Solid, if not totally exciting champagne. Definitely holds its own in the entry-level champagne category, with a pleasant richness to the palate coupled with a good amount of fresh acidity.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
More interesting than good. Definitely on its last legs, and not particularly Corton-Charlemagney at that. Thin on the palate, this is kind of in the same vein as a recent 2002 Clape where the wine is solid, but drinks like an old version of a very much lower appellation. Nonetheless you can tell this was made in that old-school white Burgundy style with its (attempted?) hefty weight and breadth.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
When they're on, they're on. A fantastic bottle that was almost indistinguishable from the 2017 alongside. Such freshness and electricity here, with oak providing the weight and breadth. Very high acidity, this tastes like it hasn't aged at all since it was bottled. There's a less than average amount of fruit here for this wine, and instead you get more mineral stuffing. A far more convincing bottle than my previous one a few years back.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Oddly enough, this was almost indistinguishable from the 2008, but it was more because the 2008 was fresh than this was showing any age. Clearly a product of the vintage with heaps of bright acidity and electricity. The Boillot use of oak, while generous, is also superbly executed, giving this the requisite breadth and power. A perennial winner.
At first I thought this was slightly corked (of course I did) but it was pretty clear that this wasn't TCA when it didn't bloom and in fact blew off. Still plenty of tart red fruit here on the attack, and more impressively this doesn't fade on the midpalate. Silky tannins. An absolutely lovely bottle of fully mature pinot.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
At first, this was pretty neutral to me. There wasn't anything that seemed to stand out here, except that this was a very good, well-executed chardonnay. It certainly got more expressive with air, but this didn't have as much fruit as it needed to flesh out the structure. I think this is a wine with plenty of upside though, because there's clearly good stuffing here. It's just that this must have been a bit of an awkward time to open it.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
One of the best bottles of Lamy I've had in a while. This is the ripeness of 2009 combined with the leaner style of Lamy, yielding a large-scaled and generously proportioned, but ultimately balanced wine. I love the mix of sweet stone fruit and Lamy acidity here. What a fantastic and exciting bottle of chardonnay.
I really like the weight here -- it helps with the general lightness and vapidity of gamay. Slightly volatile with some of those yeasty notes on the nose that low-sulphur wines can have, but on the palate, the intensity of the fruit really does give this wine fullness. At the end of the day, no sort of winemaking can really eliminate that sucralose flavour in gamay that sticks out so prominently to my palate.
Deep and intense, but almost with less oak showing than the Terrasses. This is quite meaty and feral, and you don't get the olive notes until maybe 4-5 hours later. Silky tannins and surprisingly black fruit for the vintage, this is some seriously meaty syrah. Coming off of a 2016 Guigal Turque recently, I would say that this is more rustic and slightly less precise and clean, but an impressive wine with plenty of gas in the tank.
A deeply different wine than a recent 2013, but not in quality. This is far more resolved and silkier, with a much more gentle and sedate quality about it. The fruit is red and delicate, and the tannins almost fully resolved. This lacks the ferocity of some "bigger" vintages of Levet, but I think the hallmarks of a rustic Côte-Rôtie are still prominently on display. I'd drink this while I age the 2013.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
I'm not certain I'd go as far as to say that this was flawed, but it was definitely pushing the oxidation boundaries a bit too far for me. And the contrast with the 1990 alongside just made that difference all the more stark.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Stunning stuff. The precise, delineated red and black berries on the nose here, coupled with leather and dried herbs promises a convincing wine. And on the palate, this fully delivers with precisely the same profile. Still a bit tannic, but for me, the fruit is still fresh enough that this hits that perfect balance of maturity.
I don't care much for young Bordeaux but this was an outright stunner. The fruit is precise and clean, there's minerality on the palate, and very judicious use of oak here. This is a serious package of Bordeaux and I have to say I'm just blown away. Admittedly this might be made to be drank earlier, but who cares? A good wine is a good wine -- and you should drink it when it's good. Very, very impressive.
Some of the earlier Sottimanos I admit to being skeptical about because of the oak usage, but this wasn't one of them. Classic nebbiolo notes here, with a little more tar than usual, but also plenty of lovely red fruit. This feels like it's getting to the mature stage and mellowing out a bit, and for that maturity, I really liked how this bottle showed tonight.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Honestly, this isn't too pyraziney. It's surprisingly ripe for a 2004 Loire in that there's so much fruit and that fruit has a slight sweetness to it. Texturally mature, and in peak secondary phase right now. I've generally been pretty down on cabernet franc these last few years, but this bottle nailed it. The only question about this wine of course, is the cost.
Loved this. I'm not a big chinato guy, but I loved the woodsy, coniferous profile of this. It's actually not dominated by the herbs either -- those herbs are more of a backdrop to the sweetened Barolo. I went out onto the market and bought a few of these right away. The bright red fruit from the wine here actually shows very clearly, and the sweetness is just perfectly balanced. If this is any indication of the "regular" Margherita Otto wines, I expect I'm in for a treat.
NV Pierre Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Pierre Moncuit-Delos Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Solid, if not totally exciting champagne. Definitely holds its own in the entry-level champagne category, with a pleasant richness to the palate coupled with a good amount of fresh acidity.
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1987 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
More interesting than good. Definitely on its last legs, and not particularly Corton-Charlemagney at that. Thin on the palate, this is kind of in the same vein as a recent 2002 Clape where the wine is solid, but drinks like an old version of a very much lower appellation. Nonetheless you can tell this was made in that old-school white Burgundy style with its (attempted?) hefty weight and breadth.
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2008 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
When they're on, they're on. A fantastic bottle that was almost indistinguishable from the 2017 alongside. Such freshness and electricity here, with oak providing the weight and breadth. Very high acidity, this tastes like it hasn't aged at all since it was bottled. There's a less than average amount of fruit here for this wine, and instead you get more mineral stuffing. A far more convincing bottle than my previous one a few years back.
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2017 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Oddly enough, this was almost indistinguishable from the 2008, but it was more because the 2008 was fresh than this was showing any age. Clearly a product of the vintage with heaps of bright acidity and electricity. The Boillot use of oak, while generous, is also superbly executed, giving this the requisite breadth and power. A perennial winner.
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1976 Henri Boillot Volnay 1er Cru Les Angles 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
At first I thought this was slightly corked (of course I did) but it was pretty clear that this wasn't TCA when it didn't bloom and in fact blew off. Still plenty of tart red fruit here on the attack, and more impressively this doesn't fade on the midpalate. Silky tannins. An absolutely lovely bottle of fully mature pinot.
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2014 Domaine Potinet-Ampeau Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
At first, this was pretty neutral to me. There wasn't anything that seemed to stand out here, except that this was a very good, well-executed chardonnay. It certainly got more expressive with air, but this didn't have as much fruit as it needed to flesh out the structure. I think this is a wine with plenty of upside though, because there's clearly good stuffing here. It's just that this must have been a bit of an awkward time to open it.
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2009 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
One of the best bottles of Lamy I've had in a while. This is the ripeness of 2009 combined with the leaner style of Lamy, yielding a large-scaled and generously proportioned, but ultimately balanced wine. I love the mix of sweet stone fruit and Lamy acidity here. What a fantastic and exciting bottle of chardonnay.
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2016 Philippe Pacalet Moulin-à-Vent 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent
I really like the weight here -- it helps with the general lightness and vapidity of gamay. Slightly volatile with some of those yeasty notes on the nose that low-sulphur wines can have, but on the palate, the intensity of the fruit really does give this wine fullness. At the end of the day, no sort of winemaking can really eliminate that sucralose flavour in gamay that sticks out so prominently to my palate.
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2016 Jean-Luc Jamet Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Pirate 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Deep and intense, but almost with less oak showing than the Terrasses. This is quite meaty and feral, and you don't get the olive notes until maybe 4-5 hours later. Silky tannins and surprisingly black fruit for the vintage, this is some seriously meaty syrah. Coming off of a 2016 Guigal Turque recently, I would say that this is more rustic and slightly less precise and clean, but an impressive wine with plenty of gas in the tank.
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2012 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche / La Péroline 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A deeply different wine than a recent 2013, but not in quality. This is far more resolved and silkier, with a much more gentle and sedate quality about it. The fruit is red and delicate, and the tannins almost fully resolved. This lacks the ferocity of some "bigger" vintages of Levet, but I think the hallmarks of a rustic Côte-Rôtie are still prominently on display. I'd drink this while I age the 2013.
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1985 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
I'm not certain I'd go as far as to say that this was flawed, but it was definitely pushing the oxidation boundaries a bit too far for me. And the contrast with the 1990 alongside just made that difference all the more stark.
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1990 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano 95 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Stunning stuff. The precise, delineated red and black berries on the nose here, coupled with leather and dried herbs promises a convincing wine. And on the palate, this fully delivers with precisely the same profile. Still a bit tannic, but for me, the fruit is still fresh enough that this hits that perfect balance of maturity.
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2019 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
I don't care much for young Bordeaux but this was an outright stunner. The fruit is precise and clean, there's minerality on the palate, and very judicious use of oak here. This is a serious package of Bordeaux and I have to say I'm just blown away. Admittedly this might be made to be drank earlier, but who cares? A good wine is a good wine -- and you should drink it when it's good. Very, very impressive.
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2011 Sottimano Barbaresco Currá 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Some of the earlier Sottimanos I admit to being skeptical about because of the oak usage, but this wasn't one of them. Classic nebbiolo notes here, with a little more tar than usual, but also plenty of lovely red fruit. This feels like it's getting to the mature stage and mellowing out a bit, and for that maturity, I really liked how this bottle showed tonight.
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2004 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Honestly, this isn't too pyraziney. It's surprisingly ripe for a 2004 Loire in that there's so much fruit and that fruit has a slight sweetness to it. Texturally mature, and in peak secondary phase right now. I've generally been pretty down on cabernet franc these last few years, but this bottle nailed it. The only question about this wine of course, is the cost.
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NV Margherita Otto Barolo Chinato 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo Chinato
Loved this. I'm not a big chinato guy, but I loved the woodsy, coniferous profile of this. It's actually not dominated by the herbs either -- those herbs are more of a backdrop to the sweetened Barolo. I went out onto the market and bought a few of these right away. The bright red fruit from the wine here actually shows very clearly, and the sweetness is just perfectly balanced. If this is any indication of the "regular" Margherita Otto wines, I expect I'm in for a treat.
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