WTN: Two Red Burgs. One a big miss. One a big hit. And some trivia.

The Miss: Adrien Belland Corton Greves Grand Cru 1993 (Grand Vin de Bourgogne)
Corked. Tipped down the sink.

The Hit: Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 'Les Amoureuses' 1986 (Grands Vins de Bourgogne)
OMG - No wonder people fall in love with red Burgundy when they drink this silken textured, ethereal, smooth flowing liquid. Alluring aroma with just enough 'funk' and just enough cherry to infuse and sweeten the earthy, savoury flavours that ebb and flow with a gorgeous mouthfeel from the tannins that have lost all the hardness of youth. There's a gorgeous liquoricey nuance - a herbaceous liquoricey nuance like fennel or tarragon or Thai Basil and an earthiness - yes - the damp earth of dusk … as we sat outside and watched the sun set and stayed outside in the warmth of the summer evening. And the flavour that persists and expands on the palate - who needs food when you have a truly magnificent wine like this to savour.

For the trivia buffs
In 1986 'Les Amoureuses' appears on the label of the Joseph Drouhin wine, but there is no 'Les' on the 1986 date-stamped cork. It appears from the Drouhin website that the 'Les' has now been dropped from the label as well.

Adrien Belland became Jean Claude Belland in 1996 when Adrien retired and his son Jean-Claude took over.

And a question - why does one bottle (the Belland) have 'Grand Vin de Bourgogne' and the other (the Drouhin) have 'Grands Vins de Bourgogne'?

Cheers,
Sue Courtney

Too bad about the Corton.
Drouhin's Amoureuses is almost always a great wine.
I don't think there is a particular pattern re grand vins vs grand vin. Though I think if below name on label it is likely to be in singular, while if on neck vintage tag (like most Drouhins), they're more likely to use the plural. Of course many (most?) Burgs don't include it at all.

Too bad about the Corton.

Yes.

I don't think there is a particular pattern re grand vins vs grand vin. Though I think if below name on label it is likely to be in singular, while if on neck vintage tag (like most Drouhins), they're more likely to use the plural. Of course many (most?) Burgs don't include it at all.

Well spotted. The Drouhin 'Grands Vins' is on the neck tag while the Corton 'Grand Vin' is on the main label.