Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru en Champans 2011

Date of Tasting: 16 October 2015

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 12.5%

Origin: Burgundy, France

Appellation: Volnay 1er Cru Controlee

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR90

Web: http://www.demontille.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 93/100
Critics' Opinion: ST - 91/100, BH - 92/100

Appearance: Light ruby.

Aroma: Perfume of flower field enhanced with red fruits. Minerality.

Palate: Medium touch on the palate. Silkily smooth. Strawberry stands out. Complex with persistent finish.

Looking for masculine new world, you might just forget this one. This is pure and cool in style. Classic and elegant. Personally, love this style. Structure wise, it should live its age well in my humble opinion. Enjoyable now but cannot imagine how it would develop during the next decade.

Francois Mikulski Meursalt 1er Cru les Charmes 2007

Date of Tasting: 30 October 2015

Wine Type: White

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Alcohol: 13%

Origin: Burgundy, France

Appellation: Meursault 1er Cru Controlee

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR70

Web: http://www.domainemikulski.fr/
Chubby Appreciation: 92/100
Critics' Opinion: WA - 92/100, WS - 89/100, BH - 92/100, CT - 88/100

Appearance: Pale yellow straw.

Aroma: White fruits, zest, honey, elderflower, mild spices and mineral.

Palate: Rich enough but accessible. Ripe citrus an white fruits. Tangy acidity. Mineral notes. Dry.

Not so rich as expected but structure was there. Dry notes with mineral surely. Accessible now but would indeed be fascinating to age further. Definitely a fine Meursault but in my humble opinion, something was missing there: sexiness or charm perhaps?

Domaine de la Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrees 2011

Date of Tasting: 18 June 2015

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 13%

Origin: Burgundy, France

Appellation: Volnay 1er Cru AOC

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR70

Web: http://www.lapoussedor.fr/
Chubby Appreciation: 92/100
Critics' Opinion: ST - 92/100, BH - 93/100, JR - 16.5/20, CT - 92/100

Appearance: Dark and red.

Aroma: Seem complex but reduced at the moment. Dark fruits, spices, oak, and field of Provence.

Palate: Rather rich and structured. Fine and silky. Leaded by cassis and black fruits flavour. Minerality in the background. Quite long haul on the finish.

It was mid 2015 and this bottle of Volnay seemed to be closed and mute still. Dark fruit and subtle, yes. But its potential character and finesse are still sleeping. Structure and acidity were there though to support development. To savour its lingering pleasure, patience is required. Forget it for another 5 years, I guess.

Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 2013

Date of Tasting: 16 May 2015

Wine Type: White

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay

Alcohol: 13.5%

Origin: Burgundy, France

Appellation: Chablis 1er Cru AOC

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR40

Web: http://www.patrickpiuze.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 92/100
Critics' Opinion: AG - 92/100, WE - 94/100, ST - 93/100, BH - 92/100, CT - 94/100

Appearance: Soft yellow.

Aroma: Stony and lime perfume. White floral bouquet.

Palate: Vibrant and chalky with tanginess. Pear and citrus notes. Quite intense on the body and structure. Classic minerality. 

Pretty nice Chablis, this is. It is beautiful at its youth and should prolong its life nicely. Impressive energy lies within. I love the part that it shows both energy and sleekness. Rather value for money. I would not mind taking it as table wine in compliment. Cheers!!!

Domaine Nicolas Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Fremiets 2005

Date of Tasting: 19 March 2015

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot

Alcohol: 13%

Origin: Burgundy, France

Appellation: Volnay 1er Cru AOC

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR90

Web: http://www.nicolas-rossignol.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 91/100
Professional Rating: WA - 92/100, BH - 91/100, CT - 92/100

Appearance: Dark red

Aroma: Blue and red berries on the nose with earthiness

Palate: Rather full and concentrate with tannins. Meaty and sweety red fruits. Acid and mineral elements seemed to be diminished.

Not my kind of volnay just yet, this bottle was. However, I feel like it is not quite at its potential level just yet. Things are shut and muted at the moment: it was broad and confusing. Revisiting in a few years should be interesting to see how it reveals. Good night for now for this volnay by Nicolas Rossignol.

Pascal Marchand-Tawse Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Les Millandes 2011

Date of Tasting: 22 August 2014

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 13%

Origin: Bourgogne, France

Appellation: Appellation D'Origine Controlee

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR60

Web: http://www.marchand-tawse.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 93/100
Professional Rating: ST - 88/100, BH - 92/100

Appearance: deep ruby

Aroma: red berries and herbs

Palate: full bodied with density and power. lingering red fruits palate. long and fine silkily tannins.

This is more like a bigger style of pinot noir from Morey Saint Denis. It is big but refined and seamless. The red berries note dominate throughout with support from fresh spices. Impressively long on the finish. Still rather young at the moment so let this baby sleeps until the end of this decade. Cheers!!!!!

Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Chaumes 2007

Date of Tasting: 22 October 2014

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 13.2%

Origin: Bourgogne, France

Appellation: Appellation Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Controlee

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR80

Web: http://www.arnoux-lachaux.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 92/100

Professional Rating: ST - 90/100, BH - 92/100, JR - 17.5/100, CT - 92/100

Appearance: bright ruby

Aroma: red pinot fruits aroma, floral scented, a bit of spices

Palate: medium bodied with fine volume of juicy red berries and blue berries forward. fruit seems to dominate rather than oak. lively with charming complexity. well balance.

Beauty and elegant in style. It possesses some heavy body but not really overwhelming. Arnoux-Lachaux Les Chaumes 2007 is drinking wonderfully now but yet the life span is still bright ahead. I like the purity and balance of this bottle which perhaps represents the charm of this terroir without forcefully driven. Shall indeed enjoy more of this.

Pascal Marchand-Tawse Fixin 1er Cru Clos du Chapitre 2011

Date of Tasting: 8 August 2014

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 13%

Origin: Bourgogne, France

Appellation: D'Origine Controlee

Expect to Pay: ~ THB2,000

Web: http://www.marchand-tawse.com/
Chubby Score: 92/100
Value for money: 7/10

Professional Rating: n.a.

Appearance: deep ruby

Aroma: floral and red currants infusion, some earth

Palate: medium bodied with opulent punch. some sweet red fruits and plum. sharp long finish. flavour development stemming along the course. a little low on acidity. a bit of pungent aftertaste.

It is a rather modern Burgundy for me. There are volume and mild sweetness like those pinot noir from California. I might as well say it is a half-blood. Nevertheless, there was so much joy from this bottle. After an hour from opening, it was blossoming splendidly. Rather value for money from my opinion and is the one to watch for development.