Drinking quite nicely right now, if it is a little burly. The nose veers a little red-fruited, but the palate has a fairly large frame. There's a touch of oak, but it's not distracting. Delicious nonetheless, thanks to the red fruit and fresh acids. Time will help this wine uncoil.
Beautifully floral and elegant, but there is so much hidden power behind that delicate frame. The palate has a lot of material, but it is always clothed in this elegant delicacy. Ample fruit and spice here, but none of it is ever in your face.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Very dense, black-frutied wine, that is a wall of tannin right now. Immense power and extract, but it's still not giving very much. Probably best not to approach these now, but I also think that this will vastly improve with time.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Just too closed right now. Heaps of tannin and some acid, with the fruit mostly missing. Too chewy, to the point of chalkiness. From what I could make out, there's some stuff in there that could emerge, but right now, this is wholly unapproachable.
An excellent edition of this wine; this is probably one of the lighter and more accessible versions that I've had. Beautiful fruit, most of which actually feels more red than black! The finish clamps up though, with its dense and heavy tannins.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
From a plot right next to Rayas, I'm told. A very, very good CdP indeed. This is a clean wine, with tons of ripe fruit, but it's all held together in a really restrained way, in that it never gets overly sweet or jammy. Obviously young, the tannins at this point are a real chew. But this is amazing for what it lacks: oak.
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
A beautiful nose of cedar, dried herbs, and some classic old cabernet flavours as well. The palate still has generous tannin, but this bottle shows beautiful secondary characteristics. A bit of dried figs and dates, a bit of salinity, earth, pretty much all the good things. What an incredible bottle of wine!
Still young and grapey. Red fruited and fairly light on the nose. The palate isn't the most complex, but it is well balanced with the fruit and acids. The tannins are still obviously a bit on the chewy side. Not really worth opening now.
A decent bottle of Lascombes, that doesn't show too much polish. But polish it does have, and that really detracts from my overall enjoyment here. Lots of dark fruit, and a bit too much vanilla and cherry ice cream on the palate for my liking. It's not as overoaked as the terrible 2005, though, or the fruit in this vintage has helped absorb the oak better.
I love this estate, but this version of the wine is but a weedy wreck. It's thin and emaciated, with just a whole lot of acid and tannin. The finish has an unpleasant drying sensation. Where happened here? There's only upside to aging this, because it's pretty bad right now.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Huh? Served blind, I'm not sure I'd call this Bordeaux. A lot of coffee on the nose, as well as oak notes, and although the fruit has a very strong sensation of being candied, this wine isn't sweet at all. Odd and atypical.
Yay, more 164eme! It's pretty much consistent with my previous notes; this is a wine that shows far more white acidity than one would expect in a Krug. It's fresher, leaner, and more mineral, and doesn't have as much of those oxidative, apple, and nutty flavours. It's great as a wine, but as a Grande Cuvee, I'm not as convinced.
This is just a mean and tart bottle of champagne right now. It feels a lot like the 2004 when it was released; there was just a lot of steely acid. It's sort of like eating a raw cranberry... just bracingly acidic right now. I imagine, like the 2004, this will get better once it has some time to integrate, but it's not in a good place right now.
A fairly nice dry riesling, done with a lighter touch, which gives it a nice acidic lift, with some green apples and herbal components. The palate has a generous amount of extract, but never gets heavy. In fact, this is quite crisp and (relatively speaking) light.
Compared to the 2015, this was a little leaner, with more white fruit than yellow. There is a bit of tart pineapple here to blend with the high-toned Sharpie marker aroma. The palate, too, has a bit of an aldehydic tinge to it; I personally preferred the 2015 edition.
Compared to the Loibenberg, this is a bit of a simpler wine. It's got a nice white cherry component, with an intense vein of acidity. On the other hand, it's just not too complex of a dry riesling, with a little bit of a hollow middle.
I liked this more than the Schuett; I found this a much more complete wine, with more fruit components on the palate, that helped counterbalance the high acids here. There is a little bit of a citric component to this wine that I quite enjoyed.
I preferred the fleshier 2015 to this vintage. Like the 2012 Selektion, I thought that this had a really distracting aldehydic quality. But there was also some nice balance between fruit and acid. This never got waxy or heavy though.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
A very poor showing of this wine. Overly reduced and quite unpleasant in that respect. Out of balance, this just showed way too much acid. I wrote, in my original handwritten note, "reduced af".
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
I liked, but did not love this wine. In hindsight, I am very pleased to have reduced my purchases for the heady 2015 vintage. The ripeness shows. There's a bit of oak and reduction on the nose that are typical of Boillot. This edition lacks a lot of the linearity that I want in Puligny, and trades it for fat.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Really oaky, with a moderate amount of reduction. One of the more balanced white Burgundies at the table tonight. Lots of that racy 2013 acidity, but there's a lot of fat and oak for that acidity to cut through. I'm not sure it adequately does the job, leading to a wine that has a lot of everything but feels slightly out of balance (ungainly, perhaps, is the better way to describe it). All that said, I still love moderately reduced, oaky chardonnay.
A really honest chardonnay; this has no pretensions about what it is, nor does it try to be something else. It's simple in its profile, with lean citrus tones and the requisite chalky minerality. It's got a lovely balance between the acid and a fuller fruited profile. Lean, but not bracingly acidic.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
An incredibly large-scaled chardonnay, that manages to wear its opulence fairly well, thanks to a bit of flintiness on the nose and some sour apple flavours on the palate. On the other hand, the fat fruit seems to be quite prominent and I don't know if that's a characteristic I necessarily want for the long haul.
From half bottle. Didn't catch the AP number on this one. This is an incredible sweet wine. It doesn't quite have the acidity to stand up to the sugar, but that's replaced by some insane mineral extract instead, almost serving to act as tannin to restrain the sweetness. Fairly exotic on the palate as well.
2013 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Drinking quite nicely right now, if it is a little burly. The nose veers a little red-fruited, but the palate has a fairly large frame. There's a touch of oak, but it's not distracting. Delicious nonetheless, thanks to the red fruit and fresh acids. Time will help this wine uncoil.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2010 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Vosne-Romanée 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
Beautifully floral and elegant, but there is so much hidden power behind that delicate frame. The palate has a lot of material, but it is always clothed in this elegant delicacy. Ample fruit and spice here, but none of it is ever in your face.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Very dense, black-frutied wine, that is a wall of tannin right now. Immense power and extract, but it's still not giving very much. Probably best not to approach these now, but I also think that this will vastly improve with time.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2005 Chanson Père & Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Just too closed right now. Heaps of tannin and some acid, with the fruit mostly missing. Too chewy, to the point of chalkiness. From what I could make out, there's some stuff in there that could emerge, but right now, this is wholly unapproachable.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
An excellent edition of this wine; this is probably one of the lighter and more accessible versions that I've had. Beautiful fruit, most of which actually feels more red than black! The finish clamps up though, with its dense and heavy tannins.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pure Rouge 90 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
From a plot right next to Rayas, I'm told. A very, very good CdP indeed. This is a clean wine, with tons of ripe fruit, but it's all held together in a really restrained way, in that it never gets overly sweet or jammy. Obviously young, the tannins at this point are a real chew. But this is amazing for what it lacks: oak.
Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1985 Mas de Daumas Gassac 95 Points
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
A beautiful nose of cedar, dried herbs, and some classic old cabernet flavours as well. The palate still has generous tannin, but this bottle shows beautiful secondary characteristics. A bit of dried figs and dates, a bit of salinity, earth, pretty much all the good things. What an incredible bottle of wine!
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2013 Château Clinet 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Still young and grapey. Red fruited and fairly light on the nose. The palate isn't the most complex, but it is well balanced with the fruit and acids. The tannins are still obviously a bit on the chewy side. Not really worth opening now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Lascombes 85 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
A decent bottle of Lascombes, that doesn't show too much polish. But polish it does have, and that really detracts from my overall enjoyment here. Lots of dark fruit, and a bit too much vanilla and cherry ice cream on the palate for my liking. It's not as overoaked as the terrible 2005, though, or the fruit in this vintage has helped absorb the oak better.
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2005 Château Léoville Barton 83 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
I love this estate, but this version of the wine is but a weedy wreck. It's thin and emaciated, with just a whole lot of acid and tannin. The finish has an unpleasant drying sensation. Where happened here? There's only upside to aging this, because it's pretty bad right now.
Read 4 Comments / Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2012 Tertre Rôteboeuf 83 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Huh? Served blind, I'm not sure I'd call this Bordeaux. A lot of coffee on the nose, as well as oak notes, and although the fruit has a very strong sensation of being candied, this wine isn't sweet at all. Odd and atypical.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 164eme 93 Points
France, Champagne
Yay, more 164eme! It's pretty much consistent with my previous notes; this is a wine that shows far more white acidity than one would expect in a Krug. It's fresher, leaner, and more mineral, and doesn't have as much of those oxidative, apple, and nutty flavours. It's great as a wine, but as a Grande Cuvee, I'm not as convinced.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2005 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé 88 Points
France, Champagne
This is just a mean and tart bottle of champagne right now. It feels a lot like the 2004 when it was released; there was just a lot of steely acid. It's sort of like eating a raw cranberry... just bracingly acidic right now. I imagine, like the 2004, this will get better once it has some time to integrate, but it's not in a good place right now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Weingut Knoll Riesling Selektion Pfaffenberg 90 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal
A fairly nice dry riesling, done with a lighter touch, which gives it a nice acidic lift, with some green apples and herbal components. The palate has a generous amount of extract, but never gets heavy. In fact, this is quite crisp and (relatively speaking) light.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2012 Weingut Knoll Riesling Selektion Pfaffenberg 88 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal
Compared to the 2015, this was a little leaner, with more white fruit than yellow. There is a bit of tart pineapple here to blend with the high-toned Sharpie marker aroma. The palate, too, has a bit of an aldehydic tinge to it; I personally preferred the 2015 edition.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Ried Schütt 88 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Compared to the Loibenberg, this is a bit of a simpler wine. It's got a nice white cherry component, with an intense vein of acidity. On the other hand, it's just not too complex of a dry riesling, with a little bit of a hollow middle.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg 90 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
I liked this more than the Schuett; I found this a much more complete wine, with more fruit components on the palate, that helped counterbalance the high acids here. There is a little bit of a citric component to this wine that I quite enjoyed.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2012 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg 88 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
I preferred the fleshier 2015 to this vintage. Like the 2012 Selektion, I thought that this had a really distracting aldehydic quality. But there was also some nice balance between fruit and acid. This never got waxy or heavy though.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ancegnières 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
A very poor showing of this wine. Overly reduced and quite unpleasant in that respect. Out of balance, this just showed way too much acid. I wrote, in my original handwritten note, "reduced af".
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
I liked, but did not love this wine. In hindsight, I am very pleased to have reduced my purchases for the heady 2015 vintage. The ripeness shows. There's a bit of oak and reduction on the nose that are typical of Boillot. This edition lacks a lot of the linearity that I want in Puligny, and trades it for fat.
Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2013 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Really oaky, with a moderate amount of reduction. One of the more balanced white Burgundies at the table tonight. Lots of that racy 2013 acidity, but there's a lot of fat and oak for that acidity to cut through. I'm not sure it adequately does the job, leading to a wine that has a lot of everything but feels slightly out of balance (ungainly, perhaps, is the better way to describe it). All that said, I still love moderately reduced, oaky chardonnay.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2014 Domaine des Malandes Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
A really honest chardonnay; this has no pretensions about what it is, nor does it try to be something else. It's simple in its profile, with lean citrus tones and the requisite chalky minerality. It's got a lovely balance between the acid and a fuller fruited profile. Lean, but not bracingly acidic.
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2015 Domaine Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
An incredibly large-scaled chardonnay, that manages to wear its opulence fairly well, thanks to a bit of flintiness on the nose and some sour apple flavours on the palate. On the other hand, the fat fruit seems to be quite prominent and I don't know if that's a characteristic I necessarily want for the long haul.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2005 Weingut Keller Westhofener Morstein Riesling Auslese *** 95 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
From half bottle. Didn't catch the AP number on this one. This is an incredible sweet wine. It doesn't quite have the acidity to stand up to the sugar, but that's replaced by some insane mineral extract instead, almost serving to act as tannin to restrain the sweetness. Fairly exotic on the palate as well.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue