I don't know the dosage on this, but I'm guessing that it isn't too low. It's very nice to come across a bottle of a wine that isn't one of those NYC-zero-dosage-or-bust types. Nice and round on the palate, with some sweet red fruit notes. The finish however, is abbreviated.
I found this a bit rotund and lacking much of a acidic spine, although there was a fair bit of tart fruit extract. Somewhat soft, with some nice florals and peach tones. Not bad, but I'd expect a bit more from a Special Club.
There's something distinctly Vilmarty or Kruggy about this wine. This has a golden ripeness from it, with slight oxidative and nutty tones, alongside stone fruit and a touch of earth. I'm guessing this has gone through a bit of malo as well, based on the richness here.
I loved this one -- this had just the right amount of green herbaceousness balanced with lovely tart acids. Perhaps a touch simple, but sometimes there's elegance to be had from simplicity, and now is one of those times. There's no waxiness or thickness at all on the palate -- just an immaculately cut bottle.
In contrast to the Federspiel, this was much fatter and denser, had more extract, and had a slightly oily texture that really turns me off. There's a fair bit of minerality, and a hint of white peach as well, but this is a much more plodding bottle.
Despite the lovely acidity and tart white fruits, there's just a smidgen of fatness that detracts from everything else. This is otherwise quite lean and restrained, which are all pluses in my book.
I had gotten so excited about seeing the word Kabinett on the label that when I tasted this, it was almost certainly a let down. Whereas I had expected something along the lines of a few tens of grams of residual sugar, this was mostly fermented to dryness -- perhaps more reminiscent of a German Kabinett trocken? Certainly not my style, with the oiliness that I despise in white wines rearing its head.
This is one of the more austere bottles from the lineup tonight. It's thick and rich, and definitely a bit oily in texture. Fortunately it has the acids to keep it going, but this isn't the sort of wine I see myself having more than a little bit of.
A textbook example of a well-made, if simple chardonnay. A nice freshness, followed with a touch of tart pineapple, mineral, and acid. Foursquare, to say the least, but this delivers precisely what you'd expect.
Despite coming from such esteemed terroir, I didn't find too much stuffing or density here. There was a light touch of pineapple and bubble gum (probably owing to the youth of this wine), but there wasn't much else. The palate had some good fruit and acid components, but all in all, this wasn't a particularly complex bottle.
This was reasonably dense, with some pineapple character, and despite the nice extract, it was like the components didn't integrate together too well, leaving a somewhat simplistic expression of the individual components, as opposed to a unified whole. I also found this a bit too sweet and fruity, and lacking a lot of the acidic cut I like in a Chablis.
I had actually been very excited to try this wine, but I found it a bit of a let-down. This was rounder and sweeter, with some yellow fruited tones, and I didn't find this to be a convincing example of a Chablis -- it lacked the tension and urgency from the best examples; I suppose the acids were a touch light here.
This is a Meursault that hits almost all the buttons. There's a fair bit of fruit here (although I admit I'm not the biggest fan of fruit in chardonnay), a heap of acidity, and nary a trace of oak. The thing that's lacking for me is the mineral steeliness.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
On this bottle, I found the steeliness I like, along with plenty of sharp acids. There's a moderate peach tone on the palate, and this comes off just a tad on the ripe side. Couple this with a little bit of waxy Chassagne fruit.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
There's a nice salinity to this wine, as well as some sweet apricot notes. But the oak pokes through a little bit too stridently here. On the riper end of things as well, this had a sweetness on the palate that I'm generally not too keen about.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Up until the disappointing finish, this is a really, really good wine. On the nose is the classic Boillot matchstick -- more than enough sulphur to go around. The palate has taut and powerful acids, with steely minerality and a touch of white fruit. But then it all just suddenly ends -- cut totally short. The finish is clipped and ends as suddenly as (spoiler alert) The Sopranos.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
I love the Bonneau de Martray Corton Charlemagnes. I've heard plenty of anecdotes about the pox striking these wines particularly hard, so I've never bought any. But it's always a treat to taste a good example of one. This is no exception. There's a slight matchstick nose, and otherwise, not much else at the moment. The palate is ripe, well-balanced, powerful, and oaky. But the oak never juts out -- it's held back by the dense extract. I can't help but wonder though if the reason I didn't like it more was because this was too big...
There's something here that reminds me just a bit of young 2008s -- the combination of red fruit, coarse tannins, and relatively high acids. This is quite elegant, but the palate's a bit simple and lacking in the stuffing to give this more interest.
Meh. This is a really simplistic and uninteresting bottle of pinot. It's on the ripe side, and shows a bit of stewiness, and in the context of the vintage might be considered a good attempt at the AOC Bourgogne level, but with so many other options, why bother?
The nose has some nice and light red fruit, and that follows through on the palate as well, save for one giant smear of astringent oak that gets in the way of everything. In fact, if you took the oak out, I'd probably actually like this, instead of finding it another anonymous example of red Burgundy.
While there is almost no debate that there is good material in this wine, this bottle is not in a happy place at the moment. It's showing very little, with a muted nose, and a palate totally obscured by structure. I'm guessing that this could be good, but not now.
A relatively accessible bottle of young Pommard, I quite liked how this wine was put together. A well-defined tannic structure is draped over by some tart black fruits and moderate acids. The tannins are obviously quite tough at this stage. This is somewhat refined and not as rustic as the appellation would suggest -- I tasted this before looking at the label and thought it was a Volnay.
Light, red-fruited, and not too complicated at all. There's a touch of dustiness, and the same light red fruit with moderate acids on the palate. Good luncheon claret.
Having this right after the St. Pierre really puts into focus how dark and deep this wine is. Lots of dust and sweet black fruit on the palate. The tannins aren't too coarse at this point. An excellent bottle of Bordeaux that is doing just fine right now, though I bet there's room for aging.
This came across again as a pretty simplistic wine. It had a little bit of elegance thanks to the bright red-fruited acids, but besides that, I found it difficult to find much more on the palate.
I got a good whiff of stones on the nose of this one, and I really liked the amount of dirt and earth that you could find here. There's a touch of graphite too, which is always a plus. Black fruited and sweet, this packs quite a punch but is very enjoyable all the same.
The nose on this was incredible. Powerful aromas of red fruit and a good bit of earth as well. But this falters a little bit on the palate -- it ends up a little bit thin and feeble, and while there is plenty to like on the palate, I felt that it didn't have the density to live up to the promise on the nose.
A very simple cabernet with a relatively light touch, this doesn't have much stuffing on the palate at all. Light and red-fruited, the saving grace for the lack of acidity is the lack of stuffing.
High toned cherry cough syrup on the nose and palate. Sappy and overly sweet with basically no acidity. Coarse tannins that will long outlast the sweet and somewhat sickly fruit. The big fruity elements are unintegrated with the massive tannic structure. Not good.
A nice peppery tone hits the nose on this one -- something that I really like and look for in a cabernet. Dense and sweet, with tannins that aren't too abrasive and brash, although this is simply too low in acid to be enjoyable for more than a few sips.
Sorely lacking in acid, this is another in a line of cabernets that are fun to taste for a few sips before they get cloyingly tiresome. The oak vanilla here is especially pronounced, and is another unwelcome addition to a cabernet that is already accentuating the features that I find particularly unattractive.
The more I try Suduiraut, the less I like it. This is simply too big and clumsy, without any elegance from the acidity to keep it fresh (I guess you could serve it as shaved ice by lowering the temperature instead of the pH). The alcohol juts out far too much here, distracting from an otherwise dense and complex palate that shows orange peel, green herbs, and a touch of burnt sugar.
Alongside the Suduiraut, this had a lot more racy elegance (though that's not saying too much). This had a much more green tone, with pears, fresh citrus, and Thai herbs discernible on the palate. Still quite sweet, this is also not particularly high in acid -- this is no wispy Sauternes, to be sure.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
From jeroboam. There's still plenty of the Boillot matchstick on the nose -- this is still super fresh. The fruit shows quite densely here, but somehow this avoids the trap of having too many sweet fruits -- it's quite mineral and mushroomy, actually. Powerful and rich, this packs a real wallop.
From double-magnum. The nose is promising enough, with some very lovely black fruits and a touch of graphite, although the Margaux perfume seems to be missing. The palate is just awful though. Syrupy and sickly sweet, followed with an offensive bitter streak of oak, this belongs in the vanguard of all that is wrong with Bordeaux today: Angelus, Pavie, Domaine de Chevalier, Pape Clement, and friends.
NV Pascal Doquet Champagne Premier Cru Brut Rosé 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
I don't know the dosage on this, but I'm guessing that it isn't too low. It's very nice to come across a bottle of a wine that isn't one of those NYC-zero-dosage-or-bust types. Nice and round on the palate, with some sweet red fruit notes. The finish however, is abbreviated.
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2007 J. Lassalle Champagne Premier Cru Special Club 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
I found this a bit rotund and lacking much of a acidic spine, although there was a fair bit of tart fruit extract. Somewhat soft, with some nice florals and peach tones. Not bad, but I'd expect a bit more from a Special Club.
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2005 Thienot Champagne Cuvée Stanislas Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
There's something distinctly Vilmarty or Kruggy about this wine. This has a golden ripeness from it, with slight oxidative and nutty tones, alongside stone fruit and a touch of earth. I'm guessing this has gone through a bit of malo as well, based on the richness here.
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2014 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Kreutles Loibner 90 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
I loved this one -- this had just the right amount of green herbaceousness balanced with lovely tart acids. Perhaps a touch simple, but sometimes there's elegance to be had from simplicity, and now is one of those times. There's no waxiness or thickness at all on the palate -- just an immaculately cut bottle.
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2014 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibenberg 85 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
In contrast to the Federspiel, this was much fatter and denser, had more extract, and had a slightly oily texture that really turns me off. There's a fair bit of minerality, and a hint of white peach as well, but this is a much more plodding bottle.
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2013 Weingut Knoll Riesling Federspiel Loibner 88 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Despite the lovely acidity and tart white fruits, there's just a smidgen of fatness that detracts from everything else. This is otherwise quite lean and restrained, which are all pluses in my book.
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2012 Weingut Knoll Riesling Kabinett Ried Pfaffenberg Steiner 83 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal
I had gotten so excited about seeing the word Kabinett on the label that when I tasted this, it was almost certainly a let down. Whereas I had expected something along the lines of a few tens of grams of residual sugar, this was mostly fermented to dryness -- perhaps more reminiscent of a German Kabinett trocken? Certainly not my style, with the oiliness that I despise in white wines rearing its head.
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2013 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Kellerberg 85 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
This is one of the more austere bottles from the lineup tonight. It's thick and rich, and definitely a bit oily in texture. Fortunately it has the acids to keep it going, but this isn't the sort of wine I see myself having more than a little bit of.
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2013 Domaine Millet Petit Chablis La Perle de Millet 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Petit Chablis
A textbook example of a well-made, if simple chardonnay. A nice freshness, followed with a touch of tart pineapple, mineral, and acid. Foursquare, to say the least, but this delivers precisely what you'd expect.
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2013 Domaine des Malandes Chablis 1er Cru Montmains Vieilles Vignes 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Despite coming from such esteemed terroir, I didn't find too much stuffing or density here. There was a light touch of pineapple and bubble gum (probably owing to the youth of this wine), but there wasn't much else. The palate had some good fruit and acid components, but all in all, this wasn't a particularly complex bottle.
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2013 Jean-Claude Bessin Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
This was reasonably dense, with some pineapple character, and despite the nice extract, it was like the components didn't integrate together too well, leaving a somewhat simplistic expression of the individual components, as opposed to a unified whole. I also found this a bit too sweet and fruity, and lacking a lot of the acidic cut I like in a Chablis.
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2011 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Côte Bouguerots 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
I had actually been very excited to try this wine, but I found it a bit of a let-down. This was rounder and sweeter, with some yellow fruited tones, and I didn't find this to be a convincing example of a Chablis -- it lacked the tension and urgency from the best examples; I suppose the acids were a touch light here.
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2013 Domaine Patrick Javillier Meursault Tête de Murgers Cuvée 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
This is a Meursault that hits almost all the buttons. There's a fair bit of fruit here (although I admit I'm not the biggest fan of fruit in chardonnay), a heap of acidity, and nary a trace of oak. The thing that's lacking for me is the mineral steeliness.
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2013 Domaine Dublère Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
On this bottle, I found the steeliness I like, along with plenty of sharp acids. There's a moderate peach tone on the palate, and this comes off just a tad on the ripe side. Couple this with a little bit of waxy Chassagne fruit.
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2013 Maison Alex Gambal Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
There's a nice salinity to this wine, as well as some sweet apricot notes. But the oak pokes through a little bit too stridently here. On the riper end of things as well, this had a sweetness on the palate that I'm generally not too keen about.
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2013 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Up until the disappointing finish, this is a really, really good wine. On the nose is the classic Boillot matchstick -- more than enough sulphur to go around. The palate has taut and powerful acids, with steely minerality and a touch of white fruit. But then it all just suddenly ends -- cut totally short. The finish is clipped and ends as suddenly as (spoiler alert) The Sopranos.
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2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
I love the Bonneau de Martray Corton Charlemagnes. I've heard plenty of anecdotes about the pox striking these wines particularly hard, so I've never bought any. But it's always a treat to taste a good example of one. This is no exception. There's a slight matchstick nose, and otherwise, not much else at the moment. The palate is ripe, well-balanced, powerful, and oaky. But the oak never juts out -- it's held back by the dense extract. I can't help but wonder though if the reason I didn't like it more was because this was too big...
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2013 Maison Alex Gambal Vougeot Clos du Village 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vougeot
There's something here that reminds me just a bit of young 2008s -- the combination of red fruit, coarse tannins, and relatively high acids. This is quite elegant, but the palate's a bit simple and lacking in the stuffing to give this more interest.
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2003 Maison Leroy Bourgogne 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Meh. This is a really simplistic and uninteresting bottle of pinot. It's on the ripe side, and shows a bit of stewiness, and in the context of the vintage might be considered a good attempt at the AOC Bourgogne level, but with so many other options, why bother?
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2013 Domaine Dublère Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
The nose has some nice and light red fruit, and that follows through on the palate as well, save for one giant smear of astringent oak that gets in the way of everything. In fact, if you took the oak out, I'd probably actually like this, instead of finding it another anonymous example of red Burgundy.
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2010 Domaine A.-F. Gros Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
While there is almost no debate that there is good material in this wine, this bottle is not in a happy place at the moment. It's showing very little, with a muted nose, and a palate totally obscured by structure. I'm guessing that this could be good, but not now.
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2013 Henri Boillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
A relatively accessible bottle of young Pommard, I quite liked how this wine was put together. A well-defined tannic structure is draped over by some tart black fruits and moderate acids. The tannins are obviously quite tough at this stage. This is somewhat refined and not as rustic as the appellation would suggest -- I tasted this before looking at the label and thought it was a Volnay.
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2006 Château Saint-Pierre 85 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Light, red-fruited, and not too complicated at all. There's a touch of dustiness, and the same light red fruit with moderate acids on the palate. Good luncheon claret.
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2006 Château Léoville Barton 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Having this right after the St. Pierre really puts into focus how dark and deep this wine is. Lots of dust and sweet black fruit on the palate. The tannins aren't too coarse at this point. An excellent bottle of Bordeaux that is doing just fine right now, though I bet there's room for aging.
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2006 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 85 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
This came across again as a pretty simplistic wine. It had a little bit of elegance thanks to the bright red-fruited acids, but besides that, I found it difficult to find much more on the palate.
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2006 Château Haut-Bailly 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
I got a good whiff of stones on the nose of this one, and I really liked the amount of dirt and earth that you could find here. There's a touch of graphite too, which is always a plus. Black fruited and sweet, this packs quite a punch but is very enjoyable all the same.
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2006 Château La Conseillante 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
The nose on this was incredible. Powerful aromas of red fruit and a good bit of earth as well. But this falters a little bit on the palate -- it ends up a little bit thin and feeble, and while there is plenty to like on the palate, I felt that it didn't have the density to live up to the promise on the nose.
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2012 Kathryn Kennedy Cabernet Sauvignon Small Lot 83 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
A very simple cabernet with a relatively light touch, this doesn't have much stuffing on the palate at all. Light and red-fruited, the saving grace for the lack of acidity is the lack of stuffing.
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2012 Peter Michael L'Esprit des Pavots 83 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
High toned cherry cough syrup on the nose and palate. Sappy and overly sweet with basically no acidity. Coarse tannins that will long outlast the sweet and somewhat sickly fruit. The big fruity elements are unintegrated with the massive tannic structure. Not good.
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2012 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 85 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
A nice peppery tone hits the nose on this one -- something that I really like and look for in a cabernet. Dense and sweet, with tannins that aren't too abrasive and brash, although this is simply too low in acid to be enjoyable for more than a few sips.
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2012 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 83 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Sorely lacking in acid, this is another in a line of cabernets that are fun to taste for a few sips before they get cloyingly tiresome. The oak vanilla here is especially pronounced, and is another unwelcome addition to a cabernet that is already accentuating the features that I find particularly unattractive.
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2009 Château Suduiraut 85 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
The more I try Suduiraut, the less I like it. This is simply too big and clumsy, without any elegance from the acidity to keep it fresh (I guess you could serve it as shaved ice by lowering the temperature instead of the pH). The alcohol juts out far too much here, distracting from an otherwise dense and complex palate that shows orange peel, green herbs, and a touch of burnt sugar.
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2009 Château Doisy-Védrines 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Alongside the Suduiraut, this had a lot more racy elegance (though that's not saying too much). This had a much more green tone, with pears, fresh citrus, and Thai herbs discernible on the palate. Still quite sweet, this is also not particularly high in acid -- this is no wispy Sauternes, to be sure.
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2009 Henri Boillot Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
From jeroboam. There's still plenty of the Boillot matchstick on the nose -- this is still super fresh. The fruit shows quite densely here, but somehow this avoids the trap of having too many sweet fruits -- it's quite mineral and mushroomy, actually. Powerful and rich, this packs a real wallop.
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2005 Château Lascombes 70 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
From double-magnum. The nose is promising enough, with some very lovely black fruits and a touch of graphite, although the Margaux perfume seems to be missing. The palate is just awful though. Syrupy and sickly sweet, followed with an offensive bitter streak of oak, this belongs in the vanguard of all that is wrong with Bordeaux today: Angelus, Pavie, Domaine de Chevalier, Pape Clement, and friends.
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