Vosne Night

Casual evening at Tonny's - Vosne theme this time. I came to the party a bit late and had no time to pop into storage to get a bottle, hence the Gevrey outlier. Pity that it was a poor one too. Other then that, food was great, company was wonderful and the blind wines were interesting as always.

• 2004 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean - Clos des Murées 92 Points

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

  This was very nice. The nose seemed rather Chablis-like at points, with lots of chalky notes and subtle white fruit at the fore, but these were wed to richer aromas of buttery cream and breadfruit and a little touch of Chassagne beeswax. Lots of character on that bouquet. I really enjoyed the shape and feel of the palate too. While there was a certain sweetness to its cream and white fruit notes, with pear shading into pineappley flavours, this was always elegant and fresh, with a really open juicy feel to it that made it very delicious. Yummy stuff. Quite easy to drink and showing well now.

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• 1998 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Echezeaux 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Very nice. This had a lovely nose, very lush and flowery, with shades of earth and meat and sweet red fruit, all enlivened by little touch of sweet spice and flower petals - a really pretty bouquet for an Echezeaux. It was very pleasant on the palate too, with a fleshy attack of sweet red berry fruit touched with spice, and then gentle bits of earth and herb and a little dirft of those flowery notes coming along on the midpalate. A nice balance and fine tannins gave the wine a rather feminine feel, much in keeping with its flavour profile. The finish just a touch on the shorter, more austere side, with a little hint of drying herb – incidentally, being just about the only hint of the 1998 vintage on the wine. Otherwise, this was youthful, bright and delicious. Drinking decently well, if still rather youthfully. I am not all that sure how much upside there is to the wine though. That austere 1998 backbone may well show up more and more as the bright, perfumy character of the wine mellows.

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• 2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  An absolutely lovely Vosne 1er Cru – this quite outclassed the other wines, including the few Grand Crus that we had. Straight out of the glass, this showed a classic Vosne nose, with reams of wood spice wafting around deep aromas of dark plums and black cherry fruit patted down with a little touch of earth and a hint of wilting flowers – a really lovely nose. This was an unabashedly masculine and very engaging bouquet. I loved how the wine showed on the palate too. It was surprisingly open for 2002, partly perhaps because it was popped 2 hours before serving. Whatever the case, it showed a delicious depth with lots of fleshy substance in its rounded flavours of dark cherries and berries and plums, all laced with lovely accents of touch of earth and dried flowers, orange peel and a gentle little drift of spice. Power and elegance combined in a lovely whole, this is exactly what you would want a great Vosne 1er Cru to be. This is drinking beautifully now, but a structured chew of tannins and an edge of primary fruit in the midst of the wine’s dark depth suggests that it has a long, long way to go yet. I would lay this aside for 3-4 years more at least, and am quite confident that it will go on for a long while after that. Incidentally, this was the first vintage harvested and vilified by Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, the now rising star of winemaker of Domaine du Vicomte Liger-Belair. Back then, under the en metayage agreement, he had to hand over 50% of his product to Bouchard (this bottle was marked no. 1816). One could really see the nascent talent here - this was a wonderful wine. 93+

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• 2004 Domaine Francois Lamarche Grands-Echezeaux 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Decently good, but clearly a few notches below the La Grand Rue from the same vintage. I thought this had quite engaging nose, not quite green, but showing a touch of dried, powdered Chinese herbs mingling amidst sweeter notes of dried red cherries and strawberries and a little lift of perfume, with a suggestion of dried flowers and sweet spice at the sides. Very attractive - I would never have guessed that this was a 2004 even with that little hint of herb. The palate was bright and juicy, very light on its feet in spite of having a good amount of substance on the attack, with delicious flavours of red berries leading into a nice finish, where a little bite of fresh acidity and fine tannins paved the way for a trailing tail of toasty spices. I thought this was perhaps a touch on the light side for Grand Cru as it went past the midpalate, but there was certainly still enough here for it to be very engaging. Nice, if just lacking a bit of oomph. Not sure it will be the longest lasting wine, but it should drink well over the next decade or so.

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• 2001 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  There was a bit of a funky nose on this one at first, almost got me thinking TCA, but that blew off rather nicely with time, leaving a mild suggestion of slightly smelly, gym socks mingling amidst more pleasant scents of fragrant spice, dried earth and herb alongside dark plummy fruit. With time, a little backnote of gingko nut and dried flowers floated out as well. Very expressive, but not quite as attractive as the previous three Vosnes. The palate had a characteristic Meo-Camuzet thickness and grip in spite of its lighter, brighter 2001 characteristics, with dark cherries lined with a little spice and earth and plenty of juicy acidity. I thought it was just a bit austere on the midpalate and beyond though. While there was certainly substance and depth, there was also a touch of reticence and hard tightness as it moved into a citrus peel lined finish. This was a strange animal. All in all, decently good, but a bit grumpy and not altogether very enjoyable. Hoping it will get much better with time either. Try again in 3-4 years.

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• 2001 Maison Champy Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Drinkable, but disappointing for what it is. There was something a bit off about this wine. It had a nice nose, quite typical for a Clos de Beze, with a savoury shades of earth and bacon, red fruit and a light dusting of flowers, spice and a little minerally scent. There was a nice intensity in that bouquet. Unfortunately, the palate was rather underwhelming. There was a decent depth to it, though not quite Grand Cru standard. Neither did it replicate the intensity on the nose in its dark cherry and spice notes wed to a little floral backnote. In fact, it felt a little disjointed, with acidity and fruit sticking out at awkward angle as the wine went past the midpalate and into a minerally finish. All quite advanced I thought, with softened tannins and mellow tones. A decent enough wine, but definitely disappointing for a Beze.

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