Community Tasting Note

SH Wu Does not like this wine:

Saturday, October 28, 2023 - A stunning wine at its peak - honeyed stone fruits with a rounded acidity riding on a rock-solid backbone of mineral freshness. The depth of this bottle is impressive, despite its purity and lightness. A chiseled citrus minerality brings the wine down the throat for a long and impactful finish.

The destination at the summit of the Mountain of Tonnerre was stunning, but the process of hiking to the top was rough. The bottle was closed on opening, with hints of light oxidation. There was some debate on decanting, and the final decision was to slow-ox the wine the night before intended serving.

The day of serving, tropical fruits, acidity and minerality all separately took turns taking a break, making us repeatedly put it back away so people didn't finish it before it peaked. There was a false peak where for a brief window in the afternoon, it looked like everything was coming together, only for it to be shut down the moment everyone was called to pour a glass. Eventually, late into the evening, the wine finally came together. At that point, most of the bottle had already been sacrificed to the immaculate calibration of this temperamental diva and people had drunk enough wine they were probably beyond the point of intellectual appreciation of this beauty.

This reminds me of a painful hike of a beautiful mountain. A lot of things go wrong heading towards the summit. However, you push through, and at the moment you summit and see the stunning view, the adrenaline kicks in and you feel great. However, as the high fades off, you start remembering all the annoyances on the way up, and realize the view at the summit was not enough to wash all the scratches on your body away. I sat at midnight in my dining room with my half glass at the peak of Tonnerre with this feeling.

As the young kids like to say, maybe this is just a "skill issue." Nevertheless, a very difficult wine to serve, and maybe I need to work on being a better hiker before I attempt to summit again.

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