The Clos du Chateau 2011 is a quite adorable Vosne village. The nose is offering delicate red berry fruit with loads of stony minerality and Vosne spices – hints of violets and peony rose. On the palate lovely harmonious fruit – refined and focused for this level – and all is focused by the excellent minerality from this fine lieu-dit terroir. It’s not a dense wine like the 2009, but more a wine of finesse and poise. Need some time to integrate the oak fully – a lovely terroir driven Vosne village.… Read the full article →
Very Good+ (89 – 91p)
The Morey-Saint-Denis Les Blanchards 2009 from Domaine Dublere is a lovely effort for the vintage. In 2009 Blair used 50% whole cluster for this wine, to match and structure the very rich fruit in this vintage. The bouquet is offering pure quite delicate fruit – sweet with a candied note – lovely quite cool aromas of cherries and strawberries. On the palate rich and quite lush fruit, well focused by the tannins and a fine acidity for the vintage. It’s a impressive effort for the vintage – very drinkable and quite cool in the fruit.… Read the full article →
The Morey-Saint-Denis Les Blanchards 2008 from Domaine Dublere is a very juicy and transparent wine. In the bouquet crisp red berry fruit with notes of red cherries and raspberries – spiced with a lovely energetic minerality. On the palate very crisp and vibrant fruit with a fine backbone of acidity and minerality. It’s a very transparent and acidity driven wine, with limited amounts of tannins. A very interesting wine with food, as the acidity driven style really open up for some interesting combinations with rich food like seared foie gras.… Read the full article →
The 2002 vintage was a big succes at Domaine Prieure-Roch, and the Les Hautes Maizieres is no exception. The bouquet is very expressive with organic red fruit – notes of strawberries, peony rose, cinnamon and allspice. On the palate rich and quite lush fruit – very expressive and mouth coating. It’s a fine wine for this level, but is somehow lacking the focus of a bigger terroir. A wine of pleasure – mature now and should be consumed within the next few years.… Read the full article →
The Meursault En la Barre 2010 from Antoine Jobard is a quite beautiful Meursault village. In the nose good complexity – notes of apple, pear, hazelnuts with hints of exotic orchard fruits and a nice focusing minerality. On the palate very good power and concentration for this level. The fruit is pure and fresh with a lovely balance and harmony. A very good and powerful village Meursault. I do however prefer the Meursault Tillets – with it’s more refined mineralic expression.… Read the full article →
The Bonnes Mares 2004 from Bertheau is quite mature and almost ready to rock. The bouquet starts out with a hint of iodine – but after a few minutes the nose reveals openly knit red berry fruit, sous bois and a finely grained minerality. The palate show more expressive fruit – openly knit red fruit with a strong backbone of quite vibrant acidity and playful minerality. Compared to the 04 Bonnes Mares from Roumier this is slightly lighter, and it does not quite match the purity of the Roumier.… Read the full article →
The Vosne Romanee 2010 village from Sylvain Cathiard is a truly delightful wine. The bouquet is crammed with spicy refined fruit – notes of red berry fruit, violets, peony rose and a filligree minerality. The palate is offering a intense and silky display of cool and perfectly ripened pinot fruit. It caresses the mouth with it’s finely grained tannins and sophisticated fruit. A beautiful and refined Vosne village – just love the delicate Vosne expression in this wine. Very impressive indeed.… Read the full article →
The Dugat-Py Coeur du Roy 2010 is a big dense village wine. The bouquet is quite expressive with loads of lush red and dark fruit spiced with oak and a quite strong floral note. The palate offer a incredible concentration for a village wine – it’s big, quite openly knit and with a weight of a 1er cru. The terroir expression does however not quite match the abundant concentration, and this does leave you with a somewhat rustic feel. Would have loved a stronger expression of Gevrey Chambertin terroir to match the amazing concentration – and a little less producer impression.… Read the full article →
The Chambolle-Musigny village 1999 from Vogue is slowly but surely starting to show more expressive matured notes. In the bouquet more and more red fruits – raspberries with hints of sweet strawberries and gooseberries – still some tar and dark notes in the nose. On the palate fresh and quite crisp red fruit – juicy and with a remarkable good acidity for the vintage. Love the fine expression of Chambolle minerality – and the midpalate concentration is quite impressive for this level.… Read the full article →
The Chassagne Clos Saint Jean 2010 from Paul Pillot is a pure, crisp and lovely wine. In the bouquet white flowers, pear and melon – spiced with a finely grained stony minerality. On the palate it’s very focused with a quite lightfooted impression. It’s very refined and racy, with a cool pure fruit, and a almost Mosel like feel. A truly elegant wine, with a lovely energy – however not a wine for people who enjoy 14,5% heavy Australian Chardonney. Summing up – a quite light Chassagne 1er cru … very elegant and refined – really need to taste more from this producer.… Read the full article →
The Les Saint-Georges is a step up from the Perrieres – and a more terroir driven wine. It’s made from very old wines planted back in 1933. In the bouquet wild raspberries, blue berries, dark cherries spiced with a earthy minerality and a touch of toasted oak. On the palate more structured than the Perrieres with a masculine power from the fine terroir of Les Saint-Georges. It’s long with a with a good midpalate concentration. A classic Nuits-Saint-Georges in the making.… Read the full article →
The Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Grades Vignes from Chateau de Puligny Montrachet is a lovely effort – from this somewhat overlooked 1er cru. In the bouquet fine red fruit with cherries, raspberries and a lovely core of sweet strawberries – some slightly floral and reduced notes – but a lovely nose. On the palate fine quite airy fruit for a 2009. Good midpalate concentration, with quite a tannic grip and a fine core of delicate sweet fruit. The finish is long and quite intense offering good minerality.… Read the full article →
The Chassagne Morgeot 1996 from Jadot is approaching a state of maturity. The bouquet is showing quite mature notes – hazelnuts, honey and a buttery yellow fruit. On the palate matured fruit – again fat buttery notes – held together by the powerful 1996 acidity. The finish is quite long and mineralic with the classic 1996 citrus notes. It’s showing good harmony and freshness with the citrus notes in the finish adding a good balance to the somewhat dense fruit. A lovely mature white Burgundy.… Read the full article →
The Vosne-Romanee 2002 V.V. is really starting to show. It’s made from the two Flagey lieux-dits, Les Quartier de Nuits and Les Violettes. The bouquet is showing sweet red fruit with notes of raspberries, sous-bois, asian spices – hints of violets, orange peel. On the palate still quite some grip from the tannins, but also a good concentration of maturing red fruit. The fruit is dense and well structured with a both silky and tannic touch. It’s focused, quite refined and very powerful for this level.… Read the full article →
The Meursault Blagny 1988 from Louis Jadot is slightly past it’s peak – but still very much drinkable. In the bouquet complex mature fruit notes with hints of coffee, butterscotch and honey. The oxidation is starting to show, with some notes of old belle de boskoop apples – not a big problem now, but it’s indicating – drink now. On the palate quite rich buttery fruit for a 1988, with a good fresh backbone acidity. Lovely balanced and quite elegant – a very good fully mature Burgundy.… Read the full article →
I have always been ambivalent about Clos de la Bussiere from Roumier – as it lacks the playfull minerality of the Chambolle wines from Roumier. But when it reach full maturity it really delivers pleasure and drinkability. The 2010 edition offers quite cool red and dark fruits in the bouquet, with notes of red and dark cherries, cassis and hints of forest berries. On the palate slightly on lush and dense side for a 2010 … not displaying ultimate transparancy at the moment.… Read the full article →
The Chambolle-Muigny 1999 from Domaine Dujac is slowly but surely starting to show matured notes. The bouquet is still somewhat closed with dark and red fruit and a slightly austere hint of tar. After some time in the glass the red fruit starts to take over with notes of strawberries and sous-bois. On the palate very good weight and concentration for a village wine – but still need time to resolve the slightly rustic notes in the finish. Give it 5 years more in the cellar … this very good village wine is really worth waiting for.… Read the full article →
Domaine Bizot is one of the rising stars of Vosne Romanee. The 1997 Vosne Romanee 1er cru is made 100% from the climate Les Treux on the grand cru vineyard Echezeaux. The vintage 1997 is one of the very first made by Jean-Yves Bizot, who took over the wine making at this fine domaine back in 1993.
The 1997 Vosne 1er cru is now fully mature, but still quite fresh and vibrant. The bouquet offers matured red organic fruit – very expressive with sweet notes of red berries and red current – spiced with violets and rose petals.… Read the full article →
The Chambolle Musigny Les Combottes 2005 from Georges Roumier is still very young and backward. In the bouquet dark fruits – notes of prune, cassis and raspberries. On the palate it’s very dense, fleshy and powerful. The fruit expression is currently muscular and slightly stewed – lacking some Burgundian charm and refinement. Need at least 10 years more in the cellar, and will keep for more than two decades. The 05s are big and very powerful wines .. they really need a lot of time before they will be truly enjoyable.… Read the full article →
The 2008 Clos du Chateau from Liger-Belair is a seductive beauty. Open and vibrant with lovely cool red fruits in the nose – notes of strawberries, cherries with hints of red current, violets and rose petals. On the palate tight and focused – very pure – red pinot fruit. A beautiful backbone of fresh vibrant 08 acidity and a lively minerality from the excellent village terroir. Still hints of new oak in the finish adding a slight vanilla touch. What can I say – cool and pure pinot fruit – juicy and fresh – a fine and lovely village wine.… Read the full article →