Harvested from vines 150 metres from Quartier de Nuits wall of the Clos de Vougeot. The nose wide with hints of iron and cinnamon. The first impression is the faint grain of the tannin and the concentrated, linear fruit. Slowly it opens on the palate and into the mid-palate giving a finish of real persistence. Again another understated and accomplished wine.
2005
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Pouilly-Fuisse
2005 Pavillon Pommard Les Rugiens
A deep colour to match a deep nose. There’s plenty of minerality and submerged black-skinned fruit – it almost seems like two wines in the mouth; fresh, concentrated, lovely fruit slips between lots and lots of tannin. The tannin melts very well into a superbly long finish. This wine seems on one hand understated, on the other a bit of a monster, but certainly never brutal. This is very, very impressive.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault Les Clous
Bouchard own 8.7 hectares in this vineyard – almost 50% of the appellation. The vines are set high on the hill, so this is often one of the very last vineyartds to be harvested. Nicely crisp and fresh aromatics that never really develop further while we’re together. The palate is still quite rich, but is mouth-filling in quite a mineral way – there’s a nice character to this wine.
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
This is the one wine that really stamps it’s own personality on the aromatics. Usually higher-toned floral notes tend to sit in a layer above the rest of the aromatics, here it is more like they are encapsulated by the rest of the aromas – really fine and super elegant. Concentrated certainly, but the fruit does a super job of covering the wealth of tannins. This quite mineral wine expands wonderfully well into a finish that really delivers. It’s an understated delivery compared to some wines from Chambertin/Bèze in 2005, but it’s really a first class wine.
2005 Long-Depaquit Chablis Vaudesir
The nose starts wide but with limited depth, only slowly in the glass does it reach deaper. Even after the ‘Clos’ this seems more mineral again, very, very long too. The waves of flavour just keep washing over the palate. This is a really successful blend of richness, power and minerality bound to a wonderfully ebullient personality – I loved it.
2005 Boisset Jean-Claude Pommard Les Vaumuriens
2005 Drouhin Joseph Chablis
This high-toned, slightly nervous nose shows really ample depth, minerality and just a twist of citrus. Lovely acidity that rolls around the mouth with a good citrus bite. The flavours nicely expand on the palate and there is an uncommon intensity for a wine of this appellation. Super, crisp wine with a medium-plus length of finish. Really excellent for the label. If I can find it, I suspect this to be a wine to buy by the case-load for my ‘house-wine 2007? and perhaps beyond…
2005 Pavillon Aloxe-Corton Clos des Maréchaudes
Almost opaque. A little too much reduction on the nose to get at what lies below – I didn’t stay long enough with the glass to get more. Very well textured with floods of flavour running alongside very good acidity. There is so much joie-de vivre here – this is the perfect example why I often buy Aloxe to drink young!