On Tuesday night we had a lovely dinner at Ma Cuisine where owner Pierre Escoffier was in tip top form. We drank a couple of lovely bottles including a fabulous Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts 2014 from Carillon and a really impressive Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Les Murgers 2013 Hudelot Noellat. So we were in high spirits on Wednesday morning as we headed up to the Côtes de Nuits to see Charles van Canneyt, current owner at Domaine Hudelot Noellat.
Charles discussed the importance of maintaining the freshness in 2018 where picking dates were vital. He has made an epic range of 2018s and this was clear from the village wines, Vosne Romanée Villages the standout this year. Of the 1er Crus if I had to pick one today it would be the Vosne Romanée 1er Cru Les Malconsorts which showed how well he had handled the vintage. Three terrific Grands Crus where Romanee St Vivant and Richebourg were, as so often, the standouts.
Next up a visit to Laurent Ponsot’s new operation in Flagey Echezeaux where he has made a sensational set of 2018s. Meursault 1er Cru Perrières the standout white wine, although the Le Montrachet was none too shabby! Lots of brilliant reds with Chambertin, Griotte Chambertin and Clos St Denis getting the team pretty excited.
Quick lunch at Chez Guy and then into Gevrey Chambertin for three visits. This will be our second year working with Domaine Tortochot and we spent a happy hour with Chantal Tortochot who has made a charming set of fruit driven 2018s.
We then sped off at high speed to Domaine Geantet Pansiot where we were greeted by Fabien Geantet. I said how delighted I was we had made it on time. He noted that we were in fact 30 minutes late… so we had to taste at a brisk pace but the Goedhuis team were up to the task and we rattled through the 9 wines in 30 minutes. He has made a lovely range of 2018s packed with bright ripe fruit. For me the Gevrey Chambertin En Champs (planted in 1903) one of the standout cuvées.
Final visit of the day was to our old friends at Domaine Serafin. Our first vintage here was 1988 and it is always one of my favourite visits of the trip. Christian Serafin has now given way to his daughter Karine and winemaker Frederique Goulley. They are doing a great job of continuing Christian’s hard work in elevating the Domaine to one of the most sought after addresses in Gevrey. The 2018s all showed really well, as did the 2014 and 2016 Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes.