Burgundy 2015 – Q–R

The Lafon/Merlin joint venture.
Lots of density and drama. Serious stuff with a savoury skein and a dry finish. Lots of terroir here! (JR)

Herby, grassy nose with fresh apple and something a bit more tropical – mango, perhaps? Lots of enjoyable fruit complexity here, plus a subtle chalky mineral finish. (RH)

Juicy, generous red fruit edged with a tart acidic kick. Lovely violet fragrance on the finish. (RH)

Beautifully crunchy fruit, pert acid, and a long, fruit-driven finish with a charming black cherry note. Excellent crispness. (RH)

Cask sample. Perhaps not quite so well-defined as their Teppe de Chenèves on the nose. The fruit is perfectly ripe, but a bit more of a stewed mix. Furry tannin. Should improve once bottled, I expect. (RH)

Fragrant oak spice, generous and perfumed on the nose. Dense, compact black fruit on the palate and a very tannic grip which is well balanced by punchy acid. (RH)

Pure, chalky citrus – lemon and lime intensity but stony too. More mineral than fruit on the palate but very precise and crisp. Elegant rather than super-fruity. (JH)

Like his Devant les Cloux, subtle and stony but not lacking fruit. On the palate, fine intensity from the creamy texture and the pure citrus flavours. Persistent, too. (JH)

Wonderfully subtle approach, mostly stony and cedar freshness. Direct and focused and still with a creamy texture to soften the edges. Long and cool and already in harmony if not yet ready. GV for a grand cru. (JH)

Cask sample. Mid crimson. Spicy sweetness with a hint of herbal freshness. Overlaid on the fruit is a light layer of vanilla sweetness, giving it a gentle quality even with dry, compact tannins and plenty of freshness. Less rich on the palate than I expected from the nose. (JH)

Fine, lean, lemony nose with a little matchstick. Broad start. Very flattering. More sweet than savoury but early maturing. Chalky finish. (JR)

Light crimson. Rustic nose. Rather grainy texture. Tannins trump fruit at present. Quite a lean wine at present. (JR)

Slightly crude red fruit here, crunchy and simplistic. There's a slight hint of reduction on the palate giving a rubbery flavour, but that is forgiveable. Inoffensive and easy to drink. (RH)

Bright cherry red. Strongly scented and very bright-fruited but with lots to chew on at the end. Promising! Crackling. Dry finish. (JR)

There's a sweetness to the red fruit which almost evokes California, though at a lower volume. Nicely integrated oak spice adds some interest on the palate. Attractive clay-textured tannin on the finish and lovely precise acid. Worth laying down. (RH)

Less fruit ripeness on the nose than their Vieilles Vignes. Spicy oak. Crisp and crunchy on the palate, with savoury black cherry and enjoyable violet fragrance. (RH)

Brilliant mid crimson. Real depth to this. Broad spread of ripe fruit on the palate with crackling taffeta texture. Good lift. Quite delicate. Very appetising. Bone dry but not drying. Really rather sophisticated. Long. GV (JR)

Cask sample. Sawdust and spice trumps fruit on the nose. There's a slightly sour edge to the palate, and the balance isn't quite so complete as their Les Nagues. Still very palatable, in a more austere style. (RH)

Cask sample. Subtle but well-formed nose, showing the perfume and purity of Pinot. Lovely herbal notes on the palate, fibrous tannic feel on the finish, very slight medicinal hints on the finish. Very enjoyable, reflects the quality of the vintage and GV. (RH)

Mid to deep crimson. Relatively light nose and very correct but a little more stolid than the Vasées 2015. (JR)

Cask sample. Mid cherry. Dark-fruited and quite robust. Fine, chalky texture. Excellent freshness. (JH)

Cask sample. Mid cherry. Lots of fresh red fruit on the nose. Juicy and delicate on the palate, fragrant and supple with an elegant dry finish. (JH)

Cask sample. Mid cherry. Ripe but not overripe red cherry fruit. Just a light hint of oak spice. Smooth, dry texture. All in proportion between fruit and structure. Straightforward and all in place. (JH)

Cask sample. Mid cherry. Deep, rich in dark-red fruit. Smells generous and velvety. And the palate is the same: dense with fruit, smooth – just chewy – tannins. Tight and compact and all still to come. (JH)

Easy and appley on the nose and then very sweet, chewy and concentrated on the palate. Lots of fun – even if not nearly as fresh and nervy as a typical St-Romain. Almost Californian! (JR)

Bright crimson. Smells of damp rope and is extremely sweet on the palate. Probably not a long-term traveller but it certainly takes maximum advantage of the richness of the 2015 vintage. Easy and with some freshness as well as all that sweetness. Just a little drying on the end. (JR)

Bright crimson. Sweet and easy and almost like a sweet shop. Almost too sweet to enjoy! Dry finish. But overall just a bit sickly. (JR)

Suppressed nose, light and with a cardboard smell – not taint, but perhaps rot? Not sure about this. (RH)

Much better fruit than their Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. Crunchy cranberry snap to the fruit, very fine grained and gastronomic. Fairly brief finish. (RH)

Excellent cranberry and rhubarb fruit – brilliant clarity. Chewy, substantial palate. Fragrant soy and iodine on the finish. Lots bubbling up on the palate here – lovely ! (RH)

Black cherry, very fine tannic chew, lighter body than their Damodes, and perhaps less complete as a result. Quite fibrous on the finish – more tannic than expected perhaps? (RH)

Simple, refreshing palate with tart acid and light body. Seems a bit dull and flat. Much less engaging than their two Nuits-St-Georges cuvées. (RH)

Monopole. Mid to light cherry. Lifted red fruit. Sweet and flirtatious on the nose. Sweet and spicy on the palate too. Supple, rather gentle, not particularly fresh on the finish. (JH)

Mid cherry red. Peppery dark fruit. There’s dry finesse here given a slight austerity at the moment yet promising elegance with time. (JH)

Mid cherry. Subtly and deliciously perfumed with dark-red fruit. Supple and relatively light on the palate, not obviously grand cru intensity but all in harmony for a mid-term future. (JH)

Smudgy mid-cherry red. Much riper and more spicy on the nose than the Latricières. Some dried-fruit notes. Fuller on the palate too. Bolder and less elegant than the Latricières, packs more of a punch. (JH)

Lovely nutty aromas here, plus grapefruit and apple fruit. Savoury, dry and with quite some phenolic grip too, which gives attractive chew. (RH)

Modern, sleek, fruit-driven nose. Simple but fully ripe and with firm but integrated tannin, plus a squeeze of floral perfume on the finish. (RH)

The fruit is compromised by a sour note here, and a very slight mousiness on the finish. Not entirely clean. (RH)

Red cherry fruit, dry and firm texture, fairly light body. The flavour is satisfying but simple, and the palate lacks complexity. (RH)

Lively red cherry fruit on the nose, although the palate has a rustic, farmyard sort of edge that leaves a very slight sourness to finish. (RH)

Better perfume than their Beaune and Aloxe-Corton, giving the nose a violet floral character. Good fruit ripeness, but perhaps a little on the light side for Pommard? And the complexity on the finish is fairly limited too. (RH)