A few good things from last night.
Bourgogne Blanc 2004, Domaine Roulot
This smells of proper white Burgundy; there is the lemon fruit, minerality and just a hint of vomit. It smells fresh and lively. The palate has some good acidity, and a reasonable amount of fruit. It has some reasonable length, and a degree of complexity. For a Bourgogne Blanc this is really pretty good.
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2004, Domaine Dujac
I last reviewed the [link2post id=”1691″]2004 Dujac wines along with the 2005s from cask[/link2post] back in July of last year; this wine seems similar to how I remembered it. It is complex and earthy on the nose, with a lot of ripe cherry fruit. I feel I have to comment that the level of oak seems rather high on the nose at the moment. There are some profound tannins on the palate, but their structure is pleasing and it is very complex and long. The acidity seems surprisingly high, but this could just be at the stage we are drinking it; it is rather young. Delicious, ripe, dense fruit is here. Great finish and very long with real style and class. This is a seriously fine wine for long-term ageing.
Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 1997, Domaine Dujac
Soft fruit on the nose, this seems fully mature. Very earthy and rich with plenty of complex aromas. This smells like type, mature, Cote de Nuits wine. The palate is very soft and charming, with some good balancing acidity and a reasonable tannic structure. I was given this wine blind and I thought it was Dujac from a more rigorous vintage than 1997, this shows the quality of wine they make even in these less than brilliant years. There is some reasonable length, and no shortage of complexity here. This is completely lovely, and perfectly up for drinking now. There is still some life in the very best of the 1997s, clearly. At 1691″]Dujac I tried a 1997 Clos St. Denis and it was similarly delicious.
Vin de Paille 1996, J. L. Grippat
This is Hermitage made from straw-dried grapes that had to be declassified to Vin de Table for some arcane reason. I was presented it blind and I am pleased to say I nailed it. The aromas of glue and acetone were a dead give away, and not as unpleasant as they sound. It is really gluey, with a strange apple/elderflower fruit to it. The palate is quite sweet, and again has glue tones, but there is more fruit on the palate and it despite all of the weird aromas it seemed quite delicious. Acidity was fine if not spectacular. It is not for ageing any longer, although it’ll hang around forever, this is an unusual sweet wine but well worth trying as it has real personality and it is actually very nice.