Bourgogne Côte d’Or

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Extremely bright robe with great depth and beautiful green highlights. The nose also reveals depth, providing beautiful complexity and an easily perceptible density. Pear, apple and peach coulis; citrus juices – zest, too – mixed with white fruits; grapefruit; yuzu; lemon; a touch of quince. Lawn grass with a blanket of little spring flowers – clover and daisies, dandelions and buttercups; a honeyed note floating in the air, evoking barley sugar and caramel sweets; to this, a subtle note of lavender reigns in the middle of a bouquet of white freesias; a haze of lemongrass, then sage, and tarragon.
A caressing mouthfeel, silky and moreish; beautiful body; a lot of fruit. Difficult to list individual flavours, but the general impression is that they are more or less all present: a lot of citrus fruits – yuzu, lemon and lime, elements of grapefruit, notes of Outspan oranges; elements of Reinette and Boskoop apple; Conference pear; flavours somewhere between yellow and white peaches, with a sweetness, above all, and a fragrant note; the mandarin note is quickly overtaken by the kumquat; coriander, a little verbena, some cooked mint; the complexity has been validated.
Intense finish, precise and focused; maturation process is barely perceptible; a remarkable length and, in particular, great persistence; quite spicy as it lingers; peppers, especially white pepper; and a hint of ginger.
A high-calibre Burgundy; its maturity and subtle empyreumatic note call for a pairing with hot food; the finesse of the herbs induce you to progress beyond the aperitif; after two or three years, pair with tarragon coquelet chicken and peas, or quail with grapes, or even currants; or don’t hesitate to try breaded veal escalope with Dauphinois gratin.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Aniseed on the nose, wax, vanilla, white fruits somewhere between coulis and candied fruit; the wax is apparent again, though is now more like polish with a base of honey; a touch of pineapple; apricot liqueur or syrup; sweet violet as found in pastry, violet candy, resin.
Full-bodied palate, big generous flesh, white fruit coulis and the appearance of citrus fruits with lime and lemon, passion fruit, flambéed yellow peach and pan-fried mango. Substantial length. Here, hot food is perfect; you can – indeed, you must – flame, grill, sear on the pan or on the plancha; try it with prawns or calamari.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

The concentration remains but the register has changed; lying between very ripe pears and nuts – Brazil nuts and pecans, almonds, and not far from walnuts either; at the same time, a sweetness evoking sweet almond oil, hazelnut, a white peach halo, sensual white flowers – opened wide, white roses in particular, a touch of menthol excites the nose, with a tendency to swell, bringing freshness and energy; the nuts now combine with white chocolate, a touch of crème fraîche; broom flowers add to the growing charm of the whole, a note of vanilla; and finally there’s something like gougères, or even cream puffs.
A creamy palate, a really thick but still soft crème fraîche, baked custard, pears and apples, a touch of caramel, baked pears and apples, a hint of roasted apricot, a note of quince again that has retained its character somewhere between fruit and vegetable, and there are oranges – slightly bitter such as Outspan, a hint of rhubarb, and clementine-cinchona bark.
A powerful finish, almost violent, definitely tannic, and there’s still that sensation of telluric depth already mentioned for the aligoté; the extraction imposed by the vintage gives the sensation of having swallowed a lump of limestone rock and clay – not just a mineral expression but the magma itself. Here, too, a sit-down meal is called for – food of substance on the plate is recommended.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

A bright light gold robe with luminous green highlights. Dense, deep, but also complex and sophisticated. Notes of pretty pink button mushrooms and Caesar’s mushrooms, warm butter, hazelnut oil and lords-and-ladies, almost-candied white fruits – pear and white peach, tree bark and dried pulses, lifted by a touch of chervil, nuts like macadamia and Brazil nuts; at the end of the nose, the wine develops towards poached pear, fresh butter and praline, which is to be expected as we are within the confines of Meursault.
On the palate, stewed white fruit – pears and apples, discreet vanilla notes of creamy white fruit, a touch of honey, of apricot, orange jelly and pistachio nougat. Overall, a delicious wine whose flavours need to be accompanied by a hot tasty dish – a veal Milanese cutlet or chicken supreme with mushrooms.
An all-consuming finish that lingers in the body.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

Rich and complex nose, candle, rosin, discreet citrus fruits, yellow and green lemons, mandarin, then starfish, molluscs, prawn shell, iodine, salt, slate, cast iron, I don’t know if you realize how much the roots have been searched for information. Slight sweetness in the palate with caramel, a lot of substance, orange, applesauce, a slight bitterness this time, probably due to the concentration, the wine is difficult to move as it is so massive. Same story as for the aligoté, about ten minutes are enough to refine it, to change the touch of the wine towards more fruit and finesse. The powerful, massive and very long finish is also slow to display the apple, orange and pomelo which show up in turn. Must be kept for at least two years. To be served as an accompaniment to a Meursault, sweetbreads and mushroom veal with tagliatelle salmon steak.

Raphael GIMENEZ-FAUVETY ‘s tasting notes – Retailer ; “De Corps et d’Esprit” in Paris

When your friends taste this, make sure they know it is a Burgundy, the regional appellation of Burgundy because they will have a hard time believing it! It has everything you would dream of and more, a staggering complexity at this level. White fruit, apple skin and crushed banana, in a green setting made of mountain herbs, savoury, marjoram? Like that. A lactic note followed by a plethora of citrus fruits, tangerine-kumquats-oranges, dried fruits now, almond and hazelnut, more white flowers like carnations, there is a lactic note of yoghurt, cream, butter followed by a side of sweet almond oil and hazelnut oil, the wine in contact with the air, could not be more alive, you’ve seen it, it reveals itself in successive layers where we find fruits, herbs, sweet spices, citrus and this is a white Burgundy! The palate is loaded with fruit, opulent yet lively, citrus-lime, lemon, grapefruit, the wine is peppery, salty, exciting and tasty, great length and great continuity, a spectacular wine.