2023 Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny, 2018 Henri Gouges NSG 1er La Perrière, 2019 Jean Chartron St-Aubin Dents de Chien 1996 Louis Jadot Clos St-Jacques

A gathering at Tonny on 23 September 2025, an unassuming restaurant tucked away in Lorong 3 Geylang, Singapore, that serves great food with a friendly BYO policy, really, as long as you bring your own stemware as well. Sir Bob opened the evening with two blinded reds that one could tell came from Comte Georges de Vogüé, except that we hadn’t expected one of them to be the latest bottling of its Musigny Grand Cru, proving that current burgundy wines are trending towards earlier drinkability, a far cry from the stentorian efforts of yesteryears that require upwards of at least twenty years before becoming approachable.

Champagne Krug Grande Année 170th Edition, courtesy of LF. Pale. Notes of fresh lime and pomelo dominate, displaying tensile presence within a sheen of very soft refined bubbles, imbued with traces of ferrous elements. Made mainly from 2014 as its base vintage.

2016 Laurent Ponsot Meursault-Charmes 1er Cuvée de la Centaurée. Dull golden, evoking tangy citrus amid cool glacial tones of crème de la crème. Cuts across the palate with fine precision from its crisp minerality, quite appropriately reductive at the edges as the layers fanout with lovely depth and measured intensity, developing a bit of waxiness over time. Ponsot’s independent production continues to polarise opinions, although I must say his whites are often compelling.

2013 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne, courtesy of Vic. Clear golden with an exciting profusion of yellow citrus. Very lively and supple, though there is a certain restrained intensity that produces lovely elegance and tension.

2018 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er La Perrière, courtesy of Kieron. Dull golden. This wine proffers a glazed tone with some waxiness within a cool rounded medium-weight palate, yielding refined clarity with some wet gravelly detail after an initial fleeting attack upon its entry. Came together well with aristocratic poise. One could tell it wasn’t quite chardonnay but this pinot blanc truly performs well above its station.

2019 Domaine Jean Chartron Saint-Aubin 1er Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, courtesy of Kieron. Clear golden. Medium-full. Crisp and superbly integral, where the sublime acidity doesn’t get in the way, displaying sophisticated detail with understated depth. A real gem.

1996 Domaine Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos Saint-Jacques, courtesy of LF. Deep crimson, proffering savoury overtones from its fleshy depth of mature fruit tinged with kumquat and tangerines, the acidity still fresh and lively through its minty length,laced with sweetish undertones.

2006 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er, courtesy of Sir Bob. Popped and poured. Some crimson, proffering secondary characters of mandarins and rosy haw amid overtones of velvet and forest floor. Fairly open though the fruit seems somewhat reluctant, allowing the slick acidity to dominate with refined supple tension. Made from youngish (below 25 years) vines of Musigny Grand Cru that are declassified to 1er.

2023 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, courtesy of Sir Bob. Popped and poured. Fairly deep in purple, this wine is highly aromatic in dark currants and raspberries with sweetish whiffs of crème de la crème, buzzing with vibrant intensity from the structured rasping tannins and refined acidity that produce terse tension although some degree of suppleness is already evident, laced with a dash of vanillin and savoury undertones. Superbly integrated and proportioned even at such an infantile stage. The modern style of Vogüé under Jean Lupatelli is poles apart from the sterner efforts of François Millet, much more accessible though the basic DNA of this great estate still comes through. Still, I’d prefer to drink these expensive grand crus when they are more appropriately mature.