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Grand Cru Burgundy Wine |
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
1991 Marius Delarche, Corton Renardes February 2003
Deep ruby colour showing just a little amber at the rim. The nose has deep, cooked black cherries and much soil and undergrowth. Still tannic with refreshing acidity, there is nicely concentrated fruit which finishes reasonably long, ending on a note of licorice. This is a rough, tough Corton - just how I like them, but is spoiled a little by a consistent astringency. Still pretty good though.
1996 Dominique Gallois, Charmes-Chambertin February 2003
Lovely deep ruby, still with hints of purple. The nose is an impressive mix of blackberry, some subtle smokey notes and a hint of undergrowth - just perceptible coffee too. The palate, without being fat shows concentrated dark cherry fruit, good acidity and relatively smooth, medium tannins. The follow through is not bad - medium-plus length. Not as obviously young as many 96's but still some way from peaking - good now and should become a lovely wine.
1996 Louis Jadot, Clos de Vougeot February 2003
Deep colour. Nose is black cherry with soil and fallen leaves. The palate has prominent furry tannins and very good acidity. The fruit is incredibly intense black cherry, in fact almost sour cherries. Very long too, though still very young. This wine is more structured and primary than most 2000's and I wouldn't touch another for 4-5 years. Excellent potential.
1991 Joseph Faiveley, Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley January 2003
Deep ruby colour almost to the rim. The nose sucks you in with damp soil, marmite, cooked fruits and a 'top-end' of kirsch. In the mouth it's fat and sweet - still with mouth-wrapping tannins. Good acidity too. Medium-plus length. A few more seconds on the finish and I would have said 'superb', now I'll just have to stick with 'almost superb'. Still years ahead of it.
1997 Joseph Drouhin, Griottes-Chambertin December 2002
Deep ruby core still some cherry flashes towards the rim. Nose hasn't the intense 'griottes' of the 2001/2002 barrel samples tasted in the Drouhin cellars two weeks ago - but they're definitely still there in a subdued form, perhaps rose petals too. In the mouth this wine comes across as fat and smooth with intense red fruits complimenting good acidity. Well covered tannins give way to a well integrated vanilla tinged finish. This is very, very good.
1989 JF Mugnier, Musigny October 2002
There were apparently 2 cuvées from this vintage chez Mugnier, this one, and a veilles vignes; I assume the V.V. is a little more interesting. Beautiful medium-full ruby colour, only a little browner at the edge. The nose starts very deep, due to a still obvious oak treatment, creamy with vanilla. There are also high raspberry and kirsch tones plus tones of tea. The palate has good acidity, silky tannins which are almost hidden at the start but become less controlled as you progress into the finish. You will find great depth of fruit, shading towards the red spectrum and a long finish which is perceptibly touched by vanilla. A very fine wine then but for me tinged a sense of disappointment. Musigny froma top producer - which Mugnier is, should be magic experience and frankly this wine doesn't come close to the experience of Thomas-Moillards Romanée Saint-Vivant of the same year.
1996 Thomas-Moillard, Corton Clos du Roi September 2002
Medium to deep ruby, little sign of aging. The nose is laser sharp red cherry, fantastic! The palate is equally sharp, concentrated cherry fruit with very good acidity and medium tannins. Certainly not a charmer just now. Best to leave for 3 or 4 years it will be excellent.
1999 Vincent Girardin, Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze August 2002
Deeply coloured cherry, still with purple at the rim. Nose is muted, but traces of coffee and soil. The palate is fat and broad with excellent concentration of very ripe fruit. Good acidity and coats the inside of your mouth. Very fine.
1989 Thomas-Moillard, Romanée-Saint-Vivant July 2002
Mature looking but with sufficient deep colour to make the age hard to determine. The nose . . . . . chocolate cherry liqueurs(!) and really sweet, almost intoxicating. The palate, still has really good acidity and lots of furry tannin. Tons of depth to the fruit, with the finish continuing to develop for the first hour the bottle was open. Worth much more than the €58 paid – outstanding – and years of life ahead of it.
1988 Domaine Dujac, Charmes-Chambertin June 2002
From Half. Colour was brick red, fading at the rim. Nose was deep and sweet and like turned-over soil with some background pipe tobacco. The palate had good volume and still retained a healthy amount of 'stewed plum' fruit. The tannin was just about gone, but there remained a strong lick of acidity. Very long finish and very good, but I suspect it would be time to start drinking these.
1988 Joseph Faiveley, Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley June 2002
Lovely deep ruby colour, just bricking a little at the rim. This looks younger than many a 1997. Nose – what nose? then oops: can that really be creosote? The note is halfway between creosote and corked, floating over a sweet base. It comes through on the first part of the palate too - such a shame as this wine is big bodied and exceptionally long in the background. Just in case this was some type of devilish bottle stink I vacuvin'd it overnight. Next day we still had creosote, just a little more subdued, but not much. Tainted - BB&R replaced with just an email!
1988 Pierre Damoy, Chambertin Clos de la Bèze June 2002
Very mature medium/deep brick colour. Intense nose has toasty oak turned sweet with age and is very mocha with a background of soil, develops a very meaty overtone after a couple of hours. Still some higher fruit tones redolent of stewing prunes. The palate is broad and silky, still with lingering acidity, good smooth tannin and chocolatey notes. Initially in the mouth this wine seems a bit simple and is certainly not much more than medium length, palate broadens further with time, but no extra length. Too young ? Certainly it is a fine wine today and has enough structure for a few more years, I'm not sure there will be a benefit in waiting though. Just in case, I have another and will try it when it's 20 vs Jadot's & Bouchard's 1998 version !
1991 Bouchard Pere et Fils, Le Corton June 2002
Deep ruby colour, this wine looks amazingly youthful, you could believe it to be a 97 or even a 98. The nose is a powerful blend of higher black cherry & plum fruit, coming down to more savoury, meaty aromas. The palate is incredibly tannic still, more reminiscent of younger Bordeaux than aging Burgundy. The acidity is still good whilst retaining intense 'stone fruit'. There is no primary fruit left, but this wine is nowhere near maturity. I found this hard to like (unlike the 1992) and I'd say wait at least another 3 to 4 years before returning. Someone once said that the greatest Cortons are tough and powerful, this is both of those things but I'm not sure whether that makes it great !
1992 Bouchard Pere et Fils, Le Corton March 2002
Still deeply coloured for a burgundy, ruby with a hint of brick at the rim. The nose is very wide with sweet dried vine fruit and leather notes lower down. The palate is sweet and silky with still good acidity and grippy tannins, though not a bit rustic. Fruit has excellent density and is predominantly black. Length is on the long side of medium, with just a hint of creaminess. I’m sure I’ve not tried a better 1992, really top class and drinking beautifully now, but don’t wait as 2 hours after opening it gets a bit thin.
1991 Jean Grivot, Echézéaux November 2001
From Half. Medium ruby colour bricking towards the edge. Unusual nose – almondy. After the above this is so much thicker, smoother and red fruitier with a hint of spice. Acidity is good and the tannins completely softened. Very yummy. Actually if I'd read before Clive Coates review in his ten years on, I wouldn't have bought this one, but while the nose sounds similar, they rest is not recognisable. From me 18, from Clive only 14
1999 Guy Castagnier, Clos de la Roche October 2001
Deeply coloured, more purple than red. High notes to low notes take in raspberry then redcurrants finishing with creamy Victoria plums, possibly a suggestion of coffee too. The first thing that strikes you about the palate is how thick it feels in the mouth. The abundant fruit does well at hiding the medium tannins and the medium but lingering acidity. Absolutely first class, and currently drinking better than the 96, 97 & 98!
1996 Rossignol-Trapet, Chapelle-Chambertin July 2001
Cheap for the appelation, Deep garnet, sturdy ramparts of high toast oak with sweet cherry just peering over the top. Nice mouthfeel, good acidity. A very good wine, but the oak is not my favourate style.
1994 JF Mugnier, Musigny April 2001
Medium red with brick highlights. The nose is an unusual, but not unpleasant, mixture of oxtail soup (!) and stewed rhubarb. Some sweetness and fruit but slightly outweighed by the punchy acidity and tannins. With food the tables are turned and all falls into place. There's no lack of fruit and this wine exhibits a simply fantastic length. 2-3 minutes and it's still going. Excellent, head and shoulders above any other 1994 I've tasted.
1998 Guy Castagnier, Clos de la Roche April 2001
Medium ruby with purple highlights. The nose is pure black cherry. Sweet and fat in the mouth with cherry and raspberry coming through. Good acidity but slightly uneven tannin. Enjoyable, but needs some time to smooth those tannins. The 1996 version of this wine is still an opaque monster, the 1997 needs time to gain complexity, whilst this one needs time to smooth the edges.
1997 Joseph Faiveley, Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley March 2001
Deeply coloured, though still see-through. This wine has a fabulous nose; beautiful clean, pure fruit. Sweet blueberry & damson, no obvious oak just finishing with a nuance of coffee. Full bodied and very thick, the tannins are big and not the smoothest ever, tons of acidity but not 'off-balance'. There is just so much ripe fruit, that the tannin and acidity matter not a jot. The wine finishes with creamy French oak. Very, very good.
1994 J Faiveley, Chambertin Clos de la Bèze March 2001
Ruby fading to brick. The nose was slightly subdued and smokey, hinting at sweet red fruit. The wine was still 'fat', but didn't have the concentration of fruit that Dujac's 95 enjoyed, though was better than the Volnay. Without appearing out of balance there were much bigger helpings of tannin and acid, I guess this is what they call 'structure'. The finish was sweet and red - cherry and redcurrant with a hint of oak. The best 1994 I've tried, but the rest were disasters. Good but not the complexity I hoped for, I think the vintage is the limiting factor here.
1997 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton March 2001
Medium red, still not lost the hints of purple. Nice fruit compote nose, with sharp (pure?) fruit rather than a sweet nose. Lots of smooth fruit with a hint of oak, good acidity, but very well balanced with the alcohol. Smooth tannins and a fine finish. Another Yum, Yum.
1997 Guy Castagnier - Clos de la Roche January 2001
Compared to the beast of a 1996 which still has an impenetrable purple colour, this wine looks 3 years older. It's medium ruby already tending to brick, with just a hint of lightness at the rim. The nose is a young, one-dimensional dark cherry. Sweet cherry pie comes through on the nicely fat palate with a finely balanced finish. Good, though needs 3+ years to gain complexity but I think it will still be rather enjoyable in 10.
1990 Armand Rousseau, Clos de la Roche January 2001
Very subdued pinot nose, ruby tending to brick. Thick & sweet in the mouth, but not giving much away. Needs at least 3 more years.
1997 JC Belland, Corton Clos de la Vigne au Saint October 2000
Medium to full colour, paling slightly at the rim. The nose was initially marred by a whiff of SO2, but this cleared in about 10 minutes, revealing for such a young wine, a quite complex mix of strawberry jam, currant pasties (without the mint!) with mild spices and oak. In the mouth, it was fat and rich with lots of acidity, but was still quite well balanced (13.5%). This wine begged me to finish the bottle!
1997 JC Belland, Chambertin October 2000
Medium cherry red with no reduction of colour at the rim. The nose was an understated (or closed) mixture of clean red fruits, with a little oak and a faint whiff of pipe tobacco. Medium bodied, not 'fat' but pleasing fruit and good acidity. The long finish was a 'creamy' vanilla affair.
1986 Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Grands-Échézeaux September 2000
€160 in an excellent restaurant, and decanted away from our table. The colour is surprisingly deep for the vintage. The nose, where to start? Haunting, with violets and meat and soil - utterly superb and so concentrated too. The palate didn't quite live up to the nose, but still good acidity, tannin almost gone and quite good concentration of fruit and a quite long finish. My wine of the year, one you don't need to drink - only smell.
1996 Guy Castagnier, Bonnes-Mares September 2000
A deep, deep red colour, no lightening at the rim, thick legs on the side of the glass. The nose again had the very intense cherry/damson smell, which will (hopefully) with time get a bit more complex. Again, great thick gobs of fruit, seems 'thicker' than the other wines, but currently a little one dimensional. This wine is very smooth and already quite easy to drink. You will only find the tannins if you look hard.
1996 Guy Castagnier, Clos de Vougeot September 2000
Almost seems like this wine was made by a different producer! A nice medium red colour, still with a hint of purple. The fruit smells much sweeter, though a little more distant. On the palate medium bodied, good viscosity lots of sweet damson and cherry fruit, a hint of acid and a long, long finish. This wine is very easy to drink right now.
1996 Clos Saint Denis September 2000
A good deep red colour, slightly fading to brick at the edge. The nose initially closed, developed after 15 minutes into an appealing mix of sweet blackcurrants and black cherries. Medium bodied with some acidity, though not harsh, coupled with gentle tannin. This is the wine that is drinking best of the 1996's right now.
1996 Latricières-Chambertin September 2000
A deep red colour, still with a hint of purple. A black cherry nose with a hint of oak, but a little closed. Good fruit, not too much tannin, but quite a high acidity. Long on the finish, but currently a little 'unbalanced(?)' due to high acid. Only time will tell for this one.
1994 Mommessin, Clos du Tart September 2000
Colour was a nice mid to deep red, fading a little at the edge. With an intruiging nose - it smells just like a £7 Rioja i.e. plenty of fruit, but slightly overpowering vanillin smell, I used to like this in my yoof - not so much these days. Medium bodied and quite interesting in the mouth with black cherries, but high acid and finishing with an unpleasant astringency. If this is typical, then not recommended. 1994's. Have I been particulary unlucky? I'm yet to have a truely enjoyable wine from this year. There have been some potentially good ones - let down by bottle stink or some other 'fault'. I hope my 'squirreled away' single bottle of Grivot, Richebourg breaks the mould.
1990 Camus Père et Fils, Charmes Chambertin September 2000
Stored upright for 4 days prior to opening. Mid to pale brick red with amber at the rim, but a little cloudy. Close inspection revealing very fine suspended material - 4 days standing not enough!? The nose was an interesting mixture of meat and raisins with a hint of vanilla, but slighty musty in the background - actually better than it sounds! It displayed pleasant, but light bodied fruit which was nice and smooth in the mid pallate, though the finish had a perceptable harshness or astringency (mild) probably due to the suspended material. After 1 hour, all that was left was the musty smell and the harsh finish. Conclusion: This should have been a fantastic wine, still with a brilliant future ahead of it. In reality, though a Grand Cru from a hyped vintage, it was weak and should have been drunk 5 years ago. I would question it's storage for the last few years but for the fact that it was immaculate in appearance, with a very high level in the neck.
1991 Chandon de Briailles, Corton-Maréchaudes August 2000
A surprisingly deep brick red colour, just a little lighter at the rim - not too much maturity here. The nose had a hint of undergrowth, but still some good clean fruit. Not too much acidity or tannin - Rich and meaty with nice damsons, the finish being quite long, but very slightly sharp. The wine will certainly last a few more years, but I'm not sure if it will improve. Only one way to find out, Mr wine merchant!
1991 Guy Castagnier, Clos Saint Denis August 2000
Mid brick red, tawny at the rim. The nose quite earthy, 'farmyard' (which some people decry, but I love) and mature. Really smooth & deep with a lingering, sweet finish. At it's peak? I thought this wine was fantastic, but there are no more in the shop :-(
1993 Mommessin, Clos du Tart July 2000
Almost no 'ullage' in this bottle, the wine being intimate with the long cork. A mature, medium brick red clour. The nose was a sweet mixture of plummy-damsons. Soft and rich with very smooth tannin and an even smoother finish. Highly recommended - I bought two more.
1994 Guy Castagnier, Latricières-Chambertin July 2000
Although the (brick/tawny) colour was quite strong, this was obviously a mature looking wine. Possibly due to some residual sulphites, the nose was initially very vegetal. I persevered (you have to don't you!) and about half an hour later the wine was a little more interesting, but not brilliant. After (overnight) 'vacu-vin', the nose was much more appealing, the wine being 'softer' with reasonable length.
1994 Daniel Rion, Clos de Vougeot June 2000
Deep slightly purple colour with only a hint of lighter red at the edges. The nose was of very intense pure black cherry fruit which came through well on the palate, but after 5 minutes an unpleasant vegetal smell developed - but it ended with the fruit if you took a long sniff. Again there followed a night under 'vacu-vin'. Next evening, the nose was very closed, though not vegetal. Lots of fruit but it was masked by (not rough) tannin and quite high acidity. Obviously this wine needs time. I'm unsure whether there is enough fruit to outlast the tannin. I think I will spend on some of Rions fantastic 95/96 Nuits instead.
1995 Gros Frère et Soeur, Clos Vougeot-Musigni June 2000
Save for the deeper red colour, I could use the '93 Clos du Tart' tasting note. This wine is excellent, I just haven't got round to buying two more yet !!
1996 Guy Castagnier, Clos de la Roche May 2000
A deep purple colour, almost no lightening at the rim. Nose very strong/focused black cherry with mild oak. Lots of thick fruit and even spice here. Not the sort of wine you can happily drink two or three glasses of because it's too much like hard work (like most of the young big Aussie shiraz's). I decided to buy two more as I think it could be exceptional (like the '91 Clos St.Denis). But I wont be trying it again for 5 or 6 years.
1995 Jean Grivot, Richebourg April 2000
Very deep ruby colour, fading to the rim. Nose is incredibly concentrated cassis. Comes through on the palate too with red cherry dominating the long finish. There is very good acidity coupled with absolutely the most velvet tannins. Superb.
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