden – but then Sylvain has never been one to shy away from ‘low sulfur.’ The nose is relatively tight but fresh with a little ripe mirabelle fruit possibly even baked apple pie but even a faint suggestion of reduction. This is sleek wine, of beautiful, driving, mouth-watering line – it’s just so juicily delicious and with fine, lingering, flavour. Don’t chill this too much or it will be drunk in flash – you have been warned! Great stuff!

2014 Lambrays, Bourgogne Rosé
Medium, medium-plus colour for a rosé. The nose is not super enticing – faintly cheesy-feet and a little high-toned, almost in the direction of volatility. In the mouth this has lovely shape and a little fat to the texture. The initial flavours are far from ripe but the flavour opens out and holds in a definitely un-Bourgogne way. Still, this is quite good at best and a long way from great. I can only assume that this was already best consumed in 2015 or 2016…

2016 Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Zaccharie Geoffray
Now that’s a deep colour! The nose starts with a little reduction in the depths, but time in the glass, or a little time sans cork, and it’s gone. What remains has fresh width, a little graphite and a beautiful black cherry note. The palate has freshness and weight that intensifies and them melts over the palate in an extravaganza of a bright, pure beam of od cherry fruit. Simply top class! Bravo…
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Some 2018s in the mix which, as previously noted, will be written up in a 20-years-on report – but other good stuff too.

Another bottle of the 2017 Julien Brocard, Chablis Boissoneuse this wine is simply too good – that’s most of my case already gone – I won’t even visit to officially taste it until January – what a mess I am! Then what to say about the 2012 Faiveley, Corton-Charlemagne? Directly a wine of impact, clarity, density and an oozing and persistent finish – oof! With time in the glass there’s a twist of firework-style reduction that develops to augment the mineral weight of finishing flavour. I still have a preference for the domaine’s 2014 – mainly for its extra twist of freshness – but I’m not ashamed in any way to have bought this one – how long can I keep my hands of the others? Only time will tell…

Weeks 34-36, 2018. Actually a few wines may have slipped through, but such is life. I’ve also (so far) gone through a Baker’s Dozen of 1998s with more to come, but they will be written up, with a profile of the vintage, in my September report – due out before the end of October.

Whizzing through these; The last days have seen two cremants from Louis Bouillot – the blanc the blanc and the blanc de noirs – both are delicious and advantageously priced vs Champagnes – I’m generally the blanc de blanc type, and I had no change in preference here! This weekend saw two Chablis from Julien Brocard – these are his (Demeter) biodynamic wines, with elevage in concrete ‘eggs.’ The 2015 1er Côte de Lechet, DIAM⁵ sealed, was more aromatically tropical than the 2017 ‘Boissonneuse’ villages which has already moved onto the DIAM¹⁰ closure. The 2015 with more depth, weight and silk to the flavours, the 2017 with a modest extra freshness. The 2015 is better, but not a massive margin – these Brocards are not cheap but it’s a fabulous boutique range with beautiful packaging.

Of-course from another class was the 2012 Jean Chartron, Chevalier-Montrachet Clos des Chevaliers – and so it should have been, a relatively restrained nose but what length and presence – simply a wow wine – a privilege… The magnum of 1981 Clavelier Corton-(Clos)Rognets was fresh, robust and very clean – I suppose it had been filtered, but that ensured we could enjoy it over two nights – it had become musty by the third. The 1999 Remoriquet was excellent, earthy, ‘graphitey’ and complex – super – and a relief as the previous bottle was not up to par. 3 or 4 more remain in the cellar. My second 2016 Diconne Auxey-Duresses VV was just as good as the first a month or two back – delicious, classy white burgundy and a bargain too.

A lunch with, as you can see, like-minded friends…

2011 Comtes Lafon, Meursault Clos de la Barre
It was very hard to place this wine when first poured – it had a certain sweetness – aromatically and in the flavour – but it kept getting better and better – such a great wine. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

2006 JC Bessin, Chablis 1er Fourchaume
My last of these was about 3 years ago – and it was singing. Slightly brown coloured. This was part oxidised. A second bottle I tried two days later was even worse – I have three or four more to dispose of…
Rebuy – No

1993 François Jobard, Meursault 1er Genevrières
Also a deep colour but more yellow-gold. What a great nose – so enveloping, so inviting. The nose had a certain freshness that made me think of St.Aubin, but I was clearly thinking of a younger wine. Just a beautiful thing – surprisingly round and ripe for the vintage as my earlier bottles of this had much more line – this was more like my magnum of the 1992 over (last) Christmas, but with less overt ripe lemon. I’m looking forward to my last few bottle of these!
Rebuy – Yes

1991 Robert Ampeau, Meursault 1er Perrières
Som colour and aromatic similarities to the Jobard – clearly a little older, more saline and of more direct line – beautifully textured. On the day I had a slight preference for the Jobard – but both were beautiful, proper, mature Meursaults with much more time on their sides!
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Leroy, Bourgogne Rouge
A fresh nose but what a lovely red-berry nose. Of line but also with depth of fresh flavour – this was drunk-up surprisingly quickly – a winner!
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Nicolas Potel, Volnay 1er En Chevret
There are only a couple of owners of vines here. This nose had so much more depth and amplitude versus the Leroy. Good as the Leroy was, this was better in every single direction – more concentration, more complexity more depth of texture – all fabulously balanced. Brilliant stuff and only just starting to drink – so happy that at least half a dozen await in storage…
Rebuy – Yes

2008 Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
What a beautiful aromatic line – such purity – in the style of great wines from Bachelet – but it was Fourrier. Delicious in the mouth, carried by the fine 2008 acidity and Fourrier’s trademark sweetness. I don’t know why I didn’t think of 2008, but I loved the wine!
Rebuy – Yes

2003 René Engel, Echézeaux
Like a recent Clos de Lambrays 03, this showed such a balanced profile that some people were guessing 2002 or 2001 – the vintage is holding very well – the poor wines were obviously poor young, but the good ones are aging glacially. Simply a beautiful, balanced, ‘giving’ wine. Super stuff.
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Dominique Gallois, Charmes-Chambertin
Hmm, a hint of pyrazine on the nose – but at a level where it adds complexity, not a turn-off for me. The line and complexity and depth of the the flavour were just so compelling – great wine. I loved…
Rebuy – Yes

1990 F Esmonin, Griottes-Chambertin
We were being spoiled! Yet, this was the most disappointing nose of all the wines for me, a little tight and borderline unpleasant – yet – in the mouth this was fabulous – clearly ripe, but with a minerality and line that had me thinking Clos de la Roche – such a surprise to find that it was Griotte! Despite the nose – such a treat!
Rebuy – Yes

Whilst nobody has the luxury of tasting, and comparing, everything, I felt confident when first tasting this wine (on release) that it was one of the greatest village wines of Gevrey in that already great vintage. In some of the vintages that followed, I felt that the crown of this cuvée had certainly slipped – but more recently Sylvie has been back to form. This wine still crushes it though!

2005 Sylvie Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles-Vignes
Deep colour – only just transparent! What a nose! Deep, fabulously cushioned fruit and a faint smokiness from the stems – I would automatically say a young grand cru if offered this ‘blind.’ The palate, whilst still a belter is more on a 1er cru level! Wide, a little cushioned – beautifully proportioned – but without quite delivering the depth of flavour that the nose promises. That’s the fault of the nose over-delivering rather than any negatives associated with the flavour. Yet the long finish is once-more a beauty. This is still a wine that would give most grand crus from other vintages plenty of competition. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

A small but perfectly formed selection of whites:

2014 Clotilde Davenne, Chablis Blanchots
Ouch! What a wine! Direct, grapefruit fresh, intense – this wine just begs me to keep taking another sip – what a great wine. I have to scold myself and slow-down – that was 2 glasses in only ten minutes, I’m having to force myself to slow down! – time to chill! Great wine…
Rebuy – Yes

Dinner at Le Soufflot brought out the 2015 Meursault Narvaux from PYCM, followed by the 2015 Meursault Meix sous Château from Jean-Philippe Fichet. Two excellent wines – both showing a little oak, both excellent, but the Fichet had just a little more crisp drive and purity – it was my favourite – though I’m splitting hairs with that verdict as both were top and both easy wines to say Rebuy – Yes. Great value drinking for a restaurant – €60 and €65 respectively – prices that compare very reasonably to retail offers…