Vinetasters: This and That

Chicago, IL
Tasted Sunday, June 5, 2022 by acyso with 236 views

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • NV Jansz Wine Company Premium Rosé Brut 85 Points

    Australia, Tasmania

    Served double blind. Suspiciously pink hue, but I didn't think this was a rose at all. Honeyed and floral nose, but very dry and with relatively little fruit expression. Quite dry, and slightly chalky. This doesn't have the complexity of a champagne, but is a pleasant sparkling wine all the same.

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Flight 2 (3 Notes)

  • 2020 Arrow & Branch Sauvignon Blanc Stagecoach Vineyard 85 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Served double blind. Intense pyrazine note with some jalapeno notes on the nose. A slightly waxy texture had me thinking that this may have had a bit of semillon blended in (it was pretty obvious that this was sauvignon blanc). Low oak (if any), with a bit of a steely and high acid character. Decent for sauvignon blanc.

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  • 2021 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc 85 Points

    USA, California, North Coast

    Served double blind. Clearly sauvignon blanc again, with some harshness from the green notes, especially on the midpalate and finish. But this has the right amount of ripeness to counterbalance all the unpleasant sauvignon blanc notes (not the winemaker's fault; the grape just really sucks). My favourite of the sauvignon blanc flight.

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  • 2018 Quintessa Sauvignon Blanc Illumination 83 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

    Served double blind. Unpleasant sauvignon blanc notes on the nose coupled with some sulphurous reduction does not make for a good combination. Ungainly with its fatness and oak but also carrying the thinness of sauvignon blanc just doesn't work for me at all. Heavy-handed extraction and pretty discernible high alcohol further detract.

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 2008 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    Served double blind. Easily my favourite of the flight. Quite spicy with some apple pie notes on the nose and palate. Lively acidity and bright fruit on the palate, with some nascent brioche notes as well showing some development along the aging curve.

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  • 2008 Launois Pere et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Special Club Blanc de Blancs 88 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Served double blind. I had this recently and was slightly surprised that I couldn't identify it, but I think this bottle may not have been entirely representative, as it felt a little more oxidized and sherry-like than a recent bottle maybe 2-3 months ago. But this still had plenty of good acidity and brightness; I just might have guessed 2004 instead of 2008.

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  • 2008 Pierre Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé 70 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Served double blind. Unpleasantly mushroomy and dirty on the nose, with a raw dough note that is extremely off-putting. The palate was much better, but that raw dough note persists here. Possibly not quite right, but I couldn't identify any actual flaw here. I thought this may have been from the 90s.

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Flight 4 (4 Notes)

  • 1978 Château Beychevelle 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Served double blind. Unmistakable old Bordeaux nose. Lots of woodsy notes and dried fruits. Perfumed and elegant, with a fully resolved palate showing most of the notes that the nose promises. Still plenty alive, but I would say this is on the downswing. I thought this could have been from the 60s or early 70s.

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  • 1979 Château Léoville Las Cases Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Served double blind. Corked, but this could well have been a bottle of Gruaud Larose.

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  • 1979 Château Cos d'Estournel 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Served double blind. I liked this much less than another recent bottle of this (though they were from the same lot). This had a bit of a pruney/balsamic nose, but does taste much better than it smells. Some plummy notes, with the fruit still surprisingly dominant after all these years. Fully resolved; at this point, it's really just a question of bottle variation.

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  • 1979 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Served double blind. Unmistakably Pauillac. This is just an absolutely brilliant wine, with the pencil shavings note in full display. Honestly, if I needed a bottle to explain what Pauillac tastes like, this would be it. Still some sweet fruit here, alongside some herbal notes as well. Silky texture, too, but it's really the purity of fruit that is so compelling here. I thought this was a decade younger -- 1989.

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Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 2017 Clos Apalta 83 Points

    Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley, Apalta

    Served double blind. Intense vanilla and oak, black currants, and a lot of sweetness. Not too over-the-top, but this is clearly a wine of the modernist, anonymous style -- the same wine could have been made almost anywhere (Napa, Tuscany, Bordeaux) from anything (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec). It's clearly an expensive wine, though.

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  • 2017 Cheval des Andes 88 Points

    Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo, Vistalba

    Served double blind. A significant step up from the Clos Apalta alongside. This is much more in balance, with some leathery notes and grainy tannins. Restrained, with lovely earthy tones and high-acid black fruits, this is obviously too young, but I expect for it to improve with time. I particularly like the balance of earthy notes with the high-altitude fruit notes.

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