Domaine Bony, 29th October

Julien le taxi whisked us off to our next appointment, at Domaine Bony in Nuits St Georges. A new supermarket had appeared across the road since our visit last year! A fine tabby cat and another large yellow dog were hanging around outside. The dog came over to say hello and we were soon all best friends.

Then Fabienne appeared and the tasting could begin. She told us that things had been very busy for her lately and some of the wines were still in barrel, so we didn't taste the full range.

Of the wines we tasted, the Nuits St Georges had a richness and power to it. She uses 20% new oak and there was some discussion of the style - these are not traditional Nuits which is a good thing in my book - they are much more fruity, approachable and generally enjoyable, and don't need to be kept for 20 years to drink.

As usual, I loved the Les Damodes which isn't a premier cru, but feels like one in terms of quality. This had very nice red berries and reminded me of fruit compote, with a lovely silky texture.

Fans of Fabienne's 2009 Passetoutgrains (e.g. me - considerable quantities of the stuff have been glugged at AduV Towers) will be pleased that she made some more in 2014. We tasted this after the Damodes which was unusual, as normally you'd go from lighter to heavier wines, but nevertheless it had a nice fruity nose and was soft, easy-drinking. It's a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and gamay. Fabienne thought the nose was a bit "sauvage" and I knew what she meant but I rather liked it.

We also tasted a couple of whites - an Aligote and a Bourgogne Blanc. The Aligote is made in stainless steel tanks and from vines that are just 4 years old. I normally don't particularly like Aligote but I did enjoy this. It was well-balanced with a nice texture, not thin and acidic like some Aligotes can be. Fabienne told us that a Parisien caviste had compared it to the Aligote made by Lalou Bize-Leroy; having just consulted a certain other wine merchant's website I see the 2010 vintage of this is going for £54 in the UK so hope that Fabienne won't be pricing accordingly... The Bourgogne Blanc is made from 60 year old vines and seemed softer than the Aligote, with a certain creaminess to it. ACC thought it needed some time to knit together, but it was a promising start.

Once again it seemed to me that the 2014s were shaping up well, the quality of the wines from this domaine is consistently good, and thanks to Fabienne for the tasting.