Glad I have some of this. It's an incredibly large-scaled champagne, with huge amounts of browned apple, nuts, and mushrooms. The pinot character is really distinct here. This is rich and powerful (sans classist overtones), and there's incredible mineral character on the finish. Obviously young, but on the other hand, the flavours are umami and rich enough that I don't know if I'd be super thrilled with more development.
From magnum. Wow, super fresh and youthful -- this is what a 1996 should be tasting like these days. There's a lot of almonds on the nose, with a slight touch of high-tonedness, and a touch of herbs. It's got an intense racy acidity, nicely mineral and a generous bit of chalkiness as well. Surprisingly, to me, this is a little less autolytic than I've experienced with other Bollingers, and I kind of liked that.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Surprisingly, this isn't totally shot! It's quite reductive, and the nose is fairly pleasant, with that flinty thing going on, as well as a nice bit of minerality and white fruit. The palate is lacking here though -- it's not as rich and concentrated as a Meursault ought to be. It's mostly a lot of acid without too much other flavours. I respect that this survived 10 years, but it's not a particularly thrilling wine.
Really reduced on the nose, with a serious amount of flint. There's some sulphury matchsticky thing going on here as well. The palate has good concentration, and seems to hold up to the reduction pretty well. It's not the biggest, broadest wine, and the acidity is a little more heightened than the body of the wine can handle.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
From half-bottle. Well, it's old Jadot and it's still alive, so you take your victories. Shows a little waxy, as Chassagne tends to be. Fairly typical, and drinking very well now, but I think the most amazing thing about this wine is that it is still very much alive.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
So this bottle did not have an indication that this was from Domaine Andre Gagey, and the bottle of the label included the Kobrand import sticker. In any case, without an explicit indication, I'm writing this note under the non-Domaine wine. Of course, all of the above is moot, since I seemed to have picked up a hint of TCA on the nose (not everyone got it). This was a largely unimpressive wine, with a somewhat thin disposition on the palate, and lots and lots of acid.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Negociant. It's absolutely clear that this was so much better than the CSD alongside. There's a lovely brown spice tone that dominates the nose here, and the fruit is silky on both the nose and palate (mind you, this isn't the Dujac stem spice). The fruit profile here is a nice mixture of red and black, and there is a lovely intensity here. Fully resolved, with generous acids, but no sharp edges and corners here.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
My second favourite of the night tonight (just behind the Bonnes Mares), this was as I remembered it from about a year ago. There's an intense iron element in this wine, with very firm, but ripe black fruit. The earthy intensity here is quite impressive, and there's a lot of concentration to fatten up this wine. The acids, while present, play a bit of a backseat role here. This is a very muscular wine with plenty of life left.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Negociant. This is clearly a weaker bottle in comparison to the Clos de Beze, which was all black fruit and raw power. The Chambertin is more red-fruited and shows a wine that is less dense and perhaps a little more graceful. The fruit here is a touch tart, but there is plenty of earth on the back end to amp up the palate. However, the vintage character pokes out a little more here, with more tartness in the wine.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Negociant. A bit of a runt, if I'm being honest. The fruit here is bright red, and there is almost a slight candied, sweet cherry kind of thing going on here. The palate is even less complex and concentrated than the Chambertin, and while the 1996 acids are clearly present here, they still don't jut out of place. All in all, this isn't too complex, and the earthier elements are slightly attenuated. The tannins are a little less refined too, and there's a bit of a chewiness on this wine.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Domaine Louis Jadot. I think expectations for this wine were tempered because it was, well, Clos Vougeot, but this was the wine that bucked my expectations the most tonight. The nose is spicy and dark, with an earthy intensity. However, this is less about raw power than the Bonnes Mares and Clos de Beze; this is a gentler, softer wine that is drinking splendidly now. As far as the expectations of the vintage? I wouldn't have picked 1996 if I had had this blind.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
An easy win for the wine of the flight for me. This is just an incredibly complex and powerful wine, with tons of perfumed red fruit on the nose and palate. Tons of fresh red berries on the palate here, lending a really nice sweetness to the broad and powerful palate. This is fully resolved, and there is lots of complexity and the resolution gives this a softer edge that makes this really approachable. Again, a wine without sharp edges, and an incredible effort from the estate.
From half-litre. I don't think I've ever had a Colares this young. The nose is super aldehydic and high-toned, with an intense lime sorbet thing going on. Plenty of green herbs as well. The palate is quite nice as well, showing a moderate amount of salinity, but this is not at the same level as some of the older vintages of this wine that I've had. I'm chalking this up to this wine's youth.
Every time I drink a Huet (that's not Constance), I always think that the wine should be a little bit sweeter than it is. This is no exception. On the other hand, it's still an outstanding bottle, with loads of complexity from the botrytis. It's very elegant and lovely, and that vein of racy acidity here with green apple is absolutely delicious.
2006 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 93 Points
France, Champagne
Glad I have some of this. It's an incredibly large-scaled champagne, with huge amounts of browned apple, nuts, and mushrooms. The pinot character is really distinct here. This is rich and powerful (sans classist overtones), and there's incredible mineral character on the finish. Obviously young, but on the other hand, the flavours are umami and rich enough that I don't know if I'd be super thrilled with more development.
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1996 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 93 Points
France, Champagne
From magnum. Wow, super fresh and youthful -- this is what a 1996 should be tasting like these days. There's a lot of almonds on the nose, with a slight touch of high-tonedness, and a touch of herbs. It's got an intense racy acidity, nicely mineral and a generous bit of chalkiness as well. Surprisingly, to me, this is a little less autolytic than I've experienced with other Bollingers, and I kind of liked that.
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2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Gouttes d'Or Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Corked.
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2008 Domaine Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Sous le Dos d'Âne 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Surprisingly, this isn't totally shot! It's quite reductive, and the nose is fairly pleasant, with that flinty thing going on, as well as a nice bit of minerality and white fruit. The palate is lacking here though -- it's not as rich and concentrated as a Meursault ought to be. It's mostly a lot of acid without too much other flavours. I respect that this survived 10 years, but it's not a particularly thrilling wine.
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2014 Vincent Dancer Meursault Les Corbins 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Really reduced on the nose, with a serious amount of flint. There's some sulphury matchsticky thing going on here as well. The palate has good concentration, and seems to hold up to the reduction pretty well. It's not the biggest, broadest wine, and the acidity is a little more heightened than the body of the wine can handle.
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2000 Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Grande Montagne 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
From half-bottle. Well, it's old Jadot and it's still alive, so you take your victories. Shows a little waxy, as Chassagne tends to be. Fairly typical, and drinking very well now, but I think the most amazing thing about this wine is that it is still very much alive.
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1996 Louis Jadot Clos St. Denis Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
So this bottle did not have an indication that this was from Domaine Andre Gagey, and the bottle of the label included the Kobrand import sticker. In any case, without an explicit indication, I'm writing this note under the non-Domaine wine. Of course, all of the above is moot, since I seemed to have picked up a hint of TCA on the nose (not everyone got it). This was a largely unimpressive wine, with a somewhat thin disposition on the palate, and lots and lots of acid.
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1996 Louis Jadot Clos de la Roche 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Negociant. It's absolutely clear that this was so much better than the CSD alongside. There's a lovely brown spice tone that dominates the nose here, and the fruit is silky on both the nose and palate (mind you, this isn't the Dujac stem spice). The fruit profile here is a nice mixture of red and black, and there is a lovely intensity here. Fully resolved, with generous acids, but no sharp edges and corners here.
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1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Domaine Louis Jadot 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
My second favourite of the night tonight (just behind the Bonnes Mares), this was as I remembered it from about a year ago. There's an intense iron element in this wine, with very firm, but ripe black fruit. The earthy intensity here is quite impressive, and there's a lot of concentration to fatten up this wine. The acids, while present, play a bit of a backseat role here. This is a very muscular wine with plenty of life left.
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1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Negociant. This is clearly a weaker bottle in comparison to the Clos de Beze, which was all black fruit and raw power. The Chambertin is more red-fruited and shows a wine that is less dense and perhaps a little more graceful. The fruit here is a touch tart, but there is plenty of earth on the back end to amp up the palate. However, the vintage character pokes out a little more here, with more tartness in the wine.
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1996 Louis Jadot Charmes-Chambertin 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Negociant. A bit of a runt, if I'm being honest. The fruit here is bright red, and there is almost a slight candied, sweet cherry kind of thing going on here. The palate is even less complex and concentrated than the Chambertin, and while the 1996 acids are clearly present here, they still don't jut out of place. All in all, this isn't too complex, and the earthier elements are slightly attenuated. The tannins are a little less refined too, and there's a bit of a chewiness on this wine.
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1996 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Domaine Louis Jadot. I think expectations for this wine were tempered because it was, well, Clos Vougeot, but this was the wine that bucked my expectations the most tonight. The nose is spicy and dark, with an earthy intensity. However, this is less about raw power than the Bonnes Mares and Clos de Beze; this is a gentler, softer wine that is drinking splendidly now. As far as the expectations of the vintage? I wouldn't have picked 1996 if I had had this blind.
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1996 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
An easy win for the wine of the flight for me. This is just an incredibly complex and powerful wine, with tons of perfumed red fruit on the nose and palate. Tons of fresh red berries on the palate here, lending a really nice sweetness to the broad and powerful palate. This is fully resolved, and there is lots of complexity and the resolution gives this a softer edge that makes this really approachable. Again, a wine without sharp edges, and an incredible effort from the estate.
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2015 Viuva José Gomes da Silva & Filhos Colares Genuino Branco 88 Points
Portugal, Lisboa, Colares
From half-litre. I don't think I've ever had a Colares this young. The nose is super aldehydic and high-toned, with an intense lime sorbet thing going on. Plenty of green herbs as well. The palate is quite nice as well, showing a moderate amount of salinity, but this is not at the same level as some of the older vintages of this wine that I've had. I'm chalking this up to this wine's youth.
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1997 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Every time I drink a Huet (that's not Constance), I always think that the wine should be a little bit sweeter than it is. This is no exception. On the other hand, it's still an outstanding bottle, with loads of complexity from the botrytis. It's very elegant and lovely, and that vein of racy acidity here with green apple is absolutely delicious.
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