Ric's Wine Journal

In spite of numerous superstar estates in Burgundy already well-known to wine lovers, there are still a number of domaines that function quietly below the radar, so to speak, but whose wines can easily match up to any of the best. Domaine Ghislaine Barthod is one of these. When we arrived on the morning of 24 October 2018 amongst the hills of Chambolle, we were warmly welcomed by Madame Ghislaine Barthod herself. She wore a worried look though, as she feared her German hunting dog (I call it a hound) may have slipped out through the open gate. But all was well when the hound was found, and Mme. Barthod happily led us down to its spotlessly clean cellars for a tasting of its 2017 reds.

Ghislaine Barthod

Founded in the 1920s, this estate was formerly a joint-venture between the Barthod and Noellat families. Its wines began to be noticed in the 1950s outside of Burgundy when Mme Ghislaine’s father Gaston took over control of the entire domaine and quality improved. The baton was passed over to Mme Ghislaine in 1987 and, soon after, the domaine took after her name. Focusing entirely on Chambolle-Musigny, I found the wines to be richly layered, delicious, rounded and feminine, not in any sense flabby or weak, but highly elegant and poised with lovely depth. Perhaps unknown to many, the wines of many well-known estates nowadays are made by women, and I find that these wines tend to reflect, either unwittingly or by design, distinct feminine tones. At the end of the barrel tasting, Mme Ghislaine – friendly, charming, highly knowledgeable and efficient-looking – popped another two back-vintage bottles that further affirmed the outstanding quality of this domaine. There may not be any grand crus in its portfolio but who needs them when its premier crus are so good? This is truly a superb address. Bravo et merci beaucoup Madame Ghislaine!

2016 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Bourgogne rouge. Popped and poured. Deeply aromatic, recalling ripe red fruits, dark cherries with early nuances of cedar. Great concentration and fullness, very well layered with a deeper vein of fruit. Rounded, showing good sophistication. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny. Glorious color. Delicious red fruits and dark currants on the nose, displaying great presence and acidity. Well structured svelte finely grained tannins. Good finish.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Beaux Bruns 1er. Beautiful deep ruby. Lifted aromas of dark roses and dark cherries with earthy tones. Rather full. Fleshy and rounded, showing good minerally presence and inner detail. Well layered with subtle sweet tannins that are very well managed, finishing well. Delicious.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes 1er. Great color. Delicious dark roses, cherries and dark plums dominate amidst gentle sweet red fruits, well set against gentle saline minerals on the palate, displaying excellent presence with understated acidity and structure, finishing well. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers 1er. Deeply aromatic with characters of raisins, dark currants, dark cherries, cedar and dark plums. Dominant minerally tone on the palate, very well integrated with very fine acidity and tannins, well layered with excellent balance that culminated in a soft gentle finish. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 1er. Deep lifted aromas of dark cherries, raspberries and mulberries, highly perfumed. Racy in character, displaying very fine concentration and presence with velvety sexy tannins that imparted a certain feminine intensity. Very lovely.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Veroilles 1er. Superb deep ruby. Ample bouquet of mulberries, dark cherries and dark roses of great purity. Full-bodied, glowing with great power and luxurious velvety tones tinged with a bit of savoury note, displaying deep intensity of dark fruits, finishing with gentle sweet tannins. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er. Glorious colour, exuding a great rosy fragrance. Open with a gentle minerally tone. Soft, rounded and fleshy, displaying gentle depth. Very lovely balance. Good finish.

2011 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 1er. Popped and poured. Deeply aromatic with a lovely lifted fragrance of abundant dark fruits, currants and dark plums. Open, rounded, soft and fleshy. Very lively in its focused acidity and intensity, finishing with good linearity. Excellent.

Another pairing of Roumier and Mugnier within the same week for EUR300, this time on Chambolle-Musigny village off the list of La Cabotte in Nuits-Saints-Georges on the evening of 26 October 2018. As the vintages were dissimilar, both were drunk open label.

2013 Domaine Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny. Dark deep colour. Deeply aromatic, exuding delicious dark cherries and dark currants. Medium-bodied and fleshy right off the blocks, displaying superb acidity and excellent presence. Quite seamless, developing a more intense minerally tone after an hour, finishing with good length albeit with a trace of glare. Doesn’t quite possess the deep lush opulence usually associated with this famous domaine, probably a function of the difficult vintage.

2015 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny. Equally dark, the Mugnier sported a sharper masculine profile from the first pour with a distinct minerally tone over dark fruits, dark currants and traces of red cherries on the firm palate, structured with dark tannins, slightly sweet. It opened very well after more than an hour, more fleshy and balanced, displaying excellent resolution at the finish, fleshing out with great open intensity. Excellent.

We had the distinct privilege of visiting one of the kings of Puligny, the Domaine Etienne Sauzet, on 24 October 2018 where we were welcomed by Benoit Riffault (married to Emilie Boudot, grand-daughter of Etienne himself who passed on in 1975) who takes charge of the winemaking there. Occupying only 10 hectares of vines scattered throughout Puligny with some additional buy-in grapes (but this has reduced significantly as the domaine has expanded its direct holdings), Etienne Sauzet is highly sought after for its delicacy, power, elegance and precision, a recurring theme as Benoit took us through an extensive line-up of its portfolio, culminating generously in Montrachet Grand Cru. Deploying about a third of new oak for its premier cru and slightly more for grand cru, production has been entirely biodynamic since 2010. I was mightily impressed by the 2017 whites, an outstanding vintage to rival the whites of 2014. In fact, Benoit summed it up succinctly, saying that 2017 is an amalgam of 2010, 2012 and 2014, wines that carry superb ripeness, acidity and structure. Merci Benoit, for your time and generosity.

2017 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Bourgogne Blanc. Beautiful full bouquet of white citrus and dense minerals with traces of grassy elements. Deft and lively in spite of its full body, teasing the palate with its fine acidity and fleeting intensity, imparting great freshness. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet. Blend of 12 village plots. Classic nose of gravel minerals, grassy elements and nutmeg. Lovely fullness and vigour, yet poised with delicate crisp acidity. Cleanly focused, displaying good depth and understated intensity, finishing well.

2017 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er. Slightly forward bouquet of white fruits though more minerally on the palate with traces of white pepper. Rounded with excellent texture and mouthfeel. Fine elegance.

2017 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Hameau du Blagny 1er. Crisp clean nose of white fruits and fig, nicely lifted. Highly supple and seamless with great purity of fruit, caressing the palate with luxurious oily textures amidst understated intensity. Very lovely.

2017 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er. Apricot, peaches and pears dominate on the nose though the palate is infinitely more minerally. Gentle in depth, displaying good density of fruit with crisp acidity, very cleanly focused, finishing well.

2017 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Perrières 1er. Highly effusive in intense yellow citrus. Highly supple and deft, displaying superb balance between fruit and minerals, rather understated in intensity with traces of earth. Very well integrated, transgressing the palate with great linearity and cohesion. I like it.

2017 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Champ Canet 1er. Good intensity of honeysuckle and fig on the nose, producing lovely aromatic lift. Beautiful minerally palate, quite full, poised with quiet intensity and acidity. Drinking very well.

2017 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er. Wonderful rich bouquet of creamy chalkiness and understated minerals. Rather full-bodied. More forward with more density but the balance is immaculate, beautifully proportioned with delicate yellow fruits. Wonderfully textured, rounded and poised, finishing with lasting persistence. Gorgeous.

2017 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru. Highly refined and poised on the nose. Medium-full. Open and rounded with quiet elegance and sheer refinement, displaying plenty of quiet charm, ease and understatement. Regal, befitting its status.

2017 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet Grand Cru. Nicely layered with gentle yellow fruit and minerals on the nose with a quiet lift. Very rounded and smooth on the palate, displaying great detail and definition throughout with a lovely deeper vein of minerality that was very seamlessly integrated. Resplendent with an ethereal feel. Flows through palate entirely as an absolute entity, never out of place, finishing with lasting persistence. Superb.

2017 Etienne Sauzet Montrachet Grand Cru

The mere mention of Domaine Coche-Dury is enough to make even the most seasoned wine lover salivate. But how about a visit to this Holy Grail of Meursault? Established in the 1920s, this famous domaine really came into its own when Jean-Francois Coche took over from his father Georges in 1973, adding his wife’s family name of Dury to the wine. Nowadays, his son Raphael Coche, a good-looking tall slim energetic young man, has taken over the reins since the turn of the century, and it was Raphael who welcomed us to the cellars of this modest and unassuming estate at 6.00 PM on 23 October 2018 to taste through a selected line-up of its whites. Through a combination of blessed terroir and expert viticultural craftsmanship, the wines of Coche-Dury are synonymous with supreme power, elegance, exquisite intensity and delicacy. Indeed, throughout the tasting, I found myself reaching for the same superlatives. Such is the level of precision in the winemaking that even within its stable of Meursault wines of individual village lieu-dit, one is able to appreciate significant differences in character. If its bourgogne blanc alone is already capable of raising the bar to great heights, you can barely imagine the exalted standards of its other whites. Speaking only French (and he detests any photography during tasting, preferring that we concentrate fully on the wines), Raphael took us through the barrel tasting in quick time. After sending  us into orgasmic throes, Raphael generously fished out a mature bottle of red to round off the evening (one must not forget Coche-Dury makes splendid reds as well). A very big merci beaucoup Raphael, for your time and for granting us this unforgettable privilege.

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Bourgogne. Striking bouquet of intense white fruits and citrus. Excellent in concentration and presence, revealing great definition, detail and layering that is totally unprecedented for a bourgogne, finishing with great linearity. What is bourgogne for Coche-Dury is really grand cru for many others.

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault. Reticent. Slightly reductive on the palate but this wine is immensely structured with great concentration of fruit, definition and detail, absolutely compelling in its controlled intensity and sublime acidity that conferred superb mouthfeel, finishing with great power and persistence. Gorgeous.

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault Narvaux. Great expression and purity of white fruits and citrus, rounded with superb mouthfeel, displaying exquisite intensity, detail and layering with absolute freshness enhanced by its slightly forward balance, finishing with traces of incense. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault Rougeots. Reserved tone of white fruits, revealing a lovely elegance in its poised unfettered expression aided by sublime acidity and seamless integration with a solid core of intense white citrus, finishing well.

2017 Domaine Coche-DuryMeursault Les Chevalieres. Rich creamy tonal textures on the nose matched by an equally magnificent minerally tone on the palate, displaying superb balance and sublime acidity, finishing with understated intensity. Yet to fully flesh out but its powerful lifted bouquet is truly mesmerising.

Raphael Coche

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault Les Caillerets 1er. Lifted tones of white floral fragrance and white fruits. Quite full on the palate, displaying great balance and elegance with a deeper understated intensity of fruit that is superbly integrated with sublime minerality and quiet acidity, finishing with a persistent minerally glow. Superb.

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault Genevrieres 1er. Intense white fruits with a lovely floral fragrance leading to a superb concentration of complex citrus and almonds. Beautifully layered with so much richness and tight detail, yet supremely elegant and integrated, displaying great refinement and controlled power. Outstanding.

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres 1er. Complex bouquet of intense citrus, nutmeg and white pepper. Rather full. Great concentration of fruit with superb sublime acidity, displaying great precision and refined intensity. Supreme purity and expression. Magical!

2017 Domaine Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru. Highly exuberant nose of rounded white fruits and floral tones with a dash of white pepper. Wonderfully layered with superb balance, precision and sophistication though rather understated in intensity. Seamlessly coherent with supreme power and confidence. Everything is present in great proportion and balance as a single entity such that you cannot pick out any individual strand. Little wonder that this wine fetches astronomical prices. C’est magnifique !

1999 Domaine Coche-Dury Auxey-Duresses. Still superb in colour, this red exuded a complex kaleidoscope of cedar, cinnamon, sweet incense, ripe cherries and rose petals on the nose, superbly seductive. The palate is layered with great definition of complex red fruits with a generous ample bloom, yet gentle and open and supremely integrated with nothing out of place. A splendid expression of pinot noir. Magnificent.

Over lunch at Bistrot du Bord de l’Eau at Levenois, outside Beaune, on 22 October 2018, we spotted this pair of village wines from the same vintage, allowing us to compare the efforts of the top two of the very best producers in Meursault, reasonably priced at EUR370 in total from the restaurant. Both were popped and poured and tasted simultaneously.

Coche-Dury (left) and Roulot

The 2015 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault displayed a glorious luminous gold, stamping its class with a dense effusive bouquet of intense oily citrus laced with traces of gun smoke while the palate is textured with chiselled chalky minerals amidst a tight immense concentration of white fruits and yellow citrus that eventually loosened up with expansive breadth, depth and layering, yet maintaining a superb sense of refinement and sophistication in spite of so much verve and vigour. Truly outstanding.

In contrast, the 2015 Domaine Roulot Meursault Luchets was equally luminous though more open right from the start, exuding a deep intense bouquet of delicate citrus that shone through a palate of dense minerals, excellent in concentration of white fruits and yellow citrus that teased the palate with fleeting deftness at the beginning, singing with refined intensity and controlled power as it developed further weight and richness, yet never heavy as it finished with lingering persistence. A supreme example of delicate elegance at its most sublime. Outstanding.

To all wine lovers, Domaine Armand Rousseau truly needs no introduction. Producing wines of power, elegance and great finesse that charm and captivate the senses immeasurably, demand for these reds far outstrips supply with prices to match. The domaine first began operations at the turn of the 20th century and has expanded over the decades through further acquisitions with holdings now totalling about 14 hectares, centered predominantly around Gevrey Chambertin. The domaine is still located at the original site where Armand first started, and it was at this same address where we were warmly welcomed by Eric Rousseau, grandson of Armand, on the morning of 23 October 2018. Genial and unassuming, Eric nowadays prefers to hand most of the running of the estate to his daughter Cyrielle Rousseau who took us down to its cellars where the 2017 and the freshly harvested 2018 are sitting in barrel. If my impression of the 2017s that we tasted is any indication, wine lovers can be assured the great style and heritage of this famous domaine still continues unchanged in superb hands. The 2017s of Domaine Armand Rousseau are already outstanding even straight from barrel. Truly, every wine speaks of its terroir in uncomplicated terms, capturing beautifully the very essence of Burgundy. I must really thank Cyrielle and Eric for taking time to entertain our intrusion into their busy lives, and for continuing the family tradition so well so that we may enjoy the results of their efforts.

Eric Rousseau

Cyrielle Rousseau

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Clos du Chateau. Charming gentle bouquet. Rounded with lovely acidity and presence amidst saline minerals.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin. Aromatic red fruits, exuding delicious fragrance with a hint of gunsmoke. Fullish presence. Lovely concentration amidst understated acidity. Very correct in its Burgundian character.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Lavaux St Jacques 1er. Clear gentle purple, exuding an arresting rosy fragrance. Quite full. Superb presence and concentration of luscious red fruits underscored by dark currants with fine detail, displaying great balance between fruit and minerals, finishing with highly sophisticated tannins. Outstanding.

2017 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er. A trace of woody element is evident amongst the expanse of dark fruits. Medium-bodied and fleshy, rather gentle in depth and layering with good concentration of fruit on a bed of mild earthy tones. Very fine.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Reticent but most alluring on the palate where notes of raspberries and mulberries dominate, carrying good weight and verve with very finely-grained exciting tannins though understated in structure.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru. Glorious color, exuding abundant ripe red fruits and dark currants with a hint of chocolate. Fullish in tone, structured with svelte tannins, displaying superb layering, balance and great acidity, finishing with great persistence.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche Grand Cru. Gentle fragrance of ripe raspberries and dark currants on the nose, while the medium-bodied palate is dominated by saline minerals supported by red fruits. Highly supple and seamless.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Understated red fruits and dark currants lead to a supremely elegant palate that displayed great coherence of immense fruit, acidity and minerality. Superbly balanced. Utterly seamless with understated power, finishing with superb linearity. Glorious.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Clos St Jacques 1er. Absolutely beautiful on the nose, exuding a beguiling sense of dense red fruits and deep currants with early complexity that was most captivating, matched by a beautifully layered palate. Rounded, fleshy and utterly seamless, displaying rich elegance and purity. A complete wine. Outstanding.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru. This is a wine of supreme elegance in every dimension, glowing with an arresting bouquet of ripe rose petals and wonderfully ripe and delicious complex red fruits that imparted amazing brilliance on the full palate. Open with sublime acidity and intensity. Utterly seamless and whole, saturating the palate in lush sensuous mouthfeel, finishing with great power amidst velvety tones that lingered with great persistence. Absolutely wonderful. I cannot imagine it being any better.

2017 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos des Beze Grand Cru. This wine opens with the lovely fragrance of bright red fruits that conferred superb concentration and fullness on the juicy palate, open with very fine intensity and acidity, yet understated in structure. Like all the very best top cru, this wine doesn’t call attention to itself. Excellent.

Cyrielle Rousseau

Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg was established in the 1930s, managed initially by Georges Mugneret who was an ophthalmologist with an equal passion in wine-making. He was succeeded by his daughters Marie-Christine and Marie-Andree, and it was the latter who greeted us warmly when we knocked on the doors of this estate in Vosne-Romanee on the morning of 22 October 2018. Marie-Andree still remembered my first meeting with her last December at the Palais des Grands Cru in Paris where I’d sat at her table. The wines of Mugneret-Gibourg hail from various holdings in Vosne-Romanee and Nuits-Saints-Georges totalling some 8 hectares, mostly de-stemmed during vinification. Made by an all-female team all from within the family from her generation onwards, one cannot help but notice that the wines tend to share common traits of feminine expression: wines of great purity, charm, and graceful elegance, well-proportioned with understated power and intensity. For reasons unclear, the wines of Mugneret-Gibourg still tend to remain under the radar. But from the quality that I’d come across in the past, and now further affirmed by the 2017 horizontal tasting in its cellars today, I’d say its time has come and this is where the smart money should be. My sincere thanks to Marie-Andree for her generosity and lovely hospitality.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Bourgogne. Beautiful dark color. Delicious aromas dark currants and dark cherries, well replicated on the medium-bodied palate with an earthy floor. Good acidity with darkish tones. Very well integrated, just a tad straightforward.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Vosne-Romanee. Aged in 50% new oak, this wine shows a lovely dark ruby that promised dark fruits, dark cherries and currants, delivering with excellent presence and definition with excellent acidity, carrying good weight. Quite seamless, finishing with good mouthfeel, just a little short.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits-Saint-Georges Au Bas de Combe. This village is also displays a lovely ruby with a keen bouquet of ripe raspberries, revealing soft dark plums on the seamless palate that imparted gentle elegance and fine acidity. Beautiful. Only 3-4 barrels.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits-Saints-Georges Aux Chaignots 1er. More earthy with a distinct oaky note. Good presence of dark fruits with recessed earthy minerals. Medium-bodied. Elegant but a little reserved. Compared with the Au Bas de Combe, this appears to struggle a little to express the fruit.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle-Musigny Les Fusselottes 1er. A bit shy on the nose though the abundance of ripe dark currants beneath is unmistakable, imparting lovely concentration, acidity and freshness with understated intensity, finishing well.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux Grand Cru. Deep color. Shy but promises plenty of ripe dark fruits and currants, displaying excellent purity and ease.  Well layered with great suppleness, utterly seamless with plenty of lovely acidity, finishing with good linearity. A classic expression of Vosne-Romanee though distinctly feminine. Very charming. Vinified with 15% whole bunches. I really love this.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru. Beautiful purple. Beguiling bouquet of dark roses and ripe raspberries. Highly supple. Very fine presence with a dash of earthiness underscored by subtle acidity and intensity though I thought there was just a trace of green elements.

2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Good color, imbued with ripe raspberries, dark currants and earthy tones on a minerally bed, displaying supple acidity and fine presence. Rounded, soft and fleshy.

Marie-Andree Mugneret

If you have walked around the village of Chambolle, you couldn’t have failed to notice signs indicating a restaurant with the same name. Le Chambolle, like most restaurants in Burgundy, is a small cosy setting efficiently run by just one person on the floor, serving great food with a relatively small but distinguished wine list to match. Here, on the evening of 21 October 2018, we spotted the 2011 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru of two great domaines that cost less than retail prices. We had them popped and poured and tasted side-by-side simultaneously in blinded fashion.

2011 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, at €460. Correct pinot tint. Presented initially with just a hint of saline minerals on the nose along with raspberries and traces of dark cherries. Somewhat reserved. On the palate, the wine was tight and clean; displaying good focus and concentration with fine acidity and tension though there was a trace of minerally glare. It fleshed out better over time, closing the gap to the Roumier with more weight and intensity, exuding a lovely rosy fragrance but it still seemed a little distant.

2011 Domaine George Roumier Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, €550. Considerably richer in color, which gave away its identity right from the outset, this wine was similarly reticent at first, hinting only at rich ripe dark cherries before taking its time to seduce with more sensual aromatics while the palate is awashed in lush opulence on a bed of plush velvety tones, drawing fine tension, very well layered with fine depth, detail and concentration. Not entirely seamless but everything really gels so well such that one isn’t drawn to its fruit intensity, structure, minerality or acidity. Everything is there in the subconscious, beautifully proportioned with palpable power and supreme elegance. That is the magical draw of Roumier.

Shortly after our highly successful Cros Parantoux dinner, the same group led by Dr Ngoi set the bar even higher: an entire line-up of Musigny Grand Cru specifically 2005 or older, no less, on the evening of 10 October 2018. While Chambertin Grand Cru is relatively abundant, Musigny Grand Cru, totaling only 10.3 hectares, is much harder to come by. However, with CHS offering to buy dinner and the staff of Otto Ristorante upping their ante with a superbly executed white truffle menu, we could not refuse. Tasting ten different vintages stretching from 1990 to 2005 from six different producers (there are altogether eleven owners of vines in Musigny Grand Cru), this line-up will certainly take some beating. Certainly, most of the terroir characteristics from this hallowed plot came through: these are deeply-coloured crimson reds that promise a generous expanse of ripe red fruits, cherries and raspberries with a most sensual silky mouthfeel on a bed of earthy tones, bringing back fond memories of our wonderful trip last November when we parked our van right at the spot dividing Les Petits Musigny from Les Musigny. Even though Comte Georges de Vogüé occupies the lion’s share of Musigny (almost 7.2 ha), six of the ten vintages this evening came from other producers. My sincere thanks to everyone for their generosity and effort, especially to CHS and to LF for his insightful pre-dinner lecture on Musigny.

Les Petits Musigny on the left, Les Musigny on the right.

Les Petits Musigny (right), diagonally across from Chateau du Clos de Vougeot.

Champagne Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV, from the restaurant list. Lightly toasted on the nose with some yeasty pungency while white fruits and  peaches dominate on the palate. Rounded with good definition, covered with a lovely expanse of very soft gentle bubbles. Would be better if it had more time. Very fine.

2005 Maison Joseph Drouhin Musigny Grand Cru (0.672 ha), courtesy of LF. This wine exudes glorious rose petals and red cherries, nicely ripe and feminine. Medium-bodied and open, displaying plenty of grace, balance and proportion particularly in its seamless integration and subtle acidity. A showcase in peerless elegance with a suggestion of veiled power. As always with Drouhin, its wines are very correct in every way in terms of colour, expression and mouthfeel. Absolutely lovely. Tended to fade when compared with some of the heavier examples of Musigny later in the line-up but I felt the Drouhin is outstanding in its own right.

2005 Domaine Louis Jadot Musigny Grand Cru (0.1665 ha), courtesy of LF. Fascinating to compare Musigny from the same vintage with another negociant-producer. The Jadot is slightly darker and more lifted, highly expressive in dark roses and red cherries tinged with tangerines. Very ripe, imbued with plenty of vigour and freshness, just a tad more assertive in acidity though its silky intensity of red fruits is really quite beautiful. Still tight with plenty of upfront power. Unlike the Drouhin, this needs more time to settle down.

2004 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru (1.1358 ha), courtesy of Dr Ngoi. This wine possesses an effusive bouquet of red fruits, dark cherries and ripe dark plums, absolutely stunning in tone, richness and depth. Surprisingly quiet though, rounded with fine presence and subtle intensity that drew fine tension across the palate, draped in soft velvety elegance, finishing with infinite feminine grace. Mugnier is totally in a class of its own, which explains the hefty prices its Musigny commands. Outstanding.

2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru (7.1208 ha), courtesy of CJ. This wine exudes subtle earthy tones with some attractive pungency on the nose, a little reticent though the palate is imbued with abundant warm ripe fruits, dark currants and wild red berries within a slim profile, missing the opulence of the preceding wines which is likely a vintage-specific characteristic, rather minerally at the finish with a tinge of glare though it softened after some time. Just a tad stern and unsettled on the whole.

1999 Domaine de la Vougeraie Musigny Grand Cru (0.21 ha), courtesy of CJ. Dark in colour, promising dark fruits, black currants and dark plums. Rounded and fleshy, layered with lovely acidity and fine concentration. Distinctly feminine, becoming more reductive and focused over time as it tapered to a quiet distinguished finish.

1999 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of KG. Still impenetrably dark, proffering a rich bouquet of delicious dark fruits and currants that delivered broad swathes of warm ripe fruit on the palate that contrasted beautifully with darker undertones. Fleshy and beautifully rounded, layered with sweet tannins. May not have peaked. Lovely.

1996 Domaine Jacques Prieur Musigny Grand Cru (0.77 ha), courtesy of Vic. Seductive notes of camphor and red fruits hinted at great depth, matched by a forward balance of delicious red fruits superbly layered with complex minerality, bristling with subtle intensity as it tapered to a glowing finish. Highly successful and may not have peaked, the only gripe being that it may not quite demonstrate the Musigny terroir as well as Mugnier or Comte de Vogüé.

1996 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of HS. Dusky red, highly evolved on the nose where rose petals and camphor dominate with superb lift. Fleshy and highly supple on the palate, displaying wonderful depth against a gentle backdrop of cedary textures, distinctly feminine in structure, culminating in a long persistent finish. Glorious stuff.

1995 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of Ric & MH. Poured from magnum. Still displaying great colour, this wine exudes an enticing bouquet of gun smoke and warm gravelly minerals imbued with great concentration and structure with superb definition of inner detail. Rather minerally on the whole and a tad stern but this wine is beautifully proportioned with great freshness and verve amidst a ripe red plummy tone. Can easily hold for many more years. Superb.

1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of Dr Ngoi. Bright crimson, this wine is better on the nose where there is an intoxicating richness of red fruits and red cherries with tertiary nuances of cedar and cinnamon. Fleshy and highly supple with deft acidity, though distinctly leaner in structure on the palate where it is layered with earthy undertones, just a tad short but holding up well. Some thought it was a little oxidized as the provenance of this bottle has not been quite ideal but I disagree. This is, perhaps, not the best example of a 1990 Comte de Vogüé Musigny but it hasn’t gone bad at all.

2009 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bourgogne Blanc, courtesy of LF. From a 0.66 ha plot exclusively planted by Comte de Vogüé and re-labelled as Musigny Grand Cru Blanc from 2015 onwards, this wine has shut down in spite of having been aerated for three hours, offering only fleeting glimpses of a palate subtly layered with gentle chalky minerals, rather supple with good definition. Best to lay down.

The 12 de coeur (Twelve Hearts) is an initiative by FICOFI and some 60 wine-producing estates in France, led by Pierre-Henry Gagey of Louis Jadot, to support worthy causes throughout the world for the deserving and the less fortunate. For the inaugural event, 12 producers have gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong on 25 May 2018 to kick-start the project, with a view to hold a similar event annually with another group of 12 different estates. As you can see below, some of the biggest names were gathered there and it was good to catch up again with Pierre-Henry himself, along with Gregory Gouges, Etienne Montille and Hervé Berland. As usual for such FICOFI events for charity, the evening began with a generous promenade to loosen everyone up, followed by dinner during which some enticing lots of wines would be auctioned off to raise funds. As one would expect in Hong Kong, the bidding was fiercely enthusiastic and I think everyone came off winners.

2010 Domaine Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. Poured from jeroboam. Highly effusive bouquet of floral characters, white fruits and chalk, medium-bodied, smooth with understated acidity and intensity, producing delicate mouthfeel. Excellent.

2001 Domaine Trimbach Cuvee Frédéric Emile. Lovely golden hue. Explosive complex of gun smoke, flint and oily diesel fumes on the nose. Full presence with a forward balance, structured with seamless integration between its chiselled chalky tones and concentrated white fruits. Excellent.

2012 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Poured from magnum. This wine exudes delicate tones of petroleum fumes and earthy minerals, slightly flinty, displaying good precision and concentration of sophisticated complex citrus with highly transparent textures. Will be outstanding in time.

2010 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Poured from magnum. This wine has shut on the nose though the medium-bodied palate displays good definition of delicate chalky tones with seamless acidity on a full bed of complex minerals, finishing with fine linearity throughout its length. Excellent, but best to lay down to allow full development of its potential.

2009 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er, poured from jeroboam. There is a great lift of wild flowers and oily diesel fumes, slightly forward, displaying excellent presence and freshness of fruit amidst soft saline minerals with understated chalkiness, finishing with great persistence. Excellent.

2006 Château Pétrus. There is quite an exuberant tone of fresh raspberries, dark fruits and dark currants on the nose with a subdued earthiness, quite fleshy on the palate, softly focused with understated acidity, distinctly feminine in its highly supple gentle tannins.

1979 Château Pétrus. Still dark in colour. Very earthy on the nose with a mild bottle stink. Fleshy, open and seamlessly structured with highly supple tannins amidst gentle understated tones of raspberries and dark cherries. Excellent but, to be honest, I wouldn’t have known these two wines were Petrus if blinded.

2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru. Barely enough pour to wet the beak, but its pedigree still shone through. Luminous glow of malt and rye, displaying gentle depth of white fruits with a mild intensity shrouded with traces mint and white flowers, almost ethereal, very well-integrated and proportioned. Very lovely throughout its superb length.

2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru. Just a tiny pour, revealing a generous bloom of white flowers with lighter tonal textures on the nose though the palate is well layered with nutmeg, white fruits and delicate light citrus, displaying great definition and transparency, perhaps just a tad short which is commonly noted in the wines of this searingly hot vintage.

2009 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru. Lovely tint, yielding a beautifully defined bouquet distilled red fruits, rose petals and camphor, highly perfumed and generous in proportion, structured with excellent depth, detail and understated acidity, displaying excellent linearity though not much of tangerines at the core. Excellent.

2000 Domaine de Chevalier rouge, poured from magnum. Superb classic earthy pungency of Pessac-Leognan on the nose. Open, supple and full, filled with succulent dark plums and dark redcurrants, gloriously ripe with early secondary nuances amidst a cedary floor, seamlessly integrated with its lithe sexy tannins. One can go on sipping this forever. I’m glad I still have a case of this. Outstanding.

2009 Domaine de Chevalier rouge. This wine exudes a lifted earthiness amidst deep concentration of opulent red fruits and dark currants with traces of undergrowth, medium-full, very lovely in its freshness and seamless integration, opening up well. Similar in character to the 2000. Excellent.

Some precious drops of D.R.C. Montrachet Grand Cru is all you get

2003 Château Montrose, poured from magnum. This wine boasts an abundance of dense red fruits and blackcurrants amidst generous oily textures with a hint of ember, very full and rather unique in character, exuding lovely depth and intensity of fruit, very well layered and rounded, structured with masculine tones with a finish that lasts and lasts. Superb.

2010 Châteay Montrose. Dark in tone with a great glow of ripe dark fruits, blackcurrants and cashews amidst vegetal traces, still tight on the palate where gorgeous acidity and superb concentration of fruit indicate a long long life ahead for this outstanding release.

Hervé Berland, CEO of Château Montrose

1990 Château Beaucastel CdP. There is a sharp lifted earthy pungency on the nose with overtones of hot gravel, layered with abundant red fruits and wild berries that conferred amazing freshness and definition, finishing with great linearity. Superb.

1983 Château Beaucastel CdP. Gentle bouquet red and dark fruits amidst earthy tones with a tinge of green, displaying good lift with a well-defined leaner profile, very clean and precise with striking depth and open intensity of fruit, finishing well. Excellent, proving that CdP truly is one that rewards the patience of cellaring.

2008 Domaine Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Distinct red fruits shrouded in tones of varnish and enamel, excellent in concentration, highly supple and rounded with a dash of earth, seamlessly integrated with a forward balance but somewhat nondescript.

2003 Domaine Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Lifted in red fruits, displaying superb presence and depth with plenty of succulence amidst traces of paraffin, very lovely in its intensity and subtle structure without any hint of heat stress. Perhaps Clos Vougeot is best in hot vintages.

Yours truly with Pierre-Henry Gagey and Dr Victor Lim

2009 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage Les Guiraude, poured from jeroboam. Very dark in colour, replete with smoky dark currants, black cherries and traces of tangerines at its core. Fleshy and rounded with a slim defined profile, layered with subtle intensity and nuances that finished with a long glowing persistence. Excellent.

2014 Domaine des Perdrix Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Perdrix 1er. Coming from old vines planted as far back as 1922, this full-bodied wine proffers a very lovely glow of red fruits and dark berries within a well-defined profile, very correct in tone and style albeit in a more modern manner, very well proportioned and balanced. Excellent.

2003 Domaine des Perdrix Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Perdrix 1er. Notes of dry heated gravel, rather earthy, displaying good lift of rounded soft red fruits on the palate but still unable to shake off its leaden tone. Uninspiring.

1999 Domaine des Perdrix Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Perdrix 1er. Still dark, displaying lifted tones of dark berries and red fruits within very well-defined profiles not unlike the 2014 (above), seamlessly integrated with understated acidity in a very clean style. Not the opulent sort but very fine indeed.

2003 Château Haut-Bailly, poured from double magnum. Very deep and dark in colour and tone, exuding a great dryish earthy pungency that delivered a superb tonal richness of ripe blackberries and dark currants amidst vegetal traces on a dry minerally bed, rounded and full without any trace of burnt. Excellent.

For dinner…

2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Hautes de Nuits Bourgogne. Gentle white flowers proliferate with overtones of wild berries and nutmeg, displaying excellent depth, freshness and detail, its delicate balance of white fruits and stony minerals belie the tremendous zest and energy on the palate that build up to lovely climax towards the finish. Superb.

2002 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal. Gentle yeasty tones, slightly forward with dry intensity of dense yellow citrus and lime, structured with razor-sharp acidity and focus, developing increasing depth and earthy pungency over time. Still remarkably youthful. Best to cellar further unless this style of champagne suits your preference.

2009 Domaine Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. This is truly an elegant beauty – cool, sophisticated and poised. Layered with a deep vein of glorious white fruits, melons and chalky elements, superb in concentration but never overwhelming thanks to textures that are amazingly transparent, finishing with traces of spice and green chilli that persisted long after the wine had left the palate. Wonderful!

1999 Domaine de la Vougeraine Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru. Richly layered with a glorious depth of dark cherries, raspberries and redcurrants, utterly rounded and seamless, displaying a superb lift and concentration of fruit on a bed of saline minerals though just lacking in inner detail.

2009 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Grand Cru. Glorious ruby, exuding rosy characters with a tinge of deeper red and dark currants. Full, fleshy and crisp, structured with masculine intensity, finishing on a long minty note. Excellent.

2008 Château Haut-Bailly. Deep garnet red, exuding great earthiness with an abundance of dark fruit and wild berries on a bed of dry tannins, quite excellent in ripeness and roundedness without the exuberance of the best years, entering some early development. A classic claret. Very fine. I liked it.

2009 Château Rieussec. Smoke, icing, apricot and cider dominate with attractive fullness, developing some early complexity, displaying lovely intensity of fruit and linearity across the palate towards its lasting finish, all achieved in a highly understated manner. Excellent.