Les Amoureuses Dinner

This was a great dinner with wonderfully enjoyable wines. I have always thought that an on-song Les Amoureuses was amongst the most delicious wines that Burgundy has to offer, and this dinner was a showcase of just how fun the wines are. While not all had enough depth to push them into Grand Cru territory, they were as a collective a wonderfully seductive selection, with the best wines caressing the mouth with soft, velvety textures, showing pure, juicy notes of red or blue fruit wreathed in flowers and a gentle spiciness. The term “sex in the glass” has become a rather hackneyed way of describing Les Amoureuses, but on the night, I could think of no better way to express just how deliciously good the wines were. This was a great dinner to have two days shy of Valentine’s day!

• 1996 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  A great start to the night – this almost stole the show from the great reds that came after. It such a rich, lovely nose, with wafts of yeast and cream and brioche floating around a core of white fruited aromas, with apple at the forefront and then citrusy scents of ripe lemons behind. Lovely. Much in the same vein, there was a wonderfully rich depth to it in the mouth, with red apples and ripe lemons filling the palate in a nicely textured mouthful, sculpted by a fine mousse and wonderful freshness from the wine’s bright 1996 acidity. There was still a real strength to the wine undergirding its deep fruit, with really grippy minerality and twists of lemon peel driving it into a long finish that was still sparkling with great freshness. A lovely Champagne, but this still needs plenty of time yet –it should be great in 6-8 years or so. 94+

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• 2001 Domaine Amiot-Servelle Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Rather more opened and just that bit better than when I last had it circa 2009 – this was nice if not exactly brilliant. It had a really pretty nose, with sweet scents of maraschino cherries and a twang of orange peel kissed with a blush of flowers, some gentle spice and then a tiny dose of earthiness and twists of bramble and herb. I thought the palate was quite the classic 2001 - light, lithe and pure, with its flavours of sour cherries and sprigs of green herb laced with lots of bright, orange citrus acidity. It was just tottered towards the tart side a bit at points, but I liked how there was a great sense of energy and purity to it. Past the midpalate, it leaned out into a more austere finish, where fine tannins gave a little bite before a gentle infusion of spice led off into a gentle tail. Enjoyable, and probably at the right place for drinking now.

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• 2003 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Wow – this must be about the best 2003 I have had in a long time. It had a beautiful nose, showing none of the heat of 2003 vintage. Instead, we had a lovely lifted bouquet of dried flowers, dried earth and fragrant spices littered around a core of red cherries and strawberries – sweet scents with almost a bit of compote at the edges. Really lovely. Again on the palate, this was amazingly fresh and balanced for a 2003, with sweet cherries and strawberries lined with lots of dried flowers and little hints of herb and spice. In fact, it was only a slight powdery feel in the tannins that spoke of the vintage. Otherwise, while thick and rich for an Amoureuses, this seemed to glow with a natural sweetness without ever being candied or cooked. And while the acidity was just a little on the low side, the wine was still amazingly balanced, gliding away as it did into a long, well-integrated finish that ended with a trail of spice. This could go on for decades easily, but it is already starting to be very delicious – I think 5-6 more years and it will be absolutely singing. It says a lot that while guessing that this was one of the two younger Vogue wines in our line-up, I could not tell whether it was the 2003 or the 2002. 94+

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• 2002 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Gorgeous – this was everything you would want from a Les Amoureueses. It had a beautiful nose, all perfume and seduction, with pure aromas of red-fruited cherries and raspberries, the tiniest hint of mineral, and then flowers, flowers and more flowers, just wafting out of the glass and filling the senses. Beautiful. Seductive. The palate had wonderfully juicy, pure ring to otherwise sappy flavours cherries and strawberries seasoned with a little infusion of spice and earth, and a little kiss of mineral trailing into a long finish. It was not quite as headily perfumed as the nose, but there was still a haunting floral presence across the whole palate. My notes are littered with terms like “crystal clear” and “clarion” - there was just such a wonderful purity and transparency to this. And yet behind all that, it was still clearly structured, still having a little bite of the very finest tannins on the back-palate. My feel that it will only truly hit its peak in another 8-10 years. It is wonderful, wonderful wine though, and already giving so much pleasure. 94+

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• 2002 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  For all the criticism Groffier sometimes gets for his more heavy-handed stylings, I have always loved his Les Amoureuses – this was another really good bottle. It had the best nose of its flight, with deep, rich notes of earth and soil, boiled Chinese herbs and wilting flowers, all draped around a core of blueberries and red cherry notes, and then a little drift of oak spice trailed away in the distance – a really complex, compelling bouquet. It says something that this was even more headily attractive on the nose than the two wonderful bottles of Mugnier Les Amoureuses that followed. The palate was rich and ripe, having the biggest body of the flight, with ripe red-fruited flavous topped off with a dollop of creaminess - red cherries and raspberry ripple I thought. This certainly had a thicker, creamier texture than the pure, elegant Mugniers, but it was still wonderfully balanced, with beautifully fresh acidity and a fine-boned structure lending the wine a lovely velvety poise. It finished with good rather than great length, with a slightly bittersweet twist of herb and gentle flush of spice. All in all though, a really good, really enjoyable wine – starting to drink well now, it should get even better over the next 4-5 years and beyond.

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• 1993 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Wow. This is years away from being ready, but it is already a magnificent wine. Served blind next to a bottle of 1996 Mugnier Les Amoureuses, this somehow managed to almost completely overshadow its already very impressive brother. It had such a wonderful nose – with a little bit of earth, some blueberries and wild berry notes, a little dash spice, a little touch of herb, and then tons of wafting floral aromas – this was a thicker, richer, more perfumed bouquet than the 1996, altogether more voluptuous I thought. The palate showed the same differences as well. It was altogether richer, deeper, more generous, but also a bit raspier than the absolutely silken finesse of the 1996 – a drape of velvet in contrast to the younger wine’s rustle of silk perhaps. Taken on its own though, this wine had a wonderful elegance to it, with a soft, melting feel to its delicious flavours of red cherries and wild berries and a little orange peel, all laced with some beautifully integrated acidity which gave the wine a wonderful freshness in spite of its vintage. Phenomenal stuff. This somehow married the depth of the 2002 Groffier Amoureuses that preceded it with the elegance of the 1996 Mugnier that followed. A wonderful wine that seems to be just strolling towards its drinking window. Another 4-6 years and this should be amazing.

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• 1996 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Significantly better than when I last tried this in 2012. This has grown from a rather slight, shy wine into a blossoming beauty. It had a wonderful nose from the get-go, with ringing tones of red cherry fruit flecked with flowers and earthy sous bois, a gentle minerality and a little sprinkle of spice. There was just a little suggestion of something rubbery smelling at the edge of the bouquet, but all in all, it was really attractive. The palate had a wonderful finesse to it - clean, clear and pure, with a soft, silky feel that was pure Mugnier, silk rustling over the palate I thought, with beautifully transparent notes of red cherries and berries underpinned by the subtlest kiss of earth and mineral. The wine practically melts in the mouth, with beautifully integrated acidity and the very finest of tannins. This was beautiful. Sexy, light, but not in anyway insubstantial, ending in a beautiful, gracefully gliding finish with a nice subtle length. An ethereal wine, quite ready for drinking today.

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• 1995 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Absolutely delicious. This stood up against a host of wines from bigger names – Mugnier, Vogue, Groffier et al – and showed quite near the top of the class. It had a lovely nose - clearly richer, earthier and spicier than the others on the night, with ripe aromas of dark cherries and berries, fragrant wafts of dried flowers and a twist of orange peel, and then an earthy, spicy undercurrant. A lovely perfumed bouquet. The palate shared the same rich, ripe tone of the nose, with fine tannins forming a velvety robe for the wine’s intense flavours of red cherries and red berries lined with a minerally backbone. This had real depth and strength to it. It was perhaps lacking some of the ethereal transparency that one or two of the other wines had, but it was still really elegant and poised, and really delicious. It ended as it started, with a long, juicy finish sprinkled with more of that nice spiciness. Very good indeed, and starting to drink well now. It should continue to at least hold at this level for a good long time to come as well.

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• 1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Quite lovely, if not quite in the same class as the leading wines of the night. This just felt a touch less elegant. The nose clearly reflected an older wine, with notes of herb and wet soil floating alongside darker blue fruit and berry notes, with shades of flower and spice bringing up the rear. I thought the palate was rather stronger than the nose would suggest. There was a rich 1990 ripeness showing in its blueberry and dark cherry flavours, yet this was wed to a wonderful juiciness and clarity, with lovely gobs of orangey acidity enlivening the wine. Really delicious stuff. On the midpalate, the fruit was met with a little sprinkle of earth and spice, then a blush of dried flowers, orange peel and sour plum carried the into a decently long finish, There was a little dose of fine, powdery tannins right at the end that gave the wine an unusual hint of rusticity. Otherwise, this seemed mellow and rounded and quite ready to drink. 93-95

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