2006 JM Boillot Puligny-Montrachet “Les Referts” & 1991 Comte de Vogue Bonnes-Mares

Through SL’s sheer generosity, I found myself at his place, with JJ and YW, sipping these wonderful wines on a Tuesday evening while the kids amused themselves noisily in the background.

The 2006 Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Referts”, clear light golden, had an absolutely fabulous bouquet that leapt right out of the glass, heavy with limestone, minerals, with penetrating lime and citrus, almonds, wafer, caramel, cinnamon, wave after wave of these wafting over your nose, deep, intoxicating, heavenly. On the palate, the wine was equally penetrating, sharp and pointed with cutting acidity, full-bodied, much more citrusy, somewhat chunky and one-dimensional, steely and austere on the finish. Yet to unravel itself, but clearly will be excellent in another 10 years. Right now, this wine is all about its bouquet. In fact, it kept me so occupied that I kept smelling it for a good 10 minutes without tasting the wine at all.

Pretty much the same could be said about the 1991 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru. Showing a beautiful deep ruby, it gave off a huge, deep intense bouquet of glycerin, sweetened liquorice, dark red berries and brandied cherries, highly liquered (someone was reminded of Chinese medicine – pi pa gao especially, which I agree) all the while hinting strongly of a wine that would be rich, concentrated and lush, in spite of its age. In fact, if blinded, I would have called this a New World shiraz, given the powerful liquorice flavour. Burgundy would have been last on my mind. I have noted this particular quality of “heaviness” about the Chambolle-Musigny wines of Comte de Vogue, very different from the open, lush concentration of a Domaine Romanee-Conti. On the palate, however, there seemed to be some sort of a disconnect, the medium-full wine coming across as quite mellow, not as deep, nor as rich, as one would have anticipated from the nose, quiet, rather soft, but possessing very good definition nonetheless, seamless and long. It became slightly more intense and weighty after some time in the glass, but I wouldn’t say it’s elegant. Very masculine. But I’m not complaining, especially when someone has so generously opened it for a casual evening. I’m infinitely grateful.