A 2008 dégorgement, this bottle managed to hide out in my at-home wine fridge for all that time. The bright mid-yellow core is livened up with a moderate incidence of fine beads. A medium intense nose shows ripe notes of nutty brioche, acacia, dry cracker and cream. While medium-minus bodied, the mousse is decidedly creamy. Refined, not-quite-pronounced acidity lends freshness –if not exactly crispness– to finely textured medium intense flavours of honeyed sweet pears and pit fruits, which get some minerally infused lift from an autolytic pastry-dough flavour. The finish has good balance and manages to preserve it for a pleasant 30-35 second finish. Its well-behaved finesse and approachablility is worth 90 points to me and if you happen to have some left I see little point in cellaring it longer.................TN mike de Lange.

This “Highlands Chardonnay” has a medium intense straw core and a watery rim. A faint impression of pit fruits tickles the nose.
Despite not quite pronounced acidity, this wine is medium-plus bodied because of its admirable extract. On the mid-palate, the vintage-derived creaminess does not weigh down the expression of medium intense flavours of white peach & apricot, in part because of a lift-providing calcareous mineral edge. The finish adds more freshness in the form of lemon sherbet and maintains its balance for 20-25 seconds. This is a good every day drink, which merits a modicum of interest and scores 85 points in my section of universe.............................TN Mike de Lange.

Our usual chef Adrian decided to throw us the first curve-ball of the day. The medium-minus intense corn-yellow core doesn’t tell us much... This single-blind white Burgundy is slightly reductive initially, but the rubber-band notes soon make way for a medium intense, but unusually precise apricot note, some butter and a sensation of creaminess. Decidedly medium-plus bodied, positively –or rather negatively– searing acidity is not balanced by enough mid-palate stuffing to make this wine approachable. While the yellow grapefruit flavours still register as medium intense, its slightly saline minerality actually makes things worse because it emphasizes the grapefruit bitters. The already questionable balance packs it in altogether after 15-20 seconds on the finish, which leaves me with the issue of scoring this wine. For what it’s worth, I was convinced this was an Aligoté from 2007 but it turned out to be: Bourgogne Chardonnay 2008 – Bernard Dugat-Py. Faulty bottles being what they might be –there might have been a sub-threshold TCA issue– I doubt whether this wine will ever balance itself out. As it is now, I would score it somewhere in the low seventies.......................TN Mike de Lange.

The core is only lightly intense straw-coloured, but a greenish tinge is clearly visible. On the nose, medium-minus intense impressions of pear and peach are accompanied by a hint of oak spice and toast. While this wine seems “only” medium-plus bodied on the attack, the initial impression of clean purity is marred by alcoholic heat somewhat after a few seconds in the mouth. While the almost medium-plus intense acidity goes some way in keeping things refreshing, the medium intense flavours of pit fruits and pebbly minerals can’t restore the equilibrium either, despite some added complexity from a slightly fatty clay note and a hint of licorice. The finish seems to taper off quickly, but sneaks in about 15 seconds despite further proliferation of the aforementioned hotness. This isn’t necessarily a bad wine. I suppose the materials can’t have been easy to work with for someone used to making red wines exclusively, but this isn’t my cup of tea at all and so my 83 points are no doubt a factor of the high regard I hold Frédy in. One might try and cellar a bottle or two for a few years and see if it gains balance, but I have my doubts........................TN Mike de Lange.

Our host thought it was time for a curve ball of his own and poured us a wine with a medium-minus intense straw-coloured core and a clearing rim. Initially, a slight sulphuric edge throws some excrement in our faces, but it abates with a minute or two to reveal some lightly intense hints of pit fruits. Body-wise, the wine hovers at the cusp of medium & medium-plus and is positively charged with mineral content, which frames no more than medium-minus intense flavours of licorice, physalis, orchard fruits and melon. Its pungent acidity seems buffered by the impressive extract this wine sports and in shrill contrast to the Dugat-Py, this wine is actually pleasant to drink and possesses instead a lean quality I quite appreciate. The finish isn’t very impressive yet at about 20 seconds of balance, but the mineral content persists for another minute and after some time in the glass the nose picks up in intensity somewhat, while adding notes of spices and tarragon. There had been talk of a wine from Roulot beforehand and so it wasn’t too hard to venture a guess, but I nailed this as Meursault “Vireuils” 2007 – Domaine Roulot. For me, this is a 87 point wine right now and when/if the impressive material releases its full potential –it seems in need for at least three more years– I suspect as much as four points upside...................TN Mike de Lange.

Medium-minus intense straw in colour, with surprisingly enough still a green tinge. The medium intense nose offers up exotic notes of cantalope melon, French pastry, aniseed, cinnamon and cashew nut paste. This is definitely a full-bodied wine and its medium acidity isn’t quite high enough to keep proceedings within my personal boundaries of the concept of refreshing. On the mid-palate -while not quite as complex or precise as on the nose- it does possess richness and there is good depth to the medium-plus intense flavours of sugared pears and blood orange. A real mouthful then and the finish fans out nicely on the 20-25 second finish. While not half bad in the context of the vintage, this sort of wine isn’t for everyone and I will give 87 points for the good effort and the urgent advice to dig it up for consumption if you haven’t already....................TN Mike de Lange

This reputed 1er Cru shows a medium intense straw core with a slight greenish hue. The nose bursts out of the gate at medium-plus intensity, while hints of pear and citrus are initially struggling to peek through a veil of oaky caramel, cocoa powder and toast. More air did improve the balance, however. Medium-plus bodied on the attack, its pronounced acidity is completely buffered by densely concentrated, medium-plus intense flavours of spiced pear and white peach. A refined streak of saline minerality lends both interest and lift and while a toasty edge is present, it doesn’t spoil the especially fine texture this wine possesses. Furthermore, its great line and poised deliverance promise a Grand Cru experience for those courageous enough to roll the dice and cellar it for the required time. The finish needs to improve its precision somewhat, but still clocks in at 25-30 seconds so 91 points are in order with considerable upside...................TN Mike de Lange.

While medium intense bright golden in colour, I get an immediate eye-stinging hit of SO2. As it’s the usual chicken-excrement variety found in madame Leroy’s white wines when young, nothing seems out of the ordinary. With more time in the glas, some medium intense notes of ripe pears framed by saline minerality come to the fore. Amazingly enough, this wine manages to be medium-plus bodied at no more than 12,5% alcohol. This phenomenon is mainly caused by its very high extract and glycerine levels, which buffer its immense acidity admirably and coat the mouth with finely textured, medium intense lime and white grapefruit flavours. Said flavour intensity is enhanced somewhat by truly impressive mineral expression, which seems to intensify on the 40-45 second finish and keeps on going for minutes after the other integrated flavours pack it in.I want to bestow 91 points on this wine as well and as far as potential is concerned, a discussion ensued on whether Aligoté will age –if indeed at all– and if one can extrapolate the Chardonnay aging curve onto this variety. Needless to say, we didn’t reach any form of consensus, but if there is any Aligoté on the planet which can age, it should be this one as it’s truly impressive stuff.................TN MIke de Lange.