Rich and effervescent. Ripe but with plenty of verve. This is not quite a champagne in style - the fruit weight and slight sweetness took one out of champagne - but is at a similar level of accomplishment to similarly priced NV champagnes.
Superb blanc de blancs - brilliant texture and a fabulous sense of refinement make for an experience that is equivalent in quality to Salon, in my opinion. Gorgeous sense of apple fruit, bread and minerals on nose and palate with the most beautifully modulated and nuanced finish. Light on its feet - a wine of subtle distinction.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Round and silky. Lovely Puligny typicity - which is surprising, considering the hot year. The wine had adequate acidity. This wine is delightful and balanced and easy to both like and understand. Drink now.
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula
Heavily sulfate nose is one dimensional and brings up images of burnt rubber and matchsticks. Brittle acids on the palate. The wine has length and intensity and actually worked well with food, but by itself this has limited appeal. I struggle to understand some of the extremely high published scores...
Stunning old-school wine that is etherial but savagely tannic in the mouth. Lovely and classic Barolo perfume. The delicacy of the flavors work really well with food and are multi-layered and very complex. This is fabulous but I think needs at least another 5-7 years to bring balance.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Rich and chocolatey. Tobacco and leather. This is archetypal sangiovese that is very ripe and rich but perhaps slightly opaque in flavor (especially coming after the Giacosa Barolo).
New style Rioja - French oak, rich, ripe and tannic fruit - emphasizing dark berries and a lot of oak. A little rustic but with amazing potential and great complexity. Personally I like the old-school heavily American oaked styles, but I do see the appeal of a vivid and ripe, ageable style.
A new style Rioja with an exsquisite and fine tannic structure. Still a baby but with an amazingly refined fruit quality that brings it to an equivalent level to top flight international wines. Powerful but in no way heavy, this 14% wine is a stunner. Needs at least 10 years to resolve but is a lot of fun to drink now. 96+
Ready to drink and slightly light for its appellation, this is a heavily oaked wine that brings pretty and sweet raspberry fruit and vivid bacon fat character to the table. Absolutely at its peak now, this is a not a wine that will portray the intensity or complexity that Hermitage can deliver, but it does taste correct and is balanced. My previous two bottles of this seemed more intense and interesting, Perhaps in the context of a multi-bottle dinner, surrounded by far more intense wines made this seem simple by comparison. Perhaps not a representative bottle?
2006 Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Vintage Collection Brut 90 Points
Italy, Lombardia, Franciacorta DOCG
Rich and effervescent. Ripe but with plenty of verve. This is not quite a champagne in style - the fruit weight and slight sweetness took one out of champagne - but is at a similar level of accomplishment to similarly priced NV champagnes.
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2002 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons 94 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Superb blanc de blancs - brilliant texture and a fabulous sense of refinement make for an experience that is equivalent in quality to Salon, in my opinion. Gorgeous sense of apple fruit, bread and minerals on nose and palate with the most beautifully modulated and nuanced finish. Light on its feet - a wine of subtle distinction.
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2003 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Round and silky. Lovely Puligny typicity - which is surprising, considering the hot year. The wine had adequate acidity. This wine is delightful and balanced and easy to both like and understand. Drink now.
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2009 Tuck's Ridge Chardonnay Buckle Vineyard 81 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula
Heavily sulfate nose is one dimensional and brings up images of burnt rubber and matchsticks. Brittle acids on the palate. The wine has length and intensity and actually worked well with food, but by itself this has limited appeal. I struggle to understand some of the extremely high published scores...
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2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Stunning old-school wine that is etherial but savagely tannic in the mouth. Lovely and classic Barolo perfume. The delicacy of the flavors work really well with food and are multi-layered and very complex. This is fabulous but I think needs at least another 5-7 years to bring balance.
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2001 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 89 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Rich and chocolatey. Tobacco and leather. This is archetypal sangiovese that is very ripe and rich but perhaps slightly opaque in flavor (especially coming after the Giacosa Barolo).
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2000 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Dalmau 91 Points
Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
New style Rioja - French oak, rich, ripe and tannic fruit - emphasizing dark berries and a lot of oak. A little rustic but with amazing potential and great complexity. Personally I like the old-school heavily American oaked styles, but I do see the appeal of a vivid and ripe, ageable style.
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2001 Fernando Remírez de Ganuza Rioja Gran Reserva 96 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja
A new style Rioja with an exsquisite and fine tannic structure. Still a baby but with an amazingly refined fruit quality that brings it to an equivalent level to top flight international wines. Powerful but in no way heavy, this 14% wine is a stunner. Needs at least 10 years to resolve but is a lot of fun to drink now. 96+
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1997 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Ready to drink and slightly light for its appellation, this is a heavily oaked wine that brings pretty and sweet raspberry fruit and vivid bacon fat character to the table. Absolutely at its peak now, this is a not a wine that will portray the intensity or complexity that Hermitage can deliver, but it does taste correct and is balanced. My previous two bottles of this seemed more intense and interesting, Perhaps in the context of a multi-bottle dinner, surrounded by far more intense wines made this seem simple by comparison. Perhaps not a representative bottle?
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