Burgundy 2009 M-P

Mid low-key stuff, very chewy, hard work! (JR)

Dense and sweet AND RICH. Full of easy appeal though too simple and full of cloves to be really interesting! (JR)

Sweet and rich cocktail. Not easy, slightly harsh. (JR)

Blueish crimson. Attractive development on the nose. Though much tougher on the palate. The Gamay really insists on the palate. (JR)

Mid cherry fruit. A bit austere and lean. Though at least not sickly... (JR)

Some richness on the palate and freshness too. Well sculpted though a tough end. (JR)

Rich yet mossy nose. Sweet start. Very lively. Lots of delivery of fresh fruit. (JR)

Racy and rich and full bodied yet not too sweet. This is a real charmer. (JR)

Lively and racy and sweet. Rather astringent and austere. Even sour on the end. (JR)

Quite sweet and liquoureux. Reasonably gentle and concentrated. But a teensy bit tarted up. (JR)

Lots of autumn mulch on the nose. Then masses of acidity on the palate, oddly. Chewy and embryonic. (JR)

50% fermented and aged in oak (not new). Slightly more herbal than Les Clos. More obvious power on the palate. Tight and fresh and long. (JH)

Fermented and aged in oak (not new). Light and minerally, slight sulphur catch in the throat at the moment but this will go. Creamy, direct, lemony peristence. Clear, well defined and richer on the palate than the nose suggested. (JH)

Putty nose. Great tension, partly thanks to the dissolved carbon dioxide... Just a little sweet. (JR)

Sweet and a bit dull. Heavy. Easy but not thrilling. Still a bit chewy on the end. (JR)

Cool and sherbetty. Round and insistent but a bit astringent. Earthbound. (JR)

Proper tremulous stuff. Lots of effort here – maybe even a little bit too much? Lots of tension. Dry finish. Even a little painful to taste now. (JR)

Proper stuff. Very serious and dry. Very firm. Dry finish. Lots of depth and subtlety. Very youthfully chewy. (JR)

Heady and rich and really rather gorgeous. Very sumptuous. (JR)

Faint cherry aroma. Fruity and fresh and lightly built. Easy now and scented on the mid palate. (JH)

Dry, cool, serious, herby. Great precision and texture. (JR)

Very vibrant and reverberant yet rich and haunting. Like a tip-top Riesling (no greater praise..?) Very clean and fresh and impressive. (JR)

Very minerally and a little austere. Chewy and long and dense. Serious. (JR)

Creamy and gentle but with a mineral edge. Then a fine grain and more texture than flavour on the palate. But there a nice savoury, lingering aftertaste. (JH)

Distinctive nose: appley but a little sweet too. Firm and dry and chalky textured. Lingering. (JH)

Sweet and rich and perfumed like a violet cachou. Not really very echt. (JR)

Very attractive reductive scent – quite different from the other two Matrot wines tasted at Bibendum. A little chewy on the end though – a bit attenuated. No great concentration. (JR)

Smoky, lightly oaky nose and lemon freshness. Creamy lemon on the palate. Smooth, dense and finishes fresh. (JH)

Subtle, lightly smoky citrus. Pear-grained texture, freshness but not much fruit flavour. Very textural wine. Fresh finish but somehow neutral-tasting. (JH)

Creamy oatmeal and a touch of oak spice. Inviting. A little reductive on the palate, again more texture than flavour. Concentrated and determined. Better with food, I imagine. (JH)

Light and minerally. But with a sweet undertow. Not quite refreshing enough. Also pretty chewy on the end. (JR)

Pale pinkish cherry colour. Light, fresh, bright and lively. Very approachable. (JH)

Savoury, darkish fruit. Sweeter than I expected on the palate, red cherry, then fine-grained. Correct. Nice length. (JH)

Gentle, fragrant red fruit. Fairly slight but harmonious and fresh. (JH)

Ripe and sweet but lively. Firm, dry but paper-fine tannins. A bit drying on the finish but the acidity is fresh. (JH)

Fresh cherry fruit. Ripe, almost raisiny taste but there’s freshness too. Papery dry tannins. (JH)

Pale crimson and sweet and easy. Actually less exaggerated than the Domaine wines. But very early maturing. (JR)

Dark crimson. Sweet and a bit tarted up on the nose. Spicy. Certainly intense but not desperately natural. Lots of fruit and acidity. Rather rasping tannins. (JR)

Smells more of cellar than vineyard and really quite tough. Chewy end. (JR)

Sweet and intense and jewelly. Lots of impact even if a bit more oak than I would ideally like. Raw finish. (JR)

Gentler than the village Gevrey until the severe menthol note at the end. A bit harsh. Drying tannins on the finish. This does not seem to me to be the spirit of Burgundy... (JR)

Bright crimson. Scented and rather voluptuous. Here is fruit that seems to stand up to the Méo oak! Fresh and vibrant and upright and delivers lots of (very slightly oaky) pleasure. Lots of sweetness. Very clean and refreshing. (JR)

Serious stuff. Firm. Verging on rigid but correct. Dry finish but the fruit is sufficient for the structure. (JR)

Very dark crimson. Burnt fruit edge to this. The oak is a bit obvious. Lots of concentration but not much subtlety. Edgy and jagged. (JR)

Scented and just very slightly tarty. Big and sweet and smooth but not nearly as exciting as the Clos Vougeot. Chewy, almost rasping finish. (JR)

'Près le Château' they say. (But not on the label.) [We have since found out that in 2009, as there was a substantial crop, Jean-Nicolas decided to separate out his two cuvees of Clos de Vougeot, as they are separate parcels. They were originally going to be called ‘Pres le Chateau’ and ‘Grand Maupertuis’, but the powers that be vetoed any mention of ‘Chateau’ in the descriptor at the last minute, so what might have been listed as ‘Pres le Chateau’ in a merchant’s opening offer turned up labelled as ‘Pres le Cellier’.]
Dark, substantial colour. Rich and substantial. Bit of a banker of wine (by which I mean someone with a pot belly behind a waistcoat rather than something that’s easy to guess.) Really pretty impressive and concentrated. Fresh too. Reverberates on the finish. (JR)

Racy, creamy nose. Very sweet start – just not really refreshing enough even though it has, as usual, been beautifully made. Good precision but just a tad too rich. (JR)

Firm ripe lime juice on the nose. Very rich start indeed. Still quite chewy and even a bit hot on the end. (JR) 14%

Muted, relatively low-key nose, and still pretty sweet on the start though there is more freshness on the finish than on the other two Merlin wines tasted. Very fruity rather than mineral in this vintage. No great persistence. (JR)

Light, pretty, easy. (JR)

Nervy and exciting. Not enormous purity but it does the business. (JR)

Good crisp cut even if not the most intense. Rather soft on the finish though alas. (JR)

Reasonably find but there’s just a bit of 2009 smudginess occluding it. Chalky finish. (JR)

Light nose and then a bit smudgy. Not the density one would expect of Les Clos. (JR)

Floral and easy on the nose – lively, fresh green scents. Really quite rich and dense. But definitely soft. Competent but no extra mile of tension. (JR)

A blend from three lieux dits. Bit rich and smudgy. Low acid! (JR)

Lacks a bit of concentration. Easy... (JR)

Fine and herbal and solid but just a little heavy and chewy in style. Hot end with some sweetness. (JR)