December 25, 2017 - Drank it at dinner with friends in Brussels. The wine was bought at auction 10 years ago and has been store in temperature controlled conditions ever since. Fully mature, classic Burgundy stinky nose of tea, truffles, and burnt bacon fat. The colour was red, with only a little amber on the edges. On the mouth, the wine was seamless, fully mature, classic cherry tea smoke and truffles flavors with no signs of cracking up. It was almost monolithic, making me wonder if a village wine would need time? Classic 1996 - still a bit closed and making me wonder if they will ever open up fully. The finish left lingering notes of tea and truffles but ended somewhat abruptly. A great bottle for a village wine and clearly keeping well. You can see Lalou Bize's touch on the winemaking(and her signature on the label).
September 16, 2015 - Obvious maturity to color; really funky nose fresh from bottle. Settled down by time of tasting, depth of maturity to fruit on palate; nice complexity for village wine. Nice hint of celery salt on finish. Drink up.
August 23, 2012 - Popped and poured. This was a beautiful, clean bottle with an awesome nose (mushroom, earth, red cherry) and great taste (pure cherry fruit and great balance). I'd say this is the best bottle yet (and this is nearly the last bottle from ~3 cases).
January 6, 2012 - This wine was an interesting study. Upon opening, it smelled like something died in the bottle. Seriously funky, and a real hard, spanking acidity. I Was ready to dump it, but glad I didn't. With 30 minutes of air, it blossomed into textbook aged Beaune. Underbrush, meaty, and sweat, with creamy red fruit. Really impressed with the acid that is still here. Good wine.
October 7, 2011 - Nose shows some serious dank earth funkiness. Tannins have softened; the palate is mostly old leather and mushroom-y. Starting to dry out, but still nice aged Burgundy here. Good wine. Drink up.
June 2, 2011 - Popped and poured. Showed a bit of brett. Consistent with previous tasting notes, but maybe a bit more advanced. I'm thinking remaining bottles need to be consumed over the very near future.
April 22, 2011 - The first serious red shows a medium-minus intense core, which is at the cusp of turning garnet with a clearing and bricking rim. The nose is medium intense and shows dried herbs, but fresh fruits.
This wine has a medium body, while the not quite pronounced –but certainly forceful– acidity is kept in check by dried red fruits on the mid-palate. The light tannins are largely integrated and overall this is a lean and lithe drink, which receives some added interest from stemmy dried herbs. Even the finish does an agreeable 15-20 seconds, so I’ll give 87 points and this can be drunk now or over the next few years. I guessed a villages level Côte de Beaune, but as it turned out it was ............... TN Mike de Lange
November 7, 2010 - No notes taken, but this bottle showed no signs of decline.
August 28, 2010 - Still holding on, but these need to be consumed over the next few years.
May 1, 2010 - Opaque red color with some browning near the rim. Initially showing a hefty dose of brett on the nose, but this seemed to dissipate to reveal a serious Burgundian nose with dark fruit, earth, leather and mushroom. Great weight on the palate with flavors that build throughout the taste. Not overly expansive. Great acidity. Nice lingering finish. Based on this bottle I would say this is drinking at peak right now. No need to hold these any longer.