2012 Alex Gambal, Meursault Clos du Cromin
This wine has always had ample width and weight – almost old-style Meursault from both the aromas and impression across the tongue – but there’s really plenty of energy to keep pace. That said, it’s a bottle that I prefer to drink a glass of, before moving onto a red – it stays open 3 days, and it’s just as good at the end as the start. Good wine.
Rebuy – Yes

2010 Domaine Ramonet, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Oh how pleased I am! I bought both the 2009 and 2010 on release. The 09 was lovely but the 10 was hard and a bit acidic. about 3 years down the line and this has really settled into it’s stride. The aromas are precise, fresh and inviting, and in the mouth it’s still fresh but now mouth-wateringly-so and very tasty too. Indeed Yum!
Rebuy – Yes

Okay, I realise that was just a bit clickbaity, but I really did open one – if only the Bourgogne Rouge – fortunately it was drinking very well indeed 😉

Since Allen Meadows scored this domaine’s 2005s, they basically departed the world’s list of ‘available’ wines – at least for mere mortal pricing. My recent cellar move was allowed me discover lots of interesting bottles, so here was the tester.

2005 Ponsot, Bourgogne Cuvée du Pinson
According to the label there were just 1704 bottles of this domaine wine produced, (plus magnum+jeroboams? – probably not…) and it reached a mere 12.6% alcohol – according to the label anyway. The temperature ‘spot’ on my label remains pristine and white – though don’t take that as a guarantee of anything in particular as the earlier implementations are notoriously unreliable.
A good, not too young colour that you can easily see through – no opaque monster. Hmm – nice – the nose is clearly ripe but also freshly direct like fresh cranberry juice. In the mouth too, this is certainly not in the top league of powerful, extracted 2005 bourgognes, rather it is a wine of nice intensity, really excellent balance and an uncommonly silky texture. Very yum drinking now, and really no rush at all to consume. Excellent Bourgogne if not a ‘special’ wine in the context of the vintage!
Rebuy – Yes (if ever seen)

I’m really at a loss with these half bottles – luckily I have less and less of them…

Way-back-when, when the 1999s were released I was fortunate enough to buy Mugnier’s Musigny, Amoureuses and villages Chambolle. I didn’t have much of the villages, but it tasted great, so I jumped in and bought a dozen halves too – just as well, I thought, as those 75cls are long-gone.

I drank an early Musigny at it was brilliant (note that I’m very happy to have drunk that young bottle, despite Frederic deciding it’s not up to us when to drink them). I’ve had a couple of Amoureuses too – the last 2 years ago – and, likewise, it was brilliant – perhaps even more brilliant, certainly aromatically. But! I’ve ‘tested’ these villages halves every 2-3 years, and frankly they have never been that great, i.e. consistently not great – I think I now have 3 or 4 left. This week’s bottle seems to offer a modest but not classically Chambolle aroma, but the finishing flavours are frankly bitter and not that much fun. I don’t, however, see any obvious faults, just a not very tasty, 15 year-old villages, from a renowned producer. I questioned my timing in previous years, but at some stage that becomes a false crutch.

Good storage, good looking condition, consistently poor results versus the excellent ‘other’ Mugnier 99s from the same source in my cellar.

I remain bemused …

2000 Vougeraie, Clos de Vougeot
A big round, faintly developed nose of leaves with a sweeter, complex depth – a great start. Versus the last time I opened one of these, the overall impression is a little more direct and less padded, yet still with just a hint of Clos de Vougeot strictness. I’m liking this, yet without the total love of previous bottles. A phase or this bottle? One never knows, but all the same, a more than adequately satisfying wine, even one with such an ‘important’ label.
Rebuy – Yes

5 from 5 – who would have thought! I’d rebuy all of these!

• The Collet (Chablis) crémant hits the spot as always for just €8.
• The 2012 Pernand Clos Berthet was my last from 6 – all have been a great – seriously under-rated wine for the price.
• Ah – the Clos des Ursules – another 2000 that’s theoretically in no rush to consume – yet the bottle gets devoured!
• Maison Leroy Bourgogne 93. I’m drinking up my home stash of Leroy Bourgognes – such as it is – but there’s still a few 96s in storage. It was very good though not massively different to a recent 1995.
• 2005 ‘only a villages’ Camille Giroud Gevrey En Champs. With all the anecdotal references to 2015 grapes looking like those from 2005, I though a little more research was required. I ‘triaged’ these grapes, but only in inverted commas because there wasn’t much to remove. Already a wine in a great place – layered and oh-so tasty – yum!

2006 Roger Belland, Santenay 1er Les Gravières
As a baby this was a big fruit bomb of interest. Today, in middle-age, it’s still big but both aromatically and from the flavours it’s also brusque, indeed it’s borderline brutal – I really wouldn’t know that I came from Burgundy, though I might still guess it’s pinot noir! Wait a few hours and everything about the wine moderates, yet I’m still not inclined to consider augmenting the cellar. I always found wines from this domaine great fun when young, probably it’s time to revisit to see how Julie Belland is having an effect!
Rebuy – No

2005 Nicolas Potel, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Petits Monts
Hmm – almost no nose – and 5 hours later it’s still the same. Fortunately there is super interest on the palate – direct but very smooth texture, intense but layered flavours. The tannin is pretty-much buried below the silky texture. A very moreish wine indeed – now where did I stack those magnums?
Rebuy – Yes

2002 Henri Latour, Auxey-Duresses 1er Les Grands-Champs
Just a lovely nose – some leafy development and a faintly spiced red fruit – this is very inviting indeed. In the mouth this lacks the width and richness of youth – it’s much more direct, yet not particularly strident. An easy, tasty-drinking wine – but don’t look for plush fruit any more.
Rebuy – Yes

2006 G&P Ravaut, Ladoix Les Carrières
Yum – directly this is really yum. The nose has just a little development but has width and dimension – plenty of complexity here – lovely. Unlike the Latour, here is still plenty of youthful richness – yet the wine is completely open and tasty – dark red fruit, good energy and a lovely lingering finish that is just faintly sweet. Lovely wine – seemingly already à point!
Rebuy – Yes

After a few disappointing wines, these two really bounced back to show what enjoying burgundies is all about. Certainly the best bourgogne blanc drunk this year too:

2002 Nicolas Potel, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Petits Monts
This starts tight, but the nose opens up with direct, fresh, red fruit and spice – very inviting. In the mouth, this is sleek, has fine direct flavour, very good energy and decent complexity – it’s a wine of muscle and latent structure – young but very satisfying indeed. Young but very drinkable today.
Rebuy – Yes

2008 Dublère, Bourgogne (Blanc) Les Millerands
Medium-plus colour. This has a big nose, very Chassagne in style, with a little oak and a backing of modest reduction too. Lovely weight and energy in the mouth – fine texture and complexity here, again with a faint but becoming reductive flavour – this is lovely and punches way above its label – better than many younger villages wines. I think this may be my last bottle, if so, what a shame! How every white burgundy should be, but so sadly, rarely is…
Rebuy – Yes