- 2005 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé - France, Champagne
Fresh red berries, very elegant and understated. I’ve come to realise that Cristal Rosé doesn’t do that well in a large line-up because the purity of fruit is not immediate or obvious, but it’s always a superb wine. (94 pts.) - 2021 Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Rosé d’assemblage Extra Brut - France, Champagne
Not as dark in colour and fruit profile as the 2019 or 2020 but with the signature aggressive mousse. Slightly astringent at first but developed some candied, wild strawberry fruit with air. Not as strong as previous vintages. (91 pts.) - 2019 Georges Remy Champagne Premier Cru Les Muits - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
My contribution for the birthday girl as we visited last year. Disgorged August 2023, zero dosage. 100% Chardonnay from Les Muits parcel in Tauxieres. 1498 bottles produced. Oak use gave this a richness that led most to guess this as Pinot-dominant, but a few others correctly picked up that fruit profile was predominantly green apple and identified this as a BdB when I blinded the rest at this dinner and at another dinner the next day. As usual with Remy, a superbly crafted wine with precision and body; agreed with some who commented that this had terrific length. (93 pts.) - 2012 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
Same impression as the previous bottle in March. Warm vintage suited Comtes by lending it a rich and creamy texture, very pleasurable and open for business. (93 pts.) - 2008 Simon Bize Latricières-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru
'08 acidity stuck out at first but gradually came into balance. Much more open for business compared to my bottle two years ago, the earthy dark berry fruit was much more expressive and giving today. A very silky Gevrey. Most people’s favourite but I marginally preferred the '07 d’Angerville. (94 pts.) - 2012 Forey Père et Fils Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Brought for a friend. Was surprised most people went CdB for this as I thought this had textbook Vosne spice (probably from heavy use of new oak). Very youthful and delicate red fruit behind a large-scaled, structured frame. More refined tannins and less dark than what I expected of this producer. Revisit in 5 years. (93 pts.) - 1993 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Lots of bricking, tertiary mushroom notes without being complex or interesting. Didn’t have the power or depth of a Hermitage, a soft and generic old wine. No surprise when revealed to be Chapoutier, but others seemed to like this. (88 pts.) - 2018 Francois Confuron-Gindre Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Unbalanced use of oak, very tannic and masculine without much finesse. My first instinct was a '05 Potel Vosne. (87 pts.) - 2019 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
My contribution for the birthday girl as we visited last year. Opened at lunchtime but was still primary and brooding at dinner. Brought the leftovers to dinner for people who were big Balthazar fans and the density of the wine had softened up considerably, showing the pretty, precise red fruit without losing its northern Rhone identity. I realised Balthazar’s wines are very approachable and pretty in barrel, but need time in bottle to come around. (93 pts.) - 2007 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Wow a textbook red Burgundy at peak. Very pretty, floral nose with controlled old-school funk that I love; palate was equally delicate and sensual with some light spice. If blinded I would have gone for a top Chambolle. '07 Volnays truly hit it out of the park. (94 pts.)
HIPSTER BURGUNDY REDS - (8/5/2025)
A friend very generously hosted a very educational tasting of new-school Burgundy reds. It was literally my first time tasting all the wines, some of which I have never even heard of. Personal favourites were the Gillet and the Lou Dumont bio Marsannay (unfortunately I did agree at the end of dinner that the Koji was flawed).
- 2023 Jérémy Carteret Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Euphoria - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Wasn’t showing much initially - thought this had one-dimensional candied fruit which was a little reduced. Others more familiar at the table said this was usually better on second day, and I did see glimpses of its quality at the end of the dinner. Good freshness but not sure about secondary market prices. (91 pts.) - 2021 Guilbert Gillet Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Peuillets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Peter Spijker’s previous notes capture this wine well. Very judicious use of oak - superb aromatics on the nose, sensual cherry fruit on the palate. First time trying this producer and very much convinced, very complete and balanced. Unanimous WOTN. Apparently this was 30% domaine in 2021 but the proportion has increased in more recent vintages. (93 pts.) - 2022 Maison Meyer Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Planchots de la Champagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune
Showed quite similarly to the Gillet, but with more toasty oak notes (but not overdone). Silky dark fruit, well-balanced. A maker to follow. (92 pts.) - 2020 Lou Dumont / Koji et Jae Hwa Bourgogne Marsannay “En Leautier” - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Some argument whether this was corked but I didn’t think so even though I found this to be a little sour and acidic. After comparing with the “bio” bottle later with much more expressive fruit my personal conclusion was that this probably had a faulty cork as it had some oxidised notes like older Nebbiolos. Bummer. NR (flawed) - 2023 Les Monts Bourgogne Hautes Côtes-de-Beaune - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
First vintage of Lucas and Nina Saulnier, currently they only make one red and one white from Fussey. Others dug this but to me this had a strange mix of overripe fruit but underripe stems with a distracting herbal note. Least favourite along with the Billard for me. (88 pts.) - 2022 Louis Billard Gevrey-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Oaky to the point of being undrinkable to me. (85 pts.) - 2023 Aymon - Nicolas Protin Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Initially ridiculously reduced with an obvious burnt tyre note, but thought the underlying quality of fruit was very good. Good concentration without being over-extracted, I liked this more than the others who thought this was the worst wine of the night. (91 pts.) - 2020 Maison Lou Dumont Marsannay by Lou Dumont - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay
Interesting to compare the Koji and this “bio” negoce bottle, but unfortunately I realised the former was flawed after tasting this fantastic bottle. Always thought the normal orange labels were ho-hum but this was on a completely different level. One of the best aromatics that I have come across this year with candied (but not overly so), wild strawberry fruit. Loved the exubérance on this, an incredibly expressive wine that didn’t show the density of 2020 at all. (93 pts.)
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