No. 3040 of 7060. By no means the greatest bottle of Giacosa but one that functions as a relatively early-drinking Barolo. The nose shows a good mix of sweet red fruit and floral perfume, and a hint of tar. There are some slight autumnal characteristics starting to emerge as well, which makes me think this isn't going to be as long-lived as the other 2004s, but this is still pretty delicious now. I will be a little more aggressive opening these in the next few years.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Monthélie 1er Cru
I think this is drinking a lot better than the 2015 Bouchères that I had recently. The nose shows a good amount of reduction and flintiness, but the "lesser" appellation gives this wine an approachability that the Bouchères didn't quite have. Very mineral, with that expected ripeness from the vintage, but without too much fatness. More mineral and lean on the palate with really nice counterbalancing acidity. Very delicious now.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Very impressive bottle of 1996 red Burgundy. The nose shows a lot of the classic profile, with dried tart red fruit and a hint of earth. The palate exceeds my expectations of the vintage though, as there's a rusticity here that almost seems to provide more depth and power than the wine would otherwise have. There's a beautiful herbal tone here, as well as some really nice richness overall. For my palate, resolved and drinking very, very well. Goes to show the longevity of these brilliant, incorrectly overlooked wines.
Slight more waxy and thicker in texture than the l'Humeur that we drank last week. Nonetheless, this has a lot of the same characteristics in common, but I felt it didn't quite have the verve and freshness, and had a slightly darker, richer complexion. I love the acidity here in that it's not overly high and feels really nicely balanced in the context of the rest of this wine.
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
This just kept changing (and getting better) as the night went on. At first, it was pretty clear this had a ton of pyrazines as well as some lovely black fruits. Then this starts to pick up some smokiness, as well as just more complexity, with the fruit showing more prominently. The green fades in and out, but it's always a presence. By the end, this had acquired some leathery notes that were pretty compelling too. It's so sad how the WA100 oozemonsters ruined Australian wine importing -- it's a whole damn continent and there's so much good wine if you put in just a slight bit of effort (granted Wendouree needs more than a slight bit of effort to acquire here in North America).
Bottled Jan 24, 2019. From 375 ml. A little more wild and funky than a recent Farm to Face, but just as peachy and delicious. This again shows a little bit of the peach-pit cyanide flavours as well as a pretty intense note of peach flesh. The acidity here is just a little higher as well, but overall this still shows some good balance. My understanding is that this is actually a fair bit rarer than the Farm to Face, but for my novice beer palate, I actually prefer that a little bit.
2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Vigna Croera di La Morra 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
No. 3040 of 7060. By no means the greatest bottle of Giacosa but one that functions as a relatively early-drinking Barolo. The nose shows a good mix of sweet red fruit and floral perfume, and a hint of tar. There are some slight autumnal characteristics starting to emerge as well, which makes me think this isn't going to be as long-lived as the other 2004s, but this is still pretty delicious now. I will be a little more aggressive opening these in the next few years.
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2015 Domaine Roulot Monthélie 1er Cru Champ Fulliot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Monthélie 1er Cru
I think this is drinking a lot better than the 2015 Bouchères that I had recently. The nose shows a good amount of reduction and flintiness, but the "lesser" appellation gives this wine an approachability that the Bouchères didn't quite have. Very mineral, with that expected ripeness from the vintage, but without too much fatness. More mineral and lean on the palate with really nice counterbalancing acidity. Very delicious now.
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1996 Domaine Pierre Guillemot Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentières 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Very impressive bottle of 1996 red Burgundy. The nose shows a lot of the classic profile, with dried tart red fruit and a hint of earth. The palate exceeds my expectations of the vintage though, as there's a rusticity here that almost seems to provide more depth and power than the wine would otherwise have. There's a beautiful herbal tone here, as well as some really nice richness overall. For my palate, resolved and drinking very, very well. Goes to show the longevity of these brilliant, incorrectly overlooked wines.
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2017 Alice et Olivier De Moor Chablis Coteau de Rosette 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis
Slight more waxy and thicker in texture than the l'Humeur that we drank last week. Nonetheless, this has a lot of the same characteristics in common, but I felt it didn't quite have the verve and freshness, and had a slightly darker, richer complexion. I love the acidity here in that it's not overly high and feels really nicely balanced in the context of the rest of this wine.
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2014 Domaine Vocoret et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos Flawed
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Incomprehensibly reduced. Nothing on the nose nor palate -- just tastes like acid water. Day 2: still sulphury and reduced. Smells like rotten eggs.
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2002 Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 95 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
This just kept changing (and getting better) as the night went on. At first, it was pretty clear this had a ton of pyrazines as well as some lovely black fruits. Then this starts to pick up some smokiness, as well as just more complexity, with the fruit showing more prominently. The green fades in and out, but it's always a presence. By the end, this had acquired some leathery notes that were pretty compelling too. It's so sad how the WA100 oozemonsters ruined Australian wine importing -- it's a whole damn continent and there's so much good wine if you put in just a slight bit of effort (granted Wendouree needs more than a slight bit of effort to acquire here in North America).
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2019 Allagash Coolship Pêche
USA, Maine
Bottled Jan 24, 2019. From 375 ml. A little more wild and funky than a recent Farm to Face, but just as peachy and delicious. This again shows a little bit of the peach-pit cyanide flavours as well as a pretty intense note of peach flesh. The acidity here is just a little higher as well, but overall this still shows some good balance. My understanding is that this is actually a fair bit rarer than the Farm to Face, but for my novice beer palate, I actually prefer that a little bit.
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