A Night of Burgundy Indulgence

Jillian and Joyce put this one together, and what a great success it was too. Fantastic food, all very nicely paired with some really good wines. Quality was very nice and consistently throughout, which was really nice. Our table comprised of Leonard, Jillian, Martin, Joyce, William, Lawrence, Charles, Elsa and me. Excellent company all round as usual.

• 2002 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Luchets 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  An excellent wine, but overshadowed by the Meix Chavuax and Tillets 2004. Rich yellow gold colour, with just a tinge of green. Very pretty, perfumed nose. Quite flowery at first, but that faded slightly to show slatey mineral, white fruit (I got pear), a layer of butter, some spice and a biscuity, bready underlayer. Nice and complex. I thought it was rather forward at first, but it was in fact rather closed compared to the two 2004 wines. The palate showed good balance, but was not quite as rich and attractive as the nose. It was certainly rich and creamy, but had really bright, crisp, almost biting acid. I got beeswax, melon, citrus grapefruit and a little bit of glycerin along with a nice minerality running through the wine. It was certainly nicely integrated, but somehow seeemed just a touch light on the mid-palate. Otherwise, a really nice wine. The finish was rich, round and juicy. Not tremendous length, but certainly decent and very nicely defined.

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• 2004 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Tillets 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  My goodness, this was good. Yelllow gold in colour, strangely deeper than the gold in the 2002 Luchets that we had alongside. Super expressive and attractive nose that showed loam, a deep smokiness and perfumed flowers along with creamy oak, with a savoury tinge of rather protein-ladened canned tuna. Not super complex, but still really complete on the palate. Very Meursault, in that it was round, rich and creamy. Yet it showed superb balance with juicy acid which was mouthwatering but nowhere near as biting and challenging as the 2002 Luchets. Lots of white fruit here, along with fragrant golden delicious apple flavours. It finished round and juicy, with lots of lip-smacking yumminess. This tasted more like a high-end 1er Cru than a Village Lieu-dit.

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• 2005 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Meix Chavaux 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Wowee, this was good, and brilliantly paired with the creamy lobster. Yellow gold with a touch of green. Absolutely beautiful nose - complex, perfumed, with lots of sweet white flowers. I got white musk, osmanthus, frangipanni. All this undergirded by a little dried earth and a hint of tropical fruit which carried on to the palate in the form of melon, pomelo, pink grapefruit and the lightest touch of guava that added a little citrus and colourful lift to lurking white fruits. It was rich, creamy and round on the palate, with absolutely brilliant balance. Lovely, juicy acidity carried the wine all the way from the attack into the round, mouthwatering finish. Absolutely succulent, very complete, seamless - lovely! Almost like a Criots-Batard or some other second tier Grand Cru. This will get even better with time.

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• 2003 Hubert Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Romain 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Is this really a 2003? The dark purple core colour and pink rim suggested a hot vintage, as did the nose which showed high-toned cherries, a touch of earthiness and a cooked, gamy hint along with more classic anise, spice and stewed jasmine tea accents. The palate though was really elegant and defined, with good acid giving the wine a shape and poise that is often lacking in 2003 Burg. Sure the flavours included a slight but distinct maraschino cherry twang, but it was nicely balanced throughout, with clean, high-toned cherry and perfumed flavours along with a little stream of earthy flavours floating above the sweeter, more candied base. It finished round, lively and longish with a touch more acid and earth. A village that was certainly punching above its weight.

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• 2000 Hubert Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes 92 Points

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

  Very nice indeed, and very nicely paired with the duck. This was already showing some age with its garnet colour and light rim. Super-attractive nose, very Gevrey indeed, with meat, leather and earth lying below a layer of clean, pure cherry fruit, a little perfumy note with a whiff of glycerin and a sprinkle of pepper and anise. The palate just lacked a little finesse. I thought it was a little clumsy in its alcoholic heaviness and that it lacked a little focus that some clean acidity would have added. However, it did show good intensity, with weighty dark cherry fruit along with a little savoury game, all flowing seamlessly into a long finsih which showed nice, rich dark cherry flavours with a touch of star anise. Tannins were still noticeable, being more velvety than silken, very reminiscent of grape skins, but this was well integrated into the wine, which I found quite complete all considered. Lack of clean elegance a la the 2003 village aside, this was really enjoyable.

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• 2004 Domaine Fourrier Morey St. Denis Clos Solon Vieille Vigne 91 Points

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

  Not quite as good as his Gevrey bottlings, but everyone on the table really enjoyed this - another lieu-dit that was punching well above its weight. This seemed really evolved, with a brickish, garnet hue. The nose was very much in line with my experience of Fourrier so far, in that it had a rich seam of pure, high-toned cherry along with a savoury, umami, boiled chicken stock like counterpoint, along with a touch of cooked herbs. Nowhere near as herbal as most of the 2004 Burgs that I have been trying recently though - this was a warmer, more savoury kind of herbal concoction rather than the slightly bitter root strain. It was also a touch floral, with rose and hisbiscus syrup. Following on from the nose, the palate was quite expectedly dense and sappy, with sweet cherry, a touch of perfume and a little cola. Rather simple, but certainly yummy, with good fruit weight and very nice balance indeed. It finished a little short and surprisingly sweet, almost showing a boiled cherry candy tone.

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• 2004 Domaine Fourrier Vougeot 1er Cru Les Petits Vougeots Vieille Vigne 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vougeot 1er Cru

  This was a little disappointing after the other lovely reds, including the lower end Fourrier Morey Clos Solon 2004, which surprised me with its quality. Garnet coloured. Nose seemed a little closed. Earth, mineral, dried oyster, a bit of hoi sin sauce and bramble, with just a little cherry coming through. The palate was rather surprisingly modern and new worldish, quite rich, with dark cherry dominating, along with savoury game notes along with a touch of flinty mineral. Charles said it reminded him of Central Otago, which I thought was extremely spot-on. It finished rather nicely, with round fruit flavours. It was not a bad wine by any means. However, it did seem llittle simple compared to the others (both red and white) that we had through the evening, as well as a little more rustic, with the tannins coming across a little rough and clunky.

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• 2004 Azienda Dominio la Mont Friuli Colli Orientali Picolit 92 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Friuli Colli Orientali

  My first Picolit based wine - very nice indeed. A golden yellow colour, with a lovely nose showing whites flowers, honeysuckle, and a little kerosene. Almost Auslese Riesling like. The palate was sweet and sappy, with fresh fig flavours and a nice citrus blood orange and grapefruit lift, which came out even more when paired with the sweet yam paste. In spite of there being a little touch of heat, the wine came across very clean and really elegant and balanced, with a little touch of mineral adding some backbone. Good, long satisfying finish too - nice creamy texture with a little spice.

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• NV Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 40% 92 Points

  United Kingdom, Scotland, Highlands

  What a fantastic 12-year whisky. Tasted blind, I would have thought a 15 or 18 year Highland Park. Deceptively light colour, with a lovely, perfumy nose that showed nice fruit and a touch floral along with a nice trickle of peatiness. Really smooth on the palate, with rich flavours and a lovely peaty finish. Not super complex, but oh so smooth and balanced.

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It was a toss-up between the two Lignier wines for best red of the night, with the Fourrier Morey surprising all of us with its quality. However, the clear favourite wine for most was the Roulot Meix Chavaux, which was absolutely lovely, quite overshadowing the other wines for me.