Seemed advanced for its age. The fruit was soft and supple with mostly pear and apple tones. Interesting layers of yeasty and bready notes with some soft florals. What this didn't have was a edge and firmness that a lot of 1996s still have. Regardless, I still thought this was quite good.
Similiar to my previous note, this bottle just oozes tropical/exotic fruits. Peach, tangerine, lots of minerality, and layers of floral notes. Definitely has that boisterous GH character to it.
White Northern Rhone has always been a tough region for me to love, and this was another example of a wine that is well made, but just doesn't hit the spot for me. At the end of the day, this just didn't have the levels of acidity I look for in wine.
Another brilliant showing. A bit of dill on the nose with beautiful dried roses, some earth, and cherries. Textbook rioja aromas! The palate was airy and layered. Deep rose and cherry tones with beautiful earthy and brown sugar notes. Awesome wine.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Took a bit for the aroma to build in complexity. Showed a very ripe and one-noted nose at first with mostly black fruit. After some air, it took on some damp earth notes and some nice floral notes. Palate was delicious...a darker profile than some other Fourrier's I've had...but still delicious!
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Beautiful, layered, and complex. Nice combination of rich fruits, great acidity, and airy floral notes. I was prepared to find a brawny/meaty/masculine wine here, but this was far more elegant than I expected. Great stuff.
Certainly an off-year in the Northern Rhone, but Chave pulled off the impossible. Elegant, perfumed, layered and complex. This wasn't a powerful Chave (like the 1998, 2000, 2005, etc) but I thought this was a special bottle of syrah. Yum.
Drank blind, I would have guessed this was a late-90s Bordeaux. The concentration and power of the fruit on the palate caught me off guard and I didn't find the aged BDX characteristics that I was hoping to find. The fruit and floral notes were nice and deep, just didn't have that second gear.
Glad that this was my last bottle. The four bottles I had have been frustrating...the aromas have usually been awesome and on point. Sadly, the palate's have been, well, just boring. Not a ton of character. ugh.
A very good showing. Lots of firm lemon and lime tones with some lovely floral undertones. Great acidity and grip to the palate too - to me this is the wine's trademark. Will need to head over to Reims to buy some more!
Lovely copper color in the glass with hints of spice, molasses, violets, and wet pennies. Palate was rich and complex with great balance and incredibly depth. The floral and fruit notes really meshed well here. Beautiful!
1996 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Comtesse Marie de France 89 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Seemed advanced for its age. The fruit was soft and supple with mostly pear and apple tones. Interesting layers of yeasty and bready notes with some soft florals. What this didn't have was a edge and firmness that a lot of 1996s still have. Regardless, I still thought this was quite good.
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1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rosalack Auslese 91 Points
Germany, Rheingau
A beautiful copper color to this wine. Sweet peachy tones with some petrichor and white floral tones. Still has nice grip and complexity. Yum.
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2012 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese 93 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Similiar to my previous note, this bottle just oozes tropical/exotic fruits. Peach, tangerine, lots of minerality, and layers of floral notes. Definitely has that boisterous GH character to it.
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2012 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers 85 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
White Northern Rhone has always been a tough region for me to love, and this was another example of a wine that is well made, but just doesn't hit the spot for me. At the end of the day, this just didn't have the levels of acidity I look for in wine.
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1981 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 94 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Another brilliant showing. A bit of dill on the nose with beautiful dried roses, some earth, and cherries. Textbook rioja aromas! The palate was airy and layered. Deep rose and cherry tones with beautiful earthy and brown sugar notes. Awesome wine.
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1997 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Took a bit for the aroma to build in complexity. Showed a very ripe and one-noted nose at first with mostly black fruit. After some air, it took on some damp earth notes and some nice floral notes. Palate was delicious...a darker profile than some other Fourrier's I've had...but still delicious!
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1995 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Mazy-Chambertin
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tight as a drum and a bit anonymous at this point.
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2000 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Beautiful, layered, and complex. Nice combination of rich fruits, great acidity, and airy floral notes. I was prepared to find a brawny/meaty/masculine wine here, but this was far more elegant than I expected. Great stuff.
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1995 Georges Noellat Echezeaux Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
off bottle.
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2002 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Certainly an off-year in the Northern Rhone, but Chave pulled off the impossible. Elegant, perfumed, layered and complex. This wasn't a powerful Chave (like the 1998, 2000, 2005, etc) but I thought this was a special bottle of syrah. Yum.
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1982 Château Léoville Las Cases 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Drank blind, I would have guessed this was a late-90s Bordeaux. The concentration and power of the fruit on the palate caught me off guard and I didn't find the aged BDX characteristics that I was hoping to find. The fruit and floral notes were nice and deep, just didn't have that second gear.
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1998 Domaine de Vallouit Hermitage Cuvée Spéciale Les Greffières
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Glad that this was my last bottle. The four bottles I had have been frustrating...the aromas have usually been awesome and on point. Sadly, the palate's have been, well, just boring. Not a ton of character. ugh.
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2011 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Chardonnay Arbois Pupillin 92 Points
France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
A very good showing. Lots of firm lemon and lime tones with some lovely floral undertones. Great acidity and grip to the palate too - to me this is the wine's trademark. Will need to head over to Reims to buy some more!
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1987 Artur de Barros e Sousa (ABSL) Madeira Malvasia 93 Points
Portugal, Madeira
Lovely copper color in the glass with hints of spice, molasses, violets, and wet pennies. Palate was rich and complex with great balance and incredibly depth. The floral and fruit notes really meshed well here. Beautiful!
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