G was given this Ovens Farm Sparkling Brut Rose 2018 recently, amongst other things, from a generous friend in Lincolnshire, which is where this winery is based. On the nose, I detected a sweet baked product, which could have been brioche or perhaps, keeping it English, an iced bun. There was a hint of sherbet, strawberries in the middle and a dry finish. Our verdict was that it needed more time to knit together as it still had a beginning, middle and end. Definitely worth revisiting in a year or two.
Next, an old favourite, the Saint-Romain Combe Bazin from Vincent Perrin. I actually got out the 2016 and the 2017 at the same time, so it's been quite interesting to compare them. I have more detailed notes on the 2016, which is a beautiful golden colour and has an absolutely gorgeous nose. It's rich, rounded and gastronomic. On the second day it acquired additional notes of honey. We thought it would be best drunk this year, as it has nowhere to go, and that it would go very well with chicken (perhaps with a creamy mushroom sauce) or with goats cheese. The 2017 is a little lighter and more floral, perhaps more of an aperitif. Always a pleasure. I have some sitting in the fridge right now.
Finally, we had this village Puligny 2015 from Florent Gararudet a couple of months ago. Again it was a lovely colour and had a lot of honey and lemon on the nose. It had a wonderful viscous quality and good acidity especially for this vintage which was sometimes lacking in that department. It was quite rounded, and I'm not sure I'd have guessed it was a Puligny, but to compare something to premier cru Meursault is surely no insult. G said it was "disastrously easily drinkable" and it had a lemon syllabub or even lemon curd tart thing going on. We thought it was very successful.
