From magnum. Excellent stuff -- very clearly chardonnay, and with that extra bump of fruit from the vintage, you get a really luscious palate, especially in the context of all those thin, lean champagnes that hit the market these days. Have to think this is extra good, of course, because of the format, but I love the mix of creamy sweet fruit and chardonnay acidity on this.
Really love the half-dry and dry single parcel Selbach-Osters these days (especially the glorious Ur Alte Reben). I remember being less keen on this bottling in the past, finding it a tad too dry, but this edition finds a happy middle. Filigreed and light the way Mosel rieslings ought to be, but with plenty of old-vine complexity and concentration. A killer value in the lineup, but really, most of the wines that Selbach-Oster makes are...
From magnum. I've quite liked the Fichet wines when I've tasted them, but this shows pretty characteristic for the vintage, and not in a good way. It's a bit flabby, with an almost grapey, bubble-gum-like quality. Simple on the palate, and missing the racy acidity and minerality (and honestly some of the reduction) from other bottles of Fichet that I've had.
From magnum. Not a fan of this. Shows some stemmy green qualities (like 2011 red Burgundy) and there's a thinness on the palate that I haven't noticed in this bottling in the past. A bit weedy, and of course there is plenty of the unpleasant sucralose quality of gamay here.
Very impressive -- I've never really been much of a fan of Dönnhoff's GGs (though I am very much a Dönnhoff superfan) -- and I've always thought that it was such a shame that the Dellchen grapes became this rather than the absolutely stunning Spätlese that they used to make. Anyway, this bottle of GG was very much in the zone -- dialled in with fruit, minerality, acidity, and all that. A bit on the lighter side with an airy disposition but plenty dense on the palate as well.
#08-06. Drinks like an Auslese -- perhaps no surprise given the vintage. Golden fruit and fairly sweet, but with plenty of the expected mineral cut underpinning the sweetness in the background. The acidity is a little more dialled down, but there's enough to keep this in balance. Certainly the Domprobst minerality is here, preventing this from ever becoming cloying, even for a second.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
From magnum. Wow -- easily one of the best bottles of Bize I've ever had. This is everything it should be -- tannic and backwards, with that typical Savigny rusticity, but at the same time also with the brilliant sweet fruit of 1999. Not overly ripe, this is just in phenomenal balance and drinking splendidly well now already.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Really miss Blair Pethel's wines -- they were always so honest and forthright and this bottle, which has held up very well, is no exception. Minerally and just a tad fat the way Meursault ought to be, especially in a vintage that might not be like that. Elegant with none of the unnecessary modernist reduction; just really honest, straightforward chardonnay, as it is meant to be.
I was hoping for a little more from this, especially in the context of the brilliant 2019 secs (yes, different vintage and style, but still...). It's definitely got plenty of the chenin wooliness, but in a clean way, but for me this fell a little short in that the palate wasn't too complex. Pleasant enough, but just not at the higher levels that Huet can achieve.
Didn't really grok this one -- it was a little bit too sweet and simple, and showing some soft, creamy white fruit that I expect is more par for the course for the 2018 vintage. Easy going and creamy, but missing the acid cut that Champagne ought to have.
Served double blind. Quickly went to young Napa cabernet, but from a producer that doesn't mess it up like Corison. A bit darker in complexion, but with sweet cabernet fruit. Some leather, but plenty of young tannins as well. I quite like this -- plenty of fruit but without the overbearing toasted oak that makes Napa such a slog these days. More acidity than most as well. Great stuff -- just not as convinced given the price.
From magnum. Great showing of a wine that I've loved for quite a while. It's a lot more approachable right now than the dark and intense 2015, with an effusive nose of smoke, slight saline olive notes, and plenty of black fruit. The palate isn't overbearingly tannic, and there's more of a lightness thanks to the acidity here. The fruit is mostly black with a hint of red, but this is surprisingly drinkable (even out of large-format) right now, though there is of course still plenty of potential.
2009 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Vieilles Vignes de Chardonnay 93 Points
France, Champagne
From magnum. Excellent stuff -- very clearly chardonnay, and with that extra bump of fruit from the vintage, you get a really luscious palate, especially in the context of all those thin, lean champagnes that hit the market these days. Have to think this is extra good, of course, because of the format, but I love the mix of creamy sweet fruit and chardonnay acidity on this.
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2019 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Trocken Bömer 93 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Really love the half-dry and dry single parcel Selbach-Osters these days (especially the glorious Ur Alte Reben). I remember being less keen on this bottling in the past, finding it a tad too dry, but this edition finds a happy middle. Filigreed and light the way Mosel rieslings ought to be, but with plenty of old-vine complexity and concentration. A killer value in the lineup, but really, most of the wines that Selbach-Oster makes are...
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2018 Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
From magnum. I've quite liked the Fichet wines when I've tasted them, but this shows pretty characteristic for the vintage, and not in a good way. It's a bit flabby, with an almost grapey, bubble-gum-like quality. Simple on the palate, and missing the racy acidity and minerality (and honestly some of the reduction) from other bottles of Fichet that I've had.
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2011 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Cuvée Tardive 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
From magnum. Not a fan of this. Shows some stemmy green qualities (like 2011 red Burgundy) and there's a thinness on the palate that I haven't noticed in this bottling in the past. A bit weedy, and of course there is plenty of the unpleasant sucralose quality of gamay here.
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2010 Dönnhoff Dellchen Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points
Germany, Nahe
Very impressive -- I've never really been much of a fan of Dönnhoff's GGs (though I am very much a Dönnhoff superfan) -- and I've always thought that it was such a shame that the Dellchen grapes became this rather than the absolutely stunning Spätlese that they used to make. Anyway, this bottle of GG was very much in the zone -- dialled in with fruit, minerality, acidity, and all that. A bit on the lighter side with an airy disposition but plenty dense on the palate as well.
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2005 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #8 93 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#08-06. Drinks like an Auslese -- perhaps no surprise given the vintage. Golden fruit and fairly sweet, but with plenty of the expected mineral cut underpinning the sweetness in the background. The acidity is a little more dialled down, but there's enough to keep this in balance. Certainly the Domprobst minerality is here, preventing this from ever becoming cloying, even for a second.
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1999 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Marconnets 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
From magnum. Wow -- easily one of the best bottles of Bize I've ever had. This is everything it should be -- tannic and backwards, with that typical Savigny rusticity, but at the same time also with the brilliant sweet fruit of 1999. Not overly ripe, this is just in phenomenal balance and drinking splendidly well now already.
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2013 Domaine Dublère Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Really miss Blair Pethel's wines -- they were always so honest and forthright and this bottle, which has held up very well, is no exception. Minerally and just a tad fat the way Meursault ought to be, especially in a vintage that might not be like that. Elegant with none of the unnecessary modernist reduction; just really honest, straightforward chardonnay, as it is meant to be.
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2020 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
I was hoping for a little more from this, especially in the context of the brilliant 2019 secs (yes, different vintage and style, but still...). It's definitely got plenty of the chenin wooliness, but in a clean way, but for me this fell a little short in that the palate wasn't too complex. Pleasant enough, but just not at the higher levels that Huet can achieve.
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2018 Roger Pouillon et Fils Champagne Les Terres Froides 88 Points
France, Champagne
Didn't really grok this one -- it was a little bit too sweet and simple, and showing some soft, creamy white fruit that I expect is more par for the course for the 2018 vintage. Easy going and creamy, but missing the acid cut that Champagne ought to have.
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2015 Ao Yun 93 Points
China
Served double blind. Quickly went to young Napa cabernet, but from a producer that doesn't mess it up like Corison. A bit darker in complexion, but with sweet cabernet fruit. Some leather, but plenty of young tannins as well. I quite like this -- plenty of fruit but without the overbearing toasted oak that makes Napa such a slog these days. More acidity than most as well. Great stuff -- just not as convinced given the price.
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2016 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
From magnum. Great showing of a wine that I've loved for quite a while. It's a lot more approachable right now than the dark and intense 2015, with an effusive nose of smoke, slight saline olive notes, and plenty of black fruit. The palate isn't overbearingly tannic, and there's more of a lightness thanks to the acidity here. The fruit is mostly black with a hint of red, but this is surprisingly drinkable (even out of large-format) right now, though there is of course still plenty of potential.
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