2017 base. I quite liked this, despite my general preference for big house champagne. Good fruit and richness on the palate, even if the acidity is particularly pronounced. Quite a bit of citrus character too, and the mushroomy meunier elements don't show up until the midpalate. I'm told that with air more of the natty champagne character started showing.
Been a while since I crossed paths with a bottle of this; I can't say that this has grown on me though. Very much a typical bottle of older Goisses, amply mature with the dirty funk that has you asking if it's corked or not. Some rancio, nutty notes, as well as oxidative flavours that remind me of dry sherry. Umami to the extreme and even though there is acidity, it doesn't feel integrated overall with the palate. To be honest, I find myself becoming less and less convinced about Goisses these days...
This wine is an absolute stunner and belongs in any riesling lover's cellar. The nose is quintessential riesling, perhaps a little more tropical than most but with stunning aromatics right out of the gate. A little herbal, but the kaleidoscopic array of ripe fruit (that is all dry) is simply mesmerizing. The nose translates perfectly to the palate; this is absolutely brimming with electricity. It's complex, layered, and extremely concentrated with fruit and mineral extract. I really don't remember the last time I've been so excited about a bottle of dry riesling.
What an absolute treat to cross paths with a bottle of G-Max. That we should all be so lucky to have such generous friends... This was opened next to a 2019 Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg GG, and the stylistic differences were quite stark. This is an incredibly opulent and rich wine, chock full of very ripe fruit in all sorts of ways. The vintage shows. There is a thickness to the palate that is impressive for a wine with such acidity. This vastly improved with more air, but for the entire evening, I thought that this was outclassed by the Halenberg.
A fantastic bottle of Loire pinot. I think the vintage helped this wine greatly. The nose is a bit spicy, but shows very distinct pinot character. There's still plenty of red fruit here, as well as a smattering of dusty, earthy tones. A silky texture with plenty of acidity, this wine doesn't feel thin like so many hyper-cool-climate pinot noirs do. I was surprised at how much I liked this wine (it was definitely better with a bit of steak and duck confit).
I went into this thinking I'd find this wine thin and weedy, but that's definitely not the case here. The nose was certainly very herbaceous, with some tobacco notes, but there's also a smoky undertone that reminds me a bit of Northern Rhône. The palate isn't as fleshed out as I would like (of course, this is a wine fully driven by its acidity), but there is some seriously impressive complexity here. This wouldn't be mistaken for Burgundy any time, but the pinot character is out in full force nonetheless here.
From half-bottle. This is admittedly not my favourite Mosel vintage, but boy is this wine a smashing success. There is no sign of dirtiness in this wine whatsoever; I can only guess that they actually picked each individual berry out one by one to make sure that the rot on each was indeed noble. The fruit flavours are more temperate than tropical, but the apples, pears, quince, and such are all very precise. There has to be an insane amount of acidity to balance out the sweetness, but this wine is never cloying, just very, very intense. A very long and clean finish. Magnificent.
NV Chevreux-Bournazel Champagne La Parcelle Millesime 90 Points
France, Champagne
2017 base. I quite liked this, despite my general preference for big house champagne. Good fruit and richness on the palate, even if the acidity is particularly pronounced. Quite a bit of citrus character too, and the mushroomy meunier elements don't show up until the midpalate. I'm told that with air more of the natty champagne character started showing.
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1996 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 90 Points
France, Champagne
Been a while since I crossed paths with a bottle of this; I can't say that this has grown on me though. Very much a typical bottle of older Goisses, amply mature with the dirty funk that has you asking if it's corked or not. Some rancio, nutty notes, as well as oxidative flavours that remind me of dry sherry. Umami to the extreme and even though there is acidity, it doesn't feel integrated overall with the palate. To be honest, I find myself becoming less and less convinced about Goisses these days...
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2019 Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs 98 Points
Germany, Nahe
This wine is an absolute stunner and belongs in any riesling lover's cellar. The nose is quintessential riesling, perhaps a little more tropical than most but with stunning aromatics right out of the gate. A little herbal, but the kaleidoscopic array of ripe fruit (that is all dry) is simply mesmerizing. The nose translates perfectly to the palate; this is absolutely brimming with electricity. It's complex, layered, and extremely concentrated with fruit and mineral extract. I really don't remember the last time I've been so excited about a bottle of dry riesling.
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2018 Weingut Keller Riesling G-Max 95 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
What an absolute treat to cross paths with a bottle of G-Max. That we should all be so lucky to have such generous friends... This was opened next to a 2019 Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg GG, and the stylistic differences were quite stark. This is an incredibly opulent and rich wine, chock full of very ripe fruit in all sorts of ways. The vintage shows. There is a thickness to the palate that is impressive for a wine with such acidity. This vastly improved with more air, but for the entire evening, I thought that this was outclassed by the Halenberg.
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2003 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Rouge 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge
A fantastic bottle of Loire pinot. I think the vintage helped this wine greatly. The nose is a bit spicy, but shows very distinct pinot character. There's still plenty of red fruit here, as well as a smattering of dusty, earthy tones. A silky texture with plenty of acidity, this wine doesn't feel thin like so many hyper-cool-climate pinot noirs do. I was surprised at how much I liked this wine (it was definitely better with a bit of steak and duck confit).
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1997 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Rouge Chavignol 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge
I went into this thinking I'd find this wine thin and weedy, but that's definitely not the case here. The nose was certainly very herbaceous, with some tobacco notes, but there's also a smoky undertone that reminds me a bit of Northern Rhône. The palate isn't as fleshed out as I would like (of course, this is a wine fully driven by its acidity), but there is some seriously impressive complexity here. This wouldn't be mistaken for Burgundy any time, but the pinot character is out in full force nonetheless here.
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2006 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 98 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
From half-bottle. This is admittedly not my favourite Mosel vintage, but boy is this wine a smashing success. There is no sign of dirtiness in this wine whatsoever; I can only guess that they actually picked each individual berry out one by one to make sure that the rot on each was indeed noble. The fruit flavours are more temperate than tropical, but the apples, pears, quince, and such are all very precise. There has to be an insane amount of acidity to balance out the sweetness, but this wine is never cloying, just very, very intense. A very long and clean finish. Magnificent.
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