A catch up with a few friends ended up being a Burgundy frenzy with a few other fine bottles.
2013 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons : Very fine, elegant and pure. White peach and lemon fruits. Gently floral. Oozes saline minerality. Compact and direct. Excellent cut and chalky chew.
2022 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux : Loaded with ripe orchard fruits. Full, rich and sappy with a buttery feel through the mid. There’s a hint of spice and some smoky mineral. Structural elements lurk.
2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots: Starting to drink really well. Complex aromatics of smoky mineral, white peach, aniseed and spearmint. Full and fleshy in the mouth. Power with containment. Finishes with plenty of dry extract.
2016 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault: A touch of white mushroom and toast development. Lemon curd and ripe peach fruit along with some brown spices. Good depth and volume. Fine acid cut to the finish. Ready to go.
2018 Domaine Hubert Lamy Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots Cuvée Haute Densité : Very tight, compact and linear. Crisp orchard fruits and nice mineral delineation. Fabulous intensity, great cut and a super salty finish with tangy lemon too.
2019 Domaine Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Gravières Blanc : Deep, rich, chalky and chewy. Good flavour intensity coupled with elegance and grace. Fresh fruit flavours are backlit by minerally acidity. There’s good chalky dry extract to the very long finish. Just starting to play in the drinking zone but plenty in the tank.
2018 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru : Ripe and generous and just a bit slutty. Creamy blue fruits with some scorched earth and violets. Layered and voluminous. Low acidity but not too heavy or cumbersome. Atypical but quite delicious.
2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant, Grand Cru : Ripe and dark fruited. Has some pretty dried flower notes and loads of earth. Full and fleshy, layered, long and expansive. Already offering plenty of pleasure.
2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant, Grand Cru : A fine nose of raspberry, cherry, freshly tilled earth, sous bois and rose petals. There’s some earthy development on the palate and it is lacy of texture. It builds through the palate and fans out. Mid-weight and beautifully proportioned and balanced.
2009 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg, Grand Cru : Complex and highly perfumed aromatics of dried flowers, smoked meats, dark cherry, sweet earth and licorice. Fabulous depth and flesh. There’s a juicy quality to the fruit and it has terrific volume. The long and expansive finish is carried by perfectly ripe tannins. Acidity is moderate but the wine is so vital and fresh.
1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, Grand Cru : Some nutty aldehyde on the nose. Notes of Hoisin, soy, smoked meats and dark earth. Very much in tertiary territory. Good depth of flavour and velvety against the gums. Has latent power and sneaky length. Savoury notes linger.
1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche Del Falletto: What a beautiful bottle of wine. Some meat and earth along with exquisite cherry fruit. Rose petals and spice with air. Luscious and concentrated through the mid and so much detail on the finish. Structural elements are in complete harmony. Length is fabulous. Each sip unlocks something interesting.
2014 Ridge Monte Bello: Very ripe boysenberry and cassis. A suggestion of leather and sweet meats. Luscious and heady, glossy and smooth. Had to really search for some Cabernet and finally got a whiff of menthol. I thought these were a little more ‘old school’? Feels a bit modern. Served blind, most at the table thought it was ripe, new world Shiraz.
