La Paulée de Singapour 2024

The sixth edition of La Paulée de Singapour took place of 02 February 2024 at the newly-renovated Mandarin Oriental, Singapore. For once, we have an excellent venue with plenty of space for the walkabout tasting and for dinner with excellent food and service to match. It was a pity, therefore, that I had to be highly selective during the tasting promenade as only ninety minutes were allocated which was totally inadequate (from past experience, 150 minutes is the bare minimum), especially when there was so much good wine to explore, particularly as Vintage has secured the agencies of the excellent new domaines of Yvon Clerget and Fernand et Laurent Pillot. The pricing was also a lot steeper at SGD498 nett. In spite of that, the French community turned out in force, as did the French Ambassador, and it was really good to welcome again Grégory Gouges, Aurore Devillard and Jacques Devauges to our shores. The promenade featured the current release of 2022, which appears to be uniformly excellent; it is evident the winemakers have managed to come to grips with climate change, for all the wines seemed to be expertly crafted. Dinner got underway with a raucous start straightaway, punctuated by several rounds of the obligatory ban burguignon along with other traditional Burgundian songs. Christophe and his team are to be congratulated again for another successful edition. Nevertheless, something needs to be done to keep the pricing attractive. Apart from early bird registration and “Club” members, perhaps Christophe and his boys can consider packaging the La Paulée (at a special price) along with certain wine purchases (either existing stocks or en primeur). Merci!

2022 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges La Perrières 1er. Luminous light golden hue, proffering lovely floral aromatics with a trace of sweetness. Medium weight. Appropriately feminine in its rounded acidity and mild intensity. A great example of how good pinot blanc (not chardonnay!) can be, from its leading pioneer.

2022 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Porrets 1er monopole. Good colour. Very lovely aromas of fresh raspberries and cherries, carrying its fragrance all the way on to the sleek palate, structured with slightly dryish tannins entirely characteristic of Nuits-Saint-Georges. Highly integral.

2022 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Pruliers 1er. Good colour. Restrained fragrance of raspberries. Well-structured sophisticated tannins that impart plush supple intensity, laced with refined acidity, displaying fine clarity.

2022 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges 1er. Good colour. Seductive bouquet of ripe cherries and rose petals. Superbly agile with effortless grace. Very impeccably balanced and seamlessly integrated with understated acidity, showing great refinement, its tannins barely noticeable. Only its modest finish sets it apart from a grand cru, but this has real aristocratic breed.

2022 Domaine des Lambrays Morey-Saint-Denis. Restrained fragrance. Sleek medium presence, showing good definition and balance with modest proportions.

2022 Domaine des Lambrays Morey-Saint-Denis Clos Sorbe 1er. Good color. Unusual dryish overtones of post-rain wet gravel. Good concentration of raspberries and mulberries laced with ferrous elements, showing fine attack and intensity. Good balance. Sold decades ago, the domaine has re-acquired its former holdings in this plot.

2022 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru. Purplish tint of pinot. Highly perfumed bouquet of rosy fragrance. Very expertly crafted with subtly layers of fruit that produce fleshy verve, its imperceptible tannins imparting effortless grace and elegance. Impeccably balanced and proportioned. An aloof beauty at this stage, but likely to be legendary.

2022 Edouard Delaunay Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er. Good clarity. Transparent hues of summer hay and grassy elements. Cleanly structured with great acidity, imparting fine energy with a distinct note of nutmeg. Very successful.

2022 Edouard Delaunay Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Argillas 1er. Purplish pinot tint. Softly contoured. Effusive in perfumed fruit, showing clean fresh lively acidity without the usual dustiness of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

2022 Edouard Delaunay Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Good colour. Ripe raspberries and violets dominate with slick acidity, tightly coiled with controlled intensity within a sweet tannin structure. Excellent refinement. Glowing finish.

2022 Domaine Yvon Clerget Volnay Clos du Verseuil Monopole 1er. Good colour. Darkish fruit amid overtones of haw in a lovely glowing complex. Rather full and fleshy, very generously layered with sublime acidity, imparting refined verve. Well balanced. Highly successful.

2022 Domaine Yvon Clerget Pommard Les Rugiens 1er. Good colour. Lovely aromatics. Medium weight, displaying fine concentration of fruit underpinned by slick acidity, imparting a teasing intensity.

2022 Domaine Yvon Clerget Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru. Good colour. Exudes an effusive fragrance matched by a fullish energetic palate dressed in smooth tannins and sublime acidity, poised with excellent refinement and elegance. Great balance. A superb effort.

2022 Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Grandes Ruchottes 1er. Pale. Effusive bouquet of yellow citrus and olives amid chalky tones, leading to a cool ripe medium palate laced with understated acidity, yielding fine inner detail with a further note of nutmeg.

2022 Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Vide Bourse 1er. This is the real discovery of the evening. Displaying luminous golden hues with morning dew and subtle grassy elements, the palate is imbued with a glorious complex of white fruits that exude superb detail with an oily density. Wonderfully lifted with excellent verve all the way to its persistent glowing finish with unprecedented sophistication and pedigree. But it may not be too surprising, given that Vide Bourse directly abuts Bâtard-Montrachet on the eastern side.

2022 Domaine Bruno Clair Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru. Deep purple. Rather bold presence of ripe raspberries, well extracted at the right level that impart ample fleshy layers of darkish fruit with lush velvety textures. Well integrated and energetic without undue exuberance.

2022 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru. Good colour. Prunes and raspberries dominate with a focused concentrated intensity without overwhelming the palate which remains seamlessly integrated with harmonious tannins and sublime acidity, displaying elegant verve and power. Good finish. Highly successful.

2022 Château de Chamirey Mercurey La Mission 1er. Luminous. This excellent monopole opens with attractive notes of grassy elements and summer hay tinged with a dash of salinity and nutmeg whilst the medium-full palate boasts lovely density of ethereal fruit laced with sublime acidity, imparting refreshing zest and layered detail. Modest finish. Probably just half a step behind the legendary 2014 and 2017. Truly made for those who know; not for label drinkers.

And at dinner…

Vincent Bouzereau Crémant de Bourgogne. Pale. Refreshing density of mixed citrus that exert a full-bodied intensity of fruit and minerally elements in equal measure. Very good.

2017 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d’Orveaux 1er. Good colour. Restrained bouquet of predominant red fruits. Open and slightly forwardly with lean supple definition though its balance and refinement are beyond reproach, structured with pliant tannins. Fleshed out with greater weight and intensity over time, but it remained distinctly feminine.

2014 Domaine de L’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Forets 1er, courtesy of Vic. Darkish colour and tone from the glorious abundance of raspberries and mulberries, concentrated with focused acidity and intensity. Settled down with a cool refined elegance. Excellent. Tasted in the presence of its winemaker, Jacques Devauges.

2020 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet, courtesy of Andrew Coop. Pale. Resolutely shut on the nose though the fullish palate is generously endowed in white fruits and citrus, wonderfully ripe with refined intensity, eventually settling down with relaxed charm amid cool glacial tones.

2018 Château de Meursault Meursault Charmes-Dessus 1er. Poured from jeroboam. Pale. Lifted in delicate citrus, seamlessly layered with a cool ripeness and understated chalkiness that impart some restraint.

2018 Domaine des Lambrays Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er. Poured from magnum, courtesy of Jacques Devauges. Pale. White fruits and nutmeg on the nose amid classic overtones of Puligny chalkiness, carrying well onto the dryish palate with further notes of tropical fruit underpinned by a dash of salinity. Structured with fine clarity.

2018 Domaine Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chaumes 1er, courtesy of Douglas Doherty. Lovely luminosity. Excellent presence of delicate white fruits that exert mild intensity with a dash of nutmeg. Rounded with understated verve, showing some early complexity.

2014 Jean-Marie Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny Aux Echanges 1er, courtesy of Weida. Surprisingly shy with considerable restraint though the medium palate is open with cool darkish fruit. Good balance.

2019 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges 1er, courtesy of Grégory Gouges. Poured from magnum. Darkish pinot tint. Full presence of raspberries and dark cherries, highly aromatic, structured with superb acidity and exciting tannins without losing control of its impeccable proportion and balance. Finished well. Very lovely.

2008 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru, courtesy of Jacques Devauges. Poured from jeroboam. Lovely pinot pint. Early secondary characters are evident amid raspberries and mulberries, structured with fine tannins that impart lovely svelte intensity. Very well balanced, finishing with just a hint of rusticity.

2017 Domaine Chandon Beaune Clos des Fèves 1er monopole. Good extraction. Balanced with a cool ripeness of fruit, displaying modest intensity.

2018 Château de Chamirey Mercurey 1er Les Cinq. Darkish pinot tint. Darkish fruit dominate with a peculiar note of burnt ends on the nose. Medium-full with a focused intensity of ample raspberries and mulberries, underpinned with lovely acidity.

2015 Château de Chamirey Mercurey 1er Les Cinq. Good extraction of darkish fruit, displaying lean definition with very fine acidity and detailed tannin structure. Drinking well.

2017 Remoissenet Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin. Good colour. Darkish characters dominate with a dash of salinity. Rather full and energetic. Good balance

2009 Domaine Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er, courtesy of Cheryl. Good colour. Nose of overnight rain and wet gravel. Fullish presence of raspberries and dark fruits, structured with refined tannins and acidity, developing early secondary characteristics.