France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Quite a deep gold colour for a '10 but correct on bouquet and palate. On the nose, high toast oak and reductive elements intermingle with notes of iodine, stonefruit, musk and almonds and walnuts ... Not at all floral. On palate, the wine is drinking well now. Serious concentration and fruit weight. Stonefruit, apples and that nutty character. Viscous and powerful. I've had the 2010 Dessus before and I like it, along with most of the other 2010 Girardins that are higher in the hierarchy. Drinking well now. It'd benefit from two or three more years in the cellar.
Similar impressions to my previous note. A little kerosene development on the attractive bouquet of grapefruit and other citrus, spices and minerals. On palate, a sweeter expression than expected, suggesting some botrytis. Ripe with fruit richness and power. This Riesling is very good. A long term cellar proposition.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru
My Burgundy had a nose of dark plums, dark raspberries, liquorice and a little vanillin oak. Deep, rich and dark fruited on palate. Nuances of liquorice and tar with hints of iron and rust. The oak is still apparent, but, to my palate, is in proportion. There is serious architecture but the wine is elegant and refined, even with some lightness. 'An attractive, underripe quality' said Rauno. Finishing the bottle the next day, the Mazoyères was drinking well, the acidity more apparent but the oak more seamlessly integrated. Drink or hold for the medium term only, I'd think.
Rauno had brought this wine back from Paris and served it blind to us but there was no point in us trying to guess its identity ... We were guessing this wine as a New World Pinot Noir or even a Syrah. It was a very individual and intriguing wine ... Deep blood red colour. A sensational, complex bouquet of blood oranges, sweet hay, hung meat, with some dustiness. A nose suggesting high fruit sweetness. Also, an individual, 'natural' wine on palate. Tremendous fruit structure and weight, showing that fruit sweetness. As well as primary red fruit flavours, I found game meats, graphite, wet hay and vanilla bean oak. I guessed the wine as a 2010. I thought the Bourgogne quite New World styled and enjoyed it but found the winemakers deliberate eschewing of Burgundian terroir strange. An interesting wine to try if you ever get the chance.
A rusty red colour. A spicy, rusty, red fruited nose, with lavender and other floral notes. Darker fruit on palate, with tar, soy and earth. I thought the Sottimano was a Barbaresco rather than a Barolo and picked 2007 as the vintage. Good fruit and nice, sparkling acidity. A fairly good, modernist Barbaresco. It seemed more advanced than the Moccagatta, which I preferred. Still, I'd imagine it'd be better in 3+ years.
The Sottimano made an interesting comparison with this 2006 Barbaresco. Decanted six hours earlier. Bright red colour. Aromas of spicy, dark cherries and other dark fruit, creosote, violets and other dark florals. Very primary on palate, people had the wine as a young Barolo. Quite modernist in style, glossy and svelte with a high level of extraction and some fine grained tannin yet to integrate and resolve. Plenty of fruit and structure. Black cherries, espresso, tar and earthy flavours. Drinkable on the day, but it really needs more time. It drank better the next day, the oak seeming more integrated. An impressive Barbaresco. Give it a minimum of five years.
A nose suggesting an Old World, in fact Northern Rhone, Syrah: spices, black pepper, sweaty leather horse saddle and fried bacon fat notes, with more funky, almost feral elements. In the mouth, you feel the power, the Jamet is still pretty primary. Very clean and pure, with quite a volume of unresolved fine grained tannin. There is plenty of bright, dark berry fruit but also attractive umami, savoury elements, particularly on the long, dry finish. Hold for 5+ years. This Jamet looks excellent!
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
A bright, vibrant, deep Ruby colour. A beautiful fragrance, led by violets, dark roses and other florals, mixed Asian spices, small, ripe raspberries and red and black cherries. A high toned, very pure bouquet. Amazing purity and crystalline fruit on palate. Very precise, driven, focussed and linear. A melange of red and black berry fruit. Beautifully poised and balanced. It almost makes the Perrot-Minot (going back to it) look clumsy and broad by comparison (but that's unfair to the Perrot-Minot). Tasting it blind it had to be (1) a DRC, and (2) a Richebourg, but I picked the vintage as, first, 2002, and then 2007. I would have expected a 2006 to have had the potential to get here in a few years. However, at the end of 2015, I would have expected the wine to have been more closed ... Presently gorgeous, this Richebourg of course will still reward significant cellar time.
Deep gold colour. A bouquet of butterscotch, lemon honey and beeswax. A lovely wine on palate, showing some evolution. Sweet and glycerol, but with the acidity to balance and focus. A lovely honeyed edge. The wine has years ahead of it.
2010 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes-Dessus
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Quite a deep gold colour for a '10 but correct on bouquet and palate. On the nose, high toast oak and reductive elements intermingle with notes of iodine, stonefruit, musk and almonds and walnuts ... Not at all floral. On palate, the wine is drinking well now. Serious concentration and fruit weight. Stonefruit, apples and that nutty character. Viscous and powerful. I've had the 2010 Dessus before and I like it, along with most of the other 2010 Girardins that are higher in the hierarchy. Drinking well now. It'd benefit from two or three more years in the cellar.
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2007 Josmeyer Riesling Hengst Samain
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Similar impressions to my previous note. A little kerosene development on the attractive bouquet of grapefruit and other citrus, spices and minerals. On palate, a sweeter expression than expected, suggesting some botrytis. Ripe with fruit richness and power. This Riesling is very good. A long term cellar proposition.
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2000 Domaine Perrot-Minot Mazoyères-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru
My Burgundy had a nose of dark plums, dark raspberries, liquorice and a little vanillin oak. Deep, rich and dark fruited on palate. Nuances of liquorice and tar with hints of iron and rust. The oak is still apparent, but, to my palate, is in proportion. There is serious architecture but the wine is elegant and refined, even with some lightness. 'An attractive, underripe quality' said Rauno. Finishing the bottle the next day, the Mazoyères was drinking well, the acidity more apparent but the oak more seamlessly integrated. Drink or hold for the medium term only, I'd think.
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2005 Bernard Van Berg La Rose
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Grand-Ordinaire
Rauno had brought this wine back from Paris and served it blind to us but there was no point in us trying to guess its identity ... We were guessing this wine as a New World Pinot Noir or even a Syrah. It was a very individual and intriguing wine ... Deep blood red colour. A sensational, complex bouquet of blood oranges, sweet hay, hung meat, with some dustiness. A nose suggesting high fruit sweetness. Also, an individual, 'natural' wine on palate. Tremendous fruit structure and weight, showing that fruit sweetness. As well as primary red fruit flavours, I found game meats, graphite, wet hay and vanilla bean oak. I guessed the wine as a 2010. I thought the Bourgogne quite New World styled and enjoyed it but found the winemakers deliberate eschewing of Burgundian terroir strange. An interesting wine to try if you ever get the chance.
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2007 Sottimano Barbaresco Pajoré
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
A rusty red colour. A spicy, rusty, red fruited nose, with lavender and other floral notes. Darker fruit on palate, with tar, soy and earth. I thought the Sottimano was a Barbaresco rather than a Barolo and picked 2007 as the vintage. Good fruit and nice, sparkling acidity. A fairly good, modernist Barbaresco. It seemed more advanced than the Moccagatta, which I preferred. Still, I'd imagine it'd be better in 3+ years.
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2006 Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
The Sottimano made an interesting comparison with this 2006 Barbaresco. Decanted six hours earlier. Bright red colour. Aromas of spicy, dark cherries and other dark fruit, creosote, violets and other dark florals. Very primary on palate, people had the wine as a young Barolo. Quite modernist in style, glossy and svelte with a high level of extraction and some fine grained tannin yet to integrate and resolve. Plenty of fruit and structure. Black cherries, espresso, tar and earthy flavours. Drinkable on the day, but it really needs more time. It drank better the next day, the oak seeming more integrated. An impressive Barbaresco. Give it a minimum of five years.
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1999 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A nose suggesting an Old World, in fact Northern Rhone, Syrah: spices, black pepper, sweaty leather horse saddle and fried bacon fat notes, with more funky, almost feral elements. In the mouth, you feel the power, the Jamet is still pretty primary. Very clean and pure, with quite a volume of unresolved fine grained tannin. There is plenty of bright, dark berry fruit but also attractive umami, savoury elements, particularly on the long, dry finish. Hold for 5+ years. This Jamet looks excellent!
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2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
A bright, vibrant, deep Ruby colour. A beautiful fragrance, led by violets, dark roses and other florals, mixed Asian spices, small, ripe raspberries and red and black cherries. A high toned, very pure bouquet. Amazing purity and crystalline fruit on palate. Very precise, driven, focussed and linear. A melange of red and black berry fruit. Beautifully poised and balanced. It almost makes the Perrot-Minot (going back to it) look clumsy and broad by comparison (but that's unfair to the Perrot-Minot). Tasting it blind it had to be (1) a DRC, and (2) a Richebourg, but I picked the vintage as, first, 2002, and then 2007. I would have expected a 2006 to have had the potential to get here in a few years. However, at the end of 2015, I would have expected the wine to have been more closed ... Presently gorgeous, this Richebourg of course will still reward significant cellar time.
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1997 Dirler-Cade Gewurztraminer Saering Vendanges Tardives
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Deep gold colour. A bouquet of butterscotch, lemon honey and beeswax. A lovely wine on palate, showing some evolution. Sweet and glycerol, but with the acidity to balance and focus. A lovely honeyed edge. The wine has years ahead of it.
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