Whoa. Super weird wine. Can't tell if it's interesting or good, but probably a fair bit of both. Tons of apple and aged champagne notes, but also a huge amount of fresh minerality and acidity. I love the tension between the two here, and the aged elements give this some serious complexity to go with the fresher youthful tones. Super fun stuff.
Disgorged March 2018, 2.5 g/L dosage. A new producer to me, and one that is quite convincing. Served blind I'm not sure I would have guessed this as full-on meunier, as there were a lot of fresher elements here that would have led me to chardonnay, but also I would have guessed the dosage higher because this did have a nice rounded texture. Good stuff, and I wouldn't be upset if I crossed paths with this again.
Wax top. While this definitely got more open with air, this seemed to be another one of those frustrating Dauvissats for me. The nose had a slight bit of chemical weirdness that I wasn't fond of -- volatility, perhaps -- and while it did get better with air, it never really did go away. I picked up a very slight lactic tone on the palate, but otherwise this had great acidity and freshness. Air caused the fruit to show up a lot more. Overall, a tad taut and closed, but still pretty delicious.
This is pretty close to the pinnacle of Napa cabernet for the decade. It's tough to see anything better than this. As far as cabernet goes, this is one of the most delicate that I've had, and there's a cool leanness that seems almost Loire-like. Then you get the generous sweet fruit on the palate, which fills out with an incredible plushness and so much complexity. Heaps of pure minerality, and a slight hint of leather to add that wild complexity. There's this incredible lightness here -- the wine is wispy and lifted, but there's obviously plenty of complexity and gravitas to go with it. Absolutely outstanding, and another example of why Diamond Creek truly is a cut above the rest.
This is drinking almost exactly as you would expect from the reputation of the producer. There's a nice leathery note on the nose here, which transfers to the palate. It's a very dense and brawny wine, with tons of power and earthy notes. This bottle was absolutely pristine and it really showed the longevity of these wines -- my only gripe was that this was too young. No doubt this will be brilliant with another decade or two under its belt.
As always, a great wine, but obviously still too young, though we're mighty close to the rule of 15 now. This did soften up with air, so I would recommend being generous with the decanting if you can. The nose has a darker complexion, with good black fruit and more ripeness than I would expect, but also those classic brine and olive tones. A bit of smoke as well adds complexity. The palate is the more difficult aspect here, and while it certainly lives up to the promise on the nose, there's still quite a bit of tannin and structure that needs resolving. Darker and riper than cooler-vintage examples, but unmistakably Northern Rhone as well.
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Cayuse is a producer that I've never crossed paths with, so I was extremely happy to see a bottle at dinner tonight. This is a wine that definitely respects the grape (despite some fears of mine that the wines would be jammy and too ripe). The nose has hints of green olive, but mostly goes more towards the black pepper and smoked meat aspects of the grape. There's a slight hint of bloodiness here as well. The palate is, admittedly, a little more fruity and jammy than I'd like, but it's still very nicely restrained and overall this is not an over-the-top kind of wine at all. I'm more than pleased with this; I'm not sure if I'd prefer this over, say a Graillot Crozes for half the price, but it's definitely good syrah.
#13-84. A really good example of aged riesling, with plenty of interesting spice characteristics on the nose. A fair bit of petrol as well; there's really no mistaking what this is. The secondary characteristics here are absolutely age-appropriate, with a palate that matches the nose quite well. Moderately sweet, with intense spice characteristics, and a hint of that funky blue cheese thing that goes on with older riesling.
NV José Michel & Fils Champagne Cuvée du Père Houdart 93 Points
France, Champagne
Whoa. Super weird wine. Can't tell if it's interesting or good, but probably a fair bit of both. Tons of apple and aged champagne notes, but also a huge amount of fresh minerality and acidity. I love the tension between the two here, and the aged elements give this some serious complexity to go with the fresher youthful tones. Super fun stuff.
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NV Cazé-Thibaut Champagne Naturellement 90 Points
France, Champagne
Disgorged March 2018, 2.5 g/L dosage. A new producer to me, and one that is quite convincing. Served blind I'm not sure I would have guessed this as full-on meunier, as there were a lot of fresher elements here that would have led me to chardonnay, but also I would have guessed the dosage higher because this did have a nice rounded texture. Good stuff, and I wouldn't be upset if I crossed paths with this again.
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2014 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Wax top. While this definitely got more open with air, this seemed to be another one of those frustrating Dauvissats for me. The nose had a slight bit of chemical weirdness that I wasn't fond of -- volatility, perhaps -- and while it did get better with air, it never really did go away. I picked up a very slight lactic tone on the palate, but otherwise this had great acidity and freshness. Air caused the fruit to show up a lot more. Overall, a tad taut and closed, but still pretty delicious.
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1996 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Lake 98 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
This is pretty close to the pinnacle of Napa cabernet for the decade. It's tough to see anything better than this. As far as cabernet goes, this is one of the most delicate that I've had, and there's a cool leanness that seems almost Loire-like. Then you get the generous sweet fruit on the palate, which fills out with an incredible plushness and so much complexity. Heaps of pure minerality, and a slight hint of leather to add that wild complexity. There's this incredible lightness here -- the wine is wispy and lifted, but there's obviously plenty of complexity and gravitas to go with it. Absolutely outstanding, and another example of why Diamond Creek truly is a cut above the rest.
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1989 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
This is drinking almost exactly as you would expect from the reputation of the producer. There's a nice leathery note on the nose here, which transfers to the palate. It's a very dense and brawny wine, with tons of power and earthy notes. This bottle was absolutely pristine and it really showed the longevity of these wines -- my only gripe was that this was too young. No doubt this will be brilliant with another decade or two under its belt.
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2005 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
As always, a great wine, but obviously still too young, though we're mighty close to the rule of 15 now. This did soften up with air, so I would recommend being generous with the decanting if you can. The nose has a darker complexion, with good black fruit and more ripeness than I would expect, but also those classic brine and olive tones. A bit of smoke as well adds complexity. The palate is the more difficult aspect here, and while it certainly lives up to the promise on the nose, there's still quite a bit of tannin and structure that needs resolving. Darker and riper than cooler-vintage examples, but unmistakably Northern Rhone as well.
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2002 Cayuse Syrah Coccinelle Vineyard 90 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Cayuse is a producer that I've never crossed paths with, so I was extremely happy to see a bottle at dinner tonight. This is a wine that definitely respects the grape (despite some fears of mine that the wines would be jammy and too ripe). The nose has hints of green olive, but mostly goes more towards the black pepper and smoked meat aspects of the grape. There's a slight hint of bloodiness here as well. The palate is, admittedly, a little more fruity and jammy than I'd like, but it's still very nicely restrained and overall this is not an over-the-top kind of wine at all. I'm more than pleased with this; I'm not sure if I'd prefer this over, say a Graillot Crozes for half the price, but it's definitely good syrah.
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1983 Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 90 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#13-84. A really good example of aged riesling, with plenty of interesting spice characteristics on the nose. A fair bit of petrol as well; there's really no mistaking what this is. The secondary characteristics here are absolutely age-appropriate, with a palate that matches the nose quite well. Moderately sweet, with intense spice characteristics, and a hint of that funky blue cheese thing that goes on with older riesling.
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