Stuff out of storage, at last!

I've been buying wine in bond for several years now and have accumulated some treasures which, for reasons too boring to go into here, I've not been able to get at for some time. Last week at long last EHD confirmed that they had my stash and I can now have it delivered with a mere 48 hours notice. G and I sprang into action, reviewed my spreadsheet and picked a couple of items which we felt were ready to go.

First was this 2005 Bourgogne Rouge from Hudelot-Noellat, which I was encouraged to buy by ACC several years ago. It was wonderful to come home to find this had arrived, and to open the box and find 12 of this beauty inside. I couldn't wait to try it. The domaine is based in Chambolle-Musigny and the alcohol level is apparently just 12%. We gave it an hour and a half in the decanter and  found it soft, charming and pretty. It was a baby Chambolle for a fraction of the cost, drinking beautifully now and with a fabulous finish. "Essence of pinot noir" say my notes.

Second was this 2007 Ladoix 1er cru "Les Grechons" from Domaine Nudant. I remember visiting this domaine a few years ago where after a strenuous walk from Chorey in single file along the D974 with lorries whizzing past a few inches away, we had a tasting where we were joined by a random couple of retired Brits clad in some kind of knitted fancy dress costume.

It seems that this experience didn't put me off, as I bought a six-pack of this afterwards. It's a lovely golden colour with a nose of vanilla and cream. Very classy, precise and elegant white burgundy, with the kind of finish that means you have to really slow down as it would be sacrilege to guzzle. We've had it twice now, and the second bottle was slightly richer than the first but both times it scored a 9 on the Premier Cru Project scale. Again it's drinking really well now which is a relief as I was worried it might have peaked already. I'm already down to my last four so don't anticipate any problem getting through it...