#03-20, 12.5% abv. Served double blind. Clearly riesling from the fruit and herbal notes on the nose. Of a riper style, but also not as complex and broad as a proper GG. A little bit of green astringency on the finish, but quite nice nonetheless.
#09-20, 12.5% abv. Served double blind. Wild, exotic flavours with some mango and plenty of higher-toned florals. It didn't take too long to get to scheurebe, especially because most of the other high aromatic grapes don't tend to have as much acidity. This really does lack a little bit of sugar, which would make all the exotic fruit stand out much more.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Absolutely gorgeous pinot noir. Incredibly enticing nose with tons of red fruit and a modest amount of spice, but the perfume here is quite intense indeed. On the palate, I really love the generosity of red fruit here, but despite the refreshing acidity, there is lots of richness and breadth here. Very, very convincing -- I might have to add this to my own cellar.
I think this was a 2010 base, but the back label was scuffed and I couldn't read it clearly. Too oxidative and lean for my palate. Quite a bit of nuttiness from the age, and with this missing the necessary dosage to round it out, there is really only the sensation of acidity here. It's a bit of a shame; I think this has good bones, and would have significantly benefitted from some dosage.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru
Simultaneously very 2002 and Chandon de Briailles. The nose is mature and this shows some earthy notes alongside some plump fruit tones. On the palate, despite the implied breadth from the nose, this feels cool and lean, with a distinct stemmy note and more acidity than I would expect. Good, but for my taste, at peak. This doesn't seem to have much gas left in the tank.
Holy crap, I don't think I've had such a thicc AC Bourgogne before. Extraordinarily generously oaked, but not in a bad way. Very lactone heavy, perhaps more so than the fruit can take. Feels disproportionate.
Incredibly taut, with loads of enamel-stripping acidity. Quite lean; it feels like this could have been picked later to boost the richness and roundness on the palate, and to dial down the acidity a bit (but I'm not a winemaker, so what do I know?). In theory, I should really like the Ceritas chardonnays but in practice, I don't tend to find them as convincing as I really would like. Not sure where the disconnect lies.
A pretty textbook edition of this wine; the fruit seems a little white and on the tart side, but also shows lots of the requisite chalkiness. The palate drinks a little lean, but again finishes with plenty of chalky texture. A very good value play, especially as the house still doesn't seem to get its due.
Love the intense aromaticity here (kind of like the Catoir Scheurebe, actually), coupled with some salinity as well. Not too complex on the palate, but the touch of sweet fruit, some high-toned herb elements, and the acidity all added together work quite nicely. Some minerality on the back end too.
V 16, disgorged April 2018. Surprisingly sweet on the nose and palate, with plenty of orchard fruit notes that give this a pleasant roundness. Some brioche notes hint that this has seen a little bit of age, and there's a spicy gingerbread note as well that's quite entrancing.
It's no secret that I hold the 2019 sec lineup from Huet very, very highly, so I was pretty excited to see this. Admittedly this doesn't have quite the same electric energy; it's a little rounder thanks to the fractional sweetness. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like there's enough sweetness to do anything with it, and this is kind of stuck in the middle between two styles (I guess that's what the name implies too). And while this is a pretty good wine, for my palate, the dry version is far more interesting.
Kind of drinks like a GG, but it's also a little too sweet for that, and it's stuck in a bit of a no-man's land. There's definitely some good material here, but somehow it just doesn't quite work for my palate. Shows some maturity too, as the fruit doesn't come off as sweet and fresh on the palate, and the acidity has a bit of a burnished quality to it.
A little simplistic, but unmistakably dry Aussie riesling. There's a lovely herbal tone here that other rieslings don't have along with some tart citric notes. Perhaps a touch more austere than better examples with its ripping acidity, but this nevertheless drinks quite nicely, especially at the price point.
For my palate, too far gone. Has a lot of notes evocative of a VORS Amontillado or something, coupled with mushrooms and dirt. Lots and lots of dosage here (has to be something like 10-12 g/L) giving this distinct sweetness and a hint of bubbles, but this has become far too Maillard-heavy for my palate.
This was a little reticent and boring at first, and really needed some air to get going. Quite steely and lean, with more of a mineral/acid bent than fruit, though with air it's the fruit that starts to emerge and give this wine more roundness on the palate. Not reductive at all, but definitely showing some high-acid leanness. Quite good, but I will wait a few more years before opening another bottle.
2019 Müller-Catoir Haardter Riesling Trocken 88 Points
Germany, Pfalz
#03-20, 12.5% abv. Served double blind. Clearly riesling from the fruit and herbal notes on the nose. Of a riper style, but also not as complex and broad as a proper GG. A little bit of green astringency on the finish, but quite nice nonetheless.
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2019 Müller-Catoir Haardter Scheurebe Trocken 88 Points
Germany, Pfalz
#09-20, 12.5% abv. Served double blind. Wild, exotic flavours with some mango and plenty of higher-toned florals. It didn't take too long to get to scheurebe, especially because most of the other high aromatic grapes don't tend to have as much acidity. This really does lack a little bit of sugar, which would make all the exotic fruit stand out much more.
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2019 Domaine Anne Gros Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveau 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Absolutely gorgeous pinot noir. Incredibly enticing nose with tons of red fruit and a modest amount of spice, but the perfume here is quite intense indeed. On the palate, I really love the generosity of red fruit here, but despite the refreshing acidity, there is lots of richness and breadth here. Very, very convincing -- I might have to add this to my own cellar.
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NV David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru L'Apôtre Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 85 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
I think this was a 2010 base, but the back label was scuffed and I couldn't read it clearly. Too oxidative and lean for my palate. Quite a bit of nuttiness from the age, and with this missing the necessary dosage to round it out, there is really only the sensation of acidity here. It's a bit of a shame; I think this has good bones, and would have significantly benefitted from some dosage.
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2002 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru
Simultaneously very 2002 and Chandon de Briailles. The nose is mature and this shows some earthy notes alongside some plump fruit tones. On the palate, despite the implied breadth from the nose, this feels cool and lean, with a distinct stemmy note and more acidity than I would expect. Good, but for my taste, at peak. This doesn't seem to have much gas left in the tank.
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2019 Domaine Dupont-Fahn Bourgogne Blanc Chaumes des Perrières 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
Holy crap, I don't think I've had such a thicc AC Bourgogne before. Extraordinarily generously oaked, but not in a bad way. Very lactone heavy, perhaps more so than the fruit can take. Feels disproportionate.
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2018 Ceritas Chardonnay Carex 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Incredibly taut, with loads of enamel-stripping acidity. Quite lean; it feels like this could have been picked later to boost the richness and roundness on the palate, and to dial down the acidity a bit (but I'm not a winemaker, so what do I know?). In theory, I should really like the Ceritas chardonnays but in practice, I don't tend to find them as convincing as I really would like. Not sure where the disconnect lies.
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2014 Marc Hébrart Champagne Premier Cru Special Club 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
A pretty textbook edition of this wine; the fruit seems a little white and on the tart side, but also shows lots of the requisite chalkiness. The palate drinks a little lean, but again finishes with plenty of chalky texture. A very good value play, especially as the house still doesn't seem to get its due.
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2020 Cantine Lunae Bosoni Vermentino Colli di Luni 88 Points
Italy, Tuscany / Liguria, Colli di Luni
Love the intense aromaticity here (kind of like the Catoir Scheurebe, actually), coupled with some salinity as well. Not too complex on the palate, but the touch of sweet fruit, some high-toned herb elements, and the acidity all added together work quite nicely. Some minerality on the back end too.
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2016 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine 93 Points
France, Champagne
V 16, disgorged April 2018. Surprisingly sweet on the nose and palate, with plenty of orchard fruit notes that give this a pleasant roundness. Some brioche notes hint that this has seen a little bit of age, and there's a spicy gingerbread note as well that's quite entrancing.
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2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
It's no secret that I hold the 2019 sec lineup from Huet very, very highly, so I was pretty excited to see this. Admittedly this doesn't have quite the same electric energy; it's a little rounder thanks to the fractional sweetness. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like there's enough sweetness to do anything with it, and this is kind of stuck in the middle between two styles (I guess that's what the name implies too). And while this is a pretty good wine, for my palate, the dry version is far more interesting.
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2007 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Kaisersteinfels Riesling Alte Reben 88 Points
Germany, Rheingau
Kind of drinks like a GG, but it's also a little too sweet for that, and it's stuck in a bit of a no-man's land. There's definitely some good material here, but somehow it just doesn't quite work for my palate. Shows some maturity too, as the fruit doesn't come off as sweet and fresh on the palate, and the acidity has a bit of a burnished quality to it.
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2017 Pewsey Vale Vineyard Eden Valley Riesling 88 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
A little simplistic, but unmistakably dry Aussie riesling. There's a lovely herbal tone here that other rieslings don't have along with some tart citric notes. Perhaps a touch more austere than better examples with its ripping acidity, but this nevertheless drinks quite nicely, especially at the price point.
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1964 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Vintage
France, Champagne
For my palate, too far gone. Has a lot of notes evocative of a VORS Amontillado or something, coupled with mushrooms and dirt. Lots and lots of dosage here (has to be something like 10-12 g/L) giving this distinct sweetness and a hint of bubbles, but this has become far too Maillard-heavy for my palate.
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2017 Tyrrell's Chardonnay HVD 90 Points
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
This was a little reticent and boring at first, and really needed some air to get going. Quite steely and lean, with more of a mineral/acid bent than fruit, though with air it's the fruit that starts to emerge and give this wine more roundness on the palate. Not reductive at all, but definitely showing some high-acid leanness. Quite good, but I will wait a few more years before opening another bottle.
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