2011 Robert Groffier Les Amoureuses 1er 2000 Comte de Vogüé Les Amoureuses 1er 2011 Taupenot-Merme Combe d’Orveaux 1er 2001 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru 2010 Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2013 Olivier Bernstein Bonnes-Mares

An evening of Chambolle on 08 October 2024 at Imperial Treasure Great World while the whites all turned out to be Puligny. All tasted blind.

2006 Champagne Dom Pérignon P2, courtesy of CJ. Pale greenish. Distant green fruits and fig on the nose, matching beautifully the intense fresh citrus layered with mint and creamy overtones, structured with supple crystalline clarity and fine precision. Developed an even drier intensity over time, tinged with a splash of austere minerals.

2017 Champagne Leclerc Briant Abyss, courtesy of LF. This is a most unusual champagne, deliberately aged in seawater at a depth of 60 metres where the water pressure is believed to shape the bubbles more evenly. Indeed, there were barnacles stuck to the bottle. If anything at all, this wine does really open with an attractive gentle yeastiness, rounded with a suggestion of lovely depth although it doesn’t quite deliver on that promise, displaying instead a focused intensity of supple white tones structured with superb precision, finishing with a hint of malt at finish.

2020 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet. Pale luminosity, exuding glacial tones and cool icing that went well with its smooth sleek oily density. Fleshed out with lovely weight and a layered chalkiness with overtones of nutmeg, stretching out with glowing intensity.

2004 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Pucelles, courtesy of Sir Bob. Luminous gold, opening with a distinct note of mature chalkiness on the nose. The medium palate is, surprisingly, lithe with light textures where the fruit is clearly receding, giving way to a dominant acidity that exert fleeting presence.

2010 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Luminous gold, opening with certain restraint, proffering a hint of diesel. Much more inviting on the medium-full palate, open with sleek integration, highly supple and cohesive, imparting fine precision and tensile presence with an undertow of nutmeg and rye. Finished well. Still youthful, but its breed and sophistication are palpable.

2009 Domaine Jean Grivot Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d’Orveax, courtesy of LF. Displaying a brownish opaque crimson, this village (not to be confused with its premier cru counterpart some distance away) proffers a lovely lift of red fruits tinged with malt and a hint of stems. Beautifully focused with a distilled intensity and fine linearity throughout its supple length. Delicious. Goes to show what a really good producer can do.

2011 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Chambolle-Musigny 1er La Combe d’Orveau. Opaque crimson. Rather restrained on the nose though the fullish palate is amply lit with a subtle depth of bright red fruits on a bed of svelte sweet tannins, beautifully integrated and balanced, imbued with refined verve and understated intensity. Modest finish. Part of this premier cru has been absorbed by Les Petits Musigny Grand Cru.

2000 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Amoureuses, courtesy of CJ. Displaying a bright crimson, this wine was distinctly tainted. After immersing a piece of cellophane in the glass for about ten minutes, the cork taint was gone, revealing a feminine rosy fragrance with overtones of tangerines and haw. Still reasonably fresh and fleshy, imbued with layers of maturing fruit though it lacks the additional dimension of a really memorable Amoureuses. Perhaps another bottle in better condition may well be different.

2013 Olivier Bernstein Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Good colour. Cherries, strawberries and red fruits dominate on the nose, exuding elegant fragrance. The medium palate is seamlessly integrated, brightly lit with youthful character amid overtones of haw, imbued with understated tension.

2011 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Amoureuses, courtesy of KG. Opaque crimson, evoking characters of early maturity that belie the generous concentration of red fruits that impart focused intensity on the evenly proportioned palate, just into its secondary development where its distilled essence is beginning to emerge with greater inner definition. Superb!

2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Opaque crimson. Opening with lifted rosy hues that leapt out of the glass, this wine is wonderfully lush and opulent in its layered depth and supple intensity, the richness adding further dimension to its inherent authority, stamping the palate with aristocratic pedigree. Outstanding.