The Jancis Robinson Story | Mission Blind Tasting | Wine writing competition

Burgundy 2016 – L

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See the full guide to our coverage of Burgundy's 2016 vintage. 


DOMAINE PIERRE LABET, Clos de Vougeot

Organic. Tank sample.
So creamy there is almost a caramel...

Organic. Tank sample.
Creamy and spicy like the Bourgogne...

Organic. Cask sample.
Lightish cherry red. Pretty, floral...

Organic. Cask sample.
Lightish cherry red. Smells sweeter and...

Organic. Cask sample.
Mid cherry red. Smells much riper than the...

Organic. Cask sample.
Mid cherry red. Sweetly oaky on the nose...


DOMAINE LABRUYÈRE, Romanèche-Thorins

Barrel sample. Mid cherry red. Juicy Gamay fruit. Lively and...

Barrel sample. Mid crimson. Peppery and dark-fruited with a...

Barrel sample. Deep crimson. Not very expressive now, just dark...

Monopole. Barrel sample.
Deep cherry red. Smells very different...


DOMAINE MICHEL LAFARGE, Volnay and DOMAINE LAFARGE VIAL, Fleurie 
JR: Lovely stuff as always plus four Beaujolais crus. We were shown the amazing traditional wicker giant disc used for gentle destemming (see photo below). Frédéric and Chantal’s daughter Clothilde has been working for Larry Stone at Lingua Franca in Oregon, after Seresin in Marlborough. They were looking forward to her imminent return.

Big, round, almost oily! A candied floral note – something a...

900 bottles from one hectare.
Spicy nose. Intense...

Stones and energy and raciness. Lots of concentration and drive...

Quite chewy and energetic. Still quite youthful – difficult to...

Bottled. Light to mid crimson. Pretty dark-red fruit. Peppery...

Lieu-dit with steep slope.
Very polished and complex and...

Bottled. More dusty, even a little stemmy (whole bunch?)...

On granite and quartz.
Peppery nose. Real drive and energy...

Rented 50-year-old vines on granite with blue in the soil.
Polish...

Bottled. Bright cherry red. Fairly quiet on the nose. Subtle...

One gravelly ha on the border of Meursault. Very suitable for co...

Located between the RN74 and Volnay vineyards – an especially...

Just one cuvée of Volnay, as in 2012.
Mossy notes on the...

Lively and fairly light-bodied but with masses of charm. Purple...

95-year-old vines – their oldest. A quarter has been pulled out...

Started in 2015; before it was an ingredient in Volnay premier...

Meaty nose and round, charming texture with violet perfume. Very...

Red soils over calcaire for minerality.
Lighter nose than the...

Deep gravel on top of calcaire. Protected from frost. Harvested...

In the middle of the vineyard – just 0.15 ha on dolomite...

Almost 1 ha (16 ha in total). Red and much shallower soils above...

DOMINIQUE LAFON, Meursault (see Burgundy 2016 Cl-Cy for DOMAINE DES COMTES LAFON and LES HÉRITIERS DU COMTE LAFON)...

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