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Pausing for the Cause 2022 (Part 2) |  (141 page views) | | | - N.V. Armand de Brignac Champagne Ace of Spades Brut Gold - France, Champagne
It's like "oops, my hand slipped" when dosing the bottle and then like 4x the amount of dosage ended up in it. Ludicrously bad wine for the price, this is put to shame by pretty much any entry-level bottle of champagne (which this may well be, since I imagine the price of this wine goes to the bottle and the marketing). Anyway, distinctively sweet, this tastes nowhere like a brut, and there's no complexity (or really anything else discernible) on the palate either. Very short. I'm inordinately glad to have gotten to try this.
In fairness, this was not served in a club, so I may have been missing the full experience. (80 pts.)
- 2009 Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Minéral Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Bright and clean with some distinct lemon components and a generous chalkiness on the palate. Coming off of the Cattier, it was a huge relief to be able to taste a properly made champagne. I will admit that this felt like it lacked some of the intensity and richness that I would expect in 2009, but the chalky mineral profile here is really awesome. (90 pts.)
- 2018 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine - France, Champagne
V18, disgorged April 2020. The ripe vintage shows so prominently here. At first, this was almost candied and overdone with the fruit and sweetness, so we decided to put the bottle away and come back to it a few hours later. By then, it had lost a lot of the overt sweetness and the palate tightened up quite a bit, but there was still an intense white grape note here from all the young, very ripe fruit. Not a very convincing bottle of Bouchard, for my taste. (88 pts.)
- 2002 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
Drinking fantastically well; this wears a moderate bit of age now. Still a touch of white grape, likely from the ripeness of the vintage, but otherwise this has started to develop a little bit of brioche and mushroom. The acidity isn't pronounced, but this shows excellent balance among the different components. In a great spot now, but plenty of future potential still. For my taste, I may just start cracking a few of my own bottles. (95 pts.)
- 2008 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
Didn't catch the ID on this one. In any case, on the pop and pour, this is an incredibly disappointing bottle of, not just Krug, but champagne. There's just not much there except acidity. There's a lot of acidity and it's pretty much the only thing you taste. A collective shrug and we moved on to other wines. I came back to this much later in the evening, and the wine definitely had filled out a good amount. It was still far too high-acid to be like a classic Krug, but at least this started tasting more and more like one. Maybe, with some moderate optimism, this is a Krug that just needs a lot of time in the bottle? But for opening and drinking now, this just doesn't move the needle. (93 pts.)
- 2009 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel - Germany, Nahe
From magnum. A touch of sponti on the nose here for me. Otherwise, plenty of ripe fruits give this a roundness that it feels almost more like a leaner Auslese than a Spätlese. Clean, without any botrytis, the slightly oily, rounded texture I am going to attribute to all the ripe fruit. I quite liked this, even though I admit to not being much of a SF fan. (93 pts.)
- 1976 Zach. Bergweiler-Prüm Erben Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#10-77. Classic mature WS creamy notes with a slight blue cheese note to it. Despite the vintage, not too botrytis-heavy, but lacking some of the oomph and weight on the midpalate and finish. Slightly earthy as well, for my taste, one to drink up. (90 pts.)
- 2018 Pierre Girardin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
I visited PVG just before the pandemic hit, and tasted through a good slew of 2018s in barrel then, so I was quite eager to see how they turned out in bottle. This bottle unfortunately didn't quite do it for me; it was a little lean and thin, which is surprising for 2018, but the disposition towards picking early I think is the culprit here. While this does have acidity, it lacks complexity and weight. (88 pts.)
- 2019 Dureuil-Janthial Rully Maizières Blanc - France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully
Outrageously great value. A bit of smokiness and a very modest hint of reduction on the nose. Good, clean, honest winemaking with plenty of breadth and fresh acidity. Absolutely outstanding as a table, drinking-white, but can readily play at the level of much more prestigious terroirs. Very impressive. (93 pts.)
- 2009 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne Quintessence - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Very much dominated by the vintage and oak, this isn't showing anything akin to the reduction I remember in the regular 2010 CC, but comes across as slightly amorphous and just a little clumsy. (90 pts.)
- 2016 Hatzidakis Winery Assyrtiko de Mylos Vieilles Vignes - Greece, Aegean, Cyclades, Santorini
Even neglecting the backstory of this, you still can't help but to be impressed. Drinks a little like a botrytized dry Alasatian wine, with some oiliness to the texture. But at the same time there are so many layers of complexity here, with a slight orange peel note and lots and lots of salinity too. (93 pts.)
- 1974 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
Others liked this more than I did (I preferred the 1977 Heitz Fay). Herbal but not particularly pyrazine-like notes, with lots of matured cabernet aromas as well -- leather and dried sweet fruits being quite prominent. On the palate, this definitely feels quite light, but at the same time I can't help but think it's thinning out a little. Probably a good time to drink up, if you happen to have any. (90 pts.)
- 2004 Guffens-Heynen Pouilly-Fuissé La Roche - France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé
This bottle drinks a little more mature than my previous experience, and really pushes the umami boundary a little too far for my taste. Sweet and oily with lots of mushroom-adjacent flavours on the palate. (90 pts.)
- 2018 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Very 2018 with its generous ripe fruit, but the stem inclusion and the light touch here actually give this wine plenty of lift as well. Clean and fresh, with moderate tannins here, this is very exuberant and fun to drink now, but I expect good longevity as well. (90 pts.)
- 2007 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Champans - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
From magnum. Somewhat light and lifted, with red fruit that comes across as slightly tart. Lovely perfume and a slight herbal tinge, with a reasonably resolved tannic profile. Quite nice now. I'm becoming quite a fan of de Montille these days. (90 pts.)
- 2009 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
For all the noise about how Vogüé wines are big and burly and never drinkable, this was definitely not in that mold. This was definitely intense and large-scaled, with a distinct iron note on the nose and palate, but the fruit was quite forward and provided plushness to overlay the otherwise large structure. Seems very Bonnes Mares to me. (95 pts.)
- 1977 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Fay Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Ex-cellar Joseph Phelps. Insanely fresh and lively, this looks more secondary than tertiary, with still some inkiness to the colour in the class. Vivid notes of graphite, currants, and leather, with a rounded fruit profile that gives this a vivacity that belies its age. Very impressive, and one of my favourite wines this evening. (95 pts.)
- 1985 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Others liked this more than I did. Definitely some of the old Nuits earth, but at the point where it is resolved. Generous fruitiness but a slightly thinning palate that detracts from the overall experience. For my taste, this was probably more interesting a few years ago. (90 pts.)
- 2004 Domaine de Trévallon - France, Provence, Vin de Pays des Bouches-du-Rhône
From magnum. Yeah, it does kind of smell like cabernet and syrah. Certainly a very generous nose, which promises more than the palate has to offer unfortunately. There's a little thinness and less breadth on the palate, even though this finishes with an incredible amount of tannin. Hard to say whether more time is needed, or whether this was better a few years ago, to be honest. (90 pts.)
- 1988 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
An incredible bottle of this, which far surpassed my expectations. Graphite and black fruit, this has lots and lots of life left. On the palate, if anything this feels at least a decade younger, with a touch of sweetness from the fruit still there, and a complex, layered flavour profile that touches on all the classic Bordeaux notes. (95 pts.)
- 1990 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
From magnum. Playing the old "is it Cordier or is it corked" game, but this time it's pretty easy and it's the first. Pretty consistent with my experiences of GL in this era, this is a bit of a dull wine, lacking fruit and charm, and showing the leathery Cordier note, some sour sweat notes, and very little aromatic lift. Quite tannic still, I expect aging this further would be profitable. (90 pts.)
- 2016 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
From magnum. Nice to cross paths with this wine again; I believe that this was Laurent's last/Abel's first vintage. In any case, lovely red fruit on the nose, with a bit of a crunchy disposition. The acidity does seem to stick out a little on the palate, but not in too loud of a fashion. Still quite young and tannic, but to be honest, reasonably pleasurable to drink now. (93 pts.)
- 2006 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A much, much better bottle of 2006 than the one I drank in Barolo(!). This was initially a little muted and volatile, but I double decanted it a few hours before service, which definitely cleaned up the wine a lot. To be sure, this still has a bit of volatility, with a little bit of iron as well. Very nice herbal elements, as well as lifted red fruit. I'm amply pleased to note that this bottle wasn't consistent with my prior experiences, but unfortunately I don't have many bottles of this particular wine left either.
- 1938 Massandra Muscat White Muscat - Ukraine, Crimea
A stunning wine when expectations were admittedly a bit low (just put this in the context of what was happening in the USSR at the time), but this really came out to play in a very big way. Tons of botrytis, as well as a lovely apricot note that makes me think of a very old, sweet Huet, only that this is a lot sweeter (which probably contributed to the longevity). Visually, this wine is a little iffy, with some black bits and being a cloudy brown colour. But it's undeniable how delicious this was, and simultaneously sobering to think of what was happening in the world at the time. (95 pts.)
- 2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
My favourite of the mini-flight, this was showing quite honestly to vintage with good fatness to the fruit, even managing to overcome the heavy oak use and reduction here. More acidic cut than I expected for a 2009, this feels lean for the vintage. Good concentration with distinct minerality on the palate as well. (93 pts.)
- 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
A little disappointing next to the 2009, this feels very lean and lacking in weight and concentration. Lots of acidity and a little bit of green, all the while carrying quite a bit of oak and the usual PYCM reduction. A good effort in a tough vintage. (90 pts.)
- 2013 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Corked. (FLAWED)
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