Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is fresh, slightly minty but just a little jammy – raspberry jam. On the palate there’s classic 96 fruit/acidity balance, in this case relatively sweet fruit. Not the depth or concentration of the Castagnier Clos Saint Denis that preceded it but the length is comparable. Anyway, this was a beauty.
Medium plus colour, just a slight shading to amber at the rim. The nose has a few sweet flowery tones that overlay equally sweet red fruit. Lovely concentrated fruit and very smooth, Grivot was in a sweet vein with this wine in 95/96. There’s concentration without over-extraction, perfect acidity, tannins that are very well behaved for a Nuits, though just a trace of bitterness. Many years ahead for this wine and I’ll probably save the rest for at least 2 or 3 years.
I don’t drink Clos Saint Denis enough – this wine confirms it. The nose seems a little oak-heavy to start with but opens gorgeously – very 93 in it’s fruit complexion and slightly dried cranberry effect. The nose gets more ebullient with time. A focused core of fruit wrapped in 1996 acidity. I’m glad I drank many ’96’s young as I still don’t really know if they will soften with age – but I’ve enjoyed many them on the way. Silky palate but I would have preferred a little more length – worth the purchase only for the nose, it’s like a slightly purer version of Dujac’s ’95 Clos de la Roche – gorgeous!
Medium plus colour without obvious aging. The nose still betrays a little oak, otherwise high-toned black fruit, some sweetness too. Lots and lots of fruit on the palate and a reasonable balance between the succulence of the fruit and acidity vs the more drying and slightly bitter tannins. Starts a little disjointed but puts on a better show after half an hour or so if a little moth puckering.
Just a trace of dried wine below the capsule. The colour is medium-plus ruby-red, fading to the rim, but little colour change. The nose starts with some oak, takes a little longer to disperse than with the Clos Saint Denis, eventually a sweet red fruit comes through. Fatter than the Denis with less obviously 96 acidity – but still fine. More tannin and with a slight grain. There seems to be more material here, but in just a little more primary form. It’s easy to drink but it’s about 4 years since I last tasted this one and at the time I thought it was the most forward – not today.
See above for an explanation of this wine’s provenance. Direct from the cellar, the colour shows little sign of age. The nose is slightly fuller than the 2000 but stylistically similar. The palate has a little extra dimension, but there is an amazing family resemblance to the 2000 – amazing considering the different vintages and elevages. I’d say they need a similar time to maturity too. Would be a great buy.
Bugger! After opening I noticed a few bubbles in the neck – I turned round to get my glass and when I returned the bottle was standing in a puddle of wine! How strange thought I – do they may sparkling reds? – then I realised that there had been a crack in the bottle, mainly covered by the label. Pulling the cork was enough to make the crack give-way. Unfortunately enough air had obviously got through over time as the wine was oxidised. Underneath it was concentrated and seemed to have good fruit – I’ll have to get another…
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