This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous
Domaine des Lambrays
Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is extremely well defined on the nose with blacker fruit than its peers, wet limestone scents percolating through the red berry fruit, somehow sedate and effortless. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, nigh perfect acidity, a touch of fleshiness towards the finish. It is not the most ambitious Grand Cru, yet in terms of sheer pleasure, this hits the spot. Drink over the next 15 to 20 years. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2016 tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet
Les Petits Monts 1er Cru Vosne-Romanée Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru has a very sensual and creamy bouquet with luscious red cherry and wild strawberry fruit, flirting with jamminess but thankfully avoiding that. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. This is well balanced and more harmonious than its peers, with a fine bead of acidity and a fine-boned finish. This should age with grace and panache and seems like it is putting some distance between itself and Amélie Berthaut’s Les Suchots. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Domaine Henri Boillot
Les Fremiets Volnay 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Volnay Les Fremiets 1er Cru has a composed and harmonious bouquet with nicely integrated oak, perhaps just a little gamey in style although it does not dominate the overall aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy, quite firm tannin though coated with the fleshy fruit that one expects from a Volnay. I am not quite sure if the oak regime snugly fits the fruit profile. It seems to shave off too many edges on the finish, rending it simpler than it otherwise might have been. Perhaps bottle age will meliorate this Volnay since it certainly has good substance. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting in Burgundy. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru has a very different nose than the Village Cru, here, more red fruit, nicely pixelated, certainly more mineral-driven and with more spice. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, good body, focused and animated with a dash of white pepper and clove towards the finish, the mouth tingling long after it has departed. This oft overlooked label should not be. Tasted at the Domaine. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Domaine Anne Gros
Les Loachausses Echezeaux Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Echézeaux Les Loachausses Grand Cru has a very detailed and focused bouquet. My instinct tells me that this is already beginning to close down compared to its showing from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. There is a fine bead of acidity, silky smooth in texture with a caressing white pepper tinged, black cherry and bilberry finish. There is still a little oak to be subsumed, but given the frost that affected this vineyard, this is a great success for Anne Gros. Tasted at the Domaine Direct Tasting in London. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Domaine Georges Roumier
Les Cras Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru has a much more meaty and tertiary bouquet than its peers from possibly a small addition of whole bunch, the oak influence just a little more conspicuous than I would have liked. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy, angular tannin, blacker fruit emerging towards the finish with a slightly brittleness to the texture. This needs another couple of years to coalesce. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019)
— 4 years ago
Domaine de la Vougeraie
Monopole Clos de Thorey Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Nuits Saint-Georges Clos de Thorey 1er Cru has a lot of toasty oak on the nose plus a touch of reduction. The aromatics are opaque and as a consequence it is not as engaging as some of its peers, though there is attractive whole bunch influence. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, moderate acidity, a little chewy in texture with dark berry fruit mixed with spicebox and white pepper. At least there is fine cohesion on the finish - give it 4 or 5 years in bottle. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Domaine Bruno Clair
Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has an intense bouquet with blackberry, redcurrant and cranberry scents laced with tobacco and woodland aromas. Lovely definition and focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, enormous depth and great concentration, perhaps the most Musigny-esque of the Bonnes-Mares. Great length but it needs some serious cellaring. Enormous potential here. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Bouchard Père et Fils
Les Cailles Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2016
The 2016 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru is much more reticent on the nose compared to its peers, the fruit is subdued at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, firm grip, a little chewiness implying a heavier than necessary extraction although there is satisfying length. Just a little broad-shouldered and uncouth at the moment. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago
Delectable Wine
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The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru is blessed with a bouquet of real pedigree: very complex mixture of red and black brambly fruit, sous-bois, crushed stone and rose petal aromas. The harmony and delineation is outstanding. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, pliant tannins that lend this Clos Saint-Jacques symmetry and poise. Fresh and vibrant, it never relinquishes any of its breeding and tension. The finish is persistent and utterly captivating. Fabulous. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (neal Martin, Vinous, October 2019) — 4 years ago