Burgundy 2018 – Mi–O

Good intensity of fruit as well as freshness and balance. Very successful with an undertow of richness and spice. Rather a welcome counterpoint to the austerity of some Meursaults today. Quite long for a village wine. (JR)

Very nervy nose. Juicy and tense. Racy but with sufficient undertow of ripe fruit. Very successful. Should age well but is already broachable. Great balance. (JR)

A touch of almost tropical fruit with an aromatic, basil-like herbal lift. Almond and baking spice, with crisp, yellow apple and more bittersweet aromatic herbs through the finish. Decent weight and length. GV (TJ)

Gentle nutty oak and chalk complexity over lemon fruit. Some chew and chalkiness. Clean and linear with fair length. (TJ)

Almond and a touch of dried dill. Crisp, flinty and chewy, with a notably spicy finish. A little tight now, though with the length to mature nicely. (TJ)

Apple and hazelnut, spice and stones. Feels a little spiky and disjointed at the moment, like a gawky teenager. Should come together in a few years. Pretty long. (TJ)

Baking spice and oatmeal, linear, precise citrus acidity, with a core of stony minerality that drives through the mid palate, to the long, long, spicy finish. Lots of tension. (TJ)

Bottled. Cinnamon and ripe red cherry. Grainy, firm palate with a flinty, chalky mineral undertow. Moderate length. A bit rustic. (TJ)

Bottled. Ripe, scented strawberry and fine cinnamon spice. Fluid, spiced red cherry, with a flinty core and quite fine tannins that build through the long finish. I'd like to see this again in five years to check on progress! (TJ)

Made by consultant oenologist Pierre Millemann as part of a new family venture in which a proportion of each bottle sale goes to charity. Racked to tank a week ago from one new 500-litre barrel.
Riper on the nose than the 2017 with less reductive character. Pure citrus, still incredibly salty like the 2017 but a little less tension. Firm, chewy and still fresh. Not as complex as the 2017 but more generous. Long, too. (JH)

100% new oak. Same parcel as for 2017. 70–80% whole bunch. Picked early September. Barrel sample.
A little darker fruited and less expressive on the nose than the 2017 just tasted. But on the palate, still has a mineral line as well as slightly riper and darker fruit, the tannins a little softer but the freshness still excellent. This has both elegance and length. A lovely wine, showing just a slightly dry texture, perhaps the stems, but lifted and scented on the palate. (JH)

50-year-old vines. Barrel sample from the one barrel produced. 100% new oak.
Floral notes (peony?) as well as tangy red fruit. Quite marked by the stems (80%). Delicate, finely textured, not as persistent as the Charmbertin 2018 just tasted. A sweet spice like cinnamon on the palate. Unusual. A bit slight but elegant nevertheless. (JH)

Barrel sample from the single barrel produced.
So different from the Corton-Les Renardes just tasted, riper and darker fruited. Black cherry, much more obviously 2018 in style. Slightly stewed fruit though the chalky tannins add freshness on the palate. Generous in fruit and dry in texture. Hard to judge this one at the moment. (JH)

Bottled. Classic, fragrant, dark and lightly peppery fruit. Tastes dry in a stemmy sort of way on the palate, paper-fine texture, almost chalky but there’s an elegance here even though there is a slight lack of flesh in the middle. (JH)

Spicy, meaty and a bit volatile. Very chewy, grainy, rustic tannins. Old school and not for me. (TJ)

Some reduction obscures the earthy, spicy, savoury nose. Chunky, rustic tannins. Something a little leathery that could be brett, too? Lacking grace. (TJ)

The contrast with Aux Faulques, tasted alongside, could not be greater: this is elegance personified, with a floral, plum and clove nose, juicy acidity and relatively delicate tannins. Fair length. (TJ)

Mid crimson. Riper and darker than the Côte de Nuits-Villages. Richer on the palate too. Sweet and dark fruit with a firm but appropriate structure. It’s not really juicy but it is nicely fresh on the finish. (JH)

Precise nose of ripe blackberries and crushed rock, with a fudgy oak note. Robust, chalky tannins punch through the fair density of black-cherry fruit. Long, earthy-spicy finish, but this is more rustic than I would like from a grand cru. Very backward and will need a lot of cellar time. (TJ)

Lots of oak showing on the nose, a full style with plenty of flesh and weight. Lacking some freshness as it is all oak and chewy tannins at the moment. (AC)

Nutty oak, earthy mineral notes, black fruit; quite broad and unfocused. Decent depth of flavour and pretty long, with quite fine tannins, but overall doesn’t really live up to its grand cru tag. (TJ)

Green-fruits freshness and cedar-like pristine fruit. Pure, really fresh, lightish but in balance. (JH)

Deep purplish crimson. Rich and dark and lightly oaky on the nose with inviting but not excessive fruit sweetness and plenty of spice. Chewy/chalky tannins, smooth and compact. Not sure I would have identified this as Pinot but it is a well-balanced and full-flavoured wine. GV (JH)

Deep purplish crimson. More subtle and scented than the village Givry, a touch more floral, but still rich in dark, spicy fruit and sweet oak spice aromas. Chewy but smoother than the village wine. Rich, full and velvety. GV (JH)

Hefty tannic fur on the palate, with simple bitter-cherry fruit and a touch of leafiness on the length. Fairly straightforward, with bitterness that lingers beyond the fruit. (RH)

Overripe, mushy fruit that evokes the Yarra or Central Coast in its generosity. Fine, balanced tannins, refreshing acidity and subtle herbal character on the finish. (RH)

Sweet oak spice and a gobful of mouth-filling, ripe black-cherry fruit. Firmly tannic but not unapproachable thanks to refreshing acidity and that upfront primary fruit. Precocious and impressive. (RH)

Ripeness that verges on jammy on the nose, although the palate is more savoury in nature. Excellent fruit power, although not quite as rich as their Nuits-St-Georges, which is perhaps apposite for the appellation. (RH)