Exactly what I'd want from a rose. This had very pretty cherry and floral aromatics and some tart citrus flavours on the palate. An excellent wine to use as a house rose, the bottle today had a certain amount of vibrancy that a few years will calm down. In exchange, I expect a little bit of funk to develop -- something that Clouet does so well (especially if you've had the Cuvee 1911). On the other hand, if you want something totally electric, pop the cork today.
Oh boy, this was an acid bomb to the tune of sucking on a lemon. Mouthwatering and delicious, but this is very hard to approach without the benefit of a bit of food. Drink too much of this pink stuff without food and you'll soon be needing some of that other pink stuff.
Wow this is awesome stuff. The nose is very dense with a real saline quality to it, as well as some lovely yellow fruit. The palate is where this shines though -- lots of extract and intensity. Tons of tart lemony acidity. Really tasty. I'm a fan.
The first Australian wine I've had in years. The nose is a ringer for an SQN syrah, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The palate is quite mineral and lithe, and holds everything together in a very restrained way, which is really not what I was expecting based on the nose alone. A real eye-opening experience for me, but at the end of the day, I'm not sure this is something I'd go and actively seek out.
You should have seen the double-decant job I did on this. It was like a Dexter kill room without the plastic wrap. Anyway, onto the wine. A very old-school Barolo nose, with an intense floral quality as well as a bit of rust and dried cherries. Surprisingly, this was not too funky from the get-go, but a little bit of air will a lot of good to bring out the aromatics. A very balanced palate with some tart cherry flavours, though the tannins are still surprisingly grippy. This has got a fantastic juicy quality about it, especially for a 40-year-old bottle. Great stuff. This went incredibly well with a selection of salumi from West Loop Salumi.
The nose was very black fruit oriented. The palate displayed a lot of animale character and funk (a bit too much for me) but despite the very, very open and bold nose, this was a very, very restrained wine.
Always a treat to have a Doennhoff eiswein. This one featured a huge heap of fresh spices (a bit of nose hair singeing too). The palate was not as sweet as the 2009 (to the best of my recollection) and had a boatload of basically everything you could ever want from a Bruecke. However, this doesn't quite have enough of the stuffing to elevate it to the level of the 2009. The finish is powerful and goes on for minutes.
This is a real fun one. The nose was slightly grassy and citrusy, and yes, it clearly has some common ancestry with white Bordeaux. The palate has some light fruit flavours, but fades a little towards the midpalate. There's plenty of acid as well, but I would have preferred if it stood out more prominently. On the other hand, once I had a bit of shrimp and orzo salad with this, everything knitted together perfectly. Moral of the story: this is one to have with some food. It will be awesome.
Killing a baby. But it's so delicious... this is exactly what you want from an American chardonnay. It had plenty of tart acidity but a warmth and richness that Burgundy just can't (and shouldn't) offer. I detected a gentle bit of oak use, which was very pleasant in coordination with lovely citrus flavours.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
This was revelatory. Pure strawberry juice and aromas, this was just totally open for business from the get-go (though I've heard that it's best on day three -- how it can last that long open but undrank is beyond me). The palate is a pure fruit explosion, with very, very light tannins. It's almost to the point of a very dark rose. I particularly enjoyed this served at a cooler temperature, though warming it up, I could imagine more of the aromatics would pop out.
NV André Clouet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Exactly what I'd want from a rose. This had very pretty cherry and floral aromatics and some tart citrus flavours on the palate. An excellent wine to use as a house rose, the bottle today had a certain amount of vibrancy that a few years will calm down. In exchange, I expect a little bit of funk to develop -- something that Clouet does so well (especially if you've had the Cuvee 1911). On the other hand, if you want something totally electric, pop the cork today.
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2013 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Rosé 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Oh boy, this was an acid bomb to the tune of sucking on a lemon. Mouthwatering and delicious, but this is very hard to approach without the benefit of a bit of food. Drink too much of this pink stuff without food and you'll soon be needing some of that other pink stuff.
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2009 Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan Pechstein Riesling Großes Gewächs 85 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Not my style of German wine. It was very, very big. Not cloying or greasy but a bit too low in acid to keep something of this size together.
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2010 Les Granges Paquenesses Côtes du Jura La Pierre 90 Points
France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Wow this is awesome stuff. The nose is very dense with a real saline quality to it, as well as some lovely yellow fruit. The palate is where this shines though -- lots of extract and intensity. Tons of tart lemony acidity. Really tasty. I'm a fan.
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1998 Jasper Hill Shiraz Georgia's Paddock 88 Points
Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote
The first Australian wine I've had in years. The nose is a ringer for an SQN syrah, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The palate is quite mineral and lithe, and holds everything together in a very restrained way, which is really not what I was expecting based on the nose alone. A real eye-opening experience for me, but at the end of the day, I'm not sure this is something I'd go and actively seek out.
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1974 Prunotto Barolo Riserva 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
You should have seen the double-decant job I did on this. It was like a Dexter kill room without the plastic wrap. Anyway, onto the wine. A very old-school Barolo nose, with an intense floral quality as well as a bit of rust and dried cherries. Surprisingly, this was not too funky from the get-go, but a little bit of air will a lot of good to bring out the aromatics. A very balanced palate with some tart cherry flavours, though the tannins are still surprisingly grippy. This has got a fantastic juicy quality about it, especially for a 40-year-old bottle. Great stuff. This went incredibly well with a selection of salumi from West Loop Salumi.
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1996 Thunder Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Bates Ranch Flawed
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Cooked? Smelled and tasted like Ribena.
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2010 Domaine La Tache Saint-Joseph Cuvée Guillamy 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph
The nose was very black fruit oriented. The palate displayed a lot of animale character and funk (a bit too much for me) but despite the very, very open and bold nose, this was a very, very restrained wine.
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2011 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein 95 Points
Germany, Nahe
Always a treat to have a Doennhoff eiswein. This one featured a huge heap of fresh spices (a bit of nose hair singeing too). The palate was not as sweet as the 2009 (to the best of my recollection) and had a boatload of basically everything you could ever want from a Bruecke. However, this doesn't quite have enough of the stuffing to elevate it to the level of the 2009. The finish is powerful and goes on for minutes.
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2013 Dirty and Rowdy Sémillon 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville
This is a real fun one. The nose was slightly grassy and citrusy, and yes, it clearly has some common ancestry with white Bordeaux. The palate has some light fruit flavours, but fades a little towards the midpalate. There's plenty of acid as well, but I would have preferred if it stood out more prominently. On the other hand, once I had a bit of shrimp and orzo salad with this, everything knitted together perfectly. Moral of the story: this is one to have with some food. It will be awesome.
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2012 Ceritas Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Killing a baby. But it's so delicious... this is exactly what you want from an American chardonnay. It had plenty of tart acidity but a warmth and richness that Burgundy just can't (and shouldn't) offer. I detected a gentle bit of oak use, which was very pleasant in coordination with lovely citrus flavours.
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2013 Dirty and Rowdy Mourvèdre Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
This was revelatory. Pure strawberry juice and aromas, this was just totally open for business from the get-go (though I've heard that it's best on day three -- how it can last that long open but undrank is beyond me). The palate is a pure fruit explosion, with very, very light tannins. It's almost to the point of a very dark rose. I particularly enjoyed this served at a cooler temperature, though warming it up, I could imagine more of the aromatics would pop out.
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