Good, not great bottle of this tonight. Plenty of the expected chardonnay cut, but a little more browned and missing the cut that I want from Comtes. That said, this was still plenty clean and minerally; the acidity just wasn't as dialled in.
Yeah, between the 1995 and 1996, I can pretty confidently say that Moët has been dealing with a giant batch of TCA-ridden corks, because this is not the first time I've had an off bottle of this wine. Happy to have liquidated all of mine.
I think I kind of get it now -- this drinks like Labet, and has a pretty steep tariff to boot. But it's quite reduced, perhaps overly so, and despite the fullness on the palate, it's tough to get through all of that reduction. There is good acidity and minerality here; and reduction notwithstanding, plenty of complexity.
Consistent with my note five years ago, this is just too lean and green and tastes too much like sauvignon blanc instead of Vatan (which is, of course, the only reason to drink or buy Vatan -- to drink sauvignon blanc without having to deal with the taste of it). Lean, and almost a bit astringent, this is really an underwhelming edition, especially with the relatively surprisingly high acidity that this has.
The best bottle of this that I've had, and it even managed to surpass the Preuses tonight! Relatively lean, and unmistakably Chablis with its citrus-based acidity and heaps of clean minerality. Taut, mineral cut; clean and bright.
Much rounder and fatter in comparison to the Clos (which I preferred tonight), as this didn't have the same mineral cut and tension. A little weightier from the fruit, but despite the vintage, the fruit feels more yellow to me than anything else. Overall, still quite good, especially for a producer that I historically have had so much trouble understanding.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Damn, this is so good. It's a different style from the oxidative, rich wines of yore (which of course poxed like no other), but it just works so well here. It's still old-school in that the wines are not overly reduced, and there is definite fatness on the palate here, but for me the most stunning part of this wine is the way the finish just lingers on the palate, for minutes at a time. Such an intense, potent example of the way chardonnay ought to be. Stunning.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Original release. Leaner and less opulent than the better 1994 alongside, this showed some fruit that was starting to brown, and a relatively angular texture between the weight and the acidity. Not as well integrated, but still plenty dense, oily, and concentrated, the way old white Burgundy really ought to be.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Not quite as compelling as my previous bottle (or maybe it was just being overwhelmed by the number of crazy bottles on the table tonight). I liked the weight of this more than the 1993 alongside, which was certainly brilliant in its own right, but just not quite as intense and layered. More oiliness and fatness, the way old school white Burgundy ought to have, with mature yellow fruit on the nose and palate. Great cut and minerality to balance, but this is a wine of texture.
From magnum. As gewurztraminer as it comes. Dried lychee (but unmistakable lychee spice) on the nose, with a typical oily texture that the grape always has. Low acidity, high phenolics and bitterness. Quite textural but lacking the acidity to balance out the oiliness. I wish there was more on the midpalate and finish, as this feels like it empties out. Reasonably sweet, but not overly so, even though this is better as a dessert wine.
You know what's crazy? This bottle was actually better than the last one that I had. So... what does that say about scoring? Sweeter than I remembered it would be, with far more freshness and lift than that previous bottle. Oily, rich, and again incredibly textural (especially in the context of CSH typically being a fully dry wine), this has that added layer of depth thanks to the botrytis and late harvest, but still retains that classic CSH minerality and cut. A splendid wine and one of the best rieslings made in my lifetime.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
I liked this more than the 1991 alongside -- this had an intense spice note, and the richer style of the house works very well with the thinner, acid-driven vintage. This is mature, but there is still a prickliness to the acidity and tannin here that I doubt will ever really go away. Pleasant silky texture here, and with air, this became a lot more brothy.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
I had high expectations for this given the vintage, but alas, they were not met. Maybe this bottle wasn't sound. A bit volatile and stewy, but also a fair bit of angularity on the palate. It just doesn't feel well put-together, and air didn't seem to help much in terms of integration.
A very different wine to the Chave alongside. This is far lighter, wispier, and more acid-driven, and there is more of an old-school Rhone rusticity to this. It's feral, wild, and meaty. The palate, in comparison to the perfumed nose, comes off a bit short and light, with a dominating acidity. Delicious, but unfortunately paled in comparison to the Chave.
A very good showing of this wine -- it's a lither and more elegant version of Chave, but it carries a lot of the rustic silkiness (does that even make sense?) of the Gerard-era wines. It's perfumed, with smoked meat, iron, spice, leather, and saline, while the palate is mature, resolved, and clean yet rustic. I have always loved the way syrah manages to hold both a refined and feral character at the same time, and this epitomizes that.
Not convinced this was really representative. It felt a little thin and showed a lot more age than I would have expected for 1998. A bit angular with acidity jutting out more than I would have expected for the vintage too. To be honest, I think the real story here is how much Allemand's wines have improved over the last 20+ years.
To be sure, not at the level of the ex-domaine bottle at a HDH tasting a few years back. Others felt it thin, and they were right. But that is more a statement relative to great bottles of this wine, but this is nevertheless incredible Bordeaux (though not at the level of Latour). This is everything that you want in a Pauillac -- all that cedar, leather, and dark fruit. It's still intense and brilliant with tons of complexity and still a fair bit of grainy tannin. This is one of the best vintages of this generally overrated estate.
Sometimes Guigal sucks, sometimes it's brilliant, and sometimes it works to rule. This is the latter. It has some smoky meat notes on the nose, but just really fails to do much more than that. Passable, but not at the level of a previous bottle.
Definitely a bit of an underdog as far as MacDonald goes. It's a bit muted and doesn't have the fruited intensity as the 2012 (a few years ago) and the 2019 (tonight). Very dark, black fruit. Leathery tannins and the sunlit fruit of Napa. For me, what is incredible about the estate is that it espouses all the good things about modernist wine, without any of the bad things. Brilliant stuff.
I'm pretty confident I liked this more than others at the table. This was just stunning stuff. It's really all the best parts of a modernist Napa cab without all the bad things (except the price -- ha!). Such incredibly pure and clean black fruit, with a delicious silky texture as well. It's such a bright, sunny wine, but also showing so much depth at such a young age. I'll readily admit to being a huge fan of MacDonald.
This bottling is the only wine in Sauternes that can come close to the level of Yquem. Very much a modernist take, with a more drinkable, elegant style, emphasizing more of the lightness and freshness over the old-school thick, heavily oaked style. Both are delicious, but this is certainly more approachable and easy-going. I love the balance of lychee and botrytis spice and acidity here. Fantastic. I'd love to try this next to the Yquem.
Quite a distinctive, and absolutely incredible nose. Spicy and rich, with both earthy and rancio notes. For me the nose was better than the palate, which had a fair bit of attack but fades off quite rapidly. This was a real treat to try, but as a spirits novice, the specialty of this bottle is lost on me.
More impressive that this has held up after all these years. A bit of smoke and showing a herbal character for Napa cabernet. Very much mature sun-drenched Napa fruit on the palate, with resolved, leathery tannins. Impressive weight but for my palate, this is more on its last legs than anything.
This was better than the last bottle I had of this; it's got more dark fruit and plenty of the expected sweet Napa fruit. Fully mature, with some remnants of leathery tannins. Best to drink up now.
1996 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Good, not great bottle of this tonight. Plenty of the expected chardonnay cut, but a little more browned and missing the cut that I want from Comtes. That said, this was still plenty clean and minerally; the acidity just wasn't as dialled in.
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1996 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne Flawed
France, Champagne
Corked.
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1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Flawed
France, Champagne
Yeah, between the 1995 and 1996, I can pretty confidently say that Moët has been dealing with a giant batch of TCA-ridden corks, because this is not the first time I've had an off bottle of this wine. Happy to have liquidated all of mine.
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2014 Richard Leroy Chenin Les Noëls de Montbenault 90 Points
France, Vin de France
I think I kind of get it now -- this drinks like Labet, and has a pretty steep tariff to boot. But it's quite reduced, perhaps overly so, and despite the fullness on the palate, it's tough to get through all of that reduction. There is good acidity and minerality here; and reduction notwithstanding, plenty of complexity.
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2014 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Consistent with my note five years ago, this is just too lean and green and tastes too much like sauvignon blanc instead of Vatan (which is, of course, the only reason to drink or buy Vatan -- to drink sauvignon blanc without having to deal with the taste of it). Lean, and almost a bit astringent, this is really an underwhelming edition, especially with the relatively surprisingly high acidity that this has.
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2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
The best bottle of this that I've had, and it even managed to surpass the Preuses tonight! Relatively lean, and unmistakably Chablis with its citrus-based acidity and heaps of clean minerality. Taut, mineral cut; clean and bright.
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2004 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Much rounder and fatter in comparison to the Clos (which I preferred tonight), as this didn't have the same mineral cut and tension. A little weightier from the fruit, but despite the vintage, the fruit feels more yellow to me than anything else. Overall, still quite good, especially for a producer that I historically have had so much trouble understanding.
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2014 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 98 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Damn, this is so good. It's a different style from the oxidative, rich wines of yore (which of course poxed like no other), but it just works so well here. It's still old-school in that the wines are not overly reduced, and there is definite fatness on the palate here, but for me the most stunning part of this wine is the way the finish just lingers on the palate, for minutes at a time. Such an intense, potent example of the way chardonnay ought to be. Stunning.
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1993 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Original release. Leaner and less opulent than the better 1994 alongside, this showed some fruit that was starting to brown, and a relatively angular texture between the weight and the acidity. Not as well integrated, but still plenty dense, oily, and concentrated, the way old white Burgundy really ought to be.
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1994 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Not quite as compelling as my previous bottle (or maybe it was just being overwhelmed by the number of crazy bottles on the table tonight). I liked the weight of this more than the 1993 alongside, which was certainly brilliant in its own right, but just not quite as intense and layered. More oiliness and fatness, the way old school white Burgundy ought to have, with mature yellow fruit on the nose and palate. Great cut and minerality to balance, but this is a wine of texture.
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1989 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Heimbourg Vendange Tardive 90 Points
France, Alsace
From magnum. As gewurztraminer as it comes. Dried lychee (but unmistakable lychee spice) on the nose, with a typical oily texture that the grape always has. Low acidity, high phenolics and bitterness. Quite textural but lacking the acidity to balance out the oiliness. I wish there was more on the midpalate and finish, as this feels like it empties out. Reasonably sweet, but not overly so, even though this is better as a dessert wine.
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1989 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune Vendanges Tardives "Hors Choix" 100 Points
France, Alsace
You know what's crazy? This bottle was actually better than the last one that I had. So... what does that say about scoring? Sweeter than I remembered it would be, with far more freshness and lift than that previous bottle. Oily, rich, and again incredibly textural (especially in the context of CSH typically being a fully dry wine), this has that added layer of depth thanks to the botrytis and late harvest, but still retains that classic CSH minerality and cut. A splendid wine and one of the best rieslings made in my lifetime.
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1988 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
I liked this more than the 1991 alongside -- this had an intense spice note, and the richer style of the house works very well with the thinner, acid-driven vintage. This is mature, but there is still a prickliness to the acidity and tannin here that I doubt will ever really go away. Pleasant silky texture here, and with air, this became a lot more brothy.
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1991 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
I had high expectations for this given the vintage, but alas, they were not met. Maybe this bottle wasn't sound. A bit volatile and stewy, but also a fair bit of angularity on the palate. It just doesn't feel well put-together, and air didn't seem to help much in terms of integration.
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1993 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Decanted into an Acqua Panna bottle. Unfortunately, stewy and likely heat-damaged.
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1994 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
A very different wine to the Chave alongside. This is far lighter, wispier, and more acid-driven, and there is more of an old-school Rhone rusticity to this. It's feral, wild, and meaty. The palate, in comparison to the perfumed nose, comes off a bit short and light, with a dominating acidity. Delicious, but unfortunately paled in comparison to the Chave.
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1994 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
A very good showing of this wine -- it's a lither and more elegant version of Chave, but it carries a lot of the rustic silkiness (does that even make sense?) of the Gerard-era wines. It's perfumed, with smoked meat, iron, spice, leather, and saline, while the palate is mature, resolved, and clean yet rustic. I have always loved the way syrah manages to hold both a refined and feral character at the same time, and this epitomizes that.
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1998 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Not convinced this was really representative. It felt a little thin and showed a lot more age than I would have expected for 1998. A bit angular with acidity jutting out more than I would have expected for the vintage too. To be honest, I think the real story here is how much Allemand's wines have improved over the last 20+ years.
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1998 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Probably slightly cooked with a dirty profile. Obviously nowhere at the level of the bottle I had a few years ago.
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1925 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Flawed
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Corked. Sad face.
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1976 Château Lafite Rothschild 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
From magnum (with seepage). Fine, but hardly convincing. Pretty foursquare and ordinary, with some muddled fruit here. Most likely not representative.
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1990 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
To be sure, not at the level of the ex-domaine bottle at a HDH tasting a few years back. Others felt it thin, and they were right. But that is more a statement relative to great bottles of this wine, but this is nevertheless incredible Bordeaux (though not at the level of Latour). This is everything that you want in a Pauillac -- all that cedar, leather, and dark fruit. It's still intense and brilliant with tons of complexity and still a fair bit of grainy tannin. This is one of the best vintages of this generally overrated estate.
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1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Sometimes Guigal sucks, sometimes it's brilliant, and sometimes it works to rule. This is the latter. It has some smoky meat notes on the nose, but just really fails to do much more than that. Passable, but not at the level of a previous bottle.
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2014 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Definitely a bit of an underdog as far as MacDonald goes. It's a bit muted and doesn't have the fruited intensity as the 2012 (a few years ago) and the 2019 (tonight). Very dark, black fruit. Leathery tannins and the sunlit fruit of Napa. For me, what is incredible about the estate is that it espouses all the good things about modernist wine, without any of the bad things. Brilliant stuff.
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2019 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
I'm pretty confident I liked this more than others at the table. This was just stunning stuff. It's really all the best parts of a modernist Napa cab without all the bad things (except the price -- ha!). Such incredibly pure and clean black fruit, with a delicious silky texture as well. It's such a bright, sunny wine, but also showing so much depth at such a young age. I'll readily admit to being a huge fan of MacDonald.
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2009 Château Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
This bottling is the only wine in Sauternes that can come close to the level of Yquem. Very much a modernist take, with a more drinkable, elegant style, emphasizing more of the lightness and freshness over the old-school thick, heavily oaked style. Both are delicious, but this is certainly more approachable and easy-going. I love the balance of lychee and botrytis spice and acidity here. Fantastic. I'd love to try this next to the Yquem.
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1951 Stitzel-Weller Distilling Co. Very Very Old Fitzgerald 12 Year Old
USA, Kentucky
Quite a distinctive, and absolutely incredible nose. Spicy and rich, with both earthy and rancio notes. For me the nose was better than the palate, which had a fair bit of attack but fades off quite rapidly. This was a real treat to try, but as a spirits novice, the specialty of this bottle is lost on me.
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1958 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
More impressive that this has held up after all these years. A bit of smoke and showing a herbal character for Napa cabernet. Very much mature sun-drenched Napa fruit on the palate, with resolved, leathery tannins. Impressive weight but for my palate, this is more on its last legs than anything.
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1970 Gemello Cabernet Sauvignon 35th Anniversary 93 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
This was better than the last bottle I had of this; it's got more dark fruit and plenty of the expected sweet Napa fruit. Fully mature, with some remnants of leathery tannins. Best to drink up now.
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