Apparently this was a bit funky at first. I got to it a bit later, and it was gorgeous. Lots of mushroom, brioche, and hazelnut. This is such a great year in Champagne and this was firing on all cylinders after a slow start.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
An incredibly fine example of Boillot's Perrières. Lots of intensity on the nose with flint, melon, pear, and smoke. The palate was crisp, refreshing and complex. Deep and layered, this had dense lemon, and lime tones. Off the charts, and continues to build the case that Boillot's wines show well in their adolescence.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Still fresh and clean. Awesome funky, smokey, mushroomy notes mixed nicely with fresher lemon and lime notes. A real beautiful package and was perfect to drink after a younger Perrières that shows how the power can mature into a more elegant package.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Leroux = power. This had a real chutzpah to it. Dense lemon and smokey flint notes on the nose with great structure on the palate. I'm excited to some day try these Leroux wines with some age...they're impressive in their youth.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
This was probably my favorite wine of the afternoon. Lots of spicy cherry, cranberry, rose, and earth on the nose. The palate was all about spicy red fruit, damp earth, and florals. Tons of power and density on the palate while never losing its elegance, I was blown away with the overall package.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
There's a lot to love here, believe me, but I cringed a bit when I saw this on the table. I think a lot of 2008s are a bit backwards/angular at this point and need a lot more time. The floral elements are all there, and the earthiness was beautiful, too! With more time, the fruit will begin to catch up (or, rather, emerge) with the beautiful floral and earthy elements that are already there. Beautiful stuff.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Loved this. Beautifully rich, dense, and elegant red fruits here with nice mushroomy notes and some smokey notes. Palate is gorgeous and for a 2001 is drinking mighty finely. This will only get better and more complex.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
A lot to like here, but, hey...it's a 1999! The fruit was REALLY firm. The palate was lithe, but not showing all that much. After some time in the decanter, the fruits began to flesh out a bit more a showed some gorgeous red fruit and floral notes. Yum.
Burgundy with a mean streak. Very firm and austere, with some ash, earth, and dark fruits. I tracked this for about 10 hours and it never came out of its shell. A hard wine from a hard vintage.
Beautiful bottle of pinot. Certainly punches above its weight class and has a beautiful airy lightness to the palate. Nice florals, a leafy element, and some dark elements made this quite a delight.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
A very bizarre bottle that left me scratching my head. Truchot's Clos Sorbes bottlings have consistently been extraordinary bottles of wine for me, but this bottle greeted me with a HEAVY dose of oak and sweet dark fruits. Never had I come across one of Jacky's wine with this type of profile. Later on in the afternoon, the wine continued to degrade...just a sad bottle of wine. My first bottle of this was an all-time great for me, so I was pretty disappointed.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
I don't have much experience with Lamarche, but I found this to posses a lot of power, ripeness, and depth. It was more of a surprise that a 1996 Vosne would have this much ripe, juicy fruit but I thought the spice and florals kept everything in nice harmony. Delish pinot.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Tons of polish, and dark fruit. Dugat is one of those modern producers and it definitely comes through on this one. The fruit was really nice but was bordering on being "slick". Not really my style, but I can appreciate it for what it is.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Oh boy. Talk about raw power. I'm a sucker for Coche; its power, smokey edges, and kaleidoscopic fruit just bowl me over. Had the 2011 Perrières back in February and this had the same power, but just more elegance. Limes, lemons, and flint. It's a simple equation, but Coche seems to knock it out of the park.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Loved the nose...smelled like Leroy with the sweet berries, some oak, and damp earth. Palate was refined yet ripe with powerful red and dark fruits, lots of sweet spices, and a nice dose of minerality. Loved it.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
New producer for me. Lots of power and beautiful raw material at this point. I liked what was here...the dark fruits, the spicy notes, the edgy acidity was all really nice. Such a young wine, the tannins were, at times, a bit distracting.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
While the 1988 Lafarge Volnay was raw and stern, this was far more open and interesting. Tons and tons of elegance, depth with a beautiful red fruit profile and beautiful earthy/spicy notes. You could get lost in the layers of florals, mushrooms, and beef broth notes on the palate. Super super wine.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
I had this on a pop and pour. It had that powerful, dense edge to it with a bit more plum, but still a lot of class/elegance and red fruit. Wasn't able to try any of this later in the afternoon, but I would wager that it will be quite nice with age. No score from me at this time.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 91 Points
France, Champagne
A lot of biscuity goodness here. Lots of energy and grip too. Very nice!
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1988 Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siècle 93 Points
France, Champagne
Apparently this was a bit funky at first. I got to it a bit later, and it was gorgeous. Lots of mushroom, brioche, and hazelnut. This is such a great year in Champagne and this was firing on all cylinders after a slow start.
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2002 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
An incredibly fine example of Boillot's Perrières. Lots of intensity on the nose with flint, melon, pear, and smoke. The palate was crisp, refreshing and complex. Deep and layered, this had dense lemon, and lime tones. Off the charts, and continues to build the case that Boillot's wines show well in their adolescence.
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1985 Joseph Drouhin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Still fresh and clean. Awesome funky, smokey, mushroomy notes mixed nicely with fresher lemon and lime notes. A real beautiful package and was perfect to drink after a younger Perrières that shows how the power can mature into a more elegant package.
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2011 Benjamin Leroux Corton-Charlemagne 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Leroux = power. This had a real chutzpah to it. Dense lemon and smokey flint notes on the nose with great structure on the palate. I'm excited to some day try these Leroux wines with some age...they're impressive in their youth.
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2006 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 96 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
This was probably my favorite wine of the afternoon. Lots of spicy cherry, cranberry, rose, and earth on the nose. The palate was all about spicy red fruit, damp earth, and florals. Tons of power and density on the palate while never losing its elegance, I was blown away with the overall package.
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2008 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
There's a lot to love here, believe me, but I cringed a bit when I saw this on the table. I think a lot of 2008s are a bit backwards/angular at this point and need a lot more time. The floral elements are all there, and the earthiness was beautiful, too! With more time, the fruit will begin to catch up (or, rather, emerge) with the beautiful floral and earthy elements that are already there. Beautiful stuff.
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2001 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Romanée St. Vivant 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Loved this. Beautifully rich, dense, and elegant red fruits here with nice mushroomy notes and some smokey notes. Palate is gorgeous and for a 2001 is drinking mighty finely. This will only get better and more complex.
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1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault-Blochet 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
A lot to like here, but, hey...it's a 1999! The fruit was REALLY firm. The palate was lithe, but not showing all that much. After some time in the decanter, the fruits began to flesh out a bit more a showed some gorgeous red fruit and floral notes. Yum.
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1988 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Burgundy with a mean streak. Very firm and austere, with some ash, earth, and dark fruits. I tracked this for about 10 hours and it never came out of its shell. A hard wine from a hard vintage.
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2005 Domaine Truchot-Martin Bourgogne 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Beautiful bottle of pinot. Certainly punches above its weight class and has a beautiful airy lightness to the palate. Nice florals, a leafy element, and some dark elements made this quite a delight.
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2004 Domaine Truchot-Martin Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbes Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
A very bizarre bottle that left me scratching my head. Truchot's Clos Sorbes bottlings have consistently been extraordinary bottles of wine for me, but this bottle greeted me with a HEAVY dose of oak and sweet dark fruits. Never had I come across one of Jacky's wine with this type of profile. Later on in the afternoon, the wine continued to degrade...just a sad bottle of wine. My first bottle of this was an all-time great for me, so I was pretty disappointed.
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1996 Domaine Francois Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
I don't have much experience with Lamarche, but I found this to posses a lot of power, ripeness, and depth. It was more of a surprise that a 1996 Vosne would have this much ripe, juicy fruit but I thought the spice and florals kept everything in nice harmony. Delish pinot.
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2002 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Tons of polish, and dark fruit. Dugat is one of those modern producers and it definitely comes through on this one. The fruit was really nice but was bordering on being "slick". Not really my style, but I can appreciate it for what it is.
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2010 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 97 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Oh boy. Talk about raw power. I'm a sucker for Coche; its power, smokey edges, and kaleidoscopic fruit just bowl me over. Had the 2011 Perrières back in February and this had the same power, but just more elegance. Limes, lemons, and flint. It's a simple equation, but Coche seems to knock it out of the park.
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2002 Domaine Leroy Chambertin 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Loved the nose...smelled like Leroy with the sweet berries, some oak, and damp earth. Palate was refined yet ripe with powerful red and dark fruits, lots of sweet spices, and a nice dose of minerality. Loved it.
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1996 Domaine Leroy Richebourg Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
A very dirty nose. Seemed off.
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2012 Charles Van Canneyt Charmes-Chambertin 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
New producer for me. Lots of power and beautiful raw material at this point. I liked what was here...the dark fruits, the spicy notes, the edgy acidity was all really nice. Such a young wine, the tannins were, at times, a bit distracting.
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1988 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
While the 1988 Lafarge Volnay was raw and stern, this was far more open and interesting. Tons and tons of elegance, depth with a beautiful red fruit profile and beautiful earthy/spicy notes. You could get lost in the layers of florals, mushrooms, and beef broth notes on the palate. Super super wine.
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2003 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
I had this on a pop and pour. It had that powerful, dense edge to it with a bit more plum, but still a lot of class/elegance and red fruit. Wasn't able to try any of this later in the afternoon, but I would wager that it will be quite nice with age. No score from me at this time.
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