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Burgundy's Village Wines |
I decided it was probably a bad thing to duplicate all the tasting note - i.e. have the same ones in two places, so all recent notes can be found at the BURGUNDY REPORT
* . . . . . REGIONAL WINES
* . . . . . VILLAGE WINES
* . . . . . PREMIER CRU WINES
* . . . . . GRAND CRU WINES
1998 Louis Jadot, Savigny-les-Beaune April 2003
Medium ruby red, no maturity. The nose shows raspberry and cherry. In the mouth there's good concentrated fruit which bursts across the palate at first taste, coupled with medium tannins and refreshing acidity. Very primary, but it can easily be enjoyed for its youth now. Nice wine.
1999 Joseph Faiveley, Givry Champ-Lalot April 2003
Medium ruby red. Clean, sweet red berried nose - raspberry, redcurrant and strawberry. Quite full with medium-soft tannins and good acidity. This has a nice style and would be worth leaving a couple of years.
1999 Joseph Faiveley, Mercurey La Framoisière April 2003
Medium ruby red with cherry at the rim. A subdued cooked cherry nose with just a trace of caramel. Less sweet than the Givry but good depth of fruit and good acidity too. The smooth tannin is a good buffer. Good.
2000 Tollot-Beaut, Chorey-les-Beaune April 2003
Medium cherry red. Nose is sweet and oaky with difficult to define, though cooked red fruits. Soft, with good acidity and concentration. Sometimes I get a bit of a "bubble-gum" impression with Chorey, but not in this case. Very good for Chorey-les-Beaune.
1999 Château Génot-Boulanger, Pommard April 2003
Medium cherry red. The nose is subdued but sweet strawberry is the dominant note. Also sweet on the palate with medium-plus tannins and slightly tart acidity. The fruit is mainly red and quite persistent. Perhaps a bit rustic, quite good.
2000 Morey-Coffinet, Chassagne-Montrachet April 2003
Medium ruby red. The nose is spicy with toasty oak - does a good job of masking the fruit. The palate is oaky and sweet with very smooth tannins and good acidity. I like the concentration. Personally I'd wait for the oak to subside, but this drinks very well already - excellent value too.
1999 Confuron-Coteditot, Vosne-Romanée April 2003
Medium-plus cherry red. The nose is a subdued strawberry and respberry number - very smooth. Lovely mouthfeel, lots of high-toned fruits, good acidity and medium, velvetty tannins. Persistent finish too. This is a very good villages wine.
1999 Confuron-Coteditot, Chambolle-Musigny April 2003
Medium-plus cherry red. The nose is a very forward mix of of red and black cherries. Nice mouthfeel again with medium velvetty tannins coupled with good acidity and fruit concentration. Also a very good villages - I marginally prefer the Vosne-Romanée.
2000 Comte de Vogüé, Chambolle-Musigny April 2003
Medium cherry red. The nose is a forward mix of cherries, cassis, oak and faint vanilla. Very smooth, slightly oaky and concentrated palate. The acidity is adequate and the medium density tannins are very fine. A very long finish. Priced higher than many 1er Cru's - but worth the outlay. Excellent villages. I'd suggest leaving 3 or 4 years to tone down the oak influence, but no rush to drink for several years there-after.
1999 Nicolas Potel, Côte de Nuits Villages Vieilles Vignes February 2003
Medium-plus ruby colur, still showing a little cherry at the rim. The nose shows deep notes with coffee and cherry tart, higher up redcurrants and raspberry. Excellent acidity coupled with mainly red fruit. The tannins are still a little grainy but this is already a lovely drink, the concentration shows that there is no rush though.
1997 Nicolas Potel, Volnay January 2002
Medium ruby colour. Nose of raspberry and red cherry. Furry tannin and reasonable acidity coupled with lovely depth of red fruits. The finish lasts well. Very good.
1993 Domaine Trapet, Gevrey-Chambertin December 2002
Colour is medium-plus ruby at the core, fading quickly to the edge. The nose is very earthy and farmyard smelling with background aromas of still quite primary cherry. The palate has good density with fine acidity. Tannin is well hidden. Finishes nicely long. A very good wine and still young.
1997 Domaine Dubois d'Orgeval, Savigny-les-Beaune Les Pimentieres December 2002
Colour is still a deep cherry. The nose started with a waft of strawberry then settled down to deep cherry tart aroma. The palate has good acidity and medium tannin. The fruit is mainly red, with pretty good depth but there is a metallic edge which turns a little bitter on the finish. Given 40 minutes of aeration this fades and you're left with a lovely wine.
1990 Joseph Faiveley, Nuits Saint Georges Lavières December 2002
Medium ruby colour, no obvious aging. Nose has forward red and black cherry notes plus some meatiness. Good acidity and still a firm though smooth tannic structure. Reasonably long too. Currently still a baby, I'm not sure if it will gain in complexity though. A very good wine.
2000 Joblot, Givrey Pied de Chaume December 2002
Medium ruby colour, still cherry red at the rim. Nose has some low down traces of oak and forcefull black cherry. Very good acidity compliments intense cherry (again!) fruit. The tannins are well covered though fraying a little at the edges. This is a super-succulent wine. Very moreish, also very good.
1999 Christian Clerget, Chambolle-Musigny November 2002
Quite deep cherry colour. Nose is round and very red fruity, cherries and strawberry. Beautiful fruit on the palate, it really jumps out of the glass, red cherry is again the dominant fruit. The acidity is high and just about in control. Plenty of furry tannin which ends somewhat bitter in the finish. Given some aeration and an hour or so and there seems to be much better balance, still a little bitterness but much more subdued. Give this 5+ years and I'm sure it will be very lovely.
1999 Nicolas Potel, Chambolle-Musigny September 2002
Medium cherry colour. Nose is red cherry and subtle violets. Good fruit concentration on the sweet palate with nice acidity and medium tannins. Medium length too. Very good, but not the class of Mugnier's.
1995 Jean Grivot, Vosne-Romanée Bossières August 2002
Medium/full ruby colour. Nose is incisive red berries at the top end with faint plum lower down. Palate is quite fat with a surprising amount of tannin, though quite smooth. When last tasted 18 months ago I thought the acidity a little over the top - now less so. Deeply extracted red cherries on the tongue and quite long too. Still a baby. Excellent villages.
1999 JF Mugnier, Chambolle-Musigny August 2002
Medium cherry colour. Nose is mild cinnamon, red cherry and violets, no obvious oak. Concentrated sweet red fruits, goodish acidity, well hidden tannin and very long. A little vanilla right at the end - for a village, superb.
1997 Joseph Drouhin, Morey Saint Denis August 2002
Medium ruby, still showing some cherry colour. Nose was subdued, though cherries & cream with a top end of raspberry still evident. Palate is sweet with good acidity and very pretty fruit. No obvious oak influence on the nose or palate here. Though a little astringent in the finish, this passes with food. A nice style about this wine.
1997 Louis Jadot, Pommard August 2002
Medium ruby colour, already turning brick at the rim. The nose is all high toast oak for the first 15 minutes, gradually turning sweet, completely fading after 4-5 hours to reveal cooking dark plum notes. The palate has high acidity and a little tannin. Fruit is of medium intensity, but the acidity, which just avoids coarseness makes for a burst on the finish. Medium length. Very good for the vintage and with a strong hard cheese like Comte, the acidity is perfectly balanced.
1997 Louis Jadot, Gevrey-Chambertin August 2002
Medium-full ruby. A deeper toasted oak nose and dare I say it slightly shitty aromas. There is a little sweet spice, but the wood is in charge here. 5 hours later the wood is gone leaving pretty black cherry fruit. The palate has more depth with high, though more controlled acidity than the Pommard, and the fruit is more black cherry. Length is good. More intense than the Pommard today, but younger – leave for another 2 years.
1998 A et P de Villaine, Mercurey Les Montots July 2002
Mr DRC himself from his private estate. Medium ruby colour, slightly browner at the rim. Nose for the first few moments has some oak, but this is quickly gone, replaced by very strong fruit, black rather than red, with some blueberry. The palate is sweet with great cherry & damson fruit. Good but a tad harsh acidity coupled with nice length. The tannins suggest that I’m drinking this far too young. Given the piercing fruit on both the nose and palate, I’d suggest this is fine rather than merely good, but wait at least 3 years to re-taste.
1999 Méo-Camuzet, Marsannay June 2002
A negociant wine here. Deep red cherry still with some purple hints. The nose has lots of volume with strong, primary red cherry fruit and a hint of higher raspberry – once the faint high-toast oak disappears. The palate is not what you expect from Marsannay; it’s very thick & fruity, though not obviously oak induced. There is quite good acidity, coupled with good tannins and a nice finish. An excellent wine, and one you would never guess to be Marsannay, more like a very good 1er Cru Beaune.
1999 Nicolas Potel, Nuits Saint Georges April 2002
Medium red cherry colour. A rush of red cherry and redcurrant fruit as the top notes coming down to cinnamon and coffee at the bottom. The palate is reasonably silky with a good depth of red cherry fruit. Lingering acidity is coupled with very strong tannins (more like a barrel sample). An amazing village wine this, there is almost grand cru structure, though perhaps something closer to 1er cru fruit concentration. I won’t touch another of these for at least 3 years and more likely 5, but there should still be plenty of fruit left and hopefully better balance.
1999 Francois Gay, Ladoix April 2002
Mid purple-cherry coloured. The nose started very oaky, but after 25 minutes we have parma violets and bilberries. Not very thick in the mouth, but good mouthfeel, nice acidity, mild tannin and bright crunchy cherry fruit. This is a lovely summers day drink –maybe I’ll wait a couple of months for a sunny day for the next one.
1999 Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes March 2002
Deep cherry colour with purple edges. The nose has toasty oak still evident but behind there is a sweet fruit compote, more black than red plus a touch vanilla. Really excellent concentration of fruit on the palate, that seams to keep following the lingering acidity. The tannin is there but in the background. An above average ‘village’ wine from an excellent vintage, also great to drink right now.
1998 Bruno Clair – Marsannay ‘Les Longeroies’ January 2002
Deep red cherry colour with a hit of purple, matched by an impressively deep nose – bright raspberry, red cherry with coffee and the faintest whiff of vanilla. The medium palate has really concentrated cherry and redcurrant. Lingering acidity, very smooth tannin and a long finish. Very hard to resist already. I bought 3 of these in a sale for only 11.9€ each, I’d happily pay the full price of 14.5€ for some more. Super.
1999 J Faiveley, Mercurey La Framboisiere January 2002
Medium colour, more crimson than cherry with a flash of purple. The nose is a little alcoholic with bright red fruits following up. The medium body palate has furry tannins and juicy acidity. In line with the name, lovely red fruits on the palate tending more to strawberry than raspberry. If it was 30°C outside and this was slightly chilled I’d be in heaven. Much, much better than the ’97 or ’98. Enjoy now or wait 2 years for the tannin to resolve.
1996 Ladoix Cote de Beaune, Parent December 2001
The colour is a fantastic deep brick lightening at the rim. Nose is a little alcoholic, coupled with cooking red fruits. The palate still has lingering tannins and (perhaps) slightly tart acidity, but the fruit is up to the job of competing. It seems some of the lowly appellations from ’96 are finally starting to become enjoyable – no rush though. I hope the last 3 or 4 are still on the merchants shelf, at €14 it’s a steal.
1997 Nicolas Potel, Volnay November 2001
Medium ruby colour. Perhaps a hint less Volnay on the nose than Montilles Bourgogne, but very pretty red fruit. Smooth and creamy red fruits, very concentrated, intense even. Very good.
1998 Denis Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin November 2001
Dark garnet/purple. Very toasty oak nose (oh dear!) – I can't really get past this. Soft and supple in the mouth, despite being quite dense. Straight from the bottle this is deeply disappointing to me, there seems to be balance of acidity and tannin, apparently with some fruit too, but I can't get at it for the wood. One hour (of occasional swirling) later, the nose is starting to exhibit the creaminess of French oak – more wood, but at least it's becoming more subtle! I'm also starting to pick up black cherry. As we move on to the 3 hour mark, there is a transition through 'real toast' smells to something much more opulent and interesting. So after 24 hours under vacuvin we are starting to get somewhere; the oak is just in the background now, black cherry and even blackcurrant, a little spice and the smell of soil. Palate is still nice and supple, but the acidity seems a bit more aggressive. Very long creamy oak finish. This wine has excellent potential, though I won't try another for at least 3 years, and it's likely I'll still have to decant a couple of hours before consuming.
1998 Denis Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin En Motrot November 2001
Dark garnet/purple, subtly darker than the above. Again toasty oak on the nose but a little less pronounced with black cherries in the mix. The acidity is more pronounced than the above, with black cherry again on the finish. After an hour of swirling (as above) the toasty oak seems more persistent than on the 'basic' G-C, and is 'lighter' in the mouth. After 3 hours we have lost most of the 'toast' and have a more silky mouthfeel than the 'basic'. Okay, moving on 24 hours (under vacuvin) the oak has not been subdued quite to the same extent as the 'basic' but is now (to me) 'acceptable'. The nose has less blackcurrant aspect than the 'basic', otherwise it seems a little more concentrated with some liquorice hints. The palate is smoother with better integration of the acid. The finish is long and mainly fruit driven rather than creamy oak. Now it's really an excellent wine. I don't have any more of these, though would wait a similar time to re-test if I had.
1996 Lafarge, Volnay July 2001
Lighter colour, sweeter and fruitier nose. Not surprisingly this village wine is a much lighter style than Chapelle-Chambertin. Quite high acidity but very smooth and long. For my preferences, a more enjoyable wine than the above, though not better.
1985 Dujac, Morey-St-Denis June 2001
Medium red/brown fading to amber. A sweet nose with cooked plum pies. Really smooth, not too fat. No noticable tannin and medium acidity. Sweet and stylish with a very, very long finish - balanced, and reminiscent of Musigny. Tons of crud in the bottom which the waiter kindly dumped into my glass - but hey! Excellent
1990 Joseph Faiveley, Morey St Denis April 2001
€32 found rummaging around in the cellar of a shop in Evian. Bright clear cherry red in the glass with a hint of fading but no obvious sign of age. Pure fruit on the nose with no real complexity. It’s not fat, but this village wine definitely has elegance with beautifully pure fruit. Good acidity, moderate tannin. One to savour on its own. Really excellent now, I wonder what it will be like when it starts to mature !!
1997 Moillard-Grivot, Morey St Denis April 2001
€14 in local French supermarket. Deep brick colour - looks quite mature. The nose is slightly oaky with cooked black fruit as support. Sweet with medium body there is plenty of macerated fruit, moderate acidity and slightly harsh tannin. A slightly rustic food wine, but excellent value nonetheless.
1996 Chateau Chorey-Les-Beaune (Germain), Chorley-Les-Beaune April 2001
Deep ruby colour, no fading. Nose was of toasty oak and a sort of jammy concoction (Morrisons mixed fruit probably). Surprisingly fat with good acidity and backed up with reasonable tannins. Again a sort of jamminess to the sweet palate (almost Zinfandelesque!), but improved with food. Medium length. For the equivalent of €14, very good.
1992 Domaine l'Arlot, Nuit Saint Georges November 2000
A nice medium/deep red colour with hints of brick orange at the rim. The nose had a very musty smell not undergrowth or cardboard but sulphur dioxide. In the mouth - awful. I decanted the wine and tried again about 2 hours later - still undrinkable. I returned it to the bottle and 'vacuvin'd' it. Next day the wine had a fruit smell instead of sulphur and a pleasant, quite smooth mixture of red cherries and plums in the mouth. Unfortunately the wine was not fit for the purpose of drinking on the day required - but how do you return a wine in apparently perfect condition?
1996 Comte Georges de Vogüé, Chambolle Musigny November 2000
I was saving this bottle, but it was available following the failure of Domaine l'Arlot. Medium red colour, with no development at the rim. Nose was a mixture of red fruits, a hint of vanillin oak and - sulphur!!! I think I must have overdosed on the previous bottle and now I was sensitised to the stuff. There was plenty of fruit on the smooth palate, not overly long on the finish, but pleasant enough. To be honest I think the previous bottle spoiled my enjoyment of this wine.
1995 Morey-Saint-Denis, Dujac October 2000
Pale amber/brick colour, lots of sediment so decanted. Initially the nose was 'cooked' and musty. 30 minutes later (fortunately!) much better. Still some slightly stewed or cooked fruit, but behind this was a nice clean damsony aroma. Medium bodied and nicely sweet, the wine was very smooth and felt 'thick' in the mouth. The finish was long but had just a hint of bitterness in the finish. Tasted better without food. €30 I had some concerns when I bought the wine as the bottle felt quite warm in the shop. It was obvious from the pale colour and cooked aromas that it had not enjoyed very good storage. Pleasant enough, but only for short-term drinking. I'm looking to build up my stocks of 1995 and this seemed a good chance, apparently Dujac declassified all his Morey 1er Cru into this village wine in '95, at the time Clive Coates described it as "very classy"
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