Nose: The nose is fragrant and fresh with apples, pears, mineral tones, hazelnuts, biscuits, and a wisp of smoke. There is excellent depth with a pristine quality to it as well.
Taste: Medium bodied with high acidity. The acidity is balanced and refreshing with apples, minerals, hazelnuts, biscuits, and some smoke notes.
Overall: This is an excellent Blanc de Blancs. There is good balance and poise across the nose and palate while still showing freshness and verve.
Nose: The nose is balanced yet yeasty with warm dough, biscuits, red apples, red berries, yellow florals, and some quince. There is good depth with this showing off a lot of baking and lees notes.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity. The acidity is refreshing and balanced while the feel is robust and backed up with red apples, quince, yellow florals, warm dough, and brioche notes.
Overall: This was from a recent disgorgement, but I wasn't able to write it down. It is well balanced with a lot of lees-driven tones. This is beautifully consistent and always enjoyable.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Nose: The nose is robust and balanced with red apples, vanilla, pears, yoghurt, smoke, and reductive notes. There is excellent depth that shows off quality of the wine.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity. The acidity is crisp and balanced with the feel showing poise along with red apples, vanilla, pears, and yoghurt.
Overall: Getting to Chardonnay wasn't too hard with this. The acidity gave away that it was Burgundy, but this is from a warmer vintage. It is drinking beautifully and is extremely enjoyable right now.
Nose: The nose shows off a lot of reduction with smoke, matchstick, roasted nuts, toast, vanilla, and red apples. There is good depth, but the reduction wouldn't pull back.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity. The acidity is balanced and the feel shows off a richer side with smoke notes, roasted nuts, toast, and red apples.
Overall: This felt like a California Chardonnay and it was. But, the reduction just wouldn't blow off after the reveal and was just stubborn like that. I hope that's just a one-off and that future bottles don't show this reduction.
Nose: The nose is aromatic and favoring the upper-register with pears, green apples, white peaches, minerals, white fruits, and some toast.
Taste: Light bodied with high acidity. The acidity is nearly piercing, but still stays refreshing. While the feel is light, the malo pokes its head with a little bit of creaminess along with pears, green apples, white peaches, and toast notes.
Overall: This is a spot-on Albarino. This was my bottle and it confused a lot of people, but it showed perfectly with racy acidity and fragrant aromas.
Nose: The nose shows a riper side with dark red cherries, pepper notes, dark red berries, spice tones, and a hint of black raspberries. This is a very upfront nose and while friendly, it's lacking some charm.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The structure is fairly resolved with the feel showing an upfront quality along with dark red cherries, pepper, black raspberries, violets, and licorice.
Overall: This did feel like a burgundy, but it didn't feel classic. It was friendly and upfront, but it lacked some depth across the nose and palate.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Nose: The nose is nuanced and perfumed with red cherries, earth tones, violets, spice tones, and dark red berries. There is good concentration to the fruit still and while the nose is open, it's still very youthful.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ tannins and medium+ acidity. The tannins feel like they are starting to pull back, but are also showing some real youth. There is class to the feel with red cherries, earth tones, violets, and leather notes.
Overall: This is still very primary. It was clearly a red burgundy, it was more a matter of getting the vintage. This is deceptively drinking as there is a lot of high quality fruit in it that is showing right now, but, it can develop so much more and present a lot of different facets.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Nose: The nose is robust and balanced with dark red cherries, violets, earth tones, plums, raspberries, and smokey notes. This shows off good purity and balance with good depth to boot.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity medium+ tannins. The tannins are quite youthful and are on the chewy side. The feel is well balanced along with dark red cherries, earth tones, plums, and raspberries.
Overall: While this can be drunk now, it's still extremely young. There is certainly room for development over the next 3-5 years and the materials are there for this to get better.
Nose: The nose is open, expressive, and classic Bordeaux with tobacco, red cherries, mint, red florals, red berries, spice box, and some leather. The nose is well balanced with excellent depth with it having a seamless quality as well.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. While the structure is starting to resolve, the tannins still have a firmness to them. The feel is refined and balanced with tobacco, red cherries, red florals, spice box tones, and red berries.
Overall: This is a beautiful Bordeaux. It's just starting to fully drink and feels like it can still hit another gear. This is a classy and elegant wine and Brane is routinely a favorite of mine because of that.
Nose: The nose is raw and powerful with dark red cherries, cranberries, pencil lead, bitter chocolate, tobacco, leather, spice box, and cedar notes. Even now, it is still somewhat tight, but shows off what is a deep and top notch Bordeaux.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and high tannins. The tannins are still taught and youthful while the feel has some power behind it along with dark red cherries, cranberries, pencil lead, leather, cedar, and spice box notes.
Overall: This is still nascent. But, everything is there for this to be something quite special in another 8-10 years.
Nose: The nose is red fruited, yet savory, with roasted herbs, red cherries, incense, licorice, earth tones, plums, and raspberries. There is excellent depth with this really showing off the savoriness that Sangiovese can be.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The structure still shows some youth with the tannins being noticeable, but they are silky as well. The feels is refined, savory, and balanced with roasted herbs, red cherries, licorice, earth tones, raspberries, and some leather.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully. It's well balanced and aromatic with a real savory take on both the nose and palate.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Nose: The nose is tightly coiled, but still reveals red cherries, earth tones, cranberries, red berries, tobacco, spice, and smoke notes. There is good depth, but it only shows itself in glimpses.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are still showing serious youth while the feel is refined with red cherries, earth tones, cranberries, tobacco, and some smoke.
Overall: This still isn't ready for primetime. It did flash some of its class and possibilities, but it didn't feel like it fully wanted to play.
Nose: The nose is savory and raw with white and black pepper, black cherries, raspberries, spice tones, violets, charcoal, and smoke notes.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are taught and youthful while the feel has a larger quality, but it's balanced with white and black pepper, black cherries, raspberries, charcoal, and smoke.
Overall: This is a fantastic, young Saint-Joseph. It is deceptively drinking right now, but it does feel like it could use 3-5+ years to really benefit itself.
Nose: The nose is fragrant and balanced with herbs, red cherries, roses, tobacco, vegetables, earth tones, and a touch of bubblegum. There is good depth and the nose is expressive.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are silky, though a bit youthful and taught with the feel showing excellent balance with herbs, red cherries, roses, tobacco, vegetable notes, and a touch of earth.
Overall: This is a young and lovely Chinon. It favors elegance and perfume and possesses excellent depth on the nose and palate. While it is lovely now, it could well use 5+ years to really show off what it has.
Nose: The nose is completely driven by the alcohol and extraction. So much so, that it is difficult to get past it, but there are tones of liqueur, black fruits, hot tar, and black cherries. It is hard to even remotely say that this is grenache, or any grape for that matter, just by the nose.
Taste: Full bodied with medium- acidity and medium- tannins. The feel is rich, bold, but flabby and overdone. Yet again, it shows a good amount of alcohol on the palate and that is driving it. There are some tones of black cherries, liqueur, and hot tar, but they're all wrapped up in an alcoholic note.
Overall: This is a mess. It's purely driven by its alcohol and extraction and there is little actual fruit there. It's hard to say if it's over the hill or just bad. Still, this is what was in front of me and it wasn't enjoyable.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nose: The nose is robust, yet aromatic with black cherries, mesquite, white pepper, leather, licorice, and black raspberries. There is excellent depth with a funky savoriness to it.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are silky and mature with black cherries, mesquite, white pepper, licorice, and black raspberries.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully. It has a savory and classic profile with everything just seeming to be perfectly in place.
2002 Union Champagne de Saint Gall Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Orpale Blanc de Blancs 91 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Nose: The nose is fragrant and fresh with apples, pears, mineral tones, hazelnuts, biscuits, and a wisp of smoke. There is excellent depth with a pristine quality to it as well.
Taste: Medium bodied with high acidity. The acidity is balanced and refreshing with apples, minerals, hazelnuts, biscuits, and some smoke notes.
Overall: This is an excellent Blanc de Blancs. There is good balance and poise across the nose and palate while still showing freshness and verve.
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NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne 89 Points
France, Champagne
Nose: The nose is balanced yet yeasty with warm dough, biscuits, red apples, red berries, yellow florals, and some quince. There is good depth with this showing off a lot of baking and lees notes.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity. The acidity is refreshing and balanced while the feel is robust and backed up with red apples, quince, yellow florals, warm dough, and brioche notes.
Overall: This was from a recent disgorgement, but I wasn't able to write it down. It is well balanced with a lot of lees-driven tones. This is beautifully consistent and always enjoyable.
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2009 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Nose: The nose is robust and balanced with red apples, vanilla, pears, yoghurt, smoke, and reductive notes. There is excellent depth that shows off quality of the wine.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity. The acidity is crisp and balanced with the feel showing poise along with red apples, vanilla, pears, and yoghurt.
Overall: Getting to Chardonnay wasn't too hard with this. The acidity gave away that it was Burgundy, but this is from a warmer vintage. It is drinking beautifully and is extremely enjoyable right now.
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2009 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard 87 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose: The nose shows off a lot of reduction with smoke, matchstick, roasted nuts, toast, vanilla, and red apples. There is good depth, but the reduction wouldn't pull back.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity. The acidity is balanced and the feel shows off a richer side with smoke notes, roasted nuts, toast, and red apples.
Overall: This felt like a California Chardonnay and it was. But, the reduction just wouldn't blow off after the reveal and was just stubborn like that. I hope that's just a one-off and that future bottles don't show this reduction.
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2013 Nanclares y Prieto Albariño 90 Points
Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas
Nose: The nose is aromatic and favoring the upper-register with pears, green apples, white peaches, minerals, white fruits, and some toast.
Taste: Light bodied with high acidity. The acidity is nearly piercing, but still stays refreshing. While the feel is light, the malo pokes its head with a little bit of creaminess along with pears, green apples, white peaches, and toast notes.
Overall: This is a spot-on Albarino. This was my bottle and it confused a lot of people, but it showed perfectly with racy acidity and fragrant aromas.
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1997 Domaine Anne Gros Vosne-Romanée Les Barreaux 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
Nose: The nose shows a riper side with dark red cherries, pepper notes, dark red berries, spice tones, and a hint of black raspberries. This is a very upfront nose and while friendly, it's lacking some charm.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The structure is fairly resolved with the feel showing an upfront quality along with dark red cherries, pepper, black raspberries, violets, and licorice.
Overall: This did feel like a burgundy, but it didn't feel classic. It was friendly and upfront, but it lacked some depth across the nose and palate.
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2005 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Nose: The nose is nuanced and perfumed with red cherries, earth tones, violets, spice tones, and dark red berries. There is good concentration to the fruit still and while the nose is open, it's still very youthful.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ tannins and medium+ acidity. The tannins feel like they are starting to pull back, but are also showing some real youth. There is class to the feel with red cherries, earth tones, violets, and leather notes.
Overall: This is still very primary. It was clearly a red burgundy, it was more a matter of getting the vintage. This is deceptively drinking as there is a lot of high quality fruit in it that is showing right now, but, it can develop so much more and present a lot of different facets.
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2010 Maison Champy Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Nose: The nose is robust and balanced with dark red cherries, violets, earth tones, plums, raspberries, and smokey notes. This shows off good purity and balance with good depth to boot.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity medium+ tannins. The tannins are quite youthful and are on the chewy side. The feel is well balanced along with dark red cherries, earth tones, plums, and raspberries.
Overall: While this can be drunk now, it's still extremely young. There is certainly room for development over the next 3-5 years and the materials are there for this to get better.
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2000 Château Brane-Cantenac 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Nose: The nose is open, expressive, and classic Bordeaux with tobacco, red cherries, mint, red florals, red berries, spice box, and some leather. The nose is well balanced with excellent depth with it having a seamless quality as well.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. While the structure is starting to resolve, the tannins still have a firmness to them. The feel is refined and balanced with tobacco, red cherries, red florals, spice box tones, and red berries.
Overall: This is a beautiful Bordeaux. It's just starting to fully drink and feels like it can still hit another gear. This is a classy and elegant wine and Brane is routinely a favorite of mine because of that.
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2004 Château Montrose 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Nose: The nose is raw and powerful with dark red cherries, cranberries, pencil lead, bitter chocolate, tobacco, leather, spice box, and cedar notes. Even now, it is still somewhat tight, but shows off what is a deep and top notch Bordeaux.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and high tannins. The tannins are still taught and youthful while the feel has some power behind it along with dark red cherries, cranberries, pencil lead, leather, cedar, and spice box notes.
Overall: This is still nascent. But, everything is there for this to be something quite special in another 8-10 years.
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2004 Fattoria Selvapiana Chianti Rùfina Riserva Bucerchiale 92 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Rùfina
Nose: The nose is red fruited, yet savory, with roasted herbs, red cherries, incense, licorice, earth tones, plums, and raspberries. There is excellent depth with this really showing off the savoriness that Sangiovese can be.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The structure still shows some youth with the tannins being noticeable, but they are silky as well. The feels is refined, savory, and balanced with roasted herbs, red cherries, licorice, earth tones, raspberries, and some leather.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully. It's well balanced and aromatic with a real savory take on both the nose and palate.
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2005 Maison Champy Mazis-Chambertin 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Nose: The nose is tightly coiled, but still reveals red cherries, earth tones, cranberries, red berries, tobacco, spice, and smoke notes. There is good depth, but it only shows itself in glimpses.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are still showing serious youth while the feel is refined with red cherries, earth tones, cranberries, tobacco, and some smoke.
Overall: This still isn't ready for primetime. It did flash some of its class and possibilities, but it didn't feel like it fully wanted to play.
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2013 Delas Frères St. Joseph Cuvée Francois de Tournon 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Nose: The nose is savory and raw with white and black pepper, black cherries, raspberries, spice tones, violets, charcoal, and smoke notes.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are taught and youthful while the feel has a larger quality, but it's balanced with white and black pepper, black cherries, raspberries, charcoal, and smoke.
Overall: This is a fantastic, young Saint-Joseph. It is deceptively drinking right now, but it does feel like it could use 3-5+ years to really benefit itself.
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2012 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos du Chêne Vert 91 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Nose: The nose is fragrant and balanced with herbs, red cherries, roses, tobacco, vegetables, earth tones, and a touch of bubblegum. There is good depth and the nose is expressive.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are silky, though a bit youthful and taught with the feel showing excellent balance with herbs, red cherries, roses, tobacco, vegetable notes, and a touch of earth.
Overall: This is a young and lovely Chinon. It favors elegance and perfume and possesses excellent depth on the nose and palate. While it is lovely now, it could well use 5+ years to really show off what it has.
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2000 Alban Vineyards Grenache Alban Estate Vineyard 65 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Nose: The nose is completely driven by the alcohol and extraction. So much so, that it is difficult to get past it, but there are tones of liqueur, black fruits, hot tar, and black cherries. It is hard to even remotely say that this is grenache, or any grape for that matter, just by the nose.
Taste: Full bodied with medium- acidity and medium- tannins. The feel is rich, bold, but flabby and overdone. Yet again, it shows a good amount of alcohol on the palate and that is driving it. There are some tones of black cherries, liqueur, and hot tar, but they're all wrapped up in an alcoholic note.
Overall: This is a mess. It's purely driven by its alcohol and extraction and there is little actual fruit there. It's hard to say if it's over the hill or just bad. Still, this is what was in front of me and it wasn't enjoyable.
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2001 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 93 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nose: The nose is robust, yet aromatic with black cherries, mesquite, white pepper, leather, licorice, and black raspberries. There is excellent depth with a funky savoriness to it.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are silky and mature with black cherries, mesquite, white pepper, licorice, and black raspberries.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully. It has a savory and classic profile with everything just seeming to be perfectly in place.
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