Served double blind. The nose here was a bit aromatic, with some nice sweet green herbal notes. I thought this could have been an aromatic white for a moment, but the palate had acidity that was just classic chardonnay. A very light touch, with not too much oak or malo. Given that the fruit was a bit riper than I'd have expected from white Burgundy, I got as far as calling this new world chardonnay.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Somehow, this bottle really wasn't doing it for me. When opened, I was almost slightly afraid that this was suffering from the initial stages of the pox; fortunately, that was not the case. On the other hand, this didn't have any of the steeliness or flintiness that I expected; it was hefty, to be sure, with a bit of flabbiness that I didn't really like. The finish showed a little alcoholic, too.
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
Served double blind. Called Muscadet immediately. Sometimes it is that obvious. The nose has a slight touch of green, as well as some hay and a touch of minerality and yellow fruit. The palate shows some clear lees texture, isn't too complex, but has great minerality and rounded acidity. All in all, a benchmark of the region.
Served double blind. Bruised fruit tends to be acceptable on oxidative wines like champagne, but this is beyond bruised apples. These apples have gone bad. The palate is utterly devoid of acid and slightly sweet. I wasn't even sure if this wine was correct, but guessed white Rhone anyway, since it did show the expected hallmarks. But man, this bottle was gross. Kill it with fire.
This had everyone all over the map, and I suppose it's because this is dolcetto unlike the regular plonk. Red fruited, light, and gorgeous, with a slight bit of herbaceousness. The palate shows some delicate and sweet red fruit, with ample acidity. It's not too complex a wine -- good red table wine.
Served double blind. As with the previous bottle of 2013 Cappellano Dolcetto, this threw us all in a tizzy. The nose was a little spicy, and showed lots of lovely sweet red fruit. Juicy and fruity on the palate as well, with very subdued oak influence (if there was any at all). I wasn't able to place this anywhere at all.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Served double blind. The colour was very light, but this was starting to brown at the edges, so I figured this was a 10-15 year-old wine. The nose showed a bit of dirtiness, as well as a nice perfumed red-fruited note, but it was also affected by a bit of higher alcohol. That alcohol showed on the palate as well; the tannins were exceedingly grippy, and I ended up guessing this was a Piedmont wine.
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Served double blind. The nose wasn't very good on this; it was very volatile and showed some red wine vinegar notes. But the palate, wow: silky and elegant, sweet but balanced with acidity. Notes of dried figs and raisins, but nothing cloying or heavy; and clocking in at a relatively lightweight 15%. One taste of this had everyone going to Amarone immediately; I have always wondered if these wines were worth the tariff; I'm still not sure if it is, but I can't deny this was an incredible experience.
Served double blind. I really didn't like this; this had what Tim called a bugspray quality on the nose (to me, it was just super confected red fruit). The palate has much of that sickeningly sweet character, with grippy and almost unripe green tannins. It was pretty easy to get to new world GSM with this wine, but I certainly didn't think it was a good drink.
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. There's a fairly nice polish about the black fruit here, once you get past a bit of volatility on the nose. The palate is really chewy and dense with tannin, but the fruit character here is very true to form. I guessed that this was the 2006 vintage, based on the denser, black fruit and bigger structure. In hindsight, I was quite surprised that this "modernist" producer's wine did not show as much overt oak as I would have feared.
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. This showed surprisingly stewy and ripe for a 2008; I had this guessed as either a 2007 or 2000. There was a bit too much balsamic on the nose, but that was made up for by a riper and very accessible palate. A very fleshy Barolo that is more open for business than it really ought to be.
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. There's a slight bit of coconut here (though others tonight didn't seem to pick up on it -- perhaps, with the horrid 2012 that I recently had still on my mind, this was the result of a bit of unconscious bias). But no matter what, this is not a very good Barolo; in fact, this shows some of those slick modernist touches, despite Aldo Conterno being a reasonably traditional producer. Black fruited and sweet, but with really chewy tannins.
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. Probably the best of the Monforte flight, but with most of the wines mostly average, it didn't take too much for this to stand out. The nose and palate are fairly resolved, with a slight touch of black cherry ice cream. Surprisingly dark for a 2004, there wasn't much that stood out to me here -- this was a good, if unexciting Barolo.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Served double blind. "Definitely not Meo-Camuzet," I said. Whoops. I suppose this came off much more red-fruited and not as spicy as I expect the producer to be; on the other hand, once told of my comically precise error, I nailed the vineyard (though I had guessed 2008 on the basis of the lovely crunchy red fruits). It seems this wine hasn't quite shut down yet, and there's still some really nice red-fruited perfume here. There's an iron-like minerality on the palate that couples nicely with the fresh acidity. This is still a tad chewy.
Served double blind, and immediately identified as Bordelet Poire, though I didn't make a distinction of which one. This was very easy to drink, pleasant and refreshing, and with a very clear taste of ripe pears. Perhaps this isn't as concentrated or sweet as the Granite.
Served double blind. The nose on this was really bright, and with a slight touch of confection, I actually thought this was new world pinot, in the vein of Ceritas or the like. The fruit here was surprisingly crunchy, and those warnings of 2009 being super ripe and fleshy don't seem to be borne out here. The palate shows grippy, and slightly stemmy tannins, but the most surprising thing about this was how crispy it was: this isn't something that I generally associate with the d'Angerville wines. This was popped and poured; no doubt it would have done a lot better with more air.
2011 Cameron Chardonnay Blanc Abbey Ridge 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Served double blind. The nose here was a bit aromatic, with some nice sweet green herbal notes. I thought this could have been an aromatic white for a moment, but the palate had acidity that was just classic chardonnay. A very light touch, with not too much oak or malo. Given that the fruit was a bit riper than I'd have expected from white Burgundy, I got as far as calling this new world chardonnay.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2013 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Somehow, this bottle really wasn't doing it for me. When opened, I was almost slightly afraid that this was suffering from the initial stages of the pox; fortunately, that was not the case. On the other hand, this didn't have any of the steeliness or flintiness that I expected; it was hefty, to be sure, with a bit of flabbiness that I didn't really like. The finish showed a little alcoholic, too.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2013 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Clisson 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
Served double blind. Called Muscadet immediately. Sometimes it is that obvious. The nose has a slight touch of green, as well as some hay and a touch of minerality and yellow fruit. The palate shows some clear lees texture, isn't too complex, but has great minerality and rounded acidity. All in all, a benchmark of the region.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2002 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 60 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Served double blind. Bruised fruit tends to be acceptable on oxidative wines like champagne, but this is beyond bruised apples. These apples have gone bad. The palate is utterly devoid of acid and slightly sweet. I wasn't even sure if this wine was correct, but guessed white Rhone anyway, since it did show the expected hallmarks. But man, this bottle was gross. Kill it with fire.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2013 Cappellano Dolcetto d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba
This had everyone all over the map, and I suppose it's because this is dolcetto unlike the regular plonk. Red fruited, light, and gorgeous, with a slight bit of herbaceousness. The palate shows some delicate and sweet red fruit, with ample acidity. It's not too complex a wine -- good red table wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2010 Bartolo Mascarello Dolcetto d'Alba Vigne Monrobiolo - Ruè 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba
Served double blind. As with the previous bottle of 2013 Cappellano Dolcetto, this threw us all in a tizzy. The nose was a little spicy, and showed lots of lovely sweet red fruit. Juicy and fruity on the palate as well, with very subdued oak influence (if there was any at all). I wasn't able to place this anywhere at all.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Collemattoni Brunello di Montalcino 88 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Served double blind. The colour was very light, but this was starting to brown at the edges, so I figured this was a 10-15 year-old wine. The nose showed a bit of dirtiness, as well as a nice perfumed red-fruited note, but it was also affected by a bit of higher alcohol. That alcohol showed on the palate as well; the tannins were exceedingly grippy, and I ended up guessing this was a Piedmont wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1995 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 95 Points
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Served double blind. The nose wasn't very good on this; it was very volatile and showed some red wine vinegar notes. But the palate, wow: silky and elegant, sweet but balanced with acidity. Notes of dried figs and raisins, but nothing cloying or heavy; and clocking in at a relatively lightweight 15%. One taste of this had everyone going to Amarone immediately; I have always wondered if these wines were worth the tariff; I'm still not sure if it is, but I can't deny this was an incredible experience.
Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Jemrose Grenache Foggy Knoll 70 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
Served double blind. I really didn't like this; this had what Tim called a bugspray quality on the nose (to me, it was just super confected red fruit). The palate has much of that sickeningly sweet character, with grippy and almost unripe green tannins. It was pretty easy to get to new world GSM with this wine, but I certainly didn't think it was a good drink.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2006 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. There's a fairly nice polish about the black fruit here, once you get past a bit of volatility on the nose. The palate is really chewy and dense with tannin, but the fruit character here is very true to form. I guessed that this was the 2006 vintage, based on the denser, black fruit and bigger structure. In hindsight, I was quite surprised that this "modernist" producer's wine did not show as much overt oak as I would have feared.
Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2008 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. This showed surprisingly stewy and ripe for a 2008; I had this guessed as either a 2007 or 2000. There was a bit too much balsamic on the nose, but that was made up for by a riper and very accessible palate. A very fleshy Barolo that is more open for business than it really ought to be.
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2011 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. There's a slight bit of coconut here (though others tonight didn't seem to pick up on it -- perhaps, with the horrid 2012 that I recently had still on my mind, this was the result of a bit of unconscious bias). But no matter what, this is not a very good Barolo; in fact, this shows some of those slick modernist touches, despite Aldo Conterno being a reasonably traditional producer. Black fruited and sweet, but with really chewy tannins.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served blind in a flight of Monforte with a focus on Aldo Conterno. Probably the best of the Monforte flight, but with most of the wines mostly average, it didn't take too much for this to stand out. The nose and palate are fairly resolved, with a slight touch of black cherry ice cream. Surprisingly dark for a 2004, there wasn't much that stood out to me here -- this was a good, if unexciting Barolo.
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2010 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Served double blind. "Definitely not Meo-Camuzet," I said. Whoops. I suppose this came off much more red-fruited and not as spicy as I expect the producer to be; on the other hand, once told of my comically precise error, I nailed the vineyard (though I had guessed 2008 on the basis of the lovely crunchy red fruits). It seems this wine hasn't quite shut down yet, and there's still some really nice red-fruited perfume here. There's an iron-like minerality on the palate that couples nicely with the fresh acidity. This is still a tad chewy.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
NV Eric Bordelet Poiré Authentique 93 Points
France, Normandy
Served double blind, and immediately identified as Bordelet Poire, though I didn't make a distinction of which one. This was very easy to drink, pleasant and refreshing, and with a very clear taste of ripe pears. Perhaps this isn't as concentrated or sweet as the Granite.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Served double blind. The nose on this was really bright, and with a slight touch of confection, I actually thought this was new world pinot, in the vein of Ceritas or the like. The fruit here was surprisingly crunchy, and those warnings of 2009 being super ripe and fleshy don't seem to be borne out here. The palate shows grippy, and slightly stemmy tannins, but the most surprising thing about this was how crispy it was: this isn't something that I generally associate with the d'Angerville wines. This was popped and poured; no doubt it would have done a lot better with more air.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue