La Paulée de Singapour 2023

After a three-year hiatus, the La Paulée de Singapour resumed with a vengeance on 03 February 2023 at the Sofitel Sentosa where it was really wonderful again to be able to meet in person all the wine-lovers and winemakers who have made the previous editions of the La Paulée so special. In spite of the persistent downpour, the French community turned out in force, as did the new French Ambassador, and it was really good to welcome again Gregory Gouges, Vincent Bouzereau, Aurore Devillard, Jacques Devauges and Édouard Delaunay to our shores. As usual, the evening began with an extensive promenade featuring mostly the yet-to-be-bottled 2021 wines while several producers had also made the special effort to offer back vintages in large format for tasting. Dinner got underway with a raucous start where the staff of the Sofitel outdid themselves with their exemplary service and cuisine, punctuated by several rounds of the obligatory ban burguignon along with other traditional Burgundian songs. I must say this edition of the La Paulée was the best in terms of camaraderie, food and social interaction. Christophe and his team from The Vintage Club, Singapore, are to be congratulated for such a successful evening. Interestingly, in spite of having tasted forty-five different wines that evening, I wasn’t at all hammered. In fact, I could have driven home (just kiddin’). My only gripe is that Sentosa isn’t exactly such a convenient location; so, please, may we move back to the City for the 2024 edition, or could we at least package the evening with a night’s stay at the Sofitel. Merci, Christophe!

2021 Château de Chamirey Mercurey La Mission 1er monopole. Highly perfumed with a certain floral waxiness on the nose. Medium-bodied. Lovely freshness of lemon citrus that exert subtle intensity with a very even presence, stretching with excellent length and linearity. Brilliant!

2021 Château de Chamirey Mercurey Clos du Roi 1er. Good colour. Attractive rosy fragrance with some elements of ash, very beautifully integrated. Medium-bodied. Subtly layered with ripe raspberries and darkish fruit, laced with refined acidity. Excellent freshness and balance.

2021 Domaine des Perdrix Vosne-Romanée. Red fruits with a hint of warm pebbles amid overtones of rye and malt. Somewhat lean but the fruit is there, well-balanced with keen tannins that exert refined acidity and subtle attack. Very fine.

2018 Domaine des Perdrix Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Aux Perdrix “Les 8 Ouvrées”. Poured from magnum. Deep ruby. Generously proportioned. Structured with clean sophisticated sweet tannins on an earthy base. Delicious.

2021 Domaine des Perdrix Échezeaux du Dessus Grand Cru. Restrained nose of raspberries and mulberries. Medium-bodied. Slightly darkish with a certain relaxed charm, displaying refined acidity and subtle attack, structured with smooth tannins that produce gentle bite. Elegant.

2017 Lucien Muzard et Fils Meursault Les Meix Chavaux. Fairly effusive in summer hay and floral characters. Nicely rounded and plump, layered with lovely freshness and refined acidity. Good balance.

2009 Francois d’Allaines Meursault Tête de Cuvée. Poured from magnum. Its relative pallor belies an ample floral bouquet with some mature characters. Still rather youthful and full, imbued with a high-toned acidity and clear citrus that impart incisive clarity and attack with plenty of verve. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Meursault Les Charmes 1er. Poured from magnum. Superb bouquet of detailed floral characters in spite of its marked pallor. The medium-bodied palate is laced with a distinct salinity, structured with lean precision and sublime acidity, layered with elegant citrus that tapered to a quiet finish. Excellent.

2020 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Meursault. Pale but beautifully perfumed. Rounded with a classic Meursault tone though that saline trait is, again, present on the medium-full palate without being distracting. Not as lean as the domaine’s Meursault Les Charmes 1er, yielding subtle detail and keen precision with elegant balance. Lovely.

2016 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er. Poured from magnum. Plump and rounded, producing good mouthfeel. Very cleanly refined with a gentle feminine stance. Correctly balanced with subtle shades, moving across with a bit of pick-up towards its finish. Quiet sophistication.

2021 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet. Pale. Grassy elements and summer bloom on the nose. Excellent concentration of lime and yellow citrus underpinned by great acidity. Very lively with lovely freshness and tensile presence. Shows good precision in spite of its plumpness, finishing with fine linearity.

2020 Domaine Comte Senard Corton Blanc Grand Cru. Lifted floral fragrance. Medium-full, imbued with robust fruit tinged with some nutmeg. Refreshing acidity. Good balance. Subdued finish.

2020 Domaine Comte Senard Corton Clos des Meix Grand Cru monopole. Good colour. Predominant red fruits tinged with some earthiness and match-stick smoke. Medium-full. Good clean presence and precision. Good balance.

1999 Domaine Comte Senard Corton Clos des Meix Grand Cru monopole. Poured from magnum. Still fairly deep in color with a bit of brownish core, exuding a lovely complex of predominant red fruits, iron ore, earth and sandalwood. Still rather fullish and youthful though some secondary characters are evident, yielding some inner detail of crushed fruit underscored with highly refined acidity. Still masculine though some mellowness has set in. Developing at a glacial pace.

2017 Domaine des Lambrays Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er. Poured from magnum. Intensely floral and effusive. Rounded and plump with good early complexity, layered with a deeper vein of fruit and minerals that impart the classic Puligny tone.

2021 Domaine des Lambrays Morey-Saint-Denis Les Loups 1er. Good colour, exuding an attractive rosy fragrance. Medium-full. Fairly opulent and rounded with great presence and refinement, layered with subtle intensity.

2021 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru. Good color. Delicious lift of rose petals and haw. Very well balanced with a rich but understated feminine elegance, gently structured with sweet intensity, just a tad more forward in fruit at the moment. Good length. Highly successful.

2006 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru. Poured from imperial! Good colour. Predominance of mature red fruits though still remarkably youthful and full, rounded with good intensity and refined inner detail. Underpinned by a gentle deeper vein of fruit and sublime acidity, finishing well. Excellent.

2021 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges La Perrière 1er. Highly aromatic in floral tones with a dash of varnish. Fairly full and rounded, layered with fine intensity of white fruits with a tinge of saline minerals. Moderate finish. This is the domaine’s unique pinot blanc (a mutated pinot noir), not chardonnay.

2021 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Porrets 1er monopole. Good color. Ample in ripe raspberries tinged with a complex of ash, ember and heated pebbles that produce superb mouthfeel. Very seamlessly integrated with refined presence and moderate intensity. Good finish. Highly successful.

2021 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Pruliers 1er. Good colour, proffering traces of match-stick smoke amid a bright rosy glow. Fairly full, crafted with highly refined tannins that impart delicious intensity. Unusually great sophistication for Les Pruliers.

2021 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges 1er. Deep ruby. Layered with rich rosy hues, cherries and red fruits. Medium-full. Structured with lean precision, displaying excellent balance between the fruit and sublime acidity, layered with subtle intensity. Superb.

2021 Hospices de Nuits Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges 1er Cuvée des Sires de Vergy, vinified by Maison Henri Gouges. Good colour. Similarly rosy on the nose though the palate is considerably leaner without the voluptuousness of the domaine’s Les Saint-Georges, displaying a sharp tannic attack.

2021 Édouard Delaunay Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er. Great colour. Red fruits and cherries on the nose, deliciously ripe. Quite full. More fruit forward, balanced by sublime acidity. Great refinement. Almost voluptuous. Édouard tells me the fruit comes from the middle of the plot.

2021 Édouard Delaunay Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Good colour. Fragrant rosy hues. Quite full. Excellent intensity and acidity. Superbly balanced with lovely mouthfeel, tapering to a controlled finish.

2021 Édouard Delaunay Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Good colour. Highly aromatic, leading to a palate of excellent depth and refined intensity, imbued with very good presence of ripe fruit laid on a subtle minerally floor. Moderate finish.

2019 Édouard Delaunay Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Poured from magnum. Good colour, proffering a restrained rosiness though the fullish palate is gorgeously ripe and rounded with excellent presence and purity of fruit.

2021 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er. Glowing presence of dominant red fruits with a forward teasing intensity that exert fine attack and acidity though the finish is rather quick.

2021 Domaine Bruno Clair Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru. Detailed nose of red fruits and haw. Medium-bodied. Quite seamlessly structured, layered with an ample spread of fruit with understated acidity though the finish is short. Surprisingly feminine.

2021 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru. Great colour. Effusive in red fruits that impart great presence on a subtle minerally base, blazing with elegant intensity. Highly successful.

1999 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er. Poured from magnum. Deep bouquet of red fruits, capsicum, varnish and spice. Medium-bodied. Generously layered with very good gentle presence of ripe raspberries, still holding up well with a moderate finish. Has that Gevrey signature.

2018 Château de Meursault Meursault Les Charmes-Dessus 1er. Poured from imperial. Pale. Warm hues from the plump ripeness of clear fruits and yellow citrus laid on a minerally base, showing very good refinement with early inner detail, framed by distant green fruits with a laidback chalkiness.

And at dinner…

2015 Domaine Jean Monnier et Fils Meursault Vieilles Vignes, courtesy of Nowfel Lieulliot. Pale golden. Attractive bouquet of summer bloom with a caramelised golden tone on the medium-bodied palate, layered with a dash of lychees.

2015 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er, courtesy of MH. Luminous gold. Highly aromatic, effusive in floral characters while the full palate is dominated by dense white tones underpinned by a high-toned acidity that exert sharp intensity.

2011 Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Kok Hong. Restrained white tones and cool icing on the nose. Medium-full, displaying a very clean profile with lean precision, imbued with some nutmeg and dry grassy elements. Fleshed out with sexy intensity and sublime acidity, yielding great inner detail. Beautifully balanced.

2011 Domaine de L’Arlot Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er, courtesy of LF. Good colour. Somewhat restrained on the nose though the full palate is amply endowed with intense red fruits and overtones of warm pebbles, its high-toned balance conferring freshness and energy. The maiden effort of Jacques Devauges, tasted in his presence.

2012 Domaine de L’Arlot Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er, courtesy of Vic. Good colour. Cherries and dark plums dominate with secondary characters of tea leaves. Equally ample as the 2011 in its ripe intensity of fruit though appreciably larger in proportion but it is quite impeccably balanced. Peaking beautifully. Tasted in the presence of its maker, Jacques Devauges.

2016 La Forge de Tart Morey-Saint-Denis 1er, a cuvée comprising three subplots of Clos de Tart Grand Cru replanted in 1999, 2005 and 2011, respectively. Great colour. Bright intensity of fresh red fruits and cherries, a little more forward but supported by excellent depth amid traces of white ash and incense, structured with understated tannins. This has fleshed out beautifully compared with another bottle tasted a year ago from the same case. Another brilliant effort from Jacques Devauges, tasted in his presence.

2017 Domaine Duroche Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois, courtesy of LF. Poured from magnum. Very deep ruby. Highly restrained on the nose but the palate is well extracted, displaying a superb depth of intense red fruits and currants. Gorgeously ripe and full, lit with bright red cherries and brilliant graphite.

2010 Domaine Amiot-Serville Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er, courtesy of Kien Kah. Some evolution is evident, its cool ripe fruit now tinged with a trace of earthiness. Beautifully balanced with fresh intensity.

2009 Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée, courtesy of CHS. Deep ruby. Great lift of velvety red fruits and currants. Medium-full. Beautifully structured with sublime acidity, exuding refined elegant intensity.

2018 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er, courtesy of Gregory Gouges. Clear ruby. Forward in fresh red fruits, cherries and dark currants. Generously proportioned with svelte tannins but deliciously balanced. Quite gorgeous.

2001 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Corton Clos Regnot Grand Cru, courtesy of Barrie. Some evolution is evident though the nose is still rather unyielding. Ample in maturing dark fruits and currants with a deeper core of tangerines, underpinned by vibrant high-toned acidity.

2014 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru. Deeply coloured. Hugely masculine, layered with ample depth of dark fruits and currants. Wonderfully fresh, structured with great precision. Still tannic.

1988 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Volnay Les Santenots 1er, courtesy of Vincent Bouzereau himself. Classic pinot tint. Mature rosy hues and sweet cedar on the nose. Distinctly autumnal though still retaining good levels of freshness and acidity.