USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The opulence of this comes from the oak -- so much of it, expressing in a buttery popcorn, coconut, lactone quality. Very large-scaled, but there's also an underlying acidity that seems like it comes from a slightly underripe pick, which is kind of an odd profile. Quite nice with food nonetheless.
Showing great today -- this is very Raveneau with a slightly saline note that hints at maturity. Rounded texture, with sweet lemon notes and plenty of mineral cut as well. I love the balance here, as well as the concentrated Chablis essence. Drinking incredibly well out of the gate.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
I confess I expected a bit more from the producer and site. A bit burly and lacking the elegance that I typically expect here, and not quite as spice-forward as I would have expected for Vosne either. Despite the generous air treatment, this felt kind of burly and shut down. Perhaps more interesting in a few years, but I'm not sure the underlying material is there.
Wow -- an approachable bottle of LLC, and a late-release, single owner bottle to boot. Leather and red fruit, with a lovely delicacy that might as well be atypical for the estate. Earthy but clean, and tannins that aren't overbearing. Showing quite youthful as well. An excellent rendition.
Outstanding stuff -- just the right amount of cabernet franc here that you get the flavour without all the rustic, earthy stuff. Very nicely balanced with a minty green pepper note but with enough plush, silky fruit from the merlot to render this a pretty complete wine on the palate. In a really nice spot right now. VCC has since become one of my favourite Bordeaux estates.
For an estate I've always found a hair towards the rustic side, this was quite fruit forward on the palate, despite a distinct and intense pyrazine nose. Kind of a weird dichotomy there. Tannins feel pretty resolved at this point, and the softer 2000 vintage makes this feel approachable already.
Served double blind. The pyrazines and light red fruit had me thinking some sort of Loire cabernet franc (but good) at first, but successive guesses just never got anywhere close. If this were Bordeaux I figured it'd be a 1989; there's just not that much fruit in a wine back in the 1980s. Very bright, red fruit on the palate, so I actually was guessing that this was like a 2000! Wonderful showing of a wine that I'm not familiar with at all.
Good, not great Napa cab. There's a bit of a rust note that shows up on the back end that shows a bit of age, but at the same time, the Californian fruit is still prominent. Quite a bit of leathery tannins here, so it feels like there's still good material for aging, but at the same time, that slight iron note has me thinking otherwise. Anyway, still a mighty solid bottle of Bordeaux that goes very nicely with steak.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Perhaps not quite as exuberantly suave as I remember it from the big 2000/2005 tasting a few years back, but I still maintain this is one of the best of the large-production Bordeaux wines made going back to... I dunno... 1990? The texture is still silky and there's just a hint of cabernet pyrazine here. Perfumed the way the best bottles of Cheval are, with enough tannic weight for the long haul. Still plenty of gas left in the tank here.
2017 00 Wines Chardonnay Seven Springs Vineyard 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
The opulence of this comes from the oak -- so much of it, expressing in a buttery popcorn, coconut, lactone quality. Very large-scaled, but there's also an underlying acidity that seems like it comes from a slightly underripe pick, which is kind of an odd profile. Quite nice with food nonetheless.
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2013 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Showing great today -- this is very Raveneau with a slightly saline note that hints at maturity. Rounded texture, with sweet lemon notes and plenty of mineral cut as well. I love the balance here, as well as the concentrated Chablis essence. Drinking incredibly well out of the gate.
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2019 Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
I confess I expected a bit more from the producer and site. A bit burly and lacking the elegance that I typically expect here, and not quite as spice-forward as I would have expected for Vosne either. Despite the generous air treatment, this felt kind of burly and shut down. Perhaps more interesting in a few years, but I'm not sure the underlying material is there.
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1988 Château Léoville Las Cases 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Wow -- an approachable bottle of LLC, and a late-release, single owner bottle to boot. Leather and red fruit, with a lovely delicacy that might as well be atypical for the estate. Earthy but clean, and tannins that aren't overbearing. Showing quite youthful as well. An excellent rendition.
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2001 Vieux Château Certan 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Outstanding stuff -- just the right amount of cabernet franc here that you get the flavour without all the rustic, earthy stuff. Very nicely balanced with a minty green pepper note but with enough plush, silky fruit from the merlot to render this a pretty complete wine on the palate. In a really nice spot right now. VCC has since become one of my favourite Bordeaux estates.
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2000 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
For an estate I've always found a hair towards the rustic side, this was quite fruit forward on the palate, despite a distinct and intense pyrazine nose. Kind of a weird dichotomy there. Tannins feel pretty resolved at this point, and the softer 2000 vintage makes this feel approachable already.
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1985 Gaja Langhe Darmagi 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Served double blind. The pyrazines and light red fruit had me thinking some sort of Loire cabernet franc (but good) at first, but successive guesses just never got anywhere close. If this were Bordeaux I figured it'd be a 1989; there's just not that much fruit in a wine back in the 1980s. Very bright, red fruit on the palate, so I actually was guessing that this was like a 2000! Wonderful showing of a wine that I'm not familiar with at all.
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1996 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Good, not great Napa cab. There's a bit of a rust note that shows up on the back end that shows a bit of age, but at the same time, the Californian fruit is still prominent. Quite a bit of leathery tannins here, so it feels like there's still good material for aging, but at the same time, that slight iron note has me thinking otherwise. Anyway, still a mighty solid bottle of Bordeaux that goes very nicely with steak.
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2000 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Perhaps not quite as exuberantly suave as I remember it from the big 2000/2005 tasting a few years back, but I still maintain this is one of the best of the large-production Bordeaux wines made going back to... I dunno... 1990? The texture is still silky and there's just a hint of cabernet pyrazine here. Perfumed the way the best bottles of Cheval are, with enough tannic weight for the long haul. Still plenty of gas left in the tank here.
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