Fine wine BYO

All wines served blind, organised by flights of the same wine type.

• NV David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru L'Alchimiste Extra-Brut 87 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Appearance: medium red, good mousse.
  Nose: red wine nose with cherries and blackberries, spice and tar, some oak. Goes even more in the direction of oaked red wine with time in the glass.
  Palate: fruity, somewhat sweet fruit-styled in the attack, noticeable spice, medium acidity. The mid-palate shows tannins and dryness, and the aftertaste is quite spicy.
  Summary: powerful, odd style, 87 p?
  The aromas here didn't really indicate Pinot Noir to me, and I didn't think it was a Champagne since the acidity was on the low side for this.

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• 1999 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Appearance: bright yellow, the lightest in hue among the four white bubblies
  Nose: citrus including zest, ripe yellow fruit, some notes of maturity, possibly some oak, mineral, slightly smoky, some perfume.
  Palate: citrus, grapefruit, rather high acidity, some spice, good concentration (but not really "fat"), long aftertaste.
  Summary: has not peaked yet, 92 p
  Came across as younger and with higher acidity than expected once I knew what it was. We all believed this was an oaked blanc de blancs. A very good but slightly odd bottle.

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• NV Jacques Selosse Substance 94 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Appearance: dark gold with amber hue, darkest among the four white Champagnes
  Nose: red apples, old winter apples, oranges, some oak, deep fruit notes with spice, slightly oxidised notes, some perfume.
  Palate: good concentration, apple, grapefruit, spice, some nuts, strong mineral notes, high acidity, fresh and long aftertaste with some green apple.
  Summary: wonderfully developed, 94 p.
  Disgorged 29 October 2008. Slightly darker and more powerful than Substance disgorged 2007 when tasted alongside.

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• NV Jacques Selosse Substance 92 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Appearance: gold with amber hue
  Nose: winter apples, nuts, oranges, oxidation notes, clearly developed, some perfume.
  Palate: yellow winter apples, spice, quite good acidity, long aftertaste.
  Summary: wonderful development, but more slender than the previous wine, 92 p.
  Disgorged 2007. Tasted alongside Substance Oct 2008, they were initially similar, but this one diverged as it sat in the glass. It showed less oak in the nose and was more slender on the palate.

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• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Appearance: light golden colour
  Nose: clearly toasted notes of hazelnuts, smoky with notes of gunsmoke, cocoa powder, under the smoke some yellow fruit; an impressive nose.
  Palate: quite concentrated, yellow apple, citrus, enormous minerality and sets of a "mineral attack", quite high acidity, fresh aftertaste..
  Summary: an impressive wine with a quite developed nose and a relatively young palate, can take more cellaring. 94 p.
  This may be the best Grand Cuvée of this label design that I have tasted, at least in a regular 75 cl bottle. To me, it was rather of "regular" Krug Vintage standard.
  Disgorged 2002, cork code A221

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All four turned out to be white Burgundies.

• 2004 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Forêt 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Appearance: light yellow
  Nose: citrus, discrete perfume notes, mineral, spice. Changed rather much as it sat in the glass. Initially there were some candy aromas (in a positive sense) and after a while some smoke notes emerged.
  Palate: dry, citrus and in particular grapefruit, yellow apple, some candy notes, rather good acidity, some spice, mineral, long and fresh aftertaste. Also the palate changed after a while, and it then tasted more oily and spicy, and showed more mineral.
  Summary: 91 p
  The 2004 vintage is very variable in style and quality in Chablis, but surely it is supposed to be a high acid vintage? Knowing this is a Chablis (not my initial guess), there is a lot of "grand cru feeling" to it due to its weight.

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• 2011 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Appearance: light yellow
  Nose: slightly herbal and green note, citrus, a hint of yellow fruit, rather fruity
  Palate: very dry, powerful and stony mineral notes, rather high acidity, minerally aftertaste with grapefruit.
  Summary: the green notes disturb me slightly, 89 p
  I find the style surprising for the vintage, due to the presence of green notes. Although there may be hope for it after cellaring, I find it quite frankly weaker than many other premier cru 2011s that I have tasted.

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• 2008 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Romanée 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Appearance: light yellow
  Nose: yellow apple, perfume, mineral, hints of oak that increase slightly with time in the glass, elegance.
  Palate: dry, loads of mineral, citrus, some yellow fruit, high acidity. Firm and mineral-dominated style.
  Summary: quite good, young, elegant, 93+ p.
  Quite Puligny-styled, since it was so very mineral-dominated.

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• 2008 Lucien Le Moine Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Appearance: light yellow
  Nose: smoky, oak, yellow apple, some butter
  Palate: dry, strong mineral notes, stony, spice, high acidity, some perfume, slightly oily, a long and stony aftertaste.
  Summary: both minerally and spicy in style, young, 93+ p
  Heavier and more spicy style than the 2008 Fontaine-Gagnard La Romanée, which was sitting next to it. Reminds me of a Bâtard-Montrachet, i.e., has the weight of a grand cru.

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• 2005 Château Haut-Brion Château Bahans Haut-Brion 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nose: dark berries, some herbs, some barnyard notes, discretely aromatic, rather elegant
  Palate: dark berries with quite dark notes, rather tough, spice, powerful tannins
  Summary: young - and younger than expected, 91+ p

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• 2007 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate 91 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains

  Nose: ripe dark berries, blackberries and blueberries, some liquorice and prunes, mint, aromatic
  Palate: dark berries, plum, sweet fruit in the attack, supple tannins, just a hint of alcoholic fire.
  Summary: 91 p

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• 2010 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Quet 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Nose: dark berries, blackcurrants and blueberries, tar, some smoke, mineral with stone dust, tougher in the nose than the two previous wines
  Palate: dry (compared to Magill Estate) but with some sweet berries, quite concentrated, dark berries, tar, powerful tannins, some alcoholic feeling the aftertaste.
  Summary: slightly alcohilic, but impressive concentration, 92 p?
  
  A few weeks earlier I tasted the 2007 Quet, which didn't impress me too much when lined up against six other 2007 Châteauneufs. The 2010 Quet is better.

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• 1985 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 92 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Appearance: medium red, brick-coloured at the edge
  Nose: dried red berries, tar, some perfume, a hint of mineral
  Palate: sweet dried berries, good concentration of fruit, spice, softened tannins, slightly alcoholic.
  Summary: rather typical for a mature Vintage Port, nice development, 92 p

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