2023 Henri & Gilles Buisson, St.Romain Sous la Velle
A great looking cork, topped with a little more than a mm of wax – a lozenge of wax…
Medium Yellow. The nose starts off biscuity and even suggests a little reduction. Wide, cool-flavoured, some density, and even a little structure. But that’s only if you’re looking, if you’re not looking, it’s just an easy, fresh flavour energy. The middle to finish bursts forward and lasts really well – but again, only if you’re looking. Mild-mannered or boisterously energetic – two faces of the same wine depending on where your attention lies 😉 – Oh, and yum!
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Heritiers Louis Jadot, Beaune 1er Clos des Ursules
The cork splits in two, but the lower part stays on the neck and comes easily out in one piece.
Plenty of colour. A round nose, with a small cushion and some floral complexity – nice. Ooh – this is a mouthful of perfume, still with a subtly rustic structural frame. It’s the flavour that pulls you in, delicious if still faintly drying from the tannin. What a baby, it’s a super wine. Clean and attractive, but it will continue to improve for another 20+ years. I’ll wait 3 or 4 more years for the next bottle – and I hope it’s more ready then, as I’ve 6 more 🙂
Rebuy – Yes

A hot year – but, judging by this graphic, not so much in Burgundy.

It’s interesting reading, though I found more food for thought looking at the report for the (much) wetter and cooler 2024 vintage…

*Click to access this external site…

I’ve always loved Champagne but have no wish to follow the boringly well-trodden route of burgundy reviewers taking on Champagne – and, effectively, reducing their commitment to Burgundy 🙂 It’s enough that half of the (also quite expensive) bottles that I try are a little too oxidative for my taste – but this one was recommended by someone who understood my tastes and it was VERY well-chosen. This was obviously showing its pinot content – I tend to prefer blanc de blancs – and the bubbles started with some aggression – but an hour after opening, it was singing…

2023 Nicole Lamarche, Hautes Côtes de Nuits
The modest colour of many from 2023. A pretty, airy quite transparent red fruit – strawberry style. The aromatic fruits has the same style in the flavours with a small cushion of creamy oak – I prefer my oak more discrete, but this is deliciously done. The aftertaste has a fine width, with plenty of earthy, cherry-stone, graphitic style – also very 2023. Just drinking beautifully already – there’s no shame in drinking this now !!
Rebuy – Yes

Clément Boillot-Barthod opened this wine last week – semi-blind – we knew that it was from a ‘cold’ vintage because – “Warm or Cold vintage?” – and we chose cold…

Blind: 1996 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Veroilles
Ooh – now that has plenty of very attractive maturity – but perfume too. Direct, starting silky, but the tannin grows, I’d still call it velvet, I think of vintages like 98 and 99 in terms of maturity, I also think of ’98 in terms of the residue tannin – I must admit that I never once considered 1996! I went for 1998 – but it’s 1996 !! And how well is this drinking!? “Yes, though it was really too acid for many, many years – and if we made the same wine today that we made in the 70s and 80s could we sell it(?) – maybe not…”
Rebuy – Oh Yes – I would buy it !!

1986 Raveneau, Chablis 1er Butteaux
Plenty of colour – just as I remember. The nose is large and forward, offering obvious botrytis and still plenty of energy – blind, I might suggest Sauternes !! Nicely vibrant flavour with a good base of minerality and sweetness – certainly very long and quite torrified in a tarte-tartin style. Whilst both delicious and impressive, it would be quite a stab in the dark to come up with ‘Chablis’ if tasting blind…
Rebuy – Probably !!

2019 Didier Fornerol, Côte de Nuits Villages La Rue des Foins
Didier is now retired, but this was a cuvée of only 1k bottles on a stony limestone, with almost no clay…
Lots of colour. Broad, subtly spiced with riper dark red fruit, even a small perfume. Delicious, but almost liqueur-style concentration and shape. Surprisingly easy to drink for this concentration. Super !!
Rebuy – Yes

To give you a little colour and flavour from the last days in the Côtes…

The Moulin…

Clos d’Audignac

Beaune’s La Superb is closing, but the food still lives up to the name…

All lost! A mere 2 barrels of 2024 Bâtard !!

A lunch…

Jööö

Scritchh !!

🙂

When the wine from these vines was cheap(er)

Chez PVG

Montrachet

Saturday Market #1

Saturday Market #2

Newly opened

Not bad for a Sunday…

But where are the horses?

A brute !!

The frosty legacy in Chablis Les Clos