953eme bottle of cuvee 53. Disgorged at Bouzy, June 7th, 2016. One of the better showings of this wine -- this had plenty of richness and depth, with a generous amount of aged pinot champagne character. The richness of this was cut by the acidity, providing a full but balanced wine. I really liked this bottle.
Served double blind. Fairly aldehydic with some high-toned elements on the nose like marzipan. The fruit on this is quite juicy and has plenty of nice brightness. It wasn't a tough call to get the blanc de blancs, but I thought it was a little bit younger, guessing 2012. Nonetheless it definitely felt like a grower-style champagne but properly dosed.
Served double blind. There's a little reduction on this underneath the relatively floral nose, if you look for it. Clearly chardonnay, and I actually was thinking of a village-level wine somewhere in the Côte de Beaune. Shows quite fat too, so the 2015 or 2018 vintages would have been my guess. I guess I wasn't too far off base here. A very good quality chardonnay, and probably the best South American wine I've had, but at the price point this is far less interesting.
Served double blind. Oily and an incredibly broad nose and palate. It reminds me a little bit of what a Bâtard-Montrachet would turn out to be in a fat year, but with the fruit pushed even a little farther to the ripe side. The palate is an honest continuation of the nose, and this certainly has the richness, depth, and potency of a grand cru white Burgundy, save for the finish where it unequivocally proclaims its Americanness by an intense bitterness. Really, this would be a phenomenal wine (an MS friend of mine swears by this wine) if it weren't for that too-distracting bitterness. I did actually come to guess Kongsgaard because it is probably one of the few California chardonnays in the style that is remotely drinkable.
Served double blind. Clearly a very mature wine with a pronounced floral element as well as some cedary/wood shaving notes. I was actually thinking 1970s Rioja. Not dirty at all (rules out Cordier) but there are still some notes of desiccated red fruit here. Tart, but not overwhelmingly so. Overall very beautiful aromatics.
Served double blind. Again clearly old Bordeaux. The nose shows lots of leathery characteristics, but with the dark plummy fruit still showing some residual signs of primary qualities, I guessed that this was a decade younger than it was. This was definitely more acid driven and had a coolness which seemed to indicate this wasn't a very ripe vintage.
Served double blind. Cordier funk leads to the Gruaud call right away, but the funk is very mild and for a change actually serves to enhance the wine rather than distract from literally everything else. The fruit is opulent and sweet, and very much in full display still. It feels as if this wine has just finally shed its primary characteristics. The difficulty in leading me to conclude confidently on Gruaud was that this was actually a somewhat charming wine; my experiences with Gruaud have been anything but.
Served double blind. Black cherry and sweet fruit that seems to evoke Napa, but American oak and a more-than-typical amount of acidity drew me away from Napa. The American oak led me to my old mainstay of American cabernet, and I guessed Ridge Montebello, but from the same time period. The fruit here is very clean and still in very good shape; an impressive wine (and my first Silver Oak, though I was told that the modern incarnations are nothing like this).
Served double blind. The dark fruit and high alcohol had me think this was another new world wine. Sweet fruit with the typical dark cherry and plum notes; a bit plodding without any lift or freshness. Leathery, full tannins as well that make a difficult wine even more so. Not the type of wine I'm particularly keen on.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Served double blind. Very porty and almost pruney, to the point that a Valpolicella guess didn't seem far off. A little bit of a stewed tomato note and a bit of volatility as well. Perhaps slightly heat-damaged or otherwise flawed? This definitely wasn't at the level of a bottle a few years ago. Now I'm tempted to revisit one of my own bottles.
Served double blind. (The pink capsule made me want to guess Vieux Chateau Certan, but this was obviously not that.) A little bit of herbal quality that actually reminded me a bit of Cheval Blanc (or some other good St. Emilion cabernet franc). Relatively ripe fruit with good structure, but the nose is definitely more impressive than the palate here. Some earthiness here as well. Overall a medium bodied wine, but the less than prominent pyrazines made pinpointing this in the Loire somewhat difficult.
Served double blind. Somewhat clear that this was Rhone, but whether it was syrah or something else was obscured by the relatively natty character of this wine -- especially on the palate, the mousiness was incredibly apparent. There were some black fruit notes that might have been interesting if it weren't for the stink. Others seemed to be more tolerant of this than I was.
#07-07, 9% abv. Served double blind. Smells like a high botrytis wine, with just a little bit of funk on it. Incredibly thick texture here and without the bright raciness that I would typically expect for riesling. I ended up guessing that this was something like a Coteaux du Layon. Go figure; of course, this wasn't made by Hans-Leo, and the flabby 2006 vintage certainly is in line with the confusion here.
NV André Clouet Champagne Un jour de 1911... 93 Points
France, Champagne
953eme bottle of cuvee 53. Disgorged at Bouzy, June 7th, 2016. One of the better showings of this wine -- this had plenty of richness and depth, with a generous amount of aged pinot champagne character. The richness of this was cut by the acidity, providing a full but balanced wine. I really liked this bottle.
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2009 Veuve Fourny & Fils Champagne Premier Cru Cuvée du Clos Notre Dame 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Served double blind. Fairly aldehydic with some high-toned elements on the nose like marzipan. The fruit on this is quite juicy and has plenty of nice brightness. It wasn't a tough call to get the blanc de blancs, but I thought it was a little bit younger, guessing 2012. Nonetheless it definitely felt like a grower-style champagne but properly dosed.
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2019 Bodega Chacra Chardonnay 90 Points
Argentina, Patagonia
Served double blind. There's a little reduction on this underneath the relatively floral nose, if you look for it. Clearly chardonnay, and I actually was thinking of a village-level wine somewhere in the Côte de Beaune. Shows quite fat too, so the 2015 or 2018 vintages would have been my guess. I guess I wasn't too far off base here. A very good quality chardonnay, and probably the best South American wine I've had, but at the price point this is far less interesting.
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2015 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served double blind. Oily and an incredibly broad nose and palate. It reminds me a little bit of what a Bâtard-Montrachet would turn out to be in a fat year, but with the fruit pushed even a little farther to the ripe side. The palate is an honest continuation of the nose, and this certainly has the richness, depth, and potency of a grand cru white Burgundy, save for the finish where it unequivocally proclaims its Americanness by an intense bitterness. Really, this would be a phenomenal wine (an MS friend of mine swears by this wine) if it weren't for that too-distracting bitterness. I did actually come to guess Kongsgaard because it is probably one of the few California chardonnays in the style that is remotely drinkable.
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1955 Château Lascombes 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Served double blind. Clearly a very mature wine with a pronounced floral element as well as some cedary/wood shaving notes. I was actually thinking 1970s Rioja. Not dirty at all (rules out Cordier) but there are still some notes of desiccated red fruit here. Tart, but not overwhelmingly so. Overall very beautiful aromatics.
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1952 Château Lafite Rothschild Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Served double blind. Clearly a compromised cork did the wine ill.
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1979 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Served double blind. Again clearly old Bordeaux. The nose shows lots of leathery characteristics, but with the dark plummy fruit still showing some residual signs of primary qualities, I guessed that this was a decade younger than it was. This was definitely more acid driven and had a coolness which seemed to indicate this wasn't a very ripe vintage.
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1982 Château Gruaud Larose 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Served double blind. Cordier funk leads to the Gruaud call right away, but the funk is very mild and for a change actually serves to enhance the wine rather than distract from literally everything else. The fruit is opulent and sweet, and very much in full display still. It feels as if this wine has just finally shed its primary characteristics. The difficulty in leading me to conclude confidently on Gruaud was that this was actually a somewhat charming wine; my experiences with Gruaud have been anything but.
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1992 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 93 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
Served double blind. Black cherry and sweet fruit that seems to evoke Napa, but American oak and a more-than-typical amount of acidity drew me away from Napa. The American oak led me to my old mainstay of American cabernet, and I guessed Ridge Montebello, but from the same time period. The fruit here is very clean and still in very good shape; an impressive wine (and my first Silver Oak, though I was told that the modern incarnations are nothing like this).
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2004 Montevetrano Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT 85 Points
Italy, Campania, Colli di Salerno IGT
Served double blind. The dark fruit and high alcohol had me think this was another new world wine. Sweet fruit with the typical dark cherry and plum notes; a bit plodding without any lift or freshness. Leathery, full tannins as well that make a difficult wine even more so. Not the type of wine I'm particularly keen on.
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2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin Flawed
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Served double blind. Very porty and almost pruney, to the point that a Valpolicella guess didn't seem far off. A little bit of a stewed tomato note and a bit of volatility as well. Perhaps slightly heat-damaged or otherwise flawed? This definitely wasn't at the level of a bottle a few years ago. Now I'm tempted to revisit one of my own bottles.
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2015 Domaine de Pallus Chinon Pallus S V de la Rougerie 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Served double blind. (The pink capsule made me want to guess Vieux Chateau Certan, but this was obviously not that.) A little bit of herbal quality that actually reminded me a bit of Cheval Blanc (or some other good St. Emilion cabernet franc). Relatively ripe fruit with good structure, but the nose is definitely more impressive than the palate here. Some earthiness here as well. Overall a medium bodied wine, but the less than prominent pyrazines made pinpointing this in the Loire somewhat difficult.
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2012 Domaine Gourt de Mautens (Jérôme Bressy) Vaucluse Rouge 80 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Vaucluse
Served double blind. Somewhat clear that this was Rhone, but whether it was syrah or something else was obscured by the relatively natty character of this wine -- especially on the palate, the mousiness was incredibly apparent. There were some black fruit notes that might have been interesting if it weren't for the stink. Others seemed to be more tolerant of this than I was.
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2006 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese ** 90 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#07-07, 9% abv. Served double blind. Smells like a high botrytis wine, with just a little bit of funk on it. Incredibly thick texture here and without the bright raciness that I would typically expect for riesling. I ended up guessing that this was something like a Coteaux du Layon. Go figure; of course, this wasn't made by Hans-Leo, and the flabby 2006 vintage certainly is in line with the confusion here.
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