The french love affair with bank holidays means that it is always a battle to make appointments in November, particularly on Armistice day, fortunately however there was minimal interruption today - our winegrowers are made of sterner stuff, their strong work ethic seems to apply even to the beloved "jours ferriers." As a result we get to swan around the finest Crus of Chambolle Morey and Gevrey with a little interlude to Jean Marc Millot in Nuits St Georges. Each terroir /wine is so clearly defined and identifiable in 2008, this was more evident in the cellars of the charming Ghislaine Barthod than anywhere else. The villages was enormously impressive, as for the crus normally the Fuees is the outsanding example for me and it is extremely good but it is a close run thing with Charmes this year, the warm microclimate of the lower Charmes must have been well suited to the cooler conditions of 2008. Louis Remy's wines were excellent too, my strict jesuit education normally means I have a preference for the austere but profound Latricieres,though I have to admit this year to being seduced by Clos de la Roche, another warm micro climate thas has performed particularly well in 2008. As for Bruno Clair at the end of the day, well his wines left us pretty speechless. Clos St Jacques tastes like a Grand Cru, Clos de Beze is totally seductive and Bonnes Mares is arguably the best yet has Bruno finds his feet in this vineyard since it came back into the fold in 2006, it has been very pretty these last few vintages but the 2008 has more strength and depth than its predecessors whilst retaining the purity and definition of the vintage. Bravo Bruno!
