Burgundy On Boxing Day 2011

So the chosen wine for Xmas just gone was the much viewed through the glass of my wine fridge and now finally cracked:

Robert Chevillon Nuits-St-Georges Les St Georges 1er Cru 2004

A momentus occasion like this requires time lapse.

2004 was greatly criticised and overlooked by a lot of people. I had the priviledge of drinking quite a few of them when they were released and I found very few failures (albeit I only tried good producers). So I have quite a soft spot for the vintage.

Chevillon is one of the top handful of Nuits producers with plots in most of the great vineyards of the appellation. I've always enjoyed the Chevillon wines I've tasted.

This bottle itself offered a lot of savoury/earthy/undergrowth/truffle characters with hints of ironstone, and spice on opening. With further time in the glass some lovely red cherry and rose petal notes developed, but the best part was the incredible mouthfeel; velvety with a lush and silky finish. There were the very fine but persistent Nuits tannins, but the silk just swallowed them up. I feel that the bottle may have been slightly oxidised but it was still a great experience and certainly if there is another bottle on offer I will jump at tasting it.

Overall it was a great experience. Until it ran out...



It's important to not waste a drop.

Wines of Xmas Past

So I want to hear about what you do for Xmas drinking.
I for one am big on sharing wine with the people I am with. But also pitching the wine to the people I am with. My lovely mother-in-law likes wine but generally hates anything I bring that is too structured or 'serious'. So on the big day it is a range of interesting wines that are approachable for those who don't take it as seriously as I do.
However, the next day is all about me. It is an annual tradition that came about because boxing day I was usually on my own watching the cricket. It is 'Burgundy on Boxing Day' and it is the best way to spend boxing day in my humble opinion.
For reasons unknown to me I had kept everyone one of those bottles until recently (pictured below).

A bottle of Burgundy (my choosing) to the first person to name all the wines in the line up!

What I want to know, is what you do with your Xmas drinking? Do you go all out or do you not really care? I want to hear it all.