Nick A's 2014 Burgundy Horizontal (Table 2)

Latest in the series of these dinners. Again huge thanks to Nick for pulling it together. The whites showed expectedly well and the reds, in large part, showed better than might have been expected. Thanks to my tablemates for their great wines and company.

• 2014 Nyetimber Single Vineyard Tillington 92 Points

  United Kingdom, England, Sussex, West Sussex

  Lime curd, pear skin, wheat cracker and lemon oil lead out on the nose here. With air, classy touches of lemon fool, chalk and elderflower add interest. On the palate the entry is marked by a green apple and chalk quality; a touch of ginger joins the fray on the mid palate. The finish has flourishes of lemon zest, white pepper and elderflower tonic.

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• 2014 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Rich almost piercing lime oil noise on pouring. With air, there are touches of tarragon, chamomile and a couple of ppm of sliced button mushroom. Palate has more nods to Chablis with some oyster shell minerality alongside the classy citrus characters. The is a lovely ground white pepper and lime cordial quality to the finish.

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• 2014 Domaine des Malandes Chablis 1er Cru Vau de Vey 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Slightly smoky nose with pear flesh, lemon barley cordial and a touch of Earl Grey tea in the margins. Palate balances richness and raciness pretty well; the entry is lime pith and white flower led, with some oyster shell minerality and chicken roasting juice savouriness building through the mid palate. There is just a hint of orange oil on the finish.

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• 2014 Domaine Pinson Frères Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Worrying colour in the glass. Nose has butterscotch and lemon. Palate confirms the inevitable; DOA. Very maderised and needs to become sinkware. Shame

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• 2014 Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  Macadamia, lime pith and a touch of pear skin to start here on the nose. In the margins some lime fool creaminess and a touch of smoked turkey. Classy palate has real energy, zingy lime and green apple some white flowers too.

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• 2014 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Magnum. Richer and more on the red apple than the Leflaive BB this is served with, there are touches of ginger, marzipan and cherry on the nose. The palate is rounder but has a lovely grapefruit pith character on entry and that apply depth on the mid palate. A hint of cinnamon on the very finish.

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• 2014 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  A little slow out of the blocks but with air some lovely minerality / steel, a touch of tarragon and some mandarin. Classy stuff and no hint of pox (hallelujah!) Palate has a fascinating and contrasting honied / puckering acidity combination. Some confit lemon but once again the tinned mandarins are there. Dry and lovely.

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• 2014 Domaine Perrot-Minot Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru La Riotte 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru

  Smoky Maraschino cherry, plum fruit and Christmas potpourri with air. Palate is more open for business than I feared; strawberry / strawberry shortcake sweetness with some supporting acids and a twist of black pepper. Tart cherries on the finish.

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• 2014 Domaine Odoul-Coquard Morey-Saint-Denis Les Crais-Gillon 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis

  Raspberry fruit and gingersnap on the nose. In the margins a touch of Bakewell richness. Some grenadine cordial and later mint with air. Palate taut with some citrus interest alongside a plum fruit character that builds through the mid palate. A touch of stroopwafel on the finish.

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• 2014 Domaine Odoul-Coquard Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées 91 Points

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

  Blood orange, plum fruit and a hint of dulce de leche sweet creamy fudginess on the nose here. With air a touch of stollen as well. Palate is peppery with red fruits and some offsetting greenness building through the mid palate. A touch of grenadine on the finish. A short neck ahead of the Morey Lieu Dit from the same house.

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• 2014 Mark Haisma Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru

  Not sure if a loose cork issue here but this is in a tricky spot; mahogany rim - this looks 10 years older than any other red here. Pickled walnut nose with some meatiness alongside. Palate clipped and drying. Not at the level of the other wines.

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• 2014 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Show time. Nose much more cassis led than anything else on Table 2. Absolutely not a foursquare NSG!!! The fruit is silky, as it breathes a tarter cranberry character contrasts the cassis. There are a couple of ppm of both madeira cake and espresso grounds in the margins. Palate is similarly drop dead gorgeous; early window but joyous with svelte raspberry fruit and Morello cherry, supporting acids are à point. Fab and my wine of the dinner.

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• 2014 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens-Bas 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru

  This is hard to pin down; nose has lots going on and is quite beguiling. Some autumnal forest floor and ripe wild strawberry notes contrast with some acetic walnuts / balsam characteristics. The palate sadly tonight does not deliver on this intrigue. Really pronounced tannins that block out everything else. Nose 93, palate 87 overall 90. Love this house and hope time will help those tannins fade with enough fruit to keep that half of the bargain.

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The table set up with 9 on one table and 7 on the other felt a little like a Ruben Amorim team set up but common sense prevailed and a more orthodox 4-4-2 (8-8) set up prevailed. If only I could have grabbed a photo of the deliberations as to who would the super sub and then turned it into a renaissance painting using AI "The Table Reallocation" would have been a classic.