April 2, 2024 - "There's a lot of fish at Montrose Harbor" (Chicago, IL): Not entirely convinced this was a totally sound bottle. There were some dirty notes that were TCA-adjacent for quite a while, and I lost track of this and missed coming back to it later in the evening. It's quite broad and oily and shows some apricot jam notes. Not at the level of my previous bottle seven years ago.
March 16, 2024 - Back in January 2024 I opened the bottle of 1999 Clos Ste. Hune that I had bought on release and cellared with care for 20+ years. It was completely oxidized. Yes 20 years is a long time, but Clos Ste. Hune is capable of extremely long aging. Anne Trimbach reached out to me and offered to replace the bottle. We had a pleasant back and forth regarding the potential causes of poor showings of late-1990s Trimbach wines, and we agreed that lack of care by the importer or distributor could have been a contributing factor. My few bottles of 1998 Trimbach, purchased in France, have to date been perfect.
In mid-February the replacement arrived, triple boxed and swaddled in bubble wrap. I put it in the cellar for a few weeks of rest, until an obvious opportunity to open it arrived with a dinner alongside long and new friends at southern New Jersey restaurant Two Fish. The wine did not disappoint.
Not surprisingly for a middling vintage, this Hune is mature, but the bottles showed zero traces of oxidation, and floated alongside the excellent food, lifting the heavier courses, and singing harmony to the lighter ones. Seashell, lemon zest, and a compelling smoky note, more harmonious than could be termed petrol, infused the aromatics, and echoed on the palate, lingering longer than I had the patience to calculate. The next sip called, and there were also other wines.
The cause of the premature oxidation in the prior bottle is hard to know, but Anne’s effort to show the true quality of 1999 Clos Ste. Hune certainly paid off.
January 27, 2024 - 100% oxidized.
January 27, 2024 - Rieslingfan visits Albany; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Châteauneuf-du-Salil, Albany): Oxidized.
December 24, 2023 - A little too advanced than I'd expected. a lot of nut and toasty notes even though the acidity is still there with some mineral notes.
December 22, 2023 - Quite a lot of petro, rich oily yellow fruit. Weird how dry it is on the palate with the anticipation of aged sweet Riesling flavors. 91-92
November 9, 2023 - An exceptional Riesling. So much dense, grand cru concentration while remaining round and seamless. Fruit is still very youthful and exuberant. Very early peak drinking.
October 15, 2023 - Chez Zim: petrol, lemon, dense, slightly oxidized.
August 13, 2023 - This wine had a deep yellow center with clear rims. It displayed a medium+ intensity nose of white flowers, petroleum jelly, and minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was rich and ripe with great balance, solid acidity, and very good length.
This wine still seemed a bit young and I would expect it to continue to improve with 5 years or so in the cellar.
July 8, 2023 - 闻起来有着相当的成熟度，扩张感强，细腻柔和，菠萝干、桃杏果脯、苹果馅、干花、阿胶枣，还有类似当归之类的木本药草，香气复杂有层次，整合得已经很好。入口有着颇大的结构，集中度颇高，整体饱满成熟，浓郁感将口腔撑开，酸度整合其中，默默发挥作用，有力而有温柔。果味成熟，有着菠萝酱、熟桃杏、苹果、热带果干之类的味道，整体干净，中段收敛紧致，后段也有木质、草本、蜂蜜和淡淡的焦糖味，通体流畅舒展，温柔丰腴。95/100