Medium yellow. Deep aromas, quite forward and with good depth. Whilst it’s a little plump, the balance is very good. It’s far from steely but it’s nicely clean.
Comments for this entry
2005
2005 Marchand-Grillot Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle
Deep colour. The nose starts quite savoury, only slowly offering a deeper black-fruit core that has a faint white pepper coating. In the mouth this is much more mineral, the acidity is more obvious but retains good balance. The tannins are a little more visible and help the flavour stain your tongue. Good, mineral length with a twist of coffee. Much less comely than the Perrières today, but qualitatively its equal. Another wine I shall buy.
2005 Amiot Guy Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes (Rouge)
For the vintage it’s a modestly coloured medium, medium-plus cherry red. The nose has some depth, and pulls you in with faint toasted bread and bouquet garni. Intense, with slightly grainy tannin and with good understated acidity followed by another dimension of dark fruit and a little oak on the mid-palate. The finish is savoury with a long undertow of creamy dark fruit. If not totally sophisticated it balances with real personality. This is a wine that delivers on both personality and value. It’s really rather good.
2005 Marchand-Grillot Gevrey-Chambertin Jouise
A rarely seen villages name on this label. The colour is rather deep, as is the nose; dark, very faintly oaky cherry with a width of higher tones, as it warms there’s a latent hint of undergrowth. Poised, super acidity and a lingering, mouthwatering finish. There’s not the impact or intensity of the higher M-G wines, but this is a fine villages. So-far, up and down the range I’m very impressed by this producer – but okay, it’s ‘only’ the 2005 vintage…
2005 Lignier Lucie et Auguste Morey St.Denis
Deep cherry-red colour, almost a little purple. Wide aromatics with slight white-pepper spice over a deeper but reticent black cherry. Excellent intensity of black cherry fruit, super acidity to balance and tannin that is submerged in the extract. It’s a powerful combination for a villages wine, a little mineral too but it’s also very linear and obviously closing-in on itself – faint black chocolate shows on the finish. Super villages but be prepared to wait.
2005 Marchand-Grillot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier
Medium, medium-plus colour. A somehow silky nose the starts with chocolate then higher-toned herbal aromatics over a tight red-fruit core. Good fat in the mouth and fine texture, the acidity works very well but there’s just a little spritz (which stayed for the whole 3 hours it was open) which gave the faint tannins a little extra texture. Persistent flavour – this really is a superb villages wine, less complex but currently more enveloping than the producer’s premier crus. Expensive but super.
2005 Heresztyn Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. Width and dark cherry fruit with faint white pepper and a softer, warmer core. The palate has a soft texture, currently rather bright acidity but a very nice depth of fruit in the mid-palate and finish. It’s another 2005 that’s not an easy drink right now, but the quality behind will eventually repay the wait – though I expect it won’t be short wait.
2005 Perdrix Vosne-Romanée
Deep colour. Initially diffuse aromatics that hint at a spicy depth, they tighten over about 1 hour to offer-up clean black fruit and some minerality. Mouth filling, concentrated, then bursts across the mid-palate with typical Vosne flavours if far from subtle, but to good effect. The tannins are quite well mannered and the finish lingers with an element of oak flavour – but it’s the only woody note. Fresh and tasty, and without overt oak character, but more obviously in need of cellar time than many.
2005 Bertagna Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Les Dames Huguettes
Medium, medium-plus cherry red. Frankly I don’t like the nose – it’s quite forward, but it’s mainly the bubble-gum notes of a less than satisfying Beaujolais. In the mouth the acidity is quite bright and the flavours are metallic. As it stands, it’s a big NO! I have to give it a chance, so most waits for day 2: Another day and the bubble-gum is on a slightly lower order, but aromatically the wine is far from interesting. Perhaps not so metallic tasting, but the acidity remains very tart – I don’t mind high acidity, but this is tart high acidity. If represenative (and why shouldn’t it be?) a startling failure for the vintage.