No formal notes. Apple fruit with some yeasty/toasty notes coming through after some time in the glass. Good acidity. Very good.

Light yellow in colour. Beautiful nose of smoke, toast and citrus with hints of floral. In the mouth it’s soft, smooth and weighty but the crisp acidity and tart finish keep it fresh and prevent it from feeling heavy. I left some in my glass and around an hour later it was opening up even more, especially on the nose, with nutty aromas coming through. This is already drinking very well but should continue to develop for a few years. Excellent.

Light yellow in colour. This had the most complex nose of the three wines in this flight with lots of toast, lemon, nutmeg and smoky notes jumping from the glass. There was also this soapy/waxy thing going at first, which weirdly enough, wasn’t unpleasant, but that blew off after a few minutes. Flavours of citrus, smoke and toasty oak with a similar mouthfeel to the ’08 but this '07 has even more acid and it’s more linear too. Good length. I think for today’s drinking the ’08 might be slighter better but in a few years this ’07 might become the better wine. Excellent. 91+

Light to medium yellow. Developed nose of stone fruits (maybe even hints of tropical fruits too) with powerful and slightly dominating aromas of smoke and toast. The softest and biggest mouthfeel of these three wines and it’s somewhat flabby as there just isn’t enough acid and tart/citrus flavours to combat the weightiness of this wine. Based on the wine’s colour and profile, this was easy to pick out as the 2006. It’s a round, big, thick, smoky wine that I would be drinking sooner rather than later as I don’t see this getting any better with additional time in the cellar. Very good.

Light yellow in colour. This had a gorgeous nose of charred lemon, smoke, cinnamon, apple cider and hints of minerality. Medium bodied, which was the lightest amongst this flight (2003-2005), with a good amount of acidity and minerality coming through on the lengthy finish. This continued to improve in the glass for at least an hour. Drinking well now but this could be even better in 2-3 years. Excellent. 91+

Medium lemon (or maybe light gold) in colour. My first pour of this was verging on being premoxed, but it wasn’t undrinkable. It was a small pour to being with, so I drank it and waited for a refill. This second pour definitely wasn’t as advanced as my first pour, but still lacked the freshness and youthfulness of the previous 4 vintages. This had a really intriguing and ever-changing nose—at first it offered a cheesy-funk aroma with soft citrus and very slight hints of caramel. Then the cheesy note blew off and the nose became dominated by a sulphur smell. After about an hour in the glass it finally settled in with notes of soft citrus, smoke and traces of sulphur. On the palate, this was the most flavourful and highest acid wine of the flight. This wine was definitely the most interesting white of the night and provided lots of discussions around the table. I think it’s safe to say even my second pour may have been slightly more advanced than it should be, but overall this was a very interesting, complex and enjoyable wine. Drinking well now. Excellent.

Medium lemon in colour. This was muted on the nose at first and although it did eventually open up a bit, it never seemed to fully express itself aromatically. This had the least amount of acid amongst all these Grivault’s and was definitely my least favourite. Thicker on the palate and almost an oily mouthfeel. While this seemed fairly simple when compared to the others, it still made for an easy and enjoyable glass of wine. Good.

Medium red in colour—more youthful looking than the Chapelle. Intoxicating nose of pure red pinot fruit and spice with just traces of development. Nose almost has a sappy element to it, but still comes across precise and pure. Velvety on the palate with flavours of raspberries and red cherries. There’s good acid here and fine tannins and everything is perfectly balanced. There is some development going on but this is primarily about the pure and elegant fruit at this stage, and it’s drinking extremely well. Compared to the Chapelle, this is quite delicate. Well stored bottles should have another 5 years of development ahead but this is really good right now. My WOTN. Outstanding.

Medium red in colour with some browning near the rim. This not only looked more mature than the Charmes, but it also smelt much older. Developing nose of sweet funk, red pinot fruit and earth. In the mouth this is much more masculine than the Charmes with grainy tannins, medium acidity and a robust mouthfeel. Flavours of dried red fruits and finishes dry and slightly acidic. Lacks the elegance and finesse of the Charmes and would have probably shown better had it been tasted on its own. After some time in the glass a vegetal nose developed which was slightly off-putting and indicated perhaps that this should be drunk sooner rather than later. A nice wine that seems to be at peak but on this night it was severely outclassed by the Charmes. Drink now. Very good.

Medium red in colour with slight traces of browning near the rim. Another fantastic nose—deep and pure with notes of dark raspberries, cranberries and spice. Quite a bit of acidity here with powdery yet firm tannins. The red pinot fruit flavours are almost fleshy, yet refined. Not as silky as the Charmes, but this isn’t far behind. And similar to the Charmes, this has great balance and should continue to develop for another 5 years easy, but there’s a lot to like about the way it’s drinking right now. Excellent.

Medium red in colour with slight traces of browning near the rim. At first this was slightly shy on the nose but after 15-20min in the glass it started to open up with notes of earth, animal funk, rich red cherries and hints of leather. Very animally nose. In the mouth it lacks the refinement of the Clos de Beze but has beautifully intense red pinot fruit and almost meaty flavours and finishes with a nice peppery note. This didn’t seem to possess the same depth as the CdB or the Charmes. This Mazi is showing more maturity than the CdB and is drinking very well now. While I don’t see this improving over the next few years, I also don’t see it falling apart anytime soon. Excellent.

Medium gold in colour. Nose of baking spice, saffron, deep fried bananas and crème brûlée. Medium weight in the mouth but could use tad a more acidity. A nice, fairly easy drinking mature Sauternes that can be drunk now or held for a few more years. Very good.