9/12/2023 - Motz wrote:

Did not give this the respect that it deserves...and still it showed beautifully and powerfully.

Reticent bouquet upon opening, it features all the finest elements of high quality Barbaresco once it breathes for an hour+.

Striking, bracing structure from the outset, which was not the case until the last year or two. This tannic monster bears its teeth right about when the bouquet opens...on a level that I once saw described as soul destroying.

Why the house chose to declassify this and the '12 will remain a mystery...if not for New-World-palate-oriented (How is that for a compound word?) marketing.

This bottle needed a decade to loosen its structural grit and grip. Likely to hold form through 2040. Crazy QPR!

8/28/2022 - Motz wrote:

Drank over three days.

Wow! It still needs air, but it has begun to flesh out. The wine's abundant tannic substance has begun to unwind and in its present form makes for a powerful tasting experience.

Tight on the first day, while delivering tremendous grip. The second day revealed an exceptionally broad and deep Barbaresco, particularly for the release price. The wine has added noteworthy purple fruit elements, along with the bright red fruits that it has consistently shown. Stunning on the third day, achieving striking enchantment and purity. Seamless throughout.

The wine has just begun showing secondary elements, and nothing tertiary. This bottle had no less than fifteen years ahead of it, probably twenty or more. If drinking in the near to medium term, decant for four+ hours and brace for a swift kick in the backside. Tanninphobes beware!

8/19/2021 - gotfunk Likes this wine:

No real notes except… giddy up. In a great spot with pitch perfect balance, giving immense pleasure.

9/5/2021 - fitzi wrote:

A nice Beaune, as related in the most recent notes. Only gathers strength overnight in the fridge - likely sign of relative youth. Bit of stone at the end, not my favorite thing. I would say drink if you are in dire need and have nothing else ready. Otherwise, hold for another four to six and try then. This will eventually become a very pretty autumn wine of nuance, in my humble opinion - not a bad fate for this appellation. This note differs from my last one, but I feel it's the more accurate of the two.

Tangentially, I have six bottles of Guillemot Sernpentieres from the same vintage that I plan to age at least as long as my recommendation for this wine, although I see them being reported on favorably now. Too early for these wines, really, I feel, if you're going to spend the money on them. It takes time to realize their real value.

Addendum: with yet more time open, the stony quality goes away and the wine is much better. Having trouble figuring this one out - maybe the young vines here play a role.

6/27/2021 - fitzi wrote:

I approached my first bottle from the fabled Oregon producer with enthusiasm, but it turned out to be a charmless brew of fruitless sour and arid tannins. Too young? It didn't taste flawed, just really mediocre. Hard to reconcile my experience with the note from April 2020 (Chablis28 appears to be describing Pinot from Dundee Valley, rather than Willamette, so, a different wine).

5/22/2021 - cct wrote:

Fantastic perfume. Red fruit, olive, heme, rare roasted meat, red licorice. This wine is animated. On the palate, it is expansive, with terrific inner mouth perfume, more red fruits, some blood orange, florals, meaty and savory notes. This is in its heart a younger more energetic version of the '85 (and why I chose the '85 to drink alongside it). It was like looking at a younger sibling of the '85. This is effortlessly beautiful, having most of the charactieristic I seek in wine. If one one were to choose a Syrah to call Burgundian, this and the 85 today would fit that mold. Power coupled with grace. Terrific. I have been enamored with this wine for a very long time. It is not the most profound or awe inspiring Chave, but it is the most consistently joyful one I have drunk and never seems to shut down. This was the best bottle of this I have had. Terrific. Thanks RM. 96

4/22/2021 - SteveLong wrote:

Wow! I very much enjoyed this.

Medium ruby. Day one had a faint hint of bret/barnyard funk but in a very good way. Black cherry, crushed flowers, black tea, spice. Day two the funk had diminished, black cherry dominant. Full bodied. Long finish.

13.6%

3/8/2021 - wabi47 Likes this wine:

reticent nose; deep, slightly sweet primary fruit takes the lead; by day two, you get some Cameron spice, ash and black tea, but still too young. Day three, starting to sing with plenty of (good) je ne sais quoi complexity.

2/14/2021 - Rollerball wrote:

OK the nose is currently a slice of heaven. The Andromeda galaxy 45° up from its horizontal plane. I am coddling a baby, then drinking an infomercial's worth of orange juice, then watching the masturbation scene in blue lagoon.

From 375 with an hour in the decanter. Great with steamed Alaskan king crab. Many good years ahead, even in this format.

11/27/2020 - drfloyd wrote:

In decent shape but was a somewhat single note and was looking for a bit more. While the wine didn’t show many signs of age, it’s caused me to ponder the wisdom of aging Beaujolais so long. It was enjoyable to drink but nothing special - hopefully an off bottle..

11/13/2020 - Guy Des Rosiers Likes this wine:

I've had mixed experiences with this wine in the past, but this particular magnum was freaking awesome. Blueberries and cherries in abundance on the nose and palate. Fresh, lively and ripe in the best possible way. Everything I love most about Beaujolais, distilled to its essence. And so amazingly young, exuberant, and just plain fun.

6/24/2020 - Brian Glas Likes this wine:

Tasted after 1 hour of air. Medium garnet color. Some bricking. Some light floral notes on the nose. Some light spicy red berry fruit. Decent persistence on the palate. Seems to be fading. Drink up. Medium finish.

4/18/2020 - HillbillyWE wrote:

Clear ruby in the glass with a tiny garnet rim. Looks like a thin Pinot or a Beaujolais. It smalls like stone, bright red fruits with a faint floral note. Initially it tastes like a mouthful of Amarena cherries but dries out nicely with fine tannins and lively acidity. Long harmonious finish. This isn’t a wine that goes a bunch of different places, but rather goes one place incredibly well.

Please bear in mind this is a very particular kind of wine and very much my thing at the moment. If you like Ribeira Sacra, Bierzo, Beaujolais, you may like this too. If not, save your money.

4/10/2020 - collin wrote:

Probably the best Beaujolais I've had- and I drink my fair share. Bought two bottles in Kermit Lynch's shop about 10 yrs ago; drank one immediately and carried this one home (via multiple states and subsequent moves). No formal notes- but this was just perfectly balanced- fruit and tertiary and structure and texture wrapped up in a lovely package. It's hard for me to imagine this gets any better. If I had more, I might take that chance, but I'd probably be smarter to drink it all now. Alas.

12/24/2019 - slanum wrote:

It literally took ten years for this wine, that I initially found overripe and even a bit ponderous, to hit its groove. It has shed all that fat and presents, surprisingly, the kind of fresh and vibrant aromas and flavors that used to characterize Foillard's Côte du Py on release. Warmer climes have put an end to that style of Morgon if my recent dabbling is any indication. This was worth the wait.

6/8/2019 - mwneil wrote:

Unfortunately I waited too long to drink, a very dark color, ok bouquet, tart, did not have that unctuous texture, still it was an interesting 1/2 bottle which may have impacted the aging. Drank with passion fruit strawberry layer cake.

6/1/2019 - Al Ehrhardt wrote:

Unfortunately, my last of a half case. Beautiful nose, barely any funk. Nice red fruits, smooth, and well balanced. Just love Cameron.

5/13/2019 - retired_and_roving wrote:

Rhone Dinner (Bobo): Back to one of my favorite producers, the '01 is another great vintage. Starting with the classic Jamet funk on the nose. A bit more youthful than the '97 but in a really great place (CT drinking window should be extended by another 10 years). Savory meats and olives in equal measure to the red and black fruit here, nice acidity - long finish. So good.

12/31/2018 - chifred wrote:

Two bottles, the same for both. Pleasant fresh nose, good structure and medium finish. Fruit (cherry predominating) present still but overall the wine seemed thin with acid predominating. Some hints of earth. Still great but these bottles did not shine like the others of this vintage. Dumb phase (even possible with Gamay?) or going?

8/18/2018 - Ekoostik wrote:

My first go at this wine and imo this is really not a classic Beaujolais experience, but is certainly an impressive wine. The concentration and dark fruit depth are quite amazing for the region but not overly done in the sense of big wines in general. No way I’d pick this out blind though, I’d probably guess medium weight Syrah or something? This will go another 10-15 years easy as it didn’t show much development but was certainly approachable now. This bottle was clean which relieved my anxiety a bit about my other bottles.

5/17/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote:

Soter Tasting with James Cahill (Knightsbridge - Northbrook IL): Popped and poured. Wonderful aromas of ripe black cherry with sweet spice, nicely matured. Good flavors, slightly less exciting and balanced vs the nose. Still a good combination of freshness and earth, just with a slightly tannic finish. My last bottle from a case purchased from the winery at release, this bottle was better vs my previous bottle opened one year ago.

6/3/2017 - Warren23 wrote:

Simply wonderful - just outstanding. Has terrific depth for an Oregon Pinot, beautiful ripe and lively fruit notes of concentrated blueberry and raspberry. 92-93.

6/23/2016 - Ron Felthoven Likes this wine:

Raspberries, cherries, roses and a hint of soy on the nose. Almost none of the reduction and funk I've gotten tired of experiencing in Cameron's pinot noirs. I figured I'd write this note to provide a data point showing that at least this bottle is pretty clean and enjoyable; I haven't been buying Cameron pinot for a couple of years and this is a welcoming experience back into the fold. Very supple and silky with just the right amount of acid on the finish -- this is a very lovely and sultry wine for Oregon, and for Cameron, with no distracting oak or extract. Perhaps a little lacking in energy and complexity relative to other vintages and higher pedigreed Cameron SVDs, but for the price this wine (over) delivers. Give this some air and enjoy it now for what it is.

3/26/2016 - chefdilletante wrote:

Still humming along. Acidity is starting to soften up but retains good structure. Getting quite wooly, and has picked up weight. Twenty seven years later, it's amazing that a wine at this price point has aged this well and can deliver this amount of pleasure.

1/15/2016 - MindMuse Likes this wine:

Wow! Five years since my previous bottle of this, which may have been my favorite Cru Beau bottle ever at the time. There is no doubt at all on this one, as on pop and pour I was stopped in my tracks by this immediately. Magnificent Morgon, heck just magnificent period. Amazing depth of spiced, minerally focused red fruit nose. After a bit, underbrush tones emerge to add another dimension. On the palate the above are vibrantly in play and carried with a rock solid powerful structure. The structure in fact is fascinating, as the tannins are modest to less than moderate, but there is a Rock of Gibralter backbone presence in a tablespoonful of this that is hard to comprehend (and I've had more than a bit of experience with wine). This bottle literally has me dumbfounded as to the possibilities to achieve something like this with an underappreciated, but still modest grape, Gamay. Seven minutes since my last sip and it is still with me. This is no Tokaji Essenzia, but a bottle I paid $20 for and I truly am at a loss to comprehend how it is achieving what it is doing organoleptically.

Okay, ultimately I drank one measured spoonful and timed a full hour, at which time I could still taste this wine as if I had swallowed 30 seconds ago. Mind bending bottle of Lapierre.

At the end of the night, having about 300ml remaining, I decided to transfer it to a 375 bottle and squirt it with a bit of Private Preserve. Stored in the fridge.
I had a splash in the late morning and it was still fine, and the second night I poured some more, and as it has come to serving temp it was again exploding with sexy Asian spiced mineral cherry iron and crushed rock. Every single sip of this would just stop me in my tracks.

This was a one of the sulphured bottles, but there is known considerable variation bottle to bottle for this wine (though not usually much "bad" variation). Last time I had this was a little over 5 years ago, in its release year. I scored it 92-93 and part of my tasting note said, "Initially, and for a good 2-3 hours this was good, but fairly closed and range-bound. Then things started rocking like Keith Richards suddenly showed up at the party." Well this party was in full swing when I pulled the cork, with, I don't know who, Caruso maybe, front and center. The finish is like the ending chord of the Beatles "A Day in the Life". Absolute lightning-in-a-bottle.

10/17/2015 - Kirk Grant wrote:

Color: Lightly bricked-ruby core with a salmon meniscus
Smell: Earth, mushrooms, wild strawberries with a hint of clover. After some time in the glass there's a faint hint of tomato leaf and another scent that I can only describe as something that reminds me of a little antique store.
Taste: Tart cherry, cranberries, and kumquats
Overall: Light-medium body, high acidity, med fruit, med- tannin, and a long finish that leaves the mouth watering for a long time after the last sip. This is a beautiful wine that is worth checking in on, if you have multiples. However, I think it also still has room to peak with good storage and another 5 years in the cellar. Check back in again in 2022

10/30/2015 - Stevelayden Likes this wine:

AP 05 13. My god, what a beautiful goldkapsel. This is my very first experience with Christoffel Jr.'s wine and to be honest I had passed it over many times because it was so inexpensive. I paid only $38 for this bottle and it is easily comparable to a $100 Joh Jos Prum goldkapsel Auslese. Very similar cool aromatics as Prum. Zesty, spicy, almost buttery feel but without being fat in any way. It coats the mouth and the sensation stays with you for minutes after each sip. Truly worthy of even the greatest wine cellar. Why did I wait so long?!

8/7/2015 - Ron Felthoven Likes this wine:

Really bright, aromatic and fresh. Very little funk to speak of and I enjoyed this very much. Why I drink Cameron. You can drink now but this will probably improve slightly for years and I don't see it fading away in the next 10.

8/2/2015 - yossarian.livez wrote:

This is a bit of a monster. Not a big fruit machine, but rather the opposite: light, barnyard, funky and pallid one.

PnP with a nose of barnyard. This is probably a level of brett that is a fault for most, but with an hour or so (or the vinturi) it settled down to reveal dried flowers, hints of Rainer cherry and game. The palate had pomegranate fruit, but this was again dominated by soil, orange peel, almond skin, grapefruit pith, black tea, and a slightly mineral tinged with a slight bitter edge and peppery finish. Tough to call this totally clean, but it certainly has it's interesting notes with some persistence and power. I would almost drink this more like a traditional Montalcino rosso (baricci?) or a jura red. Light bodied (almost weightless really), and medium plus acid. Certainly not your usual entry level new world pinot and sophisticated if you can get past the barnyard opening. Not sure I'd age this like their single vineyards but sheerly delicious to my palate.

And yes, it's throwing sediment, so i'd stand it up a day before drinking. Actually it was drinking best several hours after opening, so I'd hold for a few more or drink now with enough air. Another example why evaluation of color is a fairly worthless endeavor.

7/12/2015 - drwine2001 wrote:

Pale copper. Slightly effervescent. Sharp, grapefruit scents. Medium weight. Serious, dry black fruit flavors. Tart, lively finish. Seems very consistent year in and year out.

4/30/2015 - stubbie999 wrote:

Foamy, beery, fizzy and refermenting. Ugh. Never had this happen with this wine over many, many vintages (and indeed, other bottles from the same source). Anyway, too bad, since this is usually gluggably delicious.

3/19/2015 - chablis28 wrote:

PnP. Color reminds me of a 40yr old Barolo. Weak crimson bricking color. Dried flowers on the nose. Confounding wine at only 4yrs old as it drinks more like a 20yr old PN. Tea, faded raspberry and minerally, tart cherry flavors. As unpromising as the pale color is, it belies the intriguing flavors that await. I like this wine, a lot. Had a little spritz and was cloudy, so I'd decant the next one. I'll leave the btl stand up for a day next time. Not in for a multiple btl purchase but I'll definitely try another. Chunks of sediment here and there. Obviously, unfiltered and made by a hands off purist. 13.5% alc. Paid $31

11/27/2014 - Aravind Asok wrote:

Drank alongside a 2001 Nicolas Potel Clos Vougeot and a 2012 Thomas. We loved this wine when we had it before, but in this company it was...well....undistinguished. Double decanted and waited about 4 hours to drink. Nice nose with lots of earth, mushroom, tea leaves and dark fruits. Great acidity on the palate, which has a lot of bright red fruits and surprisingly tannic in this company (more tannic than the Thomas but less tannic than the Clos Vougeot). Anyway, still excellent.

10/26/2014 - Brix wrote:

Egads. I have no idea how to score this. If, like me, you've stored this wine at cellar temps, put it back and don't even think about drinking it for another decade. Not remotely ready to drink: primary, tannic, opaquely purple. Even after 3 hours of decanting, disjointed and harsh, barely hinting at future nuance. I saved half a bottle for tomorrow but I'm not optimistic that it will improve much. Not flawed, just painfully, egregiously, criminally immature.

10/5/2014 - salil wrote:

This is drinking quite nicely now with lots of bright, sappy red fruit and floral notes, though I'm finding I enjoyed this more on release and wonder if I should have just enjoyed my bottles then when the fruit was even more vibrant and it showed other savoury and mineral characteristics that aren't there now. This is a bit more understated, certainly more harmonious on the palate with a very polished texture and bright acids, but at the same time doesn't show quite the depth and sense of sheer vibrancy it had on release.

4/7/2014 - briandavispdx wrote:

On the first magnificent spring day of the year, it seemed appropriate to open up one of my favorite rosés (or is it a white?!) from last summer to see how it was coming along.

Cameron's wines are so complex, so fun. Something in the nose reminiscent of strawberry shortcake turns to cherry pie on the tongue, along with peaches and a bit of cinnamon. There's a whiff of something that I'd swear was limestone, except that there's no limestone in the Dundee Hills, so I'll just assume it's a relic of John Paul's mad genius manifesting in the glass. Soft, medium-length finish that leaves a smooth, mossy flavor.

I enjoyed my first bottle of this last August a little too much to remember to leave a tasting note (oops), but it seems to have improved after 9-ish months in hiding.

5/4/2014 - cweiss Likes this wine:

Easy to drink this without paying attention to how good it really is.

8/27/2013 - briandavispdx wrote:

This was on sale for twelve bucks at the local Whole Foods when I was perusing wines after buying a nice filet of tuna, which seemed a worthwhile risk. I'd never tried (or even heard of) anything featuring Furmint before, and I sure haven't explored in much depth the wines of Hungary, so I figured, what they hell?

That happened to be the right answer. Apparently the great Furmint wines of Hungary haven't received too much hype yet, because this emm-effer drank WAY above its price point. It had a cool nose with pear, honey, and white flowers. On the tongue, the fruitiness reminded me of lemon peel, and the zesty finish was a pretty perfect compliment to the in-your-face herbiness of the tuna filet. Not bad, Whole Foods, not bad at all. Now, if you could only provide enough bike parking...

3/1/2014 - cpoulos wrote:

I was really pleasantly surprised at how well this is showing. This bottle was still fresh, plummy, and fruit-driven. Wines like this are a good case for drinking your 2003s at cellar temperature.

2/13/2014 - Rob and Meg wrote:

Rich and lively aromas of tangerine citrus, lavender, potpourri, and dried lemon. Wonderfully textured and quite full bodied, as excellent orange citrus and orchard fruit compete with crushed gravel, bright herbs, and mouth watering acidity. Really enjoyable and rather unique. Drink or hold.

8/14/2013 - ubercuvee wrote:

Bleh. I had a great 2009 Foillard's "cuvee 3.14" the week before and fond memories of a 2009 Roilette Tardive last summer [admittedly after the fun of guiding the arete du cosmiques], so I thought I'd try the 2006.
Mistake. This had no depth, little nuance, none of the facets you'd hope to find in good burg, and yet seemed heavy and clumsy. Poor

7/5/2013 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Oh my god.

I have tasted many a good bottle of wine. And I have had this very same wine before, without fully understanding the potential that lay within.

But this nose, right now, (and the perfume is the allure of pinot, isn't it though) is to die for. And the elegance with which the body and soul and freshness speaks of, is nothing but a halelujah moment.

I struggled with the sex-less translation of the Rubayat by Fitzgerald, and was bewildered by the spiritual intellectualism of the swedish translator, the mad baron Hermelin. But now, the metaphor of wine as epiphany and truth, and harmony with the self (and god, if you are a believer), is as evident and true as water.

I found frequent pleasure in wine but rarely the jouissance of which Monsieur Roland Barthes speaks of. But now, I am experiencing tingling sensations in my toes and hair which is growing into an orgasmic crescendo. The synaptic recognition must be equal (I do not know, for I am ignorant) to the heroin slave's rush of relief and complete satisfaction.

In the past, with all the love I have for the willamette and its vineyard shepherds, at times, I have doubted (read my other tasting notes of wines by John Thomas, the apostle of pinot noir), not least this vintage, 2006, from oregon, but now I do believe.

And I have two more translucent ruby coloured bottles.

5/18/2013 - brooklynguy wrote:

I want to drink another bottle before saying anything - this one really just wasn't terribly interesting. Perfectly fine, but not as good as the other vintages I've had.

5/5/2013 - Billigan Does not like this wine:

I think Brix really nailed it with his note here in terms of the wine's characteristics with the exception being that I found this rather joyless. For me, rose is about refreshing, energetic, food-friendliness, and if it has some additional complexity (like in a Baudry rose or a Mordoree Tavel), then that's bonus. But this wine delivered none of those qualities. Sour, spritzy, and a bit of a slog to drink on what was a nice spring picnic with my family.

2/10/2013 - lolo66 wrote:

Nice nose of strawberry rhubarb and savory elements - mushroom, herbs. Taste is a bit sharp. Strong tart cranberry and cherries and sour jolly ranchers.creamy texture. Seems like it should taste more rounded, but it stays on a few notes.

12/29/2012 - RR47 wrote:

Medium red. This has changed sinced since my 88 score in October 2011, but can't say it has improved. No more fruit on the nose, but certainly green tobacco leaf, and some spiced pipe tobacco, along with cedar notes. The finish has softer tannins than previous tasting (but NOT soft tannins). It ends with a bit of astingent dryness. Not unpleasant in any way, just not up to other Calon's. Purchased as a future and stored at 55 since release. More in the cellar so time will tell.

11/24/2012 - arthrovine wrote:

From magnum. I found this bottle tight, fruit forward with too much alcohol on the finish. To me, this bottle format seems to be going through some maturation phase. Others found it beautiful. This was tasted alongside a 1992 Laurene, which was stunning. Embarrassing, really, to realize that that wine would transform into such a beauty. If you're lucky enough to have a magnum, wait 5 more years.