I'm not the biggest fan of Gimonnet, but I thought that this bottle showed very well. For my palate, this is relatively mature, showing a good amount of yellow fruit and a touch of baked goods as well. Sufficient, but not overwhelming acids make this very nicely balanced. Feels like it thins out a little on the back end, but that's really just nitpicking.
"Vinification en cuves INOX et barriques. Fermentation malo-lactique. Pas de filtration. Pas de stabilisation tartrique. Mise en bouteille: mai 2013. Degorgement: juin 2018. Dosage 2,5 g/L." A little more high-toned and white-inflected versus the 2006 Gimonnet Special Club alongside. Despite the relatively low dosage, this doesn't feel thin, but the acid is certainly a bit sharper and more prominent here. White fruit ont he palate with a hint of green herbaceousness on the finish.
A fantastic bottle of this -- so youthful and fresh, and classic at the same time. This has more cut than I would find in most CFEs, and as such makes it amply more enjoyable. Nonetheless, there is a rich array of botrytis-inflected golden fruits (especially apricots) that shows prominently on the nose and on the palate. Just a hint sweet and while I sometimes complain that this wine is too heavy and alcoholic, this iteration feels anything but.
#14357. This is probably the biggest and heaviest version of the Chave Hermitage I've yet tasted. It is a monumentally fruity wine -- I served this blind to a few friends and guesses were all over the place because of how much the fruit eclipsed the rest of the savoury syrah/Hermitage characteristics. I can't say they were particularly off base either -- this wine started out as just a massive amalgamation of fruit. A few hours in, I felt that a little more character had started to develop with a hint of smoke (or was that the Benton's I was cooking with) and salinity. If you're looking for the green, herbal elements of something like 2004, you won't find them here. Of the most recent few vintages I tasted on release, this is the most like the 2015, but with fruit that is a little more tinted towards the red and much more plummy. At the same time, there is structure here, though it is hidden by the roils of fruit. Unusually for a Chave Hermitage, the finish has an alcoholic bite which is likely explained by the 15% notation on the label. All in all, this wine matches my expectations of the vintage, even if I hope that the syrah characteristics I love become more prominent with time. Since producers have generally gotten better and better at handling extremely hot years, I purchased my usual quantity this vintage, but unless someone is generous enough to share a bottle of this with me in the next decade or so, I feel especially strongly that there is little more value to derive from opening another bottle of mine until that decade is up.
2006 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Special Club Grands Terroirs de Chardonnay 93 Points
France, Champagne
I'm not the biggest fan of Gimonnet, but I thought that this bottle showed very well. For my palate, this is relatively mature, showing a good amount of yellow fruit and a touch of baked goods as well. Sufficient, but not overwhelming acids make this very nicely balanced. Feels like it thins out a little on the back end, but that's really just nitpicking.
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2012 Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Nogers 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
"Vinification en cuves INOX et barriques. Fermentation malo-lactique. Pas de filtration. Pas de stabilisation tartrique. Mise en bouteille: mai 2013. Degorgement: juin 2018. Dosage 2,5 g/L." A little more high-toned and white-inflected versus the 2006 Gimonnet Special Club alongside. Despite the relatively low dosage, this doesn't feel thin, but the acid is certainly a bit sharper and more prominent here. White fruit ont he palate with a hint of green herbaceousness on the finish.
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2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 93 Points
France, Alsace
A fantastic bottle of this -- so youthful and fresh, and classic at the same time. This has more cut than I would find in most CFEs, and as such makes it amply more enjoyable. Nonetheless, there is a rich array of botrytis-inflected golden fruits (especially apricots) that shows prominently on the nose and on the palate. Just a hint sweet and while I sometimes complain that this wine is too heavy and alcoholic, this iteration feels anything but.
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2018 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
#14357. This is probably the biggest and heaviest version of the Chave Hermitage I've yet tasted. It is a monumentally fruity wine -- I served this blind to a few friends and guesses were all over the place because of how much the fruit eclipsed the rest of the savoury syrah/Hermitage characteristics. I can't say they were particularly off base either -- this wine started out as just a massive amalgamation of fruit. A few hours in, I felt that a little more character had started to develop with a hint of smoke (or was that the Benton's I was cooking with) and salinity. If you're looking for the green, herbal elements of something like 2004, you won't find them here. Of the most recent few vintages I tasted on release, this is the most like the 2015, but with fruit that is a little more tinted towards the red and much more plummy. At the same time, there is structure here, though it is hidden by the roils of fruit. Unusually for a Chave Hermitage, the finish has an alcoholic bite which is likely explained by the 15% notation on the label. All in all, this wine matches my expectations of the vintage, even if I hope that the syrah characteristics I love become more prominent with time. Since producers have generally gotten better and better at handling extremely hot years, I purchased my usual quantity this vintage, but unless someone is generous enough to share a bottle of this with me in the next decade or so, I feel especially strongly that there is little more value to derive from opening another bottle of mine until that decade is up.
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