Steven Spurrier’s wines of the month

Decanter’s long-standing consultant editor hand-picked fine wines for drinking now and for the cellar, based on tastings that he has attended recently.

From the cellar

Méo-Camuzet, Aux Murgers 2002

Under the title ‘Time to Mature’, Goedhuis & Co hosted a tasting of 32 premier and grand cru 2002 red Burgundies selected by Sarah Marsh MW. Heralded as a very good but not great vintage, the balance of ripe fruit, fresh acidity and fine tannins has seen it move up the scale to match the best, and most bottles put on a marvellous show.

From Côte de Beaune, the Chanson, Clos des Fèves seemed at its peak, while an autumnal Lafarge, Clos des Chênes Volnay, feminine Chandon de Briailles, Corton- Bressandes and especially the velvety Méo-Camuzet, Corton Clos Rognet had more to give. Among the premiers crus were two superbly different Chambolle-Musignys: a lissom Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, Les Fuées and earthy Georges Roumier, Les Amoureuses.

From the grands crus my top marks went to: Méo-Camuzet, Echezeaux Les Rouges du Bas; Drouhin-Laroze, Latricières- Chambertin; Armand Rousseau, Clos de la Roche; Mugneret- Gibourg, Ruchottes- Chambertin; and Grivot, Clos de Vougeot – all Burgundy at its best. But for my own cellar I would choose Méo-Camuzet’s Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers, edging towards Vosne-Romanée in style, the expressive nose leading to classic depth and richness, evidence of Jean- Nicolas Méo’s training under Henry Jayer.

For the cellar

Chanson, Clos de Fèves 2017

The Burgundy houses of Albert Bichot, Chanson, Faiveley and Louis Jadot held tastings of their 2017 wines in November 2018. These were followed by the tastings of the UK merchants and importers in January 2019, and already the vintage is provoking a high level of interest. The 2017 harvest in the Côte d’Or started on 6 September in outstanding conditions with fully ripe, healthy grapes that produced red wines full of colour and fruit with an attractive florality, sappy texture and velvety tannins.

While opening early, they have an ageing potential to match 2010 and 2005. In such a vintage the wines of Beaune show their best, and Chanson, with 25ha of vineyards across 10 different premiers crus, is for me the benchmark for the appellation. The producer showed six of these, opening with a rounded and fleshy Clos du Roi, then moving to a more structured and finer Teurons. These were followed by a spicy and grippy Clos des Marconnets, then a rich, velvety and classy Grèves and an equally fine but less voluptuous Clos des Mouches. The tasting ended with Chanson’s monopole Clos des Fèves. Here it owns 3.8ha of the 4.42ha Les Fèves, on prime mid-slope limestone soil. Reticent by comparison, with new wood evident, this is a wine of grand cru quality to be drunk. 2023-2034, 95/100pts.

The Spurrier selection

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