An open nose, high tones, a little red berry and even a hint of blue, just a hint of 2003 but not too much so. There’s plenty of concentration and the tannins have some grab and astringency – plenty of ripe red fruit on the finish though. A successful wine, particularly in the context of the vintage. Not the stunning elegance of the 2002, but of-course in this vintage…
Gevrey-Chambertin
2001 Bouchard Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin
Bright medium cherry-red. The nose is high-toned with a few earthy notes buttressing the red fruits. The palate is lithe and linear with very good acidity. Shape-wise, this is fit rather than fat with modest tannins and a medium finish. Quite acceptable, but some-way behind the Rousseau version in 2001.
1998 Mortet Denis Gevrey-Chambertin
Medium-plus ruby-red colour. The nose starts with lots of char effects and cigarette ash – not particularly appealing. Given time (needs 2 hours) the fruit becomes purer and coffee edged – plums and macerated red cherry. Very nicely textured with good acidity and high-toned fruit, the tannins have some grain if you chew long enough. The finish has an edge of licorice with medium-plus length for the cru. Thirty minutes of air is all that’s needed for this to show very well.
2002 Rousseau Armand Gevrey-Chambertin
Medium cherry-red colour. The nose soars, high-toned and fresh, with violets and cherry-skinned fruit over toast from the creamy oak base. Some fat, fresh red-shaded fruit on the palate with a creamy texture. This is, at best, only medium weight, but there’s super purity and detail, the fruit is really quite punchy on the mid-palate. I prefer the finish on the 2001 but this presents itself really well – I’ll also buy a couple more of these. One negative from the last drops, the nose becomes quite estery and not that pleasant – quite a contrast to the 2001.
2001 Rousseau Armand Gevrey-Chambertin
Medium, medium-pale ruby-red colour. High tones, a distinct raspberry character and a cedar-oak background, quite wide and interesting. The palate is a shade less than medium bodied but has a lovely seam of acidity running through. The tannin has a hint of dryness and grain, but only a hint. A real treat after a few 2003’s, and this is less dense than many ’03 Bourgognes, but this a lovely lacy wine by comparison with super aromas that are held in the empty glass – I’ll buy a couple more.
2004 Ardhuy Gevrey-Chambertin
2003 Harmand-Geoffroy Gevrey-Chambertin
Deep cherry-red colour. The nose is high-toned and just a little linear, the faint cherry fruit is edged with peppery notes. Drunk directly following Bernard Dugat-Py’s 2003 Bourgogne, there is good texture, but not so good as the Bourgogne, there is depth but not the concentration or perhaps the ripeness of the bourgogne, however, there is an extra burst of black fruit interest in this wine as it enters the finish. The finish does not quite a match the bourgogne for length. So 3-1 to the bourgogne? Not exactly, at ~15 Euros in the Leclerc supermarket this was less than half the price of the Dugat-Py Bourgogne – a sound, clean & tasty wine of some value.
2003 Guyon Les Fils d'Antonin Gevrey-Chambertin
Medium-plus cherry-red. Smells and tastes like a barrel sample. Starts high-toned, but slowly becomes purer and redder in aspect. Reasonable freshness, quite sweet and though the tannins are reasonably textured I find (with a little chewing) they are a little green and bitter. The wine’s perfectly fine with food and quite tasty, though I wouldn’t leave it in the cellar for too many years though.
2002 Mugneret Dr Georges Gevrey-Chambertin
From the young vines of their Ruchottes-Chambertin. Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The ebullient nose still has an extra edge of oak derived vanilla, but behind, swirling releases truffley, high-toned, red fruit. The palate has lovely acidity that pushes the vanilla-tinged finish ever longer – in fact very long. Lovely fruit, this is a nicely textured, medium bodied wine and one that I’m very pleased to have (a few) in the celler.