1985 La Cave du Dauphin, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques
I bought a ‘lot’ of these older bottles in an auction about 20 years ago – none have been ‘great,’ but this was one of the best! Of course an old, saturated cork – but with my new Pulltex, it extracted in one piece.
Still plenty of colour and clarity. A nose that’s soft and torrefied with an occasional flash of something balsamic. Silky, soft but with some unexpected, extra, mid-palate impact – in fact a big wave of extra flavour. Part elegant part rustic but actually still very drinkable. I think a second glass might be called for… This was actually very enjoyable !!
Rebuy – Maybe

I think Amélie Berthaut was already exerting some influence at the (Berthaut) domaine at this time – but not quite enough to make this great 😉

2015 des Chézeaux, Gevrey-Chambertin
More than one vineyard location and always a step down from the Gevrey village ‘Clos des Chézeaux’
Following a very impressive 2018 Chambolle 1er, here is less colour and also a less impactful nose – a slightly powdery red fruit aromatic with a small accent of sweetness but nothing to suggest a 2015. Lovely across the palate. There’s some floral energy to this fruit too – perfumed wine but with a bit of structural backbone. The finishing flavour is modest in presence but still holding that small perfume. Really quite attractive an hour after opening – a bit less so at the start. Almost a rebuy 🙂
Rebuy – Maybe

For me, the most ‘faulty’ village in this hot year – most Chambolles were very dark coloured, half of them stewed, bretty and sometimes volatile – this one passed the test !!

2018 Digioia-Royer, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Groseilles
Deeply coloured, but still transparent. A nose of deep, dark berries and a little graphite. Large in scale and with vibrantly energetic flavour. This is so long and intense, it’s really quite something! That long flavour is only half good today, the fruit is clean – and silky too – but there’s an accompanying edge that’s mineral and a little harder, potentially a little reductive. This latter part will take 2-3 years to resolve – or maybe it will improve in the glass? Yes it does, but only modestly. This wine drank well over 3 days – it has great stability !! So very 2018, which some of you will love, and others not. I’d much rather have something ‘classic’ but this still offers delicious drinking…
Rebuy – Yes with much reflection…

And a new corkscrew?

I’ve been using a Pulltex for over 10 years now – apart from some broken corks, it works well.

Now Pulltex have this intriguing new model – a Durand style – but for the cost of a of a Temu knockoff! Maybe it’s just a Pulltex knockoff !!

I need more time to improve my operational efficiency with it, before I deploy it on old corks – but for €23 (Athenaeum, Beaune) it seems like it could be a winner. My (current) ham-fistendness means it’s hard to offer critique at this stage, only that the worm when it comes out of the bottom of the cork, ejects a small piece of the cork into the wine – at least for this bottle’s young, robust cork…

The last bottles while harvesting and this weekend’s modest triplet, dovetailed together…

2023 Matrot, Meursault
This domaine has slipped from my list of visits – I suppose mainly because the wines were always ‘okay’ but not more – but this is a lovely wine. One with impact, good concentration and delicious flavour – the bottle was emptied very quickly.
Rebuy – Yes

1999 Grivot, Richebourg
Far from ready 10 years ago, I decided that it was time to revisit. It was served too cold so needed lots of time in the glass – indeed it would have been a different wine if opened 4-5 hours before consuming and with better temperature management. In recent years the 96 was wonderful, the 97 not and the 98 was somewhere in-between.
Still deeply coloured. I’ve chilled this too much, so it’s going to need time in the glass. Clean, deep, muscular aromas. Slowly some semblance of flowers – clean, nothing ultra-pretty yet, despite the age. Growing in the mouth, a velour texture with the tannic dryness of youth almost gone. Very long with an aniseed accent a holding very long and wide. Drinkable, powerful wine today, but such a baby – wait 5 more years in the cellar and/or 2-3 more hours in the glass!
Rebuy – Maybe but probably only for the label! Even that’s a stretch at the old price of 295 Swiss francs in 2001 !!

And a red to follow?

2015 des Croix, Beaune
‘Only’ a villages wine, but in terms of drinkability and enjoyment, easily better than the Grivot today…
Lots of (younger) colour. Airy, but still with some more structural suggestion to these aromas. Cool, more direct, classy texture, ripe but pretty and detailed fruit. For a 2015 this is not so dark or spiced and it’s clearly the more delicious and detailed and more texturally impressive wine over lunch!
Rebuy – Yes

And at home in the last days:

2023 Gérard Tremblay, Chablis 1er Montmain
From Montmain proper
Hmm, a mineral-saline style of nose, slightly round in shape but with clarity too. Mouth-filling fruit with plenty of juicy energy. This is a wine that’s far too easy to drink

2021 Henri Gouges, Nuits St.Georges 1er La Richemone
A Maison wine, a cru that’s generally hard to find, and almost always a treat.
Coolness, but depth to this attractive nose. Mouth-filling. Like the nose, here is impressive depth of flavour and a whooshing width of mouth-watering flavour energy. Not the most luxurious of texture but a wine that keeps begging me to take another sip. Clearly, well behind the wine of Perrot-Minot (for example), but also priced much more accessibly. I’m enjoying it very much – not only that, it drank perfectly over 3 days !!
Rebuy – Yes

And the house crémant is always good 😉

Just noting for my own memory:

This was a label at the domaine until 2018 – but the domaine never had ‘regional’ parcels of vines, this was actually a blend of some Beaune, some Savigny and until the parcel was sold late in 2008, a little Pommard too.

The 2005 was one of the last in my cellar – it’s still dark coloured and powerful – atypical Bourgogne for sure. The aromas and flavours are now accented with quite an obvious oaky note – unlike the lighter but easier 2006 which I would prefer to drink today. I’ve never noted such overt oak in the 2005 before, and I’m onto my last bottle or two from a case of 12 !!

These days, at the right addresses, there is so much fun to be had with ‘simple’ Bourgogne !!

Our day started with St.Romain – a parcel of older vines plus a parcel of young, 5-year-old vines. No getting the hands dirty here – triage was not needed for either parcel. The grapes looked super – with virtually no dry grapes – and the pressed juice came out with a pH of 3.30, lower even than the domaine’s Corton-Charlemagne – got to be happy with that in a hot vintage such as 2026 !!

Next into the cuverie was some Beaune villages from the climat of Point des Tuvillains. Seemingly the lowest amount of dry grapes to be removed – or at least on a par with the Corton Vigne aux Saint. The grapes looked great but given that today had temperatures of 30°C and saw the return of the sun, these grapes little warm, so will overnight in the chiller for sorting tomorrow.

So not much sorting today – but there was lunch to eat and wine to drink – the learning never stops 🙂

There remain parcels of Aloxe-Corton and Beaune Bressandes – but probably they will be harvested on Saturday as there’s some heavy rain forecast for Thursday evening and into Friday…

Beaune Villages

Young vine St.Romain

Lunch

Old vine St.Romain