Only 20 hl/ha in this vintage – normally it’s 40. Ripe red/orange fruit on the nose. The palate is soft, ripe and enveloping – just slightly decadent. For my own taste it could do with a little more acidity, but the balance is not so bad, just a hint of anise to go with the fruit. If you like the vintage you’ll like this wine.
2003
2003 Berthaut Fixin Les Clos
A little paler. Ripe, baked fruit with some pot-pourri spice background. A sweet palate that avoids being cloying – plenty of red confiture. Soft, with good apparent concentration. Not quite so decadent as the 2003 ‘Crais’ but still with a twist of hedonism! I’d say that this would still benefit from 1-3 years more in the cellar.
2003 Thomas-Moillard Nuits St.Georges Les Richemones
2003 Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Varoilles
Deep colour. The nose is an impressively wide and sweet affair tempered by a faintly spicy and understated vanilla, slowly it releases flashes of red and black fruits. In the mouth it’s less sweet than the nose suggests, even just a little tart. The tannin is well textured but perhaps in the finish is just a little bitter. Understated acidity still leaves your mouth watering and there’s reasonable length too. This wine seems to have a miss-match of parts, but might be worth a bottle or two in the cellar.
2003 Giroud Camille Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Now coming into the last bottles of this case – only 4 remain. Medium, medium-plus cherry red. The nose is quite 2003 in style yet shows beautifully delineated red and blue fruits and more unusually for 2003 there are violets too over a creamy base – so far it’s better than many grand crus from this vintage. The palate is less fine, but it’s sweet, medium intensity and quite well mannered. The fruit has really good density – more so than most bourgognes – chapeau. Shame that so few remain in the cellar – a real sniffer’s wine – and you don’t get to say that very often with a bourgogne!
2003 Gelin Pierre Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Meixvelle
Medium colour. A deep nose of latent oak and faint reduction, slowly revealing faint herbs and interesting if not too obvious over-ripe elements. In the mouth it’s intense with furry tannins and surprises with a very impressive length. There’s a faint bitternes, probably form the tannins, but overall quite an impressive 2003.
2003 Gelin Pierre Fixin Clos Napoléon
2003 Vougeraie Vougeot Clos de la Prieuré Rouge
2003 Vougeraie Vougeot Clos de la Prieuré Blanc
The nose is much more understated than the 2005 – less obviously ‘ripe’ too. There’s the same opulent and quite rich palate – almost oily – the flavours really cling to your palate. This is surprisingly long. The plump family resemblance is in place, but this is quite well balanced for a 2003. Almost good in the context of the vintage