Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Singapore - Back to Basics 2012

The once a year "back-to-basics" event rolled around again. As always, the object of the exercise was to go back to non-fancy, basic wines and to test our blind tasting skills in picking out terroirs that we do not encounter that often. We had 3 flights of 4 whites, 4 flights of reds and a few more over lunch (these went by so fast that I missed out on notes for two whites - a Ladoix and a St Aubin) - a lot for one Saturday afternoon. It was good fun as always though, with lots of little gems being unearthed here and there. I must say that true to form, not all of the wines were that "basic". In fact, my wine of the tasting was a decidedly un-simple and not inexpensive 2002 Louis Carillon PM 1er Perrieres.

• 2010 Les Champs de l'Abbaye Rully Les Cailloux Blanc 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully

  Pretty decent. Quite expressive on the nose, this showed little scents of cream and butter, some oaky notes of sweet corn husks, along with some yellow fruit and white flower aromas. Not bad. The palate started out with some sweet yellow fruit and bright, sherberty lemon flavours. Quite a bit of extract there, along with lots of fresh, juicy acidity. So bright in fact, that it was almost a bit tart at points, especially when the fruit toned down somewhat past the midpalate to show some metallic minerality and a little touch of some iodine and a woody bite at the finish. That aside, it was actually a decent wine, simple but very drinkable.

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• 2010 Les Champs de l'Abbaye Mercurey La Brigadière Blanc 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey

  Pretty decent.This was a step-up from the 2010 Rully Cailloux of the same producer that we had alongside. It was a lot more expressive on the nose, with sweet red apple aromas dripped with some honey and spice and an interesting bit of earthy, flinty mineral, with a slightly saline, Chablis-like twang to it. Nice stuff. I liked the palate too. It had that same flinty minerality alongside some energetic, zippy acidity which formed a very firm backbone for juicy flavours of fleshy green apples. Good weight, nothing too complex, but I like the mouthwatering balance for this and the way it felt really well-focused all the way into a long, laser-like finish. A good effort that would do very well on a dinner table.

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• 2002 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune

  A decent wine, but a tad bit disappointing for a Simon Bize produced wine from such a strong white wine vintage. There was clearly some age on the nose with this one, with nice secondary notes of earthy, mushroomy undergrowth to go with its fleshy white fruit aromas and little creamy nuances. Quite attractive really. The palate had a rather rich, oily texture to it, with sweet lemons and yellow fruit wed to bright, snappy acidity. There was some ripeness to this along with more of the creamy notes picked up on the nose. However, full all that, there was a nice freshness to the wine for all its fleshy weight. I just wished there was a bit more going on - apart from the nicely complex nose, this came across as rather ho-hum, a bit simple. The slightly nutty finish had some length on it, but was still cloaked in a little layer of some oaky popcorn and spice. Not quite my favourite thing in the world on a mature Chardonnay. Overall, a decent wine, but nothing really special.

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• 2008 Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  I love how blind tastings sometimes throw out these wonderful surprises. This was a very impressive Bourgogne Blanc indeed, easily besting the three village wines in the same flight. It had a very subtle, almost tight nose, with little drifts of sweet appley scents along with hints of flowers and mineral and some little earthy notes. The palate was rather more open though, and I thought it was the classiest wine of the flight in the way its green apple and lemon flavours were finely balanced by the freshness of the vintage. There was very high acidity actually, but the wine had such an open, rounded feel to it that the acidity never quite stood out, but instead lent the wine a lovely sense of precision all the way into a surprisingly long finish, where little bass-notes of buried minerality and hints of almond and some floral perfume wafted out to meet the fruit. While this was on the lighter side, it was certainly closer in depth to a village than a Bourgogne - a a very well-crafted wine that I would happily drink every day. Kudos.

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• 2007 Domaine Bzikot Pére et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  This was a lovely village. So pure, it almost seemed to be doing its best impression of a Daiginjyo sake. Indeed, I would have almost been confused by the nose if this was not a Burgundy tasting, what with its super clean, very subtle white fruited notes touched by a little bit of petrol, some rice-wine notes, a little smoky lilt and then pretty hints white flowers and chamomile. Very quaint, but far from unpleasant. It was the palate that I loved though. It had the same crystal clear purity suggested in the nose, with pure, almost transparent white fruit notes laced with a little flowery accent - all very subtle, perfectly balanced, and very zen-like. It finished as it started, very defined, precise, with more rice-wine notes touched with a bit of spice and oime flinty mineral. A lighter style of wine, not altogether complex, but certainly not thin or facile. It had such a lovely feel to it. Very good for a village indeed.

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• 2007 Domaine Sainte Barbe Viré-Clessé Thurissey 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé

  This was a lovely Mâconnais. Like quite a few wines from the top producers in teh region, the natural fruity exuberance of the Mâcon was so wonderfully wed to the leaner precision of the 2007 vintage with this wine. It had a typically expressive nose, with a bit of cream spread amongst sweeter scents of chrysanthemum flowers, sweet lemons and ripe apples, which were then touched by a bit of earth and some umami hints - a complex and lovely bouquet. The mid-bodied palate was really nice too. We got sweet lemons and red apples, a bit of vanilla and some of the tropical hints and fleshy roundness one would expect from the wine's Southerly terroir. However, this was wed to a beautiful balance and a nice sense of purity, so that the wine had the lovely definition of the vintage and yet was without any hard edges even in its youth. A very elegant show. It finished nicely too, with flinty minerality and warm spices. It faded just a little at its very tail with a bit of time in the glass. That aside, I was actually really taken by this wine. Delicious stuff and great value for its sticker price.

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• 2008 Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Third time with this bottling over the past 12 months, but the first from a 750ml instead of a split. Still pretty good, but this showed fatter and less "Chablisienne" than the previous two outings I thought. The nose was very expressive, with lots of honey and honeysuckle aromas, pears and ripe melons, and then a nice layer chalk, and earthy, truffley scents. While the first bottle I had of this wine showed a lot of mineral and subtle fruit on the palate, this in contrast had quite a bit of depth and fatty richness to its lovely pure flavours of lemons and red apple fruit seasoned with a bit of vanilla and more honeysuckle hints. Looking at previous notes, this wine seems to be putting on more weight, flesh and fruit as the years go by. I thought this might have been a 2006 instead of a 2008 on that showing actually. In fact, it was only a certain ring of purity and a lift of bright acidity past the midpalate and into a slightly spicy finish that even suggested that this may have been a Chablis. Quite delicious though. This was a pretty good wine that I would gladly drink any day of the week.

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• 2008 Domaine de Bellene Santenay Charmes Dessus Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay

  This must be one the very rare times I have had a white Santenay, and it was a pretty good wine too. A bit tight at the moment, but I liked the character and quality on it. There was nice saline, almost sea-breezey inflection to the white fruit and flower scents on the nose, almost more Chablis-like than the Chablis on the same flight I thought. Much the same could be said on the palate. THere was quite a bit of weigh on it, with a round, fleshy sweetness to its rather simple, white-fruited flavour, but these too were lined with that same saline note picked up on the nose and a lovely flinty minerality that wound its way into the finish. Nice stuff, while young and tight, it was actually very pleasant to drink. It had all that nice acidity of the 2008 vintage too that lent it a freshness in spite of its weight. While very decent drinking now, this should get a lot better in two to three years time. A good effort.

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• 2002 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  I very much liked what I saw here, but I had feeling that this wine had seen better days and was just starting to slip under the shadow of premox. A bit disappointing given the pedigree of the producer and the strength of the vintage when the bottle was unveiled. It did have a lovely nose though, full of those lovely aromas that one only gets in mature, or maturing Burgundy, with little funky mushroom and earth notes, honeyed figs, kumquats and yellow fruited pineapples. It was only a little oxidative browned apple twang at the edges of the bouquet that got me a bit concerned. The palate more of less confirmed it. There were those same lovely earthy tones along with some honey and sugarcane flavours and some brighter lemony notes on the midpalate, all very delicious, with the strength of the Chassagne terroir sculpted by the elegant winemaking of the house, with nice acidity weaving through the rich flavours. Very nice up till there. Unfortunately, the oxidative brown apple notes started emerging again past the midpalate, and the wine seemed more or less thinned out by the finish, leaving onlu a little linger of flowers and nutty accents. A real pity, this was still a nice wine, but appears to have been a lot more when whole.

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• 2002 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Very good indeed. This took a bit of time and air to get going in the glass, but when it did, it was one of my favourite whites of the tasting. It was not really a surprise when it was unveiled as a Carillon Perrières - you would expect a wine of such finesse to come from only one of the top houses. It had a beautiful nose, with apples and tropical fruit notes, almost jackfruit-like at points, wed to secondary aromas of earth and white meat and enoki mushrooms. Lovely stuff. The palate seemed a little less developed though, still very fresh, very clear, with a lovely pure expression of green apples and pears and lemons touched with slightly sweeter tropical notes and a nice floral perfume as it wound down into a long finish of spice and mineral notes. With time, a little sugarcane note crept in at the edges as well. In typical Carillon fashion, this was impeccably balanced, with high acidity giving the wine a wonderful sense of energy and focus. A lovely wine, great for drinking now, but still promising some upside over the next couple of years.

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• 2002 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Meursault Les Tessons 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  I thought this was an excellent village that punched way above its weight. In the blind tasting, it stood toe-to-toe with a very good bottle of Louis Carillon's Puligny 1er Cru Perrières on the same flight without blinking and eyelid. It had a very expressive nose that was a mix of sweet fruit tones, ranging from pomelo to tropical lychee nuances, with more matured aromas of slightly funky earth and flint. It was the tropical note that came out first on the palate, with more lychee flavours - almost Geweurztraminer-like someone said - and then pineapples and bright lemony notes. Delicious stuff, and well-balanced off with lovely bright acidity that lifted the wine towards a fresh finish where more flinty, minerally notes stepped in. This was a great examplar of how good the 2002 vintage for white Burgundies across the board was - everything was in the right place, from the depth of fruit, to the sense of balance and extract. A very nice wine at a lovely place for drinking.

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• 1999 Domaine Michelot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  A good wine, probably my least favourite out of its very strong flight, but this was a nicely-shaped Meursault that probably showed its terroir the most clearly amongst the wines, starting from a deep nose of white fruit shaded by some smoky, flinty notes and a little nutty accent. It was on the palate that the Meursault-ness came out most though. Here, it was rich and fleshy, with a round, creamy feel to its plump white fruited flavours touched by a bit of honey and toast, and then some floral notes floating around on the midpalate. All very rounded and gentle, an archetypal Charmes if you will, but also very well balanced. It closed with a similarly friendly finish, very fleshy fruit seasoned with a bit more of the nuts and spice picked up on the nose. Nothing special, but a very pleasant wine indeed.

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• 2010 Les Champs de l'Abbaye Monthélie Les Sous-Roches 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Monthélie

  Decent, but not great. It had a sweet nose, with straightforward aromas of cherries and berries, a bit of flowers, some earth, and slightly green, medicinal, vine stemmy notes. Not unpleasant, but not great either. The palate was a little rustic, with mouthcoating tannins and more herby, medicinal accents underpinning sweet sweet cranberry and some and blue fruit notes. It was decently balanced though, with nice 2010 acidity leading the wine into a floral finish. All in all, a pretty decent wine, but not one I would buy to drink.

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• 2010 Les Champs de l'Abbaye Mercurey Les Marcours 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey

  Way too young, but this was decent enough. It had a typically Mercurey nose, if there is such a thing, with rustic scents of barnyard and earth, along with pepper and musky spice sprinkled over dark cherries notes. Not unattractive though. The palate showed some sweet, slightly candied and cola-ed cherry fruit at the fore, but this was wed to a msucular structure of firm tannins and bright acidity - so bright that at points that it was almost sharp. The earthy finish then pulled away in a little touch of briar and hawthorne. It was a pretty drinkable wine. Again, a bit on the rustic side and not something I would go out of my way to drink, but I think it should make a decent drink given a good amount of age.

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• 2006 Domaine Bzikot Pére et Fils Bourgogne 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  This was a solid little Bourgogne. It started with a nice nose of earthy, meaty, mushroom scents topped up by some cherry and berry aromas. These led into a a simple but very charming palate where clear red cherry flavours were met with lost of little spicy note, some herbs and a very decent finish with touch of vine stems. There was good depth for a Bourgogne wed to firmish tannins and fresh acidity as well. This was everything you could want in a wine at this level. Yummy flavours, great balance, and a nice sense of structure. A great early drinking wine.

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• 2008 Benjamin Leroux Nuits St. Georges Aux Allots 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  This was a very good village - quite clearly the wine of its flight. It had a lovely nose, where pretty scents of flowers and blueberries were wed to more familiar NSG notes of earth, some gentle spiciness and stony minerality. It was the palate that I really enjoyed though. It had a wonderfully energetic feel, with racy acidity zipping through really pure, bright flavours of dark cherries and blueberries. There was a nice sense of depth for a village here, but it was really the remarkable purity and transparency on the whole wine that made it stand out. It was very firm and structured, as one would expect from a young NSG, but also so very fine, so that there was not a hint of hardness or rusticity on the wine. In fact, it was really quite lithe and light-footed. There was a good finish too, with little lick of sweet spice and a nice bed of minerality beneath the fruit. A delightful wine. Still young and fairly simple, but it should improve tremendously over the medium term. A really lovely village.

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• 2007 Hubert Lamy Chassagne-Montrachet La Goujonne Rouge 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

  This seems like a wine that is built for the long term. It was just a bit too hard and unyielding on the day. The nose was alright, very masculine in true Chassagne rouge fashion, with deep dark fruited notes of black cherries and plums topped up with earthy sous bois and game meat. To its credit, the palate had a nice sense of clarity and transparency to its dark fruit and black cherry flavours seasoned with a bit of spice and more herby touches. At the moment though, the fruit was rather layered under really firm tannins that gave the wine a hard, unyielding, slightly rustic feel that really interrupted its better qualities from showing through. This would be worth trying in 10 years time, but just a bit difficult at the moment.

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• 2005 Domaine Pavelot (Jean-Marc et Hugues) Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru

  Still way too young, not quite perfect, with little flaws here and there, but for all that, this was actually a pretty good wine. It had a nice rich nose, with liquered cherries and licorice root along with some violet petals and a some spicy, stemmy notes. Very expressive. The palate had that same dark fruited tone to it, with dark plums and black berries highlighted by fresh, clean acidity that actually gave the wine a lighter feel than the nose would lead one to expect. There was certainly a ring of 2005 quality to the fruit and bright structure here, but the wine was clearly still very young and primary. My only problem with this was that the finish was a bit of a let down. It was quite drying, with some stemminess and a lightly bitter twist emerging from beneath the fruit. Pity, because this was actually a nice wine aside from that. Overall though, pretty good stuff that should age well. It needs easily five to six more years before approaching again I would say.

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• 2002 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Marconnets 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  I thought this was pretty good. It had nice, classic Savigny nose of strawberries and cherries with a bit of cola in there backed up by earthy, foresty sous bois notes. The palate had a nice fleshy feel to it, with nice, deep cherry and berry flavours on the attack, but there were also some clearly hard tannins beneath that depth which lent the wine a rather rustic feel. Otherwise, there was a lot to like here, from its good balance to its generous proportions and its complex little undercurrant of earth and meat, ferrous mineral and spice. In spite of the slight rusticity on the tannins, I actually thought that the wine was just about creeping into its drinking window. It should continue to improve over the next five to six years and perhaps beyond though. I liked this.

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• 2005 Mestre-Michelot Santenay 1er Cru La Comme 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay 1er Cru

  Really good stuff. This was a real surprise - a Santenay that was quite widely regarded as the best red wine in the tasting. It had a really nice nose, with earth and soil and meat and spice - lovely foresty aromas - alongside some bright red fruited scents. Very alluring. The palate was fresh, bright and pure, with more delicious tones of red cherries and berries laced together with bassier notes of meat and earth and a little bit of spice sprinkled over a plummy finish. It was extremely well balanced and had a good sense of fine 2005 structure as well. Really delicious stuff and ever so well put together. Unusually for a 2005, this was actually drinking quite openly, though it has the bones to age nicely as well. This was a treat that surprised everyone when unblinded.

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• 2000 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  This was another very good village. It certainly is not priced at normal village prices these days, but you could somewhat see how Bachelet justifies that. The nose seem more NSG than Gevrey to me initially, with metally mineral, earthy sous bois aromas and wood-spicy undertones to its little black fruited. No mistaking it on the palate though. It was very yummy, with a sappy, rich, rather extracted show of sweet cherries sounded with lots of depth and structure - typical bold Bachelet fashion here. Perhaps not something for those in search of a more subtle, ethereal style of Burgundy, but there was actually plenty to like here, with the rich depth of fruit also showing a lovely sense of clarity and balance so that the wine was lovely to drink. I would have liked it even more if not for the fact that it seemed to have a slight gap at the finish. It was missing something that I could not quite put my finger on. Nevertheless, I actually liked this quite a bit even though my taste in Burgundies have shifted a bit over the years. Good to drink now, although this has the stuffing to go for longish time yet.

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• 2001 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru

  This was pretty good as well. It had a lovely earthy nose, just what you would expect from a Rugiens, with dark cherry notes touched by wood spice and then a savoury undercurrant of sous bois and game meat. Very darkly masculine stuff. The palate had a really nice sense of elegance to it. There was certainly a feel of the firm structure of Pommard, especially towards the backpalate, but the tannins were really fine as they guided the fruit through a pure attack of dark fruit and black cherry flavours into spice-infused midpalate, and finally into a good, long finish pure dark fruit, black cherries, spice, good long finish. This may have lacked a bit of complexity, but it had everything I like about a good 2001, from the lovely fresh balance and definition of the wine to the transparency of the fruit from which the terroir shone through. Not earth-shaking, but a very pleasant wine that was quite ready to drink.

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• 1996 J. Confuron-Cotetidot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  This rounded up a trio of decently good wines on this flight. It had a really nice Gevrey nose, all earthy, mushroomy, gamy meat nuances along with clear red fruited tones. There was good complexity on the palate as well, with red fruited notes at the fore wed to some of those earthy, sous bois notes picked up on the nose and a touch of toast. On the finish, some hawthorne and haw flake notes came out to play alongside the earthier accents. It felt like a very complete wine, with a velvety structure and lovely balance from fresh acidity, yet not as aggressively bright as some 1996s still remain. For all that though, it seemed to lack a bit of bang, a bit of oomph. As is so often with this vineyard, it was actually more of a gently pleasing wine than something really impressive. Still though, it was very much enjoyed. Of all the reds we had, this was probably the one that was right in its peak drinking window.

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• 1998 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Flawed unfortunately. It had a tight, dirty nose, with a toss of funky earth and thin scents of dark cherry. The palate seemed rather stripped bare of flesh and came across quite skinny and emaciated, with bony tannins and a stream of clean, clear acidity without much fruit draped over its structure. I wonder what scalped the wine, because I could not get TCA and was not so sure if it was Brett, but it was definitely not a whole bottle. Sad.

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• 1999 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Vosne-Romanée La Montagne Vieilles Vignes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  Good. Like one or two of the village wines that we have tried in the past 12 months, this is a 1999 that has opened up very nicely and is quite ready to drink. It had lovely nose, with pretty scents of red cherries and dried flowers along with some earthy, damp soil accents and a tiny hint of herbal, vine stemmy notes. The palate was surprisingly light-footed and rather high-toned for a 1999 Vosne, with a nice, pure expression of cherries on the attack chased by a whiff of perfumed flowers. The tannins were still firm but very fine and there was nice touch of acidity in there. I thought the finish, right at the very end, was just a little drying, but this was otherwise a nice wine. It may not have had fantastic depth or length, but was very charming at this stage of its development and more than ready to be drunk.

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• 1999 Domaine Alain Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  This was a solid wine - a very nice village. It had a lovely Gevrey nose of savoury earth and spice, some umami broiled chicken acents and lots of lovely red cherries and berries. The palate was delicious too, quite the quintessence of Gevrey again, with sappy flavours of cherries and raspberries all glowing with a gentle sweetness, and nice wafts of flowers, earth and spice towards the finish. The whole package was very nicely balanced by well-integrated acidity and a fine sense of structure that carried it into a long finish. Again, nothing incredibly complex or compelling about this wine, but it was just a downright delicious Gevrey-Chambertin at a wonderful place for drinking not.

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• 1999 Emmanuel Rouget Savigny-lès-Beaune 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune

  Pretty good stuff. I had quite forgotten that we had the exact same wine at the same event two years ago, and this has really developed nicely since the last rather surly bottle. The nose was still rather simple but quite attractive, with strawberry and berries topped up with some earthy aromas and a little brambly hint. The palate was where the change came in most though. It still had the typical SLB firmness of structure, but where it was a bit reticent upon first pour in the past, it had now opened up into a nicely fleshy show of sappy cherries and strawnerries, which were in turn blessed with a very clean feel with lots of clarity and balance on the wine. Nice finish too, long and spicy, with a bit of a kick at the end. This was actually pretty good. Unlike the other two 1999 villages on the same flight, I thought that this could use a couple more years in the bottle. But even then, it has clearly entered a good drinking window.

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• 2001 Domaine Anne Gros Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveau 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  This rounded up a quartet of nice villages. I thought the nose here was more Vosne than Chambolle, with lots of spicy notes dancing around its core of cherry aromas touched with some earth and dried flowers. Surprisingly for a 2001, the palate still carried a good bit of firmish tannins, but these were wed to bright flavours of cherries and berries that had enough depth on them a flesh up the wine somewhat. A bit simple, but all very decently put together and drinking quite well. The finish had a good sense of presence too, with flowers and spice drifting alongside a rather odd rubbery note. That aside, this was pretty good.

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• NV De Sousa et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Réserve Brut 92 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  I thought this was quite lovely. It had a really nice nose, almost cider-like, with lots of red apple aromas alongside some kumquaty scents and a drift of spice and dried flowers. There were also these little savoury oxidative tones at the side that added to the complexity of the bouquet. Good stuff. The palate had a rather obvious bead, rather less than refined in that department maybe, but that apart, it was really delicious, with pure snappy red apple flavours wrapped in a good amount of mineral and spice and lifted by some beautiful mouthwatering acidity that led the wine into a fresh, lively finish. A delicious BdB - I swigged several glasses of this and could easily have downed quite a few more.

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• 1997 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  This was a very nicely matured Savigny that was just starting to drink very nicely. Clair's Dominode bottlings are always long-lived, but this is really quite an achivement for a humble 1er Cru from a vintage like 1997. It had a characteristic SLB nose of strawberries, cherries and floral aromas wed to an earthy undertone. Nice. The palate had a fresh, clean clarity to it that I really liked, with pure flavours of strawberries and red berries accompanied by little touches of earth and briar and a waft of violets at the finish. The tannins and acidity on this had melded together into a nicely integrated whole that made for a really gentle, but ever so delicious mouthful. I think it is fair to say that the whole table enjoyed this quite a bit. Good stuff.

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• 1999 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  This was another wine that I enjoyed quite a bit. It had a nice nose of cherries and berries, earth, spice and flowers. Very attractive. The palate was not quite at peak, but was clearly maturing to a point where it was ready to drink. It all really fresh and lively, with snappy red-fruited flavours of cherries and strawberries at the fore, chased by little notes of earth and spice in an energetic finish. It was still a little primary and lacked some complexity, but there was quite a bit to enjoy here. While this is never quite going to be a blockbuster, I think it will be a pretty nice wine with a bit of character to it in 3 to 4 years' time.

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• 2002 Daniel Bocquenet Echezeaux 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Excellent. I have never had anything from this maker before, but I very much enjoyed this bottle of Echezeaux, which was quite clearly my favourite red wine of the day. It had a classic Echezeaux nose - deep, earthy and very masculine, with savoury aromas of meat and dried earth to go alongside dark cherry and spice notes. I really liked that. The palate was delicious too, with sappy dark cherries and blackberries showing quite a bit of depth and power, yet also having a beautiful purity at the same time. Past the midpalate and into a long, clean finish, notes of earth, orange peel and spice emerged to take their place alongside the dark fruited notes. Beautiful length here. This had all the focused definition and well-sculpted feel that you would expect from a good 2002. Unfortunately, that also meant that it had a certain stubborn monolithic tightness like many 2002 Grand Crus at this stage - something which prevented it from being a truly great wine. I do hope that time will slowly peel the layers apart to reveal more complexity with this, because there is some truly solid raw material here. No real complains on the day though. It was a lovely drink even as it was.

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