Bourgogne and Village Dinner

An interesting dinner, where the theme was to bring either a top-notch Bourgogne or a good Village wine. Blind as usual. The strange thing is that 4 people ended bringing Maison Leroy's Bourgogne, and two bottles from the exact same vintage as well!

• 1995 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Superb. What a wonderful start to the evening. This took a while in the glass to open up, but it was clearly a really, really solid Champagne even from first pour. It had a beautiful nose even then - biscuits and red apples, yeast and earth, along with a little sweet cherry edge. Lovely. The palate was round and full, with sweet ripe apples, lemons and kumquats, all riding on a reservoir of lemony acidity into a wonderful finish of spice and mineral, all this wrapped in a luxuriously creamy mousse. There was such power and nobility to this - pure Krug in the way it married a sense inexorable power with finesse. Make no mistake though, this was a wine that was every bit as much about strength as it was of elegance; a tremendous display of power and freshness. While this has developed very nicely from a bottle 7 years ago, it has tons in its lockers yet - given the freshness and structure on it, it should age beautifully for at least another decade and beyond. Marvellous.

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• 2007 Arnaud Ente Meursault Les Petits Charrons 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Very good indeed, although I am not sure this justifies either the price or the reputation that it commands these days. It started with a really attractive nose - chalk and cream and white fruit, all lined with a nice flinty minerality. Lovely and very Meursault. The palate was drinking surprisingly well for a 2007, coming across soft and creamy at first, with a snap of red apple flesh, and then some gentle spice and a sprinkle of lemon peel. Very fleshy for a 2007, I even thought it was a little fat at first; with time though, a lovely spine of structure emerged from midst the fruit, with fresh kumquat acidity and a spine of steely minerality giving the wine a lovely sense of tension and balance all the way into a super Long finish. Excellent stuff, and drinking really well now. This clearly punched above its weight for a Meursault village lieu dit; but then again, its priced more than many Grand Crus today.

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• 1969 Domaine Potinet-Ampeau Meursault 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Surprisingly strong for a village at this age, this was really enjoyable. On the night, it gave as much pleasure as the much more highly rated and expensive 2007 Arnaud-Ente Meursault Petit Charrons on the same flight. There was a lot going on on the nose here - some umami tones of boiled chicken soup and white meat, earth and mineral, then layers of honey and nectar, dried flowers, even cream and caramel, all drizzled over a core of dried plums and kumquat aromas. A beautifully multifaceted mature Burgundy nose. It had a lovely palate too - lots of oily weight on its, with notes of honey and dried fig peel, kumquats and other yellow fruit, all tumbling out of the glass along with with a savoury sweetness that reminded me of Cantonese pear soup. It was perfectly integrated and put together, seamlessly flowing into a lovely creamy finish. There was sill more than enough acidity to keep it alive and balanced, but it there was a criticism, it may be that the wine seemed a little on the fat side when it warmed up. Served properly chilled to just below room temperature though, and it was delicious.

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• 2014 Sylvain Dussort Bourgogne Blanc Cuvée des Ormes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  This was a lovely little Bourgogne blanc, really punching above its weight. It had a lovely nose with lots of saline, chalky, minerally notes laced though a core of white fruit and some subtle white florals. Nice. The palate was soft, round and creamy, with a simple but yummy white fruited presentation on the attack and midpalate, punctuated with more of that saline minerality and a soupçon of spice on the finish. There was nice balance and delineation when we served it properly chilled, but it did drop a bit and felt a little flatter when the temperature warmed up to room temperature. Nevertheless though, this was very good for a Bourgogne - this was a credit to both its maker and the lovely 2014 white Burg vintage. Drinking well now, especially with food.

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• 1999 Maison Leroy Bourgogne 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  One of two blind bottles of the same wine we had on the same night - always a jeopardy when people who buy similar stuff bring blinded bottles! This bottle, which was opened at about 4 hours before dinner to breathe, seemed more open and giving as its sister on the same flight. Both were really solid for Bourgognes though. This had a very nice nose of dried red dates, sweet red cherries and dried flowers alongside some savoury earthiness and a waft of toasty spice and brambly stems. Really expressive. The palate had more of those sweet red fruits - dates, dried strawberries and raspberries - infused with a gentle earthiness, some bits of spice and dried flowers. There was just touch of tannic grip and plenty of acid at the back-end giving the wine a solid, structural feel. Very solid stuff, very 1999 I thought - this bottle could have lasted a really long time yet.

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• 1999 Maison Leroy Bourgogne 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Coincidentally, this was the second bottle of the same wine on the night. Served blind, some on the table guessed that this was another Leroy Bourgogne, but I do not think anyone thought it was the same vintage. This bottle, which was popped and poured, unsurprisingly felt a little tighter, younger and more structured than the other one, which had the benefit of 4 hours of breathing in an opened bottle. Still though, this also showed as a very solid Bourgoge. The nose was attractive, if not quite as expressive as its flight mate's with notes of Vosne spice and earth floating around dark-fruited black cherry aromas. The palate felt sinewy and muscular, with taut tannins structure framing nicely pure flavours of dark cherries, that just hinted at the sweet voluptuousness of the other bottle. The wine then finished with an assertive back-palate, with blushes of spice riding on a bed of rather firm, chewy tannins. While every bit as solid as its stablemate, the time and air given to the other bottle seems to have helped it somewhat. In either case though, this is a wine that should be set aside for another 4-5 years at least. It is quite remarkably long-lived for a Bourgogne, even from a strong vintage like 1999.

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• 2013 Domaine Dujac Morey St. Denis 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis

  Better and surprisingly more developed than the last bottle I had a few months back - this was a lovely little Morey village. It had beautiful young Burg aromas of sweet red cherries and blue berries on the nose, just edged with a bit of candy maybe, but also with nice touches of earth, bramble and Morey spice. It would have been an amazing bouquet if not for the slight distraction of new-oak induced sweet vanilla tones. Still very nice though. The palate also had a touch of that new oak on it, but that aside it showed beautiful balance and polish in its sweet notes of blueberries and dark cherries, with shades of earth and spice lingering into long, beautiful finish. Still a bit primary, this needs time - maybe another 4-5 years at least - before it really hits its stride; but this was a very classy, very Dujac wine - all supremely integrated and velvety and delicious even now.

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• 1970 Francois Protheau & Fils Chambolle-Musigny 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  Wow - this was a surprise. A real knockout, this is one of those dream bottles - unknown maker, unheralded vintage, humble village; but absolute Burgundy magic in the glass. Boy this had an absolutely beautiful aged Chambolle nose, full of melting floral aromas, loamy earth and sweet tones preserved aged fruit. A gorgeous bouquet, glowing with old fruit sweetness. Wonderful stuff. The palate was robed with velvet tannins and soft acidities, all wonderfully resolved, with dried cherries and berries, infused with gentle spice, a little earth, and then beautiful violet and rose florals. This was a wine at a perfect place for drinking now. It had juicy, but gently fading finish; there was no lack of depth for a village at its age though. In any case, whatever the wine lacked power, it more than made up for in charm. A deliciously mature Chambolle, drinking at a marvellous peak now.

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• 2003 Maison Leroy Bourgogne 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  A very strong showing for Bourgogne from 2003. This was drinking really well on the night too. I really liked the nose, with its shades of spice and bramble, a touch of earth, and then nice notes of dark berries and red cherries. The palate was drinking ever so well, with the remnant of firm 2003 tannins having softened into velvety robe around flavours of red dates and dark cherries, mineral and spice. Finish was decent rather than great, but this was otherwise excellent stuff, with great strength for a Bourgogne. Such was the lovely balance and poise on it that I was quite surprised when it was revealed as a 2003 when unblinded.

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• 2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Always lovely - Fourrier's Gevreys are one of the benchmark village wines vintage-in and vintage-out for me. This was no exception. It had a beautiful nose that was just pure Gevrey in its notes of red cherry and earth and sweet florals - roses I thought - all lightly infused with gentle meaty hints. Lovely stuff. The palate was perhaps drinking the best out of the few bottles of the 2009 Gevrey VV that I have since release, with velvety tannins and bright acidity lending a really defined feel to the wine's flavours of cherries, spice and dried earthy mineral. This was a really refined Gevrey village, all the way into a well-delineated finish still traced with by some very fine-boned tannins. Very good indeed, and starting to drink well now.

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• 2009 Maison Leroy Bourgogne 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  A superb Bourgogne, and by the evidence of this bottle, it still has some room to develop yet. It had a lovely nose - stems and bramble; sweet dark cherries and riper red berries; floral roses; a touch of herbs, earth and fragrant wood spice; all with an umami twang underneath. An amazing bouquet. Of the four bottles of Leroy Bourgogne we had, this was a most characteristically "Leroy" in its luscious fruit and whole cluster aromas. The palate was not quite as impressively complex as the nose, but it was really impressive in its own right, offering up a lovely melting balance in its flavours of dark berries and cherries, with bright acidity and fine tannins giving them a slight chew. A strong and refined Bourgogne, with a lovely sense of definition and balance. Nice long finish too, with earth and spice bringing up the rear. A super Bourgogne - you really get what you pay for with this one. While drinking well now, I would love to try it again in a few years to see how it ages.

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• 1990 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

  As typical with Lafarge, this was a classy but rather subtle and reserved wine, especially for a warm vintage like 1990. It had a quietly attractive nose, with little drifts of earth, rubber and bramble, along with some subtle violet aromas curled round a core of dark cherries, The palate had a really depth for a village, with nice velvety tannins and a beautiful sense of delineated balance running through its flavours of black cherries along with a hint of spice and bramble. Not a wine that shouts - this was a noble, slightly more reserved expression, but really good for village at its age. While drinking nicely now, this has the chops to go on in the bottle for a long, long time yet.

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