95

2009 Faiveley, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy

( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )

Mid garnet, pale rim. Still quite closed. Red cherry and some Asian spices on the nose. Quite a powerrfu, dense wines with plenty of tannin and oak. Ripe and silky, very well rounded with good ageing potential. Textured and plush, this underlines recent improvements at this Nuits St Georges-based négociant house. 

BuyDrinking window: 2013-20Similar Wines: Under £5, 91-95, France, Red, Pinot Noir
97

2009 Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy

( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )

If you can get past the outrageously heavy bottle (and I had trouble lifting it off the table), this is a superb wine. Bright, youthful, ruby red in colour. Lovely bramble and wild strawberry fruit on the nose. Plush and sweet with good acidity for balance. So Pinot? Silky, scented, beguiling, gentle with impressive delicacy for the vintage. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-13Similar Wines: Under £5, 96-100, France, Red, Pinot Noir
94

2009 Domaine Denis Mortet, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy

( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )

There’s no denying the quaility or ambition of the wines from this revitalised domaine. This is a very powerful Pinot, closer to a top Gevrey than a Clos de Vougeot. There’s a lot of oak on the wine at the moment, but this is a wine that is built for bottle age. The underlying fruit is excellent, just waiting to strut its stuff in five years or more. 

BuyDrinking window: 2017-25Similar Wines: Under £5, 91-95, France, Red, Pinot Noir
91

2009 Château de la Tour, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy

( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )

Intense mid rubyintense colour. Ripe, aromatic, heady (almost hedonistic?) nose, showing some forest floor and fresh leather notes. Big, ripe and bold, this is something of a statement wine. It’s arguably a little simple, reflecting the vintage as much as the terroir. The wine is ripe, with plenty of extraction and a slightly hot, dry finish. 

BuyDrinking window: 2013-20Similar Wines: Under £5, 91-95, France, Red, Pinot Noir
93

2010 Marti Fabra Masia Carreras Blanc, Empordà

( E13, 14.5%, El Celler Petit )

There’s clearly something special about the village of San Clement Sescebes (and not just as the place where lots of Spaniards did their military service) as it’s home to two of the region’s best producers (Terra Remota being the other one). This highly unusual blend of Garnatxa Blanca, Picapoll and Samsó (aka Carignan) is a big, umami-rich white with a dry finish, some tannin on the palate and masses of grip, density and flavour. A very serious bottle of white. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-15Similar Wines: £10-£20, 91-95, Spain, White, Carignan, Grenache Blanc, Palomino Fino, Picpoul
90

2011 Mas Llunes Nívia, Empordà

( E8, 13.5%, El Celler Petit )

A wine that is a little too marked by oak at the moment, but has good underlying texture and concentration. Floral, saline and concentrated with toasty oak and good minerality. Needs a year or two in bottle, but I love the notes of fennel and wild rosemary and the strucuture and muscularity of the finish. 

BuyDrinking window: 2012-14Similar Wines: £5-£10, 86-90, Spain, White, Grenache Blanc