Wine List

A blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, the 2017 Blanc comes sailing out of the glass with bold notes of white peaches, fresh pineapple, lemon tart and lime cordial plus suggestions of honeysuckle, beeswax and musk perfume with a touch of wild sage. Medium-bodied and with a beautiful silky texture, the palate is packed with vibrant stone fruit and tropical fruit flavors, sporting a racy line of freshness, and it finishes long with an invigorating lift. 2020 - 2034

Score: 94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020), March 2020

Cos d'Estournel started making this white wine in 2005 from the Goulée vineyard. The 2017 Blanc is composed of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sémillon. It gives beautiful, expressive grapefruit, ripe peach and passion fruit notes with touches of baker’s yeast, powdered ginger, nutmeg and beeswax. Medium-bodied, vibrant, racy and with great finesse, it has a very long citrus and tropical fruit-laced finish. With plenty of structure and intensity, it should age reasonably well.

Score: 90/92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (236), April 2018

This is a very rich white with sliced, dried mango and apple, as well as cooked apples, candle wax and light vanilla. Full-bodied, layered and intense. Big, rich wine, yet remaining fresh and vivid. Needs time to come together. A blend of 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon. but the semillon really marks the wine. Searing acidity, too. Try after 2021.

Score: 96 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2020

This is going to be a wonderful Cos white with green mangoes, sliced apples and crushed-stone character. Green kiwis, too. Full-bodied and very rich with tension and brightness. Fantastic length. 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon.

Score: 96/97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2018

Tasting note: In contrast to many of the wines in the range that are quite expressive, this is actually quite reticent if not downright mute with very ripe but elusive aromas of mocha, plum and spicy cassis. The extremely rich, powerful and concentrated big-bodied flavors possess a suave mouth feel as the sap almost completely buffers the unusually generous but quite serious and long finish. This is a classic Bonnes Mares in terms of its underlying architecture and should require between 15 and 20 years to be at its best.

Tasting note: More discreet wood more easily allows the overtly spicy aromas of poached plum, lavender and tea, The round yet reasonably well-detailed flavors possess a sophisticated mouth feel as well as fine mid-palate density, all wrapped in a youthfully austere, mineral-driven and very firm finish. Unlike the Grèves however, this excellent effort should be reasonably approachable after 5 to 7 years. Burghound 

The 2017 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru comes from a 0.23-hectare parcel close to the Morey commune. This has a superior bouquet to the Echézeaux, more controlled and detailed, offering lovely floral, violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity, and fleshy and generous toward the finish. Good potential here. Drink 2022-2040.

Score: 91/93 Neal Martin, vinous.com (49), January 2019

Domaine Château de la Tour
2011
Clos de Vougeot Vieilles Vignes
Grand Cru Red 750 ml
Score: 94
Tasted: Jan 15, 2014
Drink: 2023+
Issue: 53
Note: from vines that were planted in 1910
Producer note: François Labet told me that 2012 was a "challenging vintage in the Côte de Nuits for a wide variety of reasons up until the 10th of August, but it was even more challenging in the Côte de Beaune. Once we arrived at the 10th of August though it was generally remarkable how quickly the vines recovered and got the fruit ripening process back on track. Before that though the flowering was quite troubled and resulted in a lot of shatter and shot berries. While there was some disease pressure, most notably from mildew, we were able to limit the damage by treating when and how it was necessary. We began picking on the 23rd of September and brought in very clean and phenolically mature fruit and I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality as I never expected it to be as good as it was. As to the wines, they are rich, powerful and very generous yet well-balanced wines that will have that rare ability to give pleasure young but because of the concentration, age for years too. I think that they will surprise a lot of people by how well they age." It seems that Labet rarely misses anymore and 2012 is no exception. The 2011s, revisited below, were bottled in July 2013. See also the Progress Report herein regarding an extensive Château de la Tour vertical. (Wine Warehouse, www.winewarehouse.com, Los Angeles, CA and Verity Wines, www.veritywines.com, NY/NJ; Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.com, UK).
Tasting note: Deep ruby. An intensely floral nose is composed of cool but ripe red pinot, dark currant and plenty of pungent earth scents. There is more size, weight, power and concentration to the imposingly constructed flavors that are both supported and shaped by the tightly wound and extremely firm tannins, all wrapped in a mouth coating and hugely persistent finish. This displays terrific potential but it is a robust wine to buy only if you have the wherewithal and patience to wait.
 

Château de La Tour
2016
Clos de Vougeot Vieilles Vignes
Grand Cru Red barrel
Score: 92-95
Tasted: Jan 15, 2018
Drink: 2031+
Issue: 69
Note: from vines that were planted in 1910
Producer note: François Labet told me that 2016 was a "difficult but nonetheless excellent vintage that produced results no one expected. The frost was a sort of severe crop thinning and made for naturally very concentrated wines. We didn't really have too much trouble with the mildew though it certainly kept us busy fighting it off. I chose to overlap the treatments whenever I could so even with the rain the foliage was never left completely unprotected. I began the harvest on the 22nd of September with our vines in Beaune (sold under the Labet label for which the reviews will appear in Issues 70 and 71) and then attacked them in Clos de Vougeot. Thankfully the fruit was both ripe and essentially spotless even though yields were down fully 50%. I used 100% whole clusters for the vinification with no added sulfur until the malos finished. As to the wines, they are rich, seductive and full-bodied and in particular I really like the intrinsic balance. They should age well yet drinking them on the younger side would not be out of the question." Labet has once again done excellent work with his 2016s and while they don't quite match the quality of the 2015s, it's actually quite close. The 2015s, revisited below, were bottled in June 2017. (Terlato Wines, IL, USA; Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.com, UK).
Tasting note: Here too there is a pretty maraschino cherry note sitting atop the slightly riper array of super-fresh plum, black cherry, cassis and violet-scented aromas. The naturally sweet and beautifully concentrated broad-shouldered flavors brim with sappy dry extract before culminating in an overtly powerful and driving finish where the intensity really builds from the mid-palate on to the explosive backend. The old vines are very much apparent and this should also age effortlessly for years.
 

Tasting note: Very generous wood stops just short of being dominant on the red pinot fruit, mocha, forest floor and newly turned earth. There is outstanding concentration to the big-bodied and overtly powerful flavors that brim with dry extract that serves to buffer the very firm but not really robust or especially austere finale. This is certainly a big wine but I don't find the separation that I normally find between this and the old vines cuvée though it may separate more clearly in time.

Domaine Château de La Tour
2017
Clos de Vougeot Vieilles Vignes
Grand Cru Red 750 ml
Score: 93
Tasted: Jan 10, 2020
Drink: 2032+
Issue: 77
Note: from vines that were planted in 1910
Producer note: François Labet told me that 2018 had "a very large fruit set so even with our high percentage of old vines, it was critical to control yields because if you didn't, even with the very hot temperatures it was difficult to obtain sufficient phenolic maturity. I began picking my chardonnay on the 4th of September and picked both my Côte de Beaune pinot [sold under the Labet label for which the reviews will appear in Issues 78 and 79]. We chose to begin picking the Clos on the 7th of September and picked slowly as the conditions were warm but largely ideal. The fruit was very clean with yields that varied between 35 and 38 hl/ha. The potential alcohols were actually pretty reasonable considering the heat as nothing came in over 14% and most were right at 13.5%. We used 100% whole clusters for the vinifications and the fermentations gave us no particular concerns. The style of the 2018s isn't classic but given how much they have freshened over the course of the élevage, they may well surprise people as to how they evolve over the longer term." The 2017s, revisited below, were bottled in June 2019. (Terlato Wines, IL, USA; Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.com, UK; Watson's Wines, 852.2606.8828, www.watsonswine.com, Hong Kong).
Tasting note: Similar wood treatment with a touch of menthol is present on the red berry aromas. There is better mid-palate density to the broad-shouldered and powerful flavors that possess excellent depth and persistence on the balanced and youthfully austere finish where a hint of wood resurfaces. There is much better than average concentration in the context of what is typical for the 2017 vintage though note well that this is presently very backward.
 

Domaine Marquis d'Angerville
2017
Volnay "Clos des Angles"
1er Cru Red barrel
Score: 90-92
Tasted: Apr 10, 2019
Drink: 2027+
Issue: 74
Note: from a 1.05 holding located in the Pointes des Angles
Producer note: Guillaume d'Angerville described 2017 as a "vintage where we again narrowly avoided a potentially disastrous brush with frost. The growing season began exceptionally early and when temperatures began to fall in the last week of April, everyone had the bad memories of 2016 in their heads. Thankfully we managed to mostly avoid any real damage and the rest of the season was really pretty tranquil. We chose to begin picking on the 4th of September and the fruit really couldn't have been much cleaner. There was a bit of sorting for a few under ripe berries but otherwise, the sorting crew had an easy time of it. As to the wines, I would describe them as a harmonious blend of finesse and energy with excellent terroir transparency. There is an attractive fluidity about them that I very much like and adding to their appeal is a lovely freshness that makes them almost irresistible. As is often the case, I was particularly taken with the quality I found here and I would agree with M. d'Angerville that there is a highly appealing blend of refinement and purity to his 2017s. Note that the 2016 Clos des Ducs revisited below was bottled in April, 2018. (John Armit Wines, www.armit.co.uk, Lay & Wheeler, www.laywheeler.com, Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.com, O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, Charles Taylor Wines, www.charlestaylorwines.com and Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, all UK; Altaya Wines, www.altayawines.com, Hong Kong).
Tasting note: There is a touch of herbal tea character to the spice and ultra-fresh red and dark currant scents that include a pretty floral wisp. The mouth feel of the middle weight flavors is completely different as it can be accurately described as one of lace and grace, all wrapped in a nicely complex and lingering finish that flashes just a bit of youthful austerity.
 

Domaine Marquis d'Angerville
2017
Volnay "Clos des Ducs"
1er Cru Red barrel
Score: 92-95
Tasted: Apr 10, 2019
Drink: 2032+
Issue: 74
Don't miss!
Note: a monopole that measures 2.15 ha
Producer note: Guillaume d'Angerville described 2017 as a "vintage where we again narrowly avoided a potentially disastrous brush with frost. The growing season began exceptionally early and when temperatures began to fall in the last week of April, everyone had the bad memories of 2016 in their heads. Thankfully we managed to mostly avoid any real damage and the rest of the season was really pretty tranquil. We chose to begin picking on the 4th of September and the fruit really couldn't have been much cleaner. There was a bit of sorting for a few under ripe berries but otherwise, the sorting crew had an easy time of it. As to the wines, I would describe them as a harmonious blend of finesse and energy with excellent terroir transparency. There is an attractive fluidity about them that I very much like and adding to their appeal is a lovely freshness that makes them almost irresistible. As is often the case, I was particularly taken with the quality I found here and I would agree with M. d'Angerville that there is a highly appealing blend of refinement and purity to his 2017s. Note that the 2016 Clos des Ducs revisited below was bottled in April, 2018. (John Armit Wines, www.armit.co.uk, Lay & Wheeler, www.laywheeler.com, Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.com, O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, Charles Taylor Wines, www.charlestaylorwines.com and Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, all UK; Altaya Wines, www.altayawines.com, Hong Kong).
Tasting note: There is an overt spiciness to the even more restrained nose that blends notes of red cherry, plum, violet, lavender and a whiff of warm earth. The sleek, intense and chiseled middle weight flavors flash ample minerality before terminating in a youthfully austere and wonderfully persistent finish that, like the Caillerets, is impeccably well-balanced. This tautly muscular effort is also youthfully austere and very much built-to-age. In a word, lovely.
 

Tasting note: A discreet application of oak sets off the openly floral and spicy red currant, plum, sandalwood and Asian tea scents. There is impressive mid-palate density to the muscular and notably powerful medium weight plus flavors that seem to be constructed on a firm base of minerality, all wrapped in strikingly persistent finish that is austere but well-balanced thanks to the abundant level of sappy dry extract. Like the Clos du Roi, this is explicitly built-to-age and don't waste your precious bottles by drinking them too young.
 

Domaine Comte de Vogüé
2017
Bonnes Mares
Grand Cru Red 750 ml
Score: 93

Tasting note: A very ripe yet agreeably fresh nose reflects notes of blue berry, plum liqueur and violet that are cut with spice, menthol and earth hints. The exceptionally rich and impressively full-bodied flavors evidence a taut muscularity, all wrapped in an overtly powerful and lingering finish that is naturally sweet. As one would reasonably expect this is quite firm; indeed it's borderline rustic.