The nose is quite different to those that went before, honey and kiwi fruit – it’s super in a rather exotic way. Lots of things are happening on the palate, this is certainly the most complex and interesting wine – if less typical in style.
2002
2002 Angerville Marquis d' Volnay Taillepieds
(From magnum) Medium, medium-plus cherry red. The nose starts in a very mineral way with hints of cedar eventually giving way to red berries and a slow build-up of coffee. The concentrated palate bursts with explosive red fruits and plenty of grainy tannin – but there’s no hint of astringency – the acidity pulling you into a long finish that has a rather darker fruit complexion. Very accomplished and very tasty.
2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune du Château
Medium-plus cherry-red colour, no evolution of the colour yet. The nose started powdery and a little mildewy, it took over an hour in the glass to clean up and show high toned red fruits at the top and just a little blacker material below. Sweet, quite well textured and with lovely mid-palate intensity. The tannins are less grainy than many 2002’s and still reasonably well-covered. There’s plenty of good acidity to ride you through into an equally good finish – though there’s just a little finishing bitterness – this will resolve over the next 2 years. Still a relative bargain for the quality, I expect this wine will have a good long life.
2002 Guyon Antonin Aloxe-Corton Les Fournières
A good medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose starts full of minerals and sweet red cherry, slowly becomes a little higher-toned and diffuse, the remaining drops in the glass, however, have a quite lovely smell. The palate is quite intense and pure – red-fruity – quite fresh too. The tannins are quite mouth puckering and astringent, but you don’t notice so-much with food. This will probably always be a little acid-forward, but there’s plenty-enough fruit to wait 2-3 years for the tannin to melt a little.
2002 Tollot-Beaut Beaune Les Grèves
Deep cherry-red. The nose is quite super; a deep and forward mix of black and red cherry over subtly creamy oak. Depth, concentration and velvety texture, pushed by the mouthwatering acidity this is very long. There’s still a littly oaky bitterness on the finish, another 2-3 years and I think this will be absorbed. Despite the open nose there’s a real brooding sense of character to this wine. Top-notch Beaune that will amply repay cellar time.
2002 Drouhin Joseph Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Garenne
2002 Morey Marc Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot
2002 Ravaut Gaston et Pierre Ladoix Carrières
Medium-plus cherry-red. The nose is deep and initially quite tight, powdery, high-toned red fruit soon starts to take-over. The very well balanced has lovely acidity – perfectly counterbalancing the ripe, sweet fruit – at least below 20°C, above that the acidity seems a little tart. Not the density of their 01 1er Cru (Bois Roussot) but somehow a little purer. A super value bottle.
2002 Boillot Jean Puligny-Montrachet
Drunk directly following the 04 Bouzereau Puligny 1er Champs Gains. Paler lemon yellow colour. Wide, slightly creamy, high-toned nose of citrus-infused fruit. Similar depth if not the ultimate density to the 1er cru wine, but beautifully balanced with an extra dimension of ever widening fruit on the mid-palate. Similar length, but a more interesting and mouthwatering length. Not the cheapest village bottling, but real value, and still drinking very well.