Burgundy 2009 A-D

Clear piercing lemon and just a touch salty. Firm, moderately dense, dry and harmonious. (JH)

Precision on the nose – which actually came as rather a relief after the softness of a range of Louis Michel’s Chablis. Fresh and refreshing. Light and very pretty but not the sort for an en primeur wine. Hint of nuttiness. (JR)

A bit denser but not fresher than the Découverte. (JR)

A little smoky on the nose then rather harsh on the palate. Breadth rather than finesse. (JH)

Honeyed quince. A little bit oxidative in style. Heavy on the palate. Lots of flavour but not the flavour I’m looking for. (JH)

Sweet cherry compote aroma. Fresh but tannins are rather drying. Cherry fruit struggles to assert itself. (JH)

Ripe lemon – lemon linctus. The sample is warm but even so this seems rather lacking in energy. It’s fresh and creamy but a bit coarse. (JH)

Screw cap. A bit tarty and chewy and demanding. Hard. (JR)

Lots of fruit and a certain amount of charm. Racy and lively, and relaxed and flattering. (JR)

Sweet baked fruit on nose and palate. Sightly fresher on the palate but that cooked side spoils it overall. (JH)

Really bretty nose and completely dried out on the palate. (JH)

Pinkish cherry colour. Dusty, almost leafy note over the red cherry fruit. Sweet oak spice on the mid palate. Fine dry tannins, upright and pretty austere at the moment. (JH)

Gentle dark fruit. Quite sweet on the nose. More depth than on the Chambolle, firm, dry and hidden on the palate. (JH)

Light crimson. Light, jujube nose. Easy and simple. A bit too light to be of great interest. (JR)

Solid and a little rustic on the nose. Light and sweet. Simple. (JR)

Quite dark crimson. Round and like a cherry boiled sweet/hard candy. Easy and round but not ultimately that interesting, I’m afraid. (JR)

Much lighter than most Gevreys. Basic fruit. Dry finish. Not quite enough in the middle. (JR)

Rich, round nose delivers pleasure in spades. By a mile the best wine from this producer I have tasted so far – though pretty sweet and forward. Almost sickly... (JR)

Big and round with lots of impact but the batonnage element seems a little too strong for the price. (JR)

Scented. Light and dry and possibly slightly too relaxed? Easy peasy. Slightly drying on the end. (JR)

Sweet fruit + sweet oak = not the most convincing Nuits. Who is this aimed at, I wonder? Not the traditional burgundy fan. (JR)

Scented. Relatively light and subdued. Then hard work on the finish. Awfully aggressive tannins considering how ripe the fruit should have been..? (JR)

Heady and hedonistic (do we need the word hedonistic for wines like this?) Loose and open and beguiling. But not refreshing. The first wine I have come across where I have actively worried about the low acid level. (JR)

Quite deep crimson. Smells rather cheesy. Not pure at all! Rustic tannins. Where is all that mellifluous fruit? (JR)

Smells of beef extract. Then good fruit on the mid palate. Lively. Much the best of the wines from this address but still a bit aggressively chewy. Not refreshing enough. (JR)

Fresh and just a little (white) peppery. Gentle, fruity, delicate, but all over rather quickly. (JH)

Comfortably relaxed fruity nose. Lots of easy sweetness. Pretty GV (JR)

Pretty rich and flashy on the nose. Very sweet start. Rather softer and less convincing than usual at this domaine. Lacks refreshment. Too sweet and soft. (JR)

Very sweet start – flattering. Falls away a little fast. (JR)

Extraordinarily sweet – too jammy. Pastiche style. Very drying end. (JR)

Light crimson. Good focus and energy. Some real race and class. Dry finish so still a bit awkward. These three Arnoux-Lachaux wines at Lay & Wheeler I found a little disappointing. (JR)

More exciting than the village Chambolle but still it lacks the sheer terroir definition that usually defines this producer. (JR)

Quite blueish. Rich and sweet but with less obvious class than some previous vintages. Tough. Needs time. (JR)

Deep crimson. Savoury and even a little leathery. Quite juicy and very interesting and complex already on the nose. This should make lively bottle! (JR)

Brochon, Queue de Hareng, near Perrières de Fixin. Dark and rich-looking. Substantial stuff – very rich and jolly – quite spicy and round. Lovely stuff that should not be too expensive. Real energy. Perhaps not for the real long term. Very good drainage on this steep plot. GV? (JR)

75 years but being replaced one by one. Mostly in the north of the village. Very dark. Very incense nose with real excitement and density. Very rich and supple and gorgeous. Just lovely – you would never think it was ‘just’ a village wine. Light calcaire pebbly slope – quite like Charmes. To be bottled after full moon in March. Very small bunches. So long and rich. Great reverberant stuff. (JR)

Just next to Mazis and Fonteny. A deep soil with some clay and marl but quite a cool terroir. Especially good in dry years.
Very rich and sumptuous on the nose – all black fruits. Intense and round and less lifted than the Gevrey Vieilles Vignes. Big and bold. Quite a bit of fine tannin on the finish. Best to wait. (JR)

Deep purplish crimson. Lift and playful note on the great big body of mass. Polished and shiny. Lots to enjoy here although it is more ambitious and less superficially charming than many a Charmes. Very well done. Great intensity. On the limit with Mazoyères in very shallow soils quite high up. Very expansive finish. (JR)

Sleek and polished. Very fine boned. Chewy end and it’s all tucked in but pretty convincingly. Just a little light on the end. (JR)

Quite open and nutty on the nose. Very fresh and racy. Strong lime notes. Lots of immediate appeal but not that much subtlety. (JR)

Restrained nose. Quite tight and very well sculpted. Dry finish. Very chewy end. Fine. (JR)

Rather basic and ordinary. Very open. (JR)

Very racy. Bit of a racehorse. Though without the depth one might expect of a premier cru. (JR)

Tense and positively juddering elbows. Not the most assured Grand Cru but made with great ambition and intent. Very racy. Lemon oil. (JR)

Fresh lime flavours. Sweet start and a definite attempt to outperform the appellation. Real nerve. GV? (JR)

Quite rich and heavy. Not bad but a bit foot dragging. (JR)

Liquorice and scent with low-key sweetness. Charming but far from knockout. Some nice minerality. (JR)

Heavy relatively speaking. Quite rich and ripe. No-one would be disappointed but I’m not sure they’d be thrilled by this. (JR)

Quite a rich nose and real definition on the palate. Lots of minerals and interest. Manages not to be too fat. Well done! Quite long. I went back and tasted this again after their richer wines and still think it’s the best value of the lot because of the freshness... GV (JR)

Some minerality on the nose. Sweet start but not quite as alert and refreshing as the (cooler?) Vergisson wine. Edgy finish but some structure. (JR)

This wine is bottled by Daniel and Martin Barraud but actually carries the name Julien Barraud on the front label (Julien took over management of the domaine from his father in 2006). Very big and opulent on the nose. Round and sweet and polished and easy – very forward. (JR)

Lightly honeyed nose. Then some green notes. Still quite youthful. Still a little aggressive, but full, rich and sweet and a bit heavy. Good to come across a white Maconnais with a future. (JR)

Sweet and scented. Intense and rather headily floral though without too much acidity. Drink this herbal number quite soon. (JR)

A little soupy and very ripe. Flattering but without much structure. (JR)

Rather raw and coarse. Sweet and round – almost more like a liqueur though with some new oak influence. Fine but not really exciting. Rather sickly finish. (JR)

Mid crimson. Very evolved nose. Then sweet. Not much structure for a Pommard. Bit soupy. Grainy light tannins on the end only. (JR)