2013 Liger Belair Vosne Romanee 1er ReIgnots
Flawed with some off putting smoke/creosote aroma; not sure if it was TCA or some other flaw.
2013 Arnoux Lachaux Vosne Romanee 1er ReIgnots
Very pretty with quite a bit of body for a 13. This had lovely blackberry fruit and some all spice on the nose. The palate was punchy with a ton of flavor. The finish was long.
2007 Gros Frere Richebourg
Second time with this one in about six months and it showed just as well this time! Chinese 5 spice, dark currants and some dark rich earth on the nose flowed seamlessly into an intense palate with elegant dark fruits, filigreed texture, and beautiful acidity. Finish was super long
2007 Anne Gros Richebourg
Fascinating side by side with the Gros Frere. This was far less expressive on the nose but had a lot more punch on the palate. Not as much spice on the nose, more dark fruit, but very powerful midpalate intensity. Very nice wine.
2007 Rousseau Clos Saint Jacques
This was drinking phenomenally again. Last time I had this was in late 2024 and this showed just as well today. Lovely ripe red cherry fruit, dark rich soil and deepest forest floor on the nose. Palate was intense with surprising power, super elegant texture, and crisp acidity. The finish was remarkable. What a great wine.
1974 DRC Romanee Conti
Unfortunately this was past its prime. There was some volatile acidity on the nose along with just a hint of red currants, decaying earth and memory of days gone by. The palate was mostly devoid of fruit and only some acidity remained. The finish was complex and did capture your attention. Would have been nice to try this 10-20 years earlier.
2014 Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet 1er Ruchottes
One of the weirder showings I’ve seen lately. Initially this was just tremendous, with lemon curd and stone fruits for days but after about half an hour it just died in the glass, idk what happened.
2014 Benoit Ente Puligny Montrachet 1er Folatieres en la Richarde
Initially a bit tight but opened up into a beautiful, harmonious wine after an hour or so. Lovely Meyer lemon, struck match and honeysuckle on the nose with stone fruits and zingy acidity on the palate. Super long finish.
2014 Pierre Yves Colin Morey Chassagne Montrachet 1er Les Champs Gains
This had a hint of reduction on the nose, along with some pure lemon zest and yellow peach on the nose. Palate was light bodied and had more pretty fruits and a core of acidity. Finish was strong and long.
2014 Hubert Lamy Saint Aubin 1er En Remilly
Lightest bodied of the whites with some hay and citrus notes along with robust acidity. Finish wasn’t quite as long as the others.
1996 Krug Vintage Brut
Outstanding showing with some lemon curd, white flowers, and lightly toasted brioche on the nose, with crisp acidity and freshness on the palate with lovely length. Better showing than from the bottles last fall.
2002 Salon Le Mesnil
A little tight still, if better than bottles I’ve had in the past, I’d still wait on this. Very linear with white peach on the nose and lots of acidity. Quite tight on the palate, with a good finish. Check back in 3-5 years.
2007 Rousseau Clos Saint Jacques
This was drinking phenomenally again. Last time I had this was in late 2024 and this showed just as well today. Lovely ripe red cherry fruit, dark rich soil and deepest forest floor on the nose. Palate was intense with surprising power, super elegant texture, and crisp acidity. The finish was remarkable. What a great wine.
2009 Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze
This was quite muted aromatically, with some pretty red fruits on the nose, along with some forest floor. The palate was also tight with significant structure, and additional shy fruit and lovely texture. The finish was long and pleasant but it will be a lot better in 5-10 years.
2017 Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin
Much more open than the bottle Nick and I had in 2024 with joyous red and dark currants and some loam on the nose. The palate had more crunchy red fruits and crisp acidity, with elegant texture but very little weight on the palate. The finish was very clean and quite long.
2017 Rousseau Clos Saint Jacques
John thought this may have been heat damaged but I didn’t think so, it just seemed a bit tight but was quite enjoyable. All red fruit on the palate with lovely acidic verve and a nice finish.
2017 Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze
This was a really fun side by side with the Chambertin. super pure cloudberry fruit on the nose with deep black earth and a hint of morel on the nose. The palate wasn’t quite as wide open as the Chambertin but as Nick said, it had a beautiful textured slate streak along with more ripe cloudberries with lovely acidity and surprising midpalate power along with an intense and long finish.
2017 Rousseau Chambertin
Complete showstopper again, with stunning aromatics of black currant jam and damp forest floor with a velvety texture and perfect fruit/acidity balance. It was wide open and ready for business with immense power and depth. The finish was profound. What a side by side!
As most of you know, I’ve been a big fan of Alix Millot’s wines at Domaine Jean Marc Millot for quite some time, so I was very happy to see them at La Paulee this year. Here are my notes from the Paulee Verticals. I ended up organizing a dinner with Alix and other winemakers and I’ll post notes from that later.
2016 Jean Marc Millot Echezeaux
This was aromatically beautiful with some violets, 5-spice, and blackberry fruit. It was quite structured on the palate with some tight fruit and good acidity, and had a long finish. I’d let this sit for awhile.
2017 Jean Marc Millot Echezeaux
Very pretty with black currant fruit and some earth. Better showing than last year, this was pretty open and friendly. The palate was softer, with great texture and elegance and the finish was very long.
2018 Jean Marc Millot Echezeaux
I think this was wonderful with darker fruits, black cherries and some floral notes. The palate was rounder and deeper, without quite as much structural restraint as the 2016. Finish was very pleasurable.
Overall the wines were very pretty and vivacious, without any heaviness, while being expressive with great texture. I really like the direction the domaine is going, as the newer wines are even better.
My general thoughts on the 2023 vintage:
Reds:
After tasting through the 23s quite broadly, as well as some other 23s outside the grand tasting, I think 23 will be a very good vintage but the wines will
likely take a few years to be ready to go. It’s a charming, friendly vintage with high yields, but isn’t like 17 or 21 where the wines drank well on release and stayed that way. I’ve seen a few comparisons to 2000, but I think the wines have more fruit than that. I don’t think the wines are as structured as 22 or some other vintages. In any case, I think the wines will be very good in the medium to long term, without perhaps the long term potential of 19/22, but likely will be ready longer and stay in the zone for awhile. Some standouts at the grand tasting were the transcendent Guilbert Gillet lineup, Vogue, which was superb across the board, Trapet, d’Eugenie, and Fourrier.
2023 whites, on the other hand, like the 2021s and 2022s, aren’t my favorite. I think they don’t have the drive of good white vintages, and can be a little unbalanced and fruit forward. I don’t think it’s a bad vintage but I wouldn’t be loading up on these. The Raveneau wines were good, as were the wines from Lafon and Alex Moreau.
2006 Chateau Haut Brion (375 mL)
Pop and pour, ultimately may have benefited from a short decant even in the half bottle format. Tremendous nose with cedar, leather, a hint of tobacco, cassis and black currants. The palate was structured with soft, accessible tannins that opened up over the course of an hour or so in the glass. There was ample lively acidity and beautiful dark fruits. The texture was elegant and finely knit. The finish was tremendous. I gave my father in law a glass and he was immediately stunned with the obvious quality. This was really a stunning wine and drinking better than I expected. Glad I have one more half bottle left.
2023 Francois Raveneau Chablis
Lemon curd and hay on the nose, with crisp acidity and some lovely stone fruits on the palate. Clean finish.
2023 Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Butteaux
Clear step up with some more white peach on the nose and some stony minerality on the palate and longer finish. A bit tighter/less giving.
2023 Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Montee de Tonnerre
Some marzipan on the nose here, with quite a bit more density on the palate and some exotic fruit aromas. Long finish.
2023 Francois Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Le Clos
Incredible tension, this felt more open to me than the 1ers, with purest lemon zest, intense palate with zingy acidity and much denser mouth feel without obvious weight. Super enjoyable finish.
1988 Krug Clos de Mesnil (magnum):
This beauty was super fresh, showing almost no age, with plenty of fine bead and mousse. There was lovely Meyer lemon, quince, and toasted brioche on the nose, with a laser beam of acidity and slate on the palate, with incredible power and focus. The finish was supremely long. Makes me extremely optimistic about the 96 and 08 CDM.
2005 Francois Raveneau Le Clos
Maxime Raveneau was pouring this beauty at the gala from magnum. There was an incredible nose of light lemon curd, salt air, and fresh cut grass, with coiled acidity and tension on the palate, with some sea shells and more pretty stone fruits. The finish was tremendous and this wine felt like it could go decades more effortlessly although it was stunning today.
2022 William Kelley Gevrey Chambertin Aux Etelois
This was a masterpiece of a young wine, with ripe red and dark cherry fruit bursting from the glass, along with some deep rich earth. The palate was plush with beautiful filigreed texture but with a backbone of acidity and iron. There was great intensity and punch on the mid palate building into a strong finish. Just tremendous.
2022 William Kelley Bourgogne Aligote
Coche like reduction on the nose with struck match, hay, lemon zest, and honeysuckle. Dry extract on the palate with crisp acidity, more lovely fruits, and lovely elegant texture. Super long finish.
2023 William Kelley Bourgogne Aligote (not pictured)
Rounder with some exotic fruits on the palate, papaya and a hint of durian. More fruit on the palate as well, without the linearity or zing of the 2022, and a bit less acidity. Very long finish.
Fun side by side; I think on balance I prefer the 2022 but we will see how they develop with time.
1964 Maison Leroy Grands Echezeaux
This was a fascinating side by side with the stunning 1959, and this wine was also great, but didn’t quite fair as well as the 59. The bouquet was fabulous, with red currants, all spice, and loads of damp forest floor and mushrooms. The palate lacked the sharpness and intensity of the 59, but was very elegant and plush, with beautiful texture. The finish was very long and pleasurable, but this wine certainly would have been better had it been opened 10 years earlier. That said, it was still wonderful to drink.
1959 Maison Leroy Grands Echezeaux
It’s well documented that I think many old wines are just old. This one was incredibly fresh. If someone told me it
were an 09, I wouldn’t have been shocked. Incredible nose with ripe black cherries, damp forest floor and morel mushrooms, with an expansive palate with lovely elegant texture, supple and filigreed tannic structure and crisp acidity with a never ending finish. Fantastic wine, probably just on the downslope, but still remarkably fresh at age 66.
Pretty bouquet with some cranberry fruit and some earth. The palate had crisp acidity and some lovely fruit, although it was pretty light bodied with a lack of mid palate intensity. The finish was long and pleasurable. I tbink this is a nice wine drinking at or near peak but lacks a top gear.
2017 Liger Belair Nuits Saint Georges (magnum)
Only offered to private clients. This was like the Rousseau GC, just crushable, elegant, joyful, fruit forward, super plush and CLB in style, without a ton of complexity but just a joy to drink.
Quite a lineup from Groffier at the grand tasting this year. The wines were painfully young and need time but showed great potential.
2023 Groffier Amoureuses
Abundant cherry fruit, with some vanilla and a hint of earth. Lots of structure on the palate and more pretty fruits. Long finish.
2023 Groffier Bonnes Mares
Much more reticent on the nose with some darker fruits and more savory elements. Even more structure on the palate with scant fruit. A bit more clipped finish.
2023 Groffier Chambertin Clos de Beze
Sort of in between with some red and black currants, some oak on the nose, and plenty of structure on the palate. Some iron and beautiful fruits, with deep acidity. Very long finish.
All of these wines showed great potential but really need some time in the bottle to show well.
Krug 169 (magnum)
This was just stunning. I really like bringing mags of champagne to events, especially the gala, because they always show well, and at the end of the night with palate fatigue all people want to drink is champagne.
For its part, the wine was phenomenal. Lemon curd, lightly toasted brioche, and a bit of hay on the nose, with intense palate power with fruit and acidity in great balance. Fine bead and mousse. The finish was superbly long and clean. Just amazing. It did open up a bit more over the course of a couple hours but was surprisingly friendly right out of the gate.