1999 1er Cru Red Burgundies

Privileged to have been invited to this tasting of the 'better' Cote de Beaune villages - a brace of 1999 1er Cru from each village, Aloxe to Chassagne.

• 1999 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Fournières 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru

  A light bricking to the edges, but in all other respects showing no real signs of its age. This was the first wine of the evening and stood out amongst the group for its remarkable freshness and lift. I actually thought it was a little tight still, the tannic kick was still pretty present, and that it could go on. Drinking beautifully, excellent balance of primarily black fruits and continuing acidity. Good wine in good shape.

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• 1999 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Vercots 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru

  This wine also belied its age, with a freshness and tang that seems out of place but that is very nice indeed alongside the mature red fruit. My notes from the evening included words like 'vibrant' and 'alive'. More on the red fruit spectrum than its stablemate; cherry. We went back to this after the tasting had concluded and it was still very much singing. Like the fournieres 1999 I reckon this will keep.

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• 1999 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Rouge 94 Points

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

  Quite evolved, and with a highly appealing sweetness that makes this wine incredibly approachable and easy to drink. On the red side on black, and I found this quite silken, reminded me of Vosne in fact. Some said they felt it was confected or candied, but in a good way. Either way, delicious. Wonderful on the palate, round, smooth, immediately likeable. 'Exuberant' my scribbles say, and I had this down as my #3 of the evening, which I never thought I would say about red Chassagne. An eye-opener. and a good lesson in putting preconceptions to one side. Really good.
  (NB I had this down as Domaine Jean Pillot & Fils, so I hope this is the right one)

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• 1999 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Boudriotte Rouge 94 Points

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

  Dark red, hardly any evidence of an orange rim. Very Bourgogne on the nose, earthern and vegetal matter. A nose to really get lost in, and I made sure to go back to this one with the food at the end of the tasting. Although red fruit like cherry and cranberry are to the fore this is an intensely savoury wine, very different from the Pillot but that is what makes these kinds of tastings so fun. A spicy kick and a long finish - very classy wine indeed, terrrific, and my #2 of the evening.

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• 1999 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Fichots 88 Points

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

  Medium red. Highly strung, gaspingly sharp with citrus tang and needed some time in glass to resolve. Well fruited still, and with oxygen and movement the aromatics improve dramatically and fill the glass with killer PN scents of exactly the sort I like.

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• 1999 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Ile des Vergelesses 88 Points

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

  A large wine, quite brawny and muscular. Still chewy, a youthful feel to it. Along with this strength there are meaty, game and barnyard aromas which also translate to the palate. There are of course also classic pinot notes, but without a great deal of finesse and the strength of this wine I don't think will ever fade. Interesting to taste, but this is something I look for in Cote-Rotie and not in Burgundy and so did not really work for me despite it being well made wine in a good spot.

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• 1999 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses 94 Points

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

  Medium red with the brown tint of age. A small amount of wet-wool on the nose soon blew off to reveal a well balanced PN. Perhaps the savoury elements outweigh the sweet ones, but I found this very capitvating on the nose as well as the palate - shiny, bright, red fruited. Delicious and extremely moreish. The cork was not in good shape, a bit dicey, but no ill effects. Beautiful and expressive wine.

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• 1999 Domaine Pavelot (Jean-Marc et Hugues) Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Narbantons 87 Points

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

  A hint of glue or some other chemical substance on the nose. Like light soap or something. Quite closed, blueberry aromas, but overall less expressive than the Bize alongside by some distance. Whilst the cork was in much better shape, we wondered if this was quite right? Nonetheless it was perfectly drinkable but just a bit subdued.

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• 1999 Domaine A.-F. Gros Pommard 1er Cru Les Pèzerolles 93 Points

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

  Medium translucent red, minimal bricking. Quite tannic, bold, but a finessed strength to it that made it effortless. I remember this impeccable balanced quality from a much younger bottle of V-R. Very lovely indeed.

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• 1999 Domaine Jean-Marc / Thomas Bouley Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens 89 Points

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

  Darkish red. A meatiness to it, spice and leather, a slightly brutish nature that could do with some softening. I suppose this is what Pommard is all about but this was not as easy or approachable as the AF Gros served with it.

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• 1999 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Couchereaux Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot 91 Points

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

  Slightly orange-tinged, but once again a wine in remarkably good shape considering the age. A good sweetness to it, full of still juicy and generous red fruit - raspberry and cranberry underpinned with an earthy forest floor, for me this was one of the most autumnal wines of the evening, really lovely.

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• 1999 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 95 Points

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

  Gloriously sweet and rich, ripe. Fab. Depth and nuance in spades, a shining clarity to it and effortlessly easy to drink. So different from the Jadot, clearer and more intense and wine I immediately went back to afterwards. It got better as the evening went on, smooth red summer fruits and a long exciting finish. This felt like a CdNuits rather than a Beaune and for me was the standout wine of the tasting, just superb.

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• 1999 Maison Champy Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets 92 Points

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

  Blood with a citrus lift. Is this Volnay? Some coffee notes intermingle with the fruit, and as this takes hold I started to notice the silken character. Despite the beefiness there is a smoothness. By this stage of the evening the notes were getting hard to take but I enjoyed this wine more than the d'Angerville alongside.

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• 1999 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans 91 Points

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

  As meaty as the Maison Champy but not as refined. A very expressive nose, but with some balamic elements. Seemed less joined up on the palate though. Interesting wine, as a group this was not enjoyed as much as the others I felt, but one of the tasters with a lot more experience remarked that the style was in keeping with the Domaine.

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What I found most striking was the vivacity of the wines, they belied their age, and the 14 corks held out one and all - not a duffer amongst them. My immense thanks to David for hosting, and for the seemingly effortless knowledge of my fellow tasters.