La Paulée de Singapour 2020

The fourth edition of the La Paulée de Singapour, organised by The Vintage Club, was held on 17 January 2020 at the Grand Hyatt, Singapore. This time, Christophe and his boys have nailed it down quite perfectly: the tasting hall was spacious enough, the ambient temperature was perfectly cool, the excellent Burgundian cuisine was authentic and ample (no need to order extra fried rice) while the participation by winemakers and wine lovers was superb. The only bit of downside was the lack of a proper stage (nobody could see who was leading the ban bourguignon) and a proper sound system (the hotel’s one is poor). It was very good to see Stephen Follin-Arlebet again and, for me personally, to welcome Gregory Gouges, who still recalled my visit to Domaine Henri Gouges two years ago, on his first trip to Singapore. In spite of dinner being pushed back to 2030h, I still could not complete the tasting promenade, a testament to the copious volume and range available. Dinner got off to a riotous start straightaway which is the way it ought to be. As the evening wore on, my note-taking rapidly deteriorated, meaning I have absolutely no recollection of several other wines tasted at dinner. What a glorious orgy. Stick with the Grand Hyatt again for 2021, Christophe. Merci beaucoup!

Gregory Gouges (R)

2017 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay Champs Claude. Pale. Good clarity. Pepper and nutmeg on the nose with overtones of wild flowers. Excellent fullness and concentration, producing superb mouthfeel.

2015 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Blanc. Pale. Great bouquet, an alluring complex of dense summer hay and white flowers. Good transparency and layering on a backdrop of classic Chassagne minerality. Great charm and easy balance. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay Vieilles Vignes. Soft glow of delicate rose petals and red fruits with a lovely floral fragrance. Medium-bodied, displaying very fine transparency and sleek acidity. Produced from 70 year-old vines.

2016 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay Maladiere 1er Rouge. Alluring rose petals and cherries. Medium-bodied. Delicate balance, showing very good refinement and acidity. Has a certain femininity and controlled power. Very fine.

2016 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay Clos de Tavannes Rouge. Red fruits and strawberries dominate with lovely feminine charm, displaying delicate balance and great acidity though less layered.

2017 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Meursault. Full bouquet of white floral tones, imbued with delicate flinty minerals and fine concentration of clear citrus on the palate. Good subtle intensity and transparency.  Quite excellent.

2017 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Meursault-Charmes 1er. Lovely delicate bouquet of wild flowers, grassy elements and nutmeg, all very subtle with understated power. Has a very natural unforced balance. Great refinement. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Meursault-Gouttes d’Or 1er. Pale. Powerful bouquet of complex yellow citrus and chalky minerals. Open with highly transparent textures that confer great delicacy.

2017 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Meursault-Poruzots 1er. Pale. Closed on the nose though the palate is taut with tight intensity of wild grass and complex citrus, showing clear definition and delineation. Good finish.

2017 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Corton Clos des Fietres Grand Cru. Clear and yellow citrus dominate with glowing charm on the nose though the open palate is distinctly more minerally, imbued with sleek acidity and some sweetness at the side. Very fine.

2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échezeaux Grand Cru. Good colour. Powerful bouquet of cherries, raspberries, red fruits and roses. Open on the palate, beautifully ripe and supple. Gently layered with excellent refinement on a charcoal floor amid traces of earth, structured with highly refined understated tannins. Finished well with fine linearity. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges. Great colour. Effusive bouquet of rose petals and red fruits, showing good purity with subtle power and intensity. Laced with very fine acidity but not overly taut. Open finish. Highly refined.

2018 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges. Effusive nose of rose petals. Considerably tighter and fuller, displaying superb balance and acidity. Structured with supple pliant tannins. Very lively. Persistent finish. Distinctly better than than the 2017. Great potential. Excellent.

2018 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos Des Porrets 1er monopole. Great colour. Powerful exuberance of ripe cherries, red fruits and currants. Excellent presence with sublime acidity. Structured with seamlessly integrated supple tannins, showing very good definition and refinement. Excellent.

2018 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er. Superb glow of delicious rose petals, cherries and strawberries, proffering a lovely perfumed fragrance. Open with refined suppleness, almost velvety, showing excellent depth and intensity of fruit with controlled power. Minerally finish. Excellent.

The beautiful Aurore Monot-Devillard of Château de Chamirey

2018 Château de Chamirey Mercurey La Mission 1er. Lifted effusive bouquet of nutmeg, wild grass and complex citrus, very inviting. Softly rounded with an easy charm, showing great clarity and transparency, finishing with traces of white pepper. Consistently good, but the unbeatable 2014 and 2017 score better on the palate.

2014 Château de Chamirey Mercurey Clos du Roi 1er. Dense powerful bouquet of sweet red fruits and glycerine. Medium-bodied, carrying very good concentration and acidity with open transparency and refined elegance.

2015 Château de Chamirey Mercurey Les Cinq 1er. A blend of the best five premier cru sites of Mercurey, hence its name. This wine opens with a sweet nose of glycerine, tightly structured with very good concentration and layering. Not at all overwhelming. Good refinement.

2018 Château de Chamirey Mercurey Les Cinq 1er. Great colour and clarity, exuding rose petals and raspberries with a hint of malt and rye. Imbued with great power though this wine is distinctly more restrained with a controlled intensity compared with the 2015. Highly refined delicate balance, finishing well.

2017 Domaine de la Ferte Givry. Effusive in red fruits and cherries with a forward easy balance, though somewhat thin on the palate.

2017 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé. Pale. Effusive in grassy elements, morning dew and clear citrus with overtones of raw nutmeg. Remarkably lithe and delicate with fine presence, poised with sleek refinement and great elegance. Good finish. Highly attractive.

2018 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé Aux Bouthieres. Great bouquet of complex fruit and lifted floral tones, highly detailed in spite of the dense aromas. Medium-full. Imbued with excellent concentration of fruit that seemed to impart oily textures with a white peppery glowing mouthfeel, very evenly toned with controlled power, displaying great balance and length. As good as the 2016, if not better. Excellent.

2018 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé En Bertilione. Dense full bouquet of white flowers and citrus, imbued with a delicate chalkiness amidst ample concentration of fruit, yielding fine definition and cutting acidity that seemed just a little sharp at the edges.

The Dean getting a pour from Stephen Follin-Arlebet

2017 Domaine du Château de Meursault Meursault Les Charmes Dessus 1er. Jeroboam. Mint, icing and white pepper dominate with good lift whilst the palate is imbued with a distinct salinity amid excellent presence of raw nutmeg and citrus, imparting great verve with superb racy tension, minerally depth and intensity. Excellent.

2017 Domaine du Château de Meursault Meursault-Perrières 1er. Lovely nose of saline minerals, white flowers and delicate chalk matched with excellent concentration and superb acidity that conferred taut tension and intensity. Highly exuberant and racy, finishing with great persistence. Excellent.

2017 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet Le Cailleret 1er. Cool refined aristocratic nose of complex white fruits, tangy citrus and grassy elements with a suggestion of depth, displaying very fine concentration of fruit with a distinct salinity, fullness, layering and depth that add up to a very correct sense of plumpness, revealing fine inner detail and great balance as it tapered to a lasting finish. A wine of impeccable pedigree which is, perhaps, not surprising as Le Cailleret directly abuts Montrachet Grand Cru along the same longitude (just separated by a small lane), and Montille’s plot is sited nearest.

2017 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey-les-Beaune. Red fruits dominate on the nose with a forward balance. Has good concentration, acidity and intensity but still very tightly wound. Not ready.

2017 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Corton Bressandes Grand Cru. Powerful layered bouquet of red fruits and summer hay. Open with intense concentration of fruit on a base of ferrous minerals, structured with pliant tannins.

2018 Domaine Bruno Clair Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru. Deep ruby. Open with lovely suppleness, displaying very fine concentration and intensity of fruit with sleek acidity. Slightly forward and exuberant though quite seamlessly integrated. Gentle finish.

2018 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Clos-Saint-Jacques 1er. Bright crimson, proffering a distilled essence of red fruits and cherries with superb purity. Open with highly refined concentration and intensity. Poised with supple elegance. Good integration but a tad short.

2018 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er. Red fruits and dark cherries dominate with fine concentration and taut acidity, brimming with bright intensity as it tapered to a linear finish.

2014 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Kok Hong. Pale. Restrained on the nose but the palate is imbued with fabulous concentration of white fruits and white floral tones, openly layered with excellent depth though rather understated in intensity. Superbly poised with refined elegance. Excellent.

1996 Domaine Robert Ampeau Puligny-Montrachet Les Combottes 1er, courtesy of Vic. Deep golden lustre. Very good concentration of citrus and white fruits, still laced with great acidity that ensured a lithe presence with remarkable freshness, poised with elegant complexity. Superb.

2009 Joseph Drouhin Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of David Tan. Rather full. Great concentration of citrus fruits showing a bit of early maturity that danced across the palate with lovely deftness on a velvety backdrop of chalky crème de la crème, exuding tremendous but controlled power. Still youthful. Excellent.

2014 Domaine Arnaud Ente Meursault. Closed. Delicate. Great presence of white fruits and chalky minerals poised with delicate balance, displaying great clarity and lift.

2010 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Pruliers 1er. Good colour, showing some early evolution. Great concentration of serious dark fruits and currants that convey wonderful verve and biting intensity against a backdrop of velvety textures, delightfully deft. Excellent.

2006 Domaine Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of LF. Jeroboam. Dark. Great presence of warm dark fruits and currants, showing excellent ripeness and great tension across the palate, yet rather lithe in spite of its fullness. Excellent.

2009 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, courtesy of David Tan. Dense warm bouquet of delicious red fruits, beautifully ripe with excellent concentration. Rounded and fleshy, imbued with a certain salinity, very seamlessly integrated. Superb.

2011 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint Georges 1er, courtesy of Kieron. Lovely abundance of cool dark fruits, ripe and rounded with excellent fullness and great acidity, deeply layered with subtle saline ferrous elements. Excellent.

2014 Domaine Pierre Damoy Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Tamisot, courtesy of Akhil. This over-achieving village exudes a distinct plumminess within an even tone of red fruits tinted with ferrous minerals. Structured but accommodating. Very fine.

1949 Domaine Chanson Beaune Clos des Mouche 1er. Beautiful bouquet, distinctly mature with a refined sweetness, imbued with velvety red fruits. Still amazingly fresh with superb sleek acidity. Receded a little after some time but still astonishingly present and alive, finishing well. Amazing!

2010 Domaine Meo Camuzet Vosne-Romanée, courtesy of Sanjay. Dark. Effusive in sweet red fruits and cherries on the nose though the fruit is surprisingly backward on the palate within a narrow spectrum, dominated more by sleek acidity and saline minerals.

2012 Domaine Michel Noellat Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er, courtesy of CHS. Dark. Sleek. Effusive in red cherries and mulberries, excellent in concentration with a youthful intensity though not the opulent sort.

1996 Domaine Trapet Père et Fils Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Robert. Dark. Excellent presence of sweet dark currants and tangerines, rounded with lovely depth. Delicious.

1998 Domaine Louis Jadot Corton Grand Cru, courtesy of Sandy. Magnum. General reductive tone of aged tangerines, apples and pears with an overall chalkiness though the fruit has receded far too much. Rustic and somewhat gruff.

2014 Domaine du Château de Meursault Pommard Clos des Epenots 1er. Jeroboam. Dark. Ripe wild berries and dark currants dominate with great concentration and striking acidity, conjuring up a finish of searing intensity. Far from ready.