LUNCH WITH BRODIE AND RAZ - (12/7/2026)
A wonderful lunch with @brodie_thomson and Raz on their annual stopover (this year with some of the folks that I did the Milford Track with!). Every bottle showed brilliantly, with a line-up of quintessential Burgundy producers for the purists. All the wines were perfectly proportioned with an acidic spine that makes Burgundy, Burgundy for me. Rousseau was Rousseau, but the other standouts for me were the Egly, D-J Gresigny and Engel which had that touch of magic. That said, every wine performed at an exceptionally high level, so any ranking is really just splitting hairs.
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2012 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged April 2022, 1g/l dosage. Terrific balance between richness and precision, thought this straddled between house and grower very well. Ripe citrus fruit with obvious yeasty notes but a firm acidic spine. Some bottle variation looking at previous notes, this wasn’t lean at all and was firing on all cylinders. A real crowd favourite. (95 pts.) -
NV Tom Gauditiabois Champagne Exploration E05 Brut Nature - France, Champagne
588 bottles produced. 2020 base. 100% Meunier, disgorged 17 December 2024. Initially came across a little lean and sharp after the open-knit Egly, no oxidative or tropical notes that I associate with Meunier but made in a linear, citrus-driven style. Rounded out with air so I could see some similarities to Prevost, but not sure about the market price since this wasn’t a very singular champagne. (92 pts.) -
2023 Cantalapiedra Viticultores Obertura - Spain, Castilla y LeĂłn, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y LeĂłn
Oxidative in style, showing ripe tropical fruit balanced by vibrant acidity. An interesting contrast to La Otea that I tried previously from the same friend which was more reductive, could see the Jura comparison in previous notes. (92 pts.) -
2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
My contribution. A beautifully classic, slightly old-school expression with some lightly spiced oak. Understated with chalky minerality, his wines are always perfectly proportioned. My first time trying the BBM from the bottle and while it was pleasurable, I didn’t think it was a huge step up from his 1ers and was overshadowed by the D-J Gresigny alongside. (94 pts.) -
2022 Dureuil-Janthial Rully 1er Cru Gresigny Blanc Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te Chalonnaise, Rully 1er Cru
My extra. Explosive on both nose and palate, slightly reductive with impressive dry extract and energy. Very similar to the outstanding '20 that I had in France previously that bested Coche and Ente a couple of years ago. An iron fist in a velvet glove sort of wine which I find less common in whites than reds. A wish you were here kind of wine and very glad to have shared this. (96 pts.) -
2009 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
The warmer vintage showed in the honeyed, butterscotch notes but the wine didn’t quite shed the baby fat despite its age. Some Roulot minerality and acidity lurked underneath but never made it past a nice old-school Burgundy for me. (91 pts.) -
1982 Alfred Gerin CĂ´te-RĂ´tie - France, RhĂ´ne, Northern RhĂ´ne, CĂ´te-RĂ´tie
Wow an absolute revelation. Initially guessed as '80s Burgundy, but once revealed as northern Rhone I thought was from a stronger vintage like '83 given its remarkable freshness. As usual with PCLIN’s punts, became even more vibrant with air, also showed more savoury Rhone characteristics. Similar to the old Guigals from the same era that I like very much. (94 pts.) -
2000 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
Leaner and more acidic than expected. Surprisingly lacking in body and presence for both the vineyard and producer, especially compared to the rest of the line-up. Still enjoyable but nobody came close to identifying it as H-N Richebourg. (92 pts.) -
2004 Domaine René Engel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Brulées - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
My only previous experience of Engels was at POB where I didn’t have a chance to concentrate on the wine so this was an eye-opener. Complex with a mix of hawthorn and strawberry jam notes, wonderful saline concentration with a firm, vibrant acidic spine. One of those wines where you could taste the delineation of fruit so clearly, so complete to me. (96 pts.) -
2010 Domaine de Montille Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Very Vosne - silky, airy and beautifully perfumed so I thought this was H-N based on the pretty red-fruited profile. Liked this a lot but a step behind the top wines of the lunch as it lacked just a little concentration and depth. (94 pts.) -
2008 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Similar to my previous experience. Impressive density and concentration in a masculine style, but with deftly integrated oak and superb tannin management. Unsurprisingly I got fooled and guessed Cathiard again. More than held its own against Rousseau and the other pedigreed Vosne producers. (95 pts.) -
2021 Guilbert Gillet Savigny-lès-Beaune Aux Fourches - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune
Very stylish and polished red cranberry fruit, very drinkable compared to the darker, riper '22 and '23 vintages. Quite singular in style though not sure about the current market price. (93 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Wonderfully floral and pretty on the nose with slightly sweet and spicy maraschino cherry fruit on the palate. Cool vintage brought a lovely acidic spine and gentle tannins which kept everything in perfect proportion. A gorgeous and harmonious wine as usual with M-G. (95 pts.) -
2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Riper and more immediate with vibrant, expressive red fruit compared to the '07. Also didn’t find the signature tea-like notes I usually associate with Rousseau, so found this atypical stylistically, but still very gorgeous with sappy red fruit and tremendous energy. Much more upside to this so may be a conservative score. (94 pts.) -
2007 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Rousseau CdB always has that wow factor. An incredibly expressive nose of tea, smoke and delicate spice. Palate was so refined with a cool dark fruit and velvety tannins which gave the wine a calm, zen-like quality. Rousseau is the pinnacle wine for Burgundy purists. (96 pts.) -
1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Brought this for a friend and wanted to share this with Brodie. Unfortunately, while the wine retained its elegance, there was simply too much distracting pyrazine notes on both the nose and palate. My first disappointing bottle of the '82 Lalande. (92 pts.)
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. But yes, after the purity & elegance of those Burgundies, even the slightest imperfections in the closing wine will sadly be a bit jarring.