First sips when popped were of something richly fruited with intense minerality, but coming across rather reserved. Several hours after double decanting, this showed a lot better with pretty floral and herbal aromas, an array of fruit ranging from tarter citrus and pear to lightly tropical flavours, and intense chalky and stony mineral notes beneath. It's a fantastic wine, but one that really requires some time and patience to show its cards.
Awesome Champagne; drinking so well now with lots of rich citrus and red fruit augmented by doughy and toasty richness. It's a big, ripe wine that balances its weight and dosage beautifully with bright acids and plenty of effervescence, and this is fantastic to sit and follow over a while.
In a fantastic place right now. All the ripe fruit, doughy richness, and power I could expect from a young Champagne, but age is starting to add more savoury complexity with light vanilla butter and smoky accents, and the palate presence here is remarkable - so polished and silken, and a finish that goes on for a good while.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
A touch of dirty funk and some reduction on the nose early on, but this cleared up with an hour of air in the decanter. What emerges is a pretty wine with bright citrus and stone fruit accented by toasted hazelnuts and more smoky and toasty complexity, though it feels a touch thin on the back end without the length or depth I'd typically expect from this site. Still, fun to try a birthyear white Burg.
A bottle in fantastic condition with a fill just below base neck, and a cork in surprisingly good shape. Decanted a couple of hours before serving, and this was exceptional - really, as good a Bordeaux as I've ever had, with fantastic richness and power to the black fruit, lots of savoury tobacco, graphite, and cedary complexity, and more mature black truffle and faintly leathery notes emerging on the nose with more time. Everything is in perfect balance here - the aromatics are spectacular, the palate presence is seamless and so polished, and it's drinking brilliantly now with the tannin mostly integrated and just a touch of grainy tannin lingering on the very, very long finish. Glad I have a few more, but this is so good now I can't imagine any further upside.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Great showing from the second the cork was pulled. Incredibly light and airy with perfumed red fruit, fresh rose petals and other floral scents, and the start of developing savoury earthiness all coming together into a polished, seamless whole. Air brings out more high-toned floral and lightly herbal notes on the nose, but a bottle of this disappears very quickly - this is in a great place right now.
This is incredible. As Brad Kane said, it doesn't make a sound when you pour it. The colour and sheer viscosity here are remarkable - it has the appearance of syrup, and it's just a mass of intense botrytis flavours - honey, vanilla, caramel, orange marmalade, and ripe tropical fruits. Somehow it's perfectly balanced with a lightness and precision that seem impossible for such a dense, sweet wine, and flavours that linger long after each sip.
Another awesome showing. Piercing, high toned aromatics with those wild ginger and horseradishy spicy Eiswein notes around a core of intensely ripe, clean citrus and tropical fruits and honey. In true HGS style, the acidity here is off the charts and as usual perfectly balances the ridiculously high level of sweetness. Brilliant.
2016 Weingut Keller Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
First sips when popped were of something richly fruited with intense minerality, but coming across rather reserved. Several hours after double decanting, this showed a lot better with pretty floral and herbal aromas, an array of fruit ranging from tarter citrus and pear to lightly tropical flavours, and intense chalky and stony mineral notes beneath. It's a fantastic wine, but one that really requires some time and patience to show its cards.
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2006 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame 94 Points
France, Champagne
Awesome Champagne; drinking so well now with lots of rich citrus and red fruit augmented by doughy and toasty richness. It's a big, ripe wine that balances its weight and dosage beautifully with bright acids and plenty of effervescence, and this is fantastic to sit and follow over a while.
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2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne 95 Points
France, Champagne
In a fantastic place right now. All the ripe fruit, doughy richness, and power I could expect from a young Champagne, but age is starting to add more savoury complexity with light vanilla butter and smoky accents, and the palate presence here is remarkable - so polished and silken, and a finish that goes on for a good while.
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1985 Remoissenet Père et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
A touch of dirty funk and some reduction on the nose early on, but this cleared up with an hour of air in the decanter. What emerges is a pretty wine with bright citrus and stone fruit accented by toasted hazelnuts and more smoky and toasty complexity, though it feels a touch thin on the back end without the length or depth I'd typically expect from this site. Still, fun to try a birthyear white Burg.
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1975 Château Lynch-Bages Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Didn't seem like an optimal bottle, with a stewed tomato like character to the fruit and other black tea-like notes suggesting some heat damage.
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1982 Château Gruaud Larose 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A bottle in fantastic condition with a fill just below base neck, and a cork in surprisingly good shape. Decanted a couple of hours before serving, and this was exceptional - really, as good a Bordeaux as I've ever had, with fantastic richness and power to the black fruit, lots of savoury tobacco, graphite, and cedary complexity, and more mature black truffle and faintly leathery notes emerging on the nose with more time. Everything is in perfect balance here - the aromatics are spectacular, the palate presence is seamless and so polished, and it's drinking brilliantly now with the tannin mostly integrated and just a touch of grainy tannin lingering on the very, very long finish. Glad I have a few more, but this is so good now I can't imagine any further upside.
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2007 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Great showing from the second the cork was pulled. Incredibly light and airy with perfumed red fruit, fresh rose petals and other floral scents, and the start of developing savoury earthiness all coming together into a polished, seamless whole. Air brings out more high-toned floral and lightly herbal notes on the nose, but a bottle of this disappears very quickly - this is in a great place right now.
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1994 Zind-Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Sélection de Grains Nobles Trié Spéciale 98 Points
France, Alsace
This is incredible. As Brad Kane said, it doesn't make a sound when you pour it. The colour and sheer viscosity here are remarkable - it has the appearance of syrup, and it's just a mass of intense botrytis flavours - honey, vanilla, caramel, orange marmalade, and ripe tropical fruits. Somehow it's perfectly balanced with a lightness and precision that seem impossible for such a dense, sweet wine, and flavours that linger long after each sip.
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1998 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein 96 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Another awesome showing. Piercing, high toned aromatics with those wild ginger and horseradishy spicy Eiswein notes around a core of intensely ripe, clean citrus and tropical fruits and honey. In true HGS style, the acidity here is off the charts and as usual perfectly balances the ridiculously high level of sweetness. Brilliant.
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