Pre-Christmas get together with some great mates last night. We drank very well.
2012 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Grand Cru Special Club Oger: A fine nose of buttered toast and lemon curd. It is rich, full and creamy, with a nice line of minerally acidity and good volume. It builds through the palate and finishes with good cut and outstanding length.
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 163eme: Complex aromatics of grilled nuts, toast, truffle and orchard fruits. It is full, rich, creamy and powerful. There’s good underlying structure and plenty of authority to the long finish.
2010 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos: There’s a gentle, lactic quality to the aroma. It has plenty of citrus blossom and a lavender note too. It is full, layered and explosive. There’s classic Chablis salinity and a dry finish that keeps on coming on. Complex and wide open, giving plenty now.
2017 Caroline Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers: Clean. bright, fresh and direct. Apple and pear fruits have real crunch. There’s flesh and volume and loads of dry extract to boot. It is beautifully balanced and finishes with precision.
2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru: The nose has some oxidative tart Tatin notes, The palate has sappy white peach fruits, a touch of spice and steely line. It is very long.
2013 Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Seriously good. A fine and detailed nose of wet stones, honeysuckle, lemons and spice. It is intense and pure, so direct, with a razor sharp spine sheathed by sappy glycerol. It dries off to a singly, minerally point and then fans out on the impressively long finish.
2011 Bernard Boisson-Vadot Meursault Les Grands Charrons: So much smoky mineral reduction, coupled with classic Meursault almond butter notes. It is intense and linear, with great acidity and a touch of toasty development. The finish has refreshing citrus rind tartness.
1972 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin, Grand Cru: Just a touch of mouldiness from the cork. There’s a core of sweet cherry, plenty of earthiness along with smoked meats. It has bright acid cut to the finish.
1999 Domaine des Chezeaux Griotte-Chambertin, Grand Cru: Mild tca detracts from what should have been a splendid bottle. Good flesh and volume, some wild, musky notes mixing it up with intense cherry fruits. Good ripeness, density and length.
2009 Domaine G. Roumier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos de La Bussière: A punchy, evocative nose of decaying rose, earth, smoked meats, menthol and blue fruits. It is rich and powerful, with ample structure. It has great drive and intensity and drinks beautifully yet has so much more left in the tank.
2005 Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes: Still very youthful, but starting to drink nicely. Loads of floral spice on the nose. There’s a core of liqueur cherry fruit and it is tinged with meat and earth. It is velvety against the gums and has plenty of grunt. Sweet tannins carry the long finish.
2016 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot: Smells of dried flowers, liniment, spiced plum and black olives, It is perfectly ripe and cut by perfectly balanced acidity. It is driven by its pure fruit and a wine of no artifice. It is powerful, perfumed and perfectly proportioned, with length to burn.
2009 Vietti Barolo Brunate: Generous and fleshy, with ripe cherry fruit strewn with iron. There’s floral nuance, some tar and a little bitter chocolate. Buried just below the surface is ample structure and flavours linger for a very long time.
2015 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero: Such a great young Barolo. There’s loads of floral spice that works beautifully with the perfectly ripe cherry fruit. It is silky and layered, with a sensual feel and latent power. Balance is perfect and each sniff and sip teases out another ethereal smell or taste. Length is fantastic.