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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
Red

2019 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot

 Pinot Noir more
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4/1/2023 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 90 points

Opened last night and drunk mostly the next day. I feel like WS really overrated this wine. Only once has my rating come close to theirs. Maybe the wine is just too young, but I'm really not sensing a lot here that I feel will be transformative. The nose is for me its best feature, and hints at better things to come, but this still is not as impressive as I was hoping it would be at this stage. In other words, similar to most of my experiences with this wine. 5-12-15-8: 90/100.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    4/15/2024 1:26:00 PM - Your description has been my experience-so far-with all of the 2019 RBs I’ve tried. I’m not expecting nirvana after 4 years, but this black, extracted harsh alcoholic style, to me, has absolutely nothing to do with burgundy.

    “Greatest vintage since 1865”?

    Isn’t burgundy supposed to be elegant and perfumed? Of course, these wines may just need time.
Red

2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It

 Central Coast more
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2/23/2019 - peternelson wrote: 91 points

Rich, huge, but caressing and approachable, with some balance despite the 15.2%, I actually sort of liked this. I think it's aged pretty well too. Heritage Auction Blind Tasting at Jean-Georges Vegas after party

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/29/2024 12:19:00 PM - I had this many years before. Since I respect your palate, maybe my reaction was too hasty. I thought it was a joke, an exaggerated travesty of what a wine should be.

    This whole thing with Sine Qua Non wines in general, I find impossible to understand. Because some of the reviewers who are highly esteemed and knowledgeable people, give some of these wines high praise.

    I’m not the most experienced taster of Sine Qua Non, but have tasted at least a dozen different ones over the years and NEVER liked a single one, with one exception. That was the 2000 “In Flagrante”. But I had palate fatigue after half a glass.

    Perhaps it’s me. I dunno. Or perhaps it’s “The Crowd” groupthink and “The Emperor has no clothes”.

    I used to know a major collector of these wines and when we and our spouses had dinner together I literally had to keep my fingers crossed that they WOULDN’T bring a Sine Qua Non-because with food it really was ridiculous!
Red

2005 Domaine Rossignol Trapet Chambertin

 Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir more
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10/25/2023 - chablis28 wrote: 98 points

Heidi's Redux at local fav STG. CV, BE,KB,DD,LI & JG. What a night! Based on the way this started out on opening at home a few hours before leaving for STG this turned out to evolve perfectly into my ultimate WOTH. I had high hopes for this coming from the highly touted '05 vintage & Gevrey's top Grand Cru Vyd . Even still, out of the gates, it was showing little promise other than not being flawed :). My first thought, oh no another stubborn '05!?!? So I immediately double decanted and slow-oxed till leaving. Fortunately, this wine was just playing w/ me. By the time we got to drinking it at StG it was utterly drop dead gorgeous! The fruit was pristine & delish. and yet there was a sense of layers of forest floor, mineral, spice & other harmonics. Complexity! One of the best experiences I've ever had w/ Grand Cru Burgundy. Delighted it turned out so awesome! A great combo of power & finesse. Only problem, I bought only 1 a few years back. This btl tonight is the Chambertin I've always dreamt of in my head. Massive power, length and intensity balanced by amazing fruit, soil & spice. Probably my best ever btl of Chambertin? 98+

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/24/2024 9:28:00 PM - It’s a little scary how alike our palates seem and we’ve drunk many of the same wines, although I haven’t tasted all the ones you’ve had. I’m guessing it’s probably the other way around too. I’m intrigued by this note: as you know most ‘05 RBs are unyielding and some feel they may never live up to their original hype. Have you had experience with the same wines from ‘10 and ‘05? I see you mentioned that ‘10 is the best RB vintage you know-I agree although in a different category the ‘59’s are of course unique and memorable. It remains the only vintage I know that’s spectacular for Bordeaux and Burgundy. Maybe ‘10 will ultimately be its equal in that regard.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/26/2024 2:09:00 PM - I’m 75/76. I wish I was still young-like you! So what you’re telling me that those ‘05’s have finally opened up. Or was it different ‘05’s? I think we’re twins: I also but 2-3 bottles rarely more. And I’ve got to stop because of health issues, although I’m told it’s okay for me to drink a glass or two, I’m not doing it nearly as often. I have bought some ‘19’s. I want to see what “the greatest vintage since 1865” is going to taste like at 8-10 years (I only bought a few 1er crus). I’m also dubious about the critics: as I’m in the investment business I know all about hype!
Red

1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

 Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend more
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1/20/2024 - TahoeSki wrote: NR

III. 3 bottles Christmas Eve from family cellar. Tasted all to make sure consistent and acceptable to serve. PnP. Excellent but unexpectedly preferred the 76 Ridge Monte Bello the following night. Greatly enjoyed. No formal tasting notes.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    2/20/2024 2:58:00 PM - 76 Ridge? Not surprising at all. The great California wineries made wonderful wines from those mid-‘70s years.
White

2018 Crescere Sauvignon Blanc Ritchie Vineyard

 Russian River Valley more
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11/8/2021 - cortoncharlie wrote: 88 points

I have to confess I am not much of of a Sauv Blanc drinker due to the acidity. Sure I enjoy the occasional Haut Brion Blanc but most Sancerre give me reflux and have me reaching for my antacid. This is lower in acidity but my stomach can still feel the 14.8pct alc. Probably better than most American SBs but that is quite a low bar. I understand one of the critics gave this 98ptss. I wonder where he would rate a HBB then?

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    11/17/2023 10:02:00 AM - I’m fascinated by your note as have had exactly the same reaction and same problem. And I don’t think I’ve seen any other comments like yours. Are they really more acidic? I had sometimes felt them in my system for days after. But I have had some wonderful SB blends which include Semillon or older top Sancerres where I don’t get the same reaction. Also I love Rieslings from Germany and they have a lot of acidity as well as residual sugar.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    2/10/2024 10:17:00 AM - What are you talking about? I wasn’t comparing anything. Just saying how I react personally to some SBs. If that offends you, I’m sorry.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    2/10/2024 12:55:00 PM - My apologies I think your comment was addressed to the thread, meaning CortonCharlie, not me. The way Cellartracker sent it, it’s not clear. Sort for the confusion. CT should make that clear as I’m a “tech dinosaur”. Your comment is absolutely correct.
Red

1959 Château Haut-Brion

 Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend more
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6/14/2019 - nywine68 wrote: 99 points

A 1959 Horizontal Across Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux (Le Cinq Restaurant, George Cinq Four Seasons, Paris): Awesome wine. This is a massive complex and dark wine that will easily last another several decades. Huge nose of cigar box. Intense black fruit and a solid structure. WOTN.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/23/2023 5:01:00 PM - 1) Have you had the ‘59 Latour and if so how would it compare. 2) How would this compare to any other vintage horizontal?
White

1981 Gérard Raphet Corton-Charlemagne

 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Chardonnay more
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3/19/2022 - theusualsuspect wrote: 95 points

Left a quarter of the bottle on the sideboard last night. Tonight still quite fine.. Modern style/global warming has taken burgundy to a far less compelling place than back in the day - white and red. Smaller crops, nature's acid, whatever.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/22/2023 10:32:00 PM - I agree. The ridiculous prices and the ridiculous scores aside, the wines just don’t seem as interesting or delicious as they were. What’s more at fault-the style or the warming? I say it’s the former. Your thoughts?
Red

2010 Henri Boillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens

 Pinot Noir more
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8/1/2013 - essconsults wrote: 91 points

90-93. In Paris, a few weeks ago, I schlepped twice to Cave Balthazar (near Gare Montparnasse), from near the Place Vendome, to pick up another bottle (or 3). As the owner/proprietor (whose name I forgot-and who was very friendly and helpful) said when we tasted it together: "this has a lot of wood". And so it did. I kept the bottle open for three days, but it still was unyielding and didn't show anywhere near the fruit component of my first bottle. Could it be that the wine I had here in NY benefitted from the trip and the Paris bottle was younger and thus in an awkward stage? Fascinating.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    8/3/2013 10:07:00 AM - Very helpful-thanks!

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/13/2023 12:37:00 PM - How are you? How is Jean-Michel? I just saw your note on the ‘16 Guyon Corton-Bressandes. Somm Cellars has some at an excellent price. JG gives it a 94, but gave the Corton Clos du Roi 95+. I have several bottles of the latter, and it’s delicious. Have you tried that also, and if so how do they compare? The hill of Corton is about the last refuge of reasonably priced Grand Crus and I like Guyon’s style.
Red

2019 Domaine Bart Fixin 1er Cru Hervelets

 Pinot Noir more
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12/6/2021 - shaftlet wrote: 92 points

Gorgeous aromas of rose, coffee, cola, strawberry, rosemary, earth, dried cherry. Medium plus intensity. approachable but tightly wound. This definitely needs a good decant to open up a dense, intense medium plus palate. This has the structure and flavor intensity to go another dozen years. Very impressive. I think this the same fruit as the old Patrick Lesec Selection Domaine St. Martin? St. Martin also produced a Monopole Finottes in Marsanny up until the late 2000s. Now that Monopole is produced by Domaine Bart. Overlap of many of the same Marsannay lieu-dit bottlings too which all seem to have disappeared in the last 10 years and reappeared under the Domaine Bart etiquette.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    1/25/2023 11:53:00 PM - I’m pretty sure the St. Martin wines were always made by Martin Bart-just labeled them differently.
Red

1990 Château Cheval Blanc

 St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend more
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5/5/2022 - kr522 wrote: 99 points

When you think of the best Bordeaux of the last 50 years this has to be on the short list. This is exotic cab franc bringing another level to the wine, it has everything…fresh, exotic, layered. And it kept building over several hours saving its best for last

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    12/25/2022 7:47:00 PM - Great notes on this. Maybe even the last 75 years. A unique experience because it seems lije the Cab Franc achieved full ripeness in ‘90.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    12/27/2022 8:29:00 AM - You’re welcome.

    To me, ‘61 has always been extremely overrated and the last one was the Haut Brion at the Acker BYOB about 7-8 years ago. I was non-plussed as usual with the vintage. They are the antithesis of the Cheval Blanc-too lean.

    I hardly drink Bordeaux any more and certainly not at these levels. My top picks all time: ‘59 Latour (better than the ‘61) ‘66 La Mission HB, ‘90 Cheval Blanc, ‘82 Margaux, ‘86 Lafite, a while ago the ‘76 Lafite (in a terrible vintage!) ringer ’76 BV George de la Tour. The Cheval Blanc is more rich than all these others. I wish I could afford it although in relation to today’s truly nutty prices it’s a steal.

    Of course there are a whole lot of CT folks who have tasted way more than me.
Red

2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles

 Pinot Noir more
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10/19/2022 - swyang wrote: NR

Very beautiful and yet far from being fully ready. Really pure scents of great vintage Burgundy, initially one could smell slightly more south and guess as Beaune upon opening. However after about half an hour the spice and earthiness of N.S.G is surfacing with a vigorous and healthy manner. Still very young(surprisingly) and lots of potential. For the time being pure scents of red fruits mingling with red roses as well as other floral elements and on the palate super healthy and shiny texture delivering wonderful tannin, yet to be resolved. A great Les Cailles in the making. Cheers,

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    10/26/2022 5:53:00 PM - We should have listened to you. We drank this tonight and while we generally enjoyed it, it really needs another decade at least. I’ve had a few problems with other ‘05s, and this may have been the most backward. A bottle of Bouchard’s Volnay Ancienne Carnot a few years ago was singing and seemed completely mature. So I’m guessing this is the vineyard rather than the vintage, although I know how slow ‘05s are to come around.
Red

2012 Domaine Rollin Père et Fils Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Ile des Vergelesses

 Pinot Noir more
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2/2/2018 - barolo300 Does not like this wine: 85 points

I found this wine to be astringent, unbalanced in terms of acid to fruit character and just generally lacking any charm. I have tried 2 over the last couple of years and frankly don't plan on trying any more. Perhaps things could come together after several more years in bottle, but I can't see that the bones are there for this to be anything special

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    9/27/2022 9:37:00 AM - I have not had this wine, but your description fits my experience with other 2012s. I think it’s a problematic unbalanced vintage for many RBs. Thoughts?
White

2008 Henri Prudhon & Fils Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc

 Chardonnay more
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2/23/2013 - chambolle wrote: NR

Out of the bottle, the wine is bright gold, rather deeply colored for a wine of this age, but not troublingly so. The nose is an exotic tropical fruit cocktail - there are hints of mango, pineapple, citrus peel, lime. On the palate, the wine is bright, but at the same time it has a sweet, oily edge that verges on unctuous. The finish carries through with this exotic, tropical character, and has an unusual sweet-tart candy character, right down to the chalky quality of that artificial confection. This artificially sweet and tart character becomes increasingly obtrusive as the wine takes in air and warms in the glass. It isn't a wine that makes me want to keep drinking. The first glass is the best there is, and it is downhill from there.

I've been called a "moron" by a certain "rarewineman" for opining that I do not enjoy the 2007 St. Aubin En Remilly bottling from this producer. Maybe I am cognitively challenged, I grant that. However, I do not particularly like this wine either. I find it to be a California chardonnay drinker's idea of white burgundy. It is fat, sweet and cloying to my taste. That said, I can understand the wine's appeal. The wine is undoubtedly rich, and in an odd, almost artificial way (is it acid adjusted?), it does have a bright acidity about it that might pass for "minerality," although this aspect strikes me as poorly integrated with the overall profile of the wine in the mouth and merely contributes to a new world, confected style.

This '08 is certainly far better wine than the '07 En Remilly is at this moment, although I also fear that given another year or two in bottle, the '08 will turn out pretty much the same way - cloying, unduly oxidative (not oxidized, and there is a difference), sweet and leesy, overdone. It simply isn't a wine with a lot of finesse or elegance. It makes me think Kendall-Jackson, or Rombauer, or Sonoma-Cutrer, not St. Aubin or Chassagne or Puligny.

If you like this style, it's not a bad example of it. There is certainly a mouthful of wine here, so if you judge value by horsepower per dollar, it's a "value" and "punches above its weight." But it's not to my taste. It's a Mustang or a Camaro, not a Boxster or an M3. My guess is this wine may have shown very well in barrel and early in its life in bottle. I can't say I like the way it shows four to five years from the harvest.

By way of an addendum: I kept this bottle in a cool place for two days after opening. On day two, the sweet, tropical character of the wine remained, but without the brightness of the first day as a counterpoint. Not particularly palatable. By day three, the wine had lost the tutti frutti tropical character, and had become almost muscadet-like, all sharp edges. I admit complete bafflement as to where this wine may be headed. But so far, it hasn't shown me anything I find especially appealing.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    9/17/2022 11:14:00 PM - Interesting note. Gilman gave the ‘14 a 94. At the time I was a subscriber of his, although no more. I bought three bottles on the recommendation, drank two and sold the third. My reaction was identical to yours. The weirdest thing was that Gilman said the fruitiness would recede and more linear minerality would emerge. My experience over 35 plus years with white burgundy was just the opposite. In any case, it’s now the exception rather than the rule, that I find white burgs that have a classic profile.
White

2012 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest

 Chardonnay more
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8/7/2022 - chambolle Likes this wine: NR

I first started drinking the Dauvissat La Forest on a regular basis back in the ‘80s, when it was a genuinely ‘under the radar’ gem. Continued buying the wine by the case or two most years and drank it with abandon, although I still have stray bottles going back to 1990 lying around in the cellar.

So now this 2012 is a pricey bottle, it seems. Is it ‘worth’ it? I can’t really say; but it’s damn good wine. Ten years after the vintage, the 2012 looks young… pale greenish straw in the glass. Just opened and poured, the nose is not very forthcoming, the palate is fresh, light, a bit of lemon, a bit of salt. After about two hours and allowed to warm up in the glass, it’s a whole other wine… the nose hints at lavender, some lime leaf, a bit of blood orange. The palate is rounder, richer, leaning a bit in the direction of dried apricot and preserved lemon. Still crisp, saline, chalky at the same time as it has taken on weight. I’d be pretty confident this will be grand 5 or 10 years from now — but it’s no slouch now. As for the ‘pre-mox’ everybody likes to talk about, not a trace here, I assure you.

I seem to recall this 2012 was about $60 on release, which was more than I was accustomed to paying for La Forest, but in retrospect that appears to have been the tail end of the ‘under the radar gem, value proposition’ era for this wine. A bit sad, really. Pretty much year in, year out it’s among the very best 1er cru bottlings from Chablis and not far off from most of the grand cru Chablis you’ll find. This bottle of 2012 certainly did not disappoint.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    9/17/2022 11:39:00 AM - Quite frankly, I don’t know if you have a great palate or not, but you seem to. Your notes sre wonderfully precise and very sophisticated. I just wish you would write more of them.
White

2019 Henri Prudhon & Fils Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères

 Chardonnay more
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5/25/2022 - awever Likes this wine: 96 points

An almost perfect Chardonnay , drunk at Rutz Berlin

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    7/20/2022 10:21:00 PM - How was the food? We ate there many years ago: it was spectacular and relatively affordable.
Red

1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

 Red Rhone Blend more
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1/2/2017 - Moonie Likes this wine: 98 points

From a magnum. Perfection and the essence of what a great CDP should be in all respects. Decanted just 1 hour and really no need as it was drinking beautifully right from the start. I've never understood the need for luxury CDP cuvees, especially when a wine performs as this one did at lunch today.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    5/22/2022 10:18:00 AM - Have you had a .75 recently? For many years it was probably the single greatest value in great aged red wines. I absolutely agree with your note but I felt the wine was going over the hill the last few times I had it.
Red

2005 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia

 Nebbiolo more
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4/15/2022 - americanstorm Likes this wine: 96 points

One hour decant. Ethereal nose of lavender, powder and lemon zest, perhaps a hint of licorice. Tannins are almost totally integrated but still present and very fine. Great mouthfeel and long finish that goes on and on. Dark cherry, rose, a touch of tar. A little port like. Drinking fabulously. One of the finest barolos I have ever had, if not #1 definitely in the top two or 3 but the question of price point should be addressed. I paid slightly over 200 for this bottle and would gladly buy another bottle or two at that price, but no way in hell would I pay the $900+ the current market is pricing it at. I find that to be utterly ridiculous and, personally, i don't think there is a wine on the face of this earth that is worth a thousand dollars a bottle. Speculators and "investors" are destroying the market for actual wine drinkers, kind of sad IMHO. 96 --97

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    5/9/2022 10:14:00 PM - I tried this wine at City Winery at a Zachy’s 2005 Barolo tasting. It clearly was the best wine of the event but was $400 bottle or so. That was five years ago so it’s shocking but not surprising that it’s $900 now. I just sold a few bottles of various wines that have gone into the stratosphere. Maybe we have all been spoiled. Today there are a lot of very very wealthy people and many of them are into wine that weren’t five to ten years ago.
White

2011 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes

 Chardonnay more
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9/28/2019 - Pknut wrote: NR

Fantastic bottle, and could be used as evidence of the strengths in 2011 White Burgundy. Energy, vigor and acids right from the first sip, with a clear fruited palate. Loved it. Sugarman's birthday at Farida.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    5/1/2022 10:55:00 PM - Again. Despite AM’s reticence, I’ve always had good luck with ‘11 WBs, which are lighter and more elegant than many other more highly rated vintages, and no PREMOX. I find a bitterness, too much ripeness and an imbalance in too many WBs. Is it heresy to say that Meadows maybe doesn’t know what he’s talking about?
Red

2008 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes

 Corton Grand Cru Pinot Noir more
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2/25/2021 - Pknut wrote: NR

Same as my last note, from 8/2019. Kept hoping this would open up and show some sweetness of fruit, which is lacking. It's grumpy and lean on the first night. Somewhat softer palate on the second night, rounder, hints of soy, but still lacking in charm and sweetness of fruit. Disappointing.

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    5/1/2022 10:30:00 PM - You continue to use the phrase “sweetness of fruit” or the absence thereof, which is an interesting comment. I find that an issue with a lot of wines that are impressive rather than delicious. I keep wondering if it’s me-my age-or modern winemaking. It’s pretty disturbing especially at the price point of so many “fine wines” today.
Red

2000 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

 Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend more
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2/23/2022 - JimHow wrote: 93 points

What to make of this enigma?
When we drank it in its youth, in the early glory days of BWE, we thought it was the next coming.
Dominated by oak, yes, but with a smooth sweetness that whetted the tasted buds, literally generated a salivation that resonates to this day.
Along with the 2000 du Tertre, it eventually became a BWE wine of the year.
And then, for almost two decades, it seemed to disappear from our radar.
Some of us, Marcus and myself included, have noted its less than spectacular evolvement at BWE events.
And maybe it's just as simple as that.
Maybe it just hasn't yet fully evolved.
I gotta say, though, I know what my nearly 30 year experience with Bordeaux wines tells me.
This wine is a bit of a disappointment, a bit of an underachiever.
It still has a long way to go, don't get me wrong.
Tonight, initially, it had that almost medicinal feel that I have experienced, over and over, from the 1989 and 1990 Barons, as they have been crushed, repeatedly, up against my 89/90 Lynch Bages, the last of the great Lynches.
Sometime in the 1990s, the tide turned. Lynch declined, and Pichon Baron rose to new heights.
I'm not sure the evolution was complete by 2000. I'd rate the 2000 Lynch and 2000 Baron about at a tie...
Both 93 points, both excellent, neither anything outstanding.
After that, perhaps starting as early as 2002, everything seemed to change.
It seems like Pichon Baron began to, finally, "realize its terroir."
While Lynch, after 2000, has been one abysmal disappointment after another, continuing the failures of the 1990s, certainly post-1996.
Tonight, this wine began as medicinal, tart, acerbic, like those 89s and 90s of yore.
It evolved, smoothed out, but never rose to any great heights.
What the hell happened here?
I was in Bordeaux in September 2000, the sun was unrelenting, it was clear that this was going to be an epic vintage.
We have tasted many interesting 2000s over the years.
Disappointingly, this 2000 Pichon Baron has been good but not great.
Absolutely nothing compelling or "profound" here.
A strong effort, mind you, and perhaps the beginning of the signs of the excellence that was to come over the next two decades.
But a 93 point wine at best... Still, something to celebrate. But... Excellent, but not great. And well below its early expectations.

www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com

  • Comment posted by essconsults:

    3/17/2022 12:10:00 AM - I’m curious about the ‘89 and the ‘90. Frankly I don’t drink a lot of Bordeaux anymore and having had either of these in years. But when I did I was disappointed. I have great experiences with only two wines from ‘90: Cheval Blanc (of course) and La Grange). Other 90’s and ‘89s were good but not great. The wines or the vintage?

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