Ambroise Corton Rognet - 1995/1996/1997/1998:
All big burly large scaled wines. 1995 was the most elegant of the 4 on a relative scale. 1997 was weakest and seemed to be losing fruit. The 1998 was more approachable and the 1996 was still a bit of a monster with lots of fruit,extract and tannins. Not my style of burgs but impressive none the less. They have aged well but have not mellowed!
Senard - Corton Bressandes and Corton Clos de Roi 2005:
After the Ambroise flight, these were lighter coloured , more pinot like and quite approachable for 2005’s. The Clos de Roi showed better with some lovely spice and red fruits on the nose. Not over extracted. I liked them and found them to be elegant and more feminine.
Also had the 2003 Giradin VV Corton which did not leave a strong impression but did show some effects of the warmer vintage especially the low acidity.
Yes… I wouldn’t have expected any of these to have “mellowed.” 95, 96, 98 are bruiser vintages to start with. Surprised a bit that the Senard is showing well at 5. I have some, but hope to look into tasting them in aother 10-12 years.
Stuart - the long aging of Corton is well known , even if I have not had to chance to try old ones myself. The Senard’s were definitely approachable but clearly still very young. If you have enough and are curious, I think it can provide pleasure. I drank the remains of the bottle two days later and it was even better.
Though I don’t “disagree” with you about the 2005 Senard, Brodie, I am unwilling to sacrifice even one to see what it’s like at 5. Whether pleasant or not…I buy them to , hopefully, check in on them when they should be “at peak”, whatever that is. I’ve had lots of infant wines that were good, so I don’t doubt it was “good”, but…there are plenty of wines that are “pleasant” young…and I try to stick with those that are less expensive and/or have little upside. Just my approach to things, I guess.