The Fat Duck

Let's raise a glass to the 2011 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru by Pierre Yves Colin Moray its bright and youthful colour might be counterintuive. ⁠
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Aromas - it's like a symphony for your senses, with a signature scent of finely positive reduction, mingling harmoniously with notes of yellow plum, grapefruit peel, green apple, and citrus oil, all wrapped up with a bow of white flowers, melted butter, and spiced flinty minerals. ⁠
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The texture is moorish, dense, spicy, and full of surprises, with citrus and green apple flavors that pop like confetti. And that salty, spicy mineral reduction is just great taking this wine a noth leaving you craving another sip faster than you can say "pour me another!" ⁠
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So go ahead, sip, savor, and enjoy - because while this wine is great now, it's got potential for further development over the next 5-10 years. 95+⁠

Fine wine advisor

France

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

Burgundy

Truly superb; among all the 1999s from Rene Engel, it might be the very best produced by Domaine.⁠
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The modern, bright ruby colour, despite being 24 years old, exhibits no signs of age. The aromatics are vibrant, youthful, and clean, offering a blend of flinty minerals with cranberries, red currants, and sweet strawberries, scented with cayenne pepper and a hint of citrus, alongside aged balsamic vinegar. ⁠
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A wonderful and delicate note of dry autumn leaves, forest, and cured ham adds an intriguing element to the overall experience, providing a clear indication of future development.⁠
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Following the promising aroma, the flavour is equally entertaining and youthful, delivering pure and precise notes of spiced red fruit and minerals, with forest floor and dry flowers that are iodine-rich and long-lasting. ⁠
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The tannins are structured, layered, and deep, superbly refreshed by iodine-packed minerality, reaching an ideal level of phenolic maturity that creates a weightless stimulating length—perfectly proportioned in depth and breadth.⁠
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There's much to unpack in this wine, with the capacity to age another 50+ years. Whether it will improve during this time depends on your preference for fully mature wines. I look forward to enjoying it again with another 5-10 years of bottle age. 97⁠
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One thing is for sure, Phillip Engel was a genius.⁠

Domaine Rene Engel

Domaine Rene Engel Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Aux Brulees

This marks my seventh or eighth encounter with the 1990 Chateau Margaux over the years, and each time, this wine surpasses expectations. It stands as a clear benchmark of the 1990s, alongside the exceptional 1996 vintage.⁠
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For optimal enjoyment, decanting two hours before drinking is recommended. It's remarkable how this wine evolves, and rushing through it would be detrimental.⁠
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The color is saturated and deep, transitioning towards a mahogany ruby hue, revealing a phenomenal array of aromas ranging from blackberries, blueberries, and redcurrant confiture, scented by graphite, cedar, underbrush, with a pinch of smoke and turned earth.⁠
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As exceptional as the aroma is, the flavor surpasses even that. It boasts a tactile, dense, and rich structure, balanced by silky tannins and perfectly complemented by mineral, savory, and deep acidity.⁠ I love its combination of graphite with fish oil and soy sauce residue. ⁠
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Despite its relative youthfulness, another 10-20 years of cellaring will undoubtedly elevate its excellence, a notion that is hard to comprehend given its current exceptional state.⁠
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Another intriguing idea is to opt for a magnum (1.5l bottle) or double magnum (3l bottle), which should enhance the experience even further.