Jason's Village Burgundies II

Round 2 of this excellent theme - village classification only, but from the top producers. Subjective, but we all understood the brief.

• NV Deutz Champagne Brut Classic 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Pale medium gold with a very fine mousse that isn't especially visible in the glass, but this is lovely and spritzy on entry and really very classical in nature. A dollop of fresh-baked dough and pressed apple juice. The extra time in bottle, c4 years, has allowed this to round out and it's got a nice weight to it whilst retaining lift. A good start before the main event.

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• 2015 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  Very pale yellow, much lighter than the age might suggest. Starts with a lovely subtle reduction, this is crisp and inviting. The wine is in absolutely tip-top shape, fabulously tense and precise, with stem ginger and citrus peel dominating at first. I left some in the glass for a while, and after an hour this has grown in stature, the air and some warmth has lessened the reduction and the sweet fruit (in the very dry white wine sense of sweet) is poking out alongside a certain nuttiness. I would have liked to spend the evening with the whole bottle! My #2 WOTN.

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• 2012 Buisson-Charles Meursault Vieilles Vignes 85 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Medium yellow, striking darker than the Leflaive alongside. Muted on the nose at first, it then becomes a bit yeasty. Rich, round, some baked apple, but this is flirting with oxidisation, an advanced bottle past peak that doesn't really appeal alongside the P-M.

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• 2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Vendanges Sélectionnées 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

  Medium red, limpid, some fine suspension. Firm wine, easier and more ready than the '05 alongside, but nonetheless severe. Red fruit is in there somewhere, but I find pepper and olive tones to be the ones that leap out. There is a certain gloss perhaps, but it's weighty and doesn't scream Pinot Noir to me, and certainly doesn't bring me to Volnay. Interesting wine, but not what I am looking for.

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• 2005 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Vendanges Sélectionnées 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

  Darkish red. Bit of shoe polish on the nose, stern with tannic bite, this is giving up very little at nearly 20 years old. Chewy, meaty, dark fruit spectrum, hard work. It improves after an hour or so, the nose starts to deliver something a bit sweeter and more approachable, but I just don't think it is ready but I also wonder if it will ever get there before the fruit inevitably fades. Masculine and austere where Volnay should be svelte and feminine, and no joy to be had.

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• 2016 Domaine Ponsot Morey St. Denis Cuvée des Grives 90 Points

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

  Darkish red, concerningly appears even darker than the Lafarge '05, but I need not have worried, the first sniff assures that this is an entirely different proposition. Lovely wet woodland and red fruit, my notes say we have arrived in Burgundy. It's highly acidic, almost shrill in fact, alongside a spicy freshness that is very appealing.

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• 2001 Domaine Ponsot Morey St. Denis Cuvée des Grives 92 Points

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

  Lightish red, some fading. Considerable funk going on, some barnyard interest, lovely and a real thumbs up flag. It's tight though, grippy, with sweet red fruit and pressed flowers. The acidity has fallen away, everything has come together, this is how I like my Red Burgundy to be. Delicious, understated and charming. My #3 WOTN.

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• 2017 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges Vieilles Vignes 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  Dark red. Can you say a nose is chewy? There is a rusticity here that I am not expecting due to the house style, but I suppose it allows the character of the appellation to make itself known. This needs more age for the former to dominate the latter, so I suppose what you want is key to when you approach this. One of my fellow diners said spend the extra money on the 1er Cru and, given what I know I want, I think I agree. Not that this a bad wine, far from it, but there isn't much silken charm going on.

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• 2017 Francois Confuron-Gindre Nuits St. Georges 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  A nose of blackcurrant pastilles, sweet and sleek, high-toned wine with some acetone or furniture polish. There is a bitter note I quite like towards the back end. Attractive wine, my first from this producer.

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• 2010 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Lovely cherry character to the nose, floral and appealing. A bit of spritz to begin with, a good swish removes it. Red fruit is measured and composed, delicious actually - this is quite classy stuff. Some glossy notes, a smokey quality, very nice. I last had this towards the end of 2023 and that bottle was a lot tighter. Tonight this is much more with it and ready to go, even though you feel it has the structure to go on for a good while.

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• 2017 Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Dark red. Funky and meaty, dirty in a good way. Some confected glossy fruit notes places this wine on the high-toned end. High acidity quite dominant over the fruit at the moment, I think this one could be hidden away for a few years to calm down a bit, a bit wayward tonight.

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• 2018 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  Bright and forward, open and alive. Bright glossy cherry, a lick of edgy spiced ginger or something. The vintage is speaking quite strongly. Young, but lovely - only 'village' but you have to say is worth the premium, or that's what I thought until someone told me the latest price for a case of three. You'd have to think quite hard about it! Taking nothing away from a highly appealing wine though, delicious.

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• 2009 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Vosne-Romanée 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  Notes on the wane by this stage as you would expect, but they say this was lifted, light, fresh and delicious. In the clear light of day I'd say this was a very seductive wine, sexy and really beautifully done, brimming with latent energy which for a village classification is really quite something. If someone would let me buy it at release I would! WOTN by a small margin, but definitely worth it.

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Thanks to Jason and Simon G for the organisation skills, and to everyone for bringing such an interesting variety of bottles.

A tour through the villages was instructive, but really the producers have such influence that they can accentuate or completely cloud the terroir. What do you want Volnay to taste like? On the strenght of last night, Morey-St-Denis! The voting around the table was fairly unanimous in the end, the big-hitters ran away with it!

1) Mugneret-Gibourg - 16pt
2) Cathiard - 13pt
3) Leflaive - 11pt
then
4) Bachelet - 7pt
5/6) Ponsot x 2 - 6pt each

67 Pall Mall a good venue for this kind of thing, the glassware and approach to using it is in a different league to anywhere I've ever been.