A little unusual. Quite a heavyweight style, rich, fairly biscuity, feels like lots of lees contact here, lovely mousse. Fairly similar in style, pitch and price bracket to Bollinger but perhaps a little more interesting. 90+ points, £35-40.
This vintage is 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon. Had never heard of this and knew nothing of it, but quite a find. Beautiful smoky nose, citric and fresh but also quite creamy and sumptuous...if that makes any sense...good oaking (maybe these oaked whites are growing on me...)
Remarkable because this style is not really made with any real conviction anywhere outside of Bordeaux, as far as I can tell. This is a perfect example, though at £25-30, not cheap.
A beauty. Liquid peaches, obviously, but ultra floral, too. This one is *sweet* though, and perhaps a little too much so for the middle of a hot Summer's day...more of an after-dinner pick-me-up perhaps. It is incredibly delicious, though a little heavy-handed. At £9 for a full 750ml, I'd buy it for a party for sure, though I definitely prefer the (slightly more expensive) Chiarlo Nivole.
People seemed to love this. I don't get it. Just because it's 15 years old, doesn't mean it's good. Also, just because it's 15 years old, doesn't mean that picking it up at £10 a bottle is a bargain. We had some 10 bottles of this (excluding the 1 corked and 1 oxidised) and 3 of them were firmly in the grave. The others were holding on, but didn't have a whole lot of life left in them. The sweetness and acidity have calmed down and really all you're left with is something a little flat...the 94 Auslese was better. 8% abv, around £10.
Markedly better than the 95 Spatlese.This had some good ripe pineapple (maybe, I wasn't paying too much attention) action, sweetness tempered, acid down. I do like old Rieslings, but they have to retain some vivacity, something to remind me they're still alive. They can't just be old and dear. This really gets my goat - just because Riesling can produce ageworthy wines, doesn't mean all Rieslings can age, nor that they should. Grr.
NV Gosset Champagne Brut Grande Réserve 90 Points
France, Champagne
A little unusual. Quite a heavyweight style, rich, fairly biscuity, feels like lots of lees contact here, lovely mousse. Fairly similar in style, pitch and price bracket to Bollinger but perhaps a little more interesting. 90+ points, £35-40.
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NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve 89 Points
France, Champagne
A year on and apparently neither this Champagne nor my palate have changed. Entirely in line with previous note.
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2007 Château Carbonnieux Blanc 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
This vintage is 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon. Had never heard of this and knew nothing of it, but quite a find. Beautiful smoky nose, citric and fresh but also quite creamy and sumptuous...if that makes any sense...good oaking (maybe these oaked whites are growing on me...)
Remarkable because this style is not really made with any real conviction anywhere outside of Bordeaux, as far as I can tell. This is a perfect example, though at £25-30, not cheap.
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2006 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 84 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
This did nothing for me. Decent, typical, solid Chablis, nothing more. A disappointment from a producer I admire.
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2009 Cantine Volpi Moscato d'Asti 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d'Asti
A beauty. Liquid peaches, obviously, but ultra floral, too. This one is *sweet* though, and perhaps a little too much so for the middle of a hot Summer's day...more of an after-dinner pick-me-up perhaps. It is incredibly delicious, though a little heavy-handed. At £9 for a full 750ml, I'd buy it for a party for sure, though I definitely prefer the (slightly more expensive) Chiarlo Nivole.
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1995 Weingut Fritz Becker Erben Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese 81 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
People seemed to love this. I don't get it. Just because it's 15 years old, doesn't mean it's good. Also, just because it's 15 years old, doesn't mean that picking it up at £10 a bottle is a bargain. We had some 10 bottles of this (excluding the 1 corked and 1 oxidised) and 3 of them were firmly in the grave. The others were holding on, but didn't have a whole lot of life left in them. The sweetness and acidity have calmed down and really all you're left with is something a little flat...the 94 Auslese was better. 8% abv, around £10.
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1994 Fritz Becker Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 86 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Markedly better than the 95 Spatlese.This had some good ripe pineapple (maybe, I wasn't paying too much attention) action, sweetness tempered, acid down. I do like old Rieslings, but they have to retain some vivacity, something to remind me they're still alive. They can't just be old and dear. This really gets my goat - just because Riesling can produce ageworthy wines, doesn't mean all Rieslings can age, nor that they should. Grr.
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