Really impressive. Incredibly fresh, bright citrus and pear fruit framed by brioche, faintly nutty elements and chalky minerality. There's a sense of real vibrancy and energy to the flavours, great precision and this is a producer I should pay more attention to.
Still holding up very well, and one of the most impressive wines I've tried from a generally lousy vintage in Germany. There's bright peach and apricot fruit tinged with honey and high toned spicy elements, good sweetness and decent acidity keeping it nicely balanced. Very nice.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
Just a faint touch of '04 greenness here, but this is wonderful. An amazing aromatic profile with that distinctive Truchot earthy/leathery funk, fresh red fruits and just a faint green element that becomes more prominent with some air. The palate is pure silk; flavour conveyed with a sense of weightlessness, incredible balance and purity. Wow.
Peter mentions this producer had sadly sold his holdings to Guigal some years ago. Poured alongside the Gentaz, and this was a phenomenal bottle, showing layers of roasted meats, rich plummy fruit and mature savoury earthy, leathery and mushroomy characteristics. Great balance and depth, gaining more and more nuance with air and a stunning wine that kept getting better as we revisited it.
A touch of mustiness on the nose at first, but it quickly cleared as a lovely fragrance of green olives, damp earth, forestal herbal notes and savoury meatiness emerged. A wonderful palate presence, incredibly finessed and delicate (not unlike the Truchot) with bright acids keeping it very fresh and still some fine grained tannin lingering on the back end. With air it became greener and more herbal, showing wilder minty and more forestal elements. A lovely, distinctive wine, though not the jawdropping experience I was hoping for given my previous experiences with this.
My first impression was 'wow, this tastes like the '07 Gonon when it was released!' Incredibly vivid black pepper and meaty aromatics and a palate full of fresh red fruits, black olives and more savoury, spicy and gamey elements conveyed with remarkable freshness and energy. Awesome stuff, I need to get some.
A stellar bottle. Still quite rustic and showing some tannin, but there's so much character and depth here - mature Syrah fruit, sauvage bloody and meaty elements, developed earthiness and so much more all combining seamlessly into a thrilling wine. Wow!
Probably my favourite of the night amongst an incredible lineup. That's that thrilling mature Chave perfume combining all sorts of smoky, meaty, earthy and other savoury elements, a sense of tremendous power and intensity on the palate yet remarkable elegance and freshness, and layers that just keep unravelling with air. Just an amazing wine and a real pleasure to sit down and follow over some time.
From magnum. There's barely any fruit here, but lots of savoury smoky, dried meat and coffee flavours, a polished texture and good balance. Enjoyable though not profound, but I was struggling to pay much attention to this with the Chave and last sips of the Vallouit in my glass.
Closing with a Hans-Gunter Schwarz special. Still as awesome as ever. Intense and kaleidoscopic; a powerhouse of exotic tropical fruits ranging from pink grapefruits to ripe mangoes, honey and wild herbal elements. There's still plenty of youthful sweetness here, but also fantastic acidity that keeps it incredibly vibrant, precise and all too easy to drink. Fantastic.
NV Pascal Doquet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 91 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Really impressive. Incredibly fresh, bright citrus and pear fruit framed by brioche, faintly nutty elements and chalky minerality. There's a sense of real vibrancy and energy to the flavours, great precision and this is a producer I should pay more attention to.
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2000 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Spätlese 89 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Still holding up very well, and one of the most impressive wines I've tried from a generally lousy vintage in Germany. There's bright peach and apricot fruit tinged with honey and high toned spicy elements, good sweetness and decent acidity keeping it nicely balanced. Very nice.
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2004 Domaine Truchot-Martin Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbes Vieilles Vignes 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
Just a faint touch of '04 greenness here, but this is wonderful. An amazing aromatic profile with that distinctive Truchot earthy/leathery funk, fresh red fruits and just a faint green element that becomes more prominent with some air. The palate is pure silk; flavour conveyed with a sense of weightlessness, incredible balance and purity. Wow.
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1990 Domaine de Vallouit Côte-Rôtie Les Roziers 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Peter mentions this producer had sadly sold his holdings to Guigal some years ago. Poured alongside the Gentaz, and this was a phenomenal bottle, showing layers of roasted meats, rich plummy fruit and mature savoury earthy, leathery and mushroomy characteristics. Great balance and depth, gaining more and more nuance with air and a stunning wine that kept getting better as we revisited it.
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1986 Gentaz-Dervieux Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Réservée Côte Brune 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A touch of mustiness on the nose at first, but it quickly cleared as a lovely fragrance of green olives, damp earth, forestal herbal notes and savoury meatiness emerged. A wonderful palate presence, incredibly finessed and delicate (not unlike the Truchot) with bright acids keeping it very fresh and still some fine grained tannin lingering on the back end. With air it became greener and more herbal, showing wilder minty and more forestal elements. A lovely, distinctive wine, though not the jawdropping experience I was hoping for given my previous experiences with this.
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2007 Guillaume Gilles Cornas 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
My first impression was 'wow, this tastes like the '07 Gonon when it was released!' Incredibly vivid black pepper and meaty aromatics and a palate full of fresh red fruits, black olives and more savoury, spicy and gamey elements conveyed with remarkable freshness and energy. Awesome stuff, I need to get some.
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1990 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
A stellar bottle. Still quite rustic and showing some tannin, but there's so much character and depth here - mature Syrah fruit, sauvage bloody and meaty elements, developed earthiness and so much more all combining seamlessly into a thrilling wine. Wow!
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1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 96 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Probably my favourite of the night amongst an incredible lineup. That's that thrilling mature Chave perfume combining all sorts of smoky, meaty, earthy and other savoury elements, a sense of tremendous power and intensity on the palate yet remarkable elegance and freshness, and layers that just keep unravelling with air. Just an amazing wine and a real pleasure to sit down and follow over some time.
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1995 Ferraton Père & Fils Hermitage Cuvée des Miaux 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
From magnum. There's barely any fruit here, but lots of savoury smoky, dried meat and coffee flavours, a polished texture and good balance. Enjoyable though not profound, but I was struggling to pay much attention to this with the Chave and last sips of the Vallouit in my glass.
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1998 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese 95 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Closing with a Hans-Gunter Schwarz special. Still as awesome as ever. Intense and kaleidoscopic; a powerhouse of exotic tropical fruits ranging from pink grapefruits to ripe mangoes, honey and wild herbal elements. There's still plenty of youthful sweetness here, but also fantastic acidity that keeps it incredibly vibrant, precise and all too easy to drink. Fantastic.
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