A touch of biscuit on the nose, which follows through on the palate. Heaps of acidity and cut to help that not get too rich, but overall, the palate profile is a little bit thinner than I'd like.
A touch of bread on the nose and palate, but also some sweet fruit. This has the expected 2008 acidity which helps balance the overall wine, but it's lacking in overall complexity.
Served double blind. Slightly carbonic, plenty of youthful red fruit and a hint of spice had me thinking young, lower-end syrah, but the tannic structure was that of nebbiolo. Nice red fruit overall, and a good amount of acid. Ended up going to Alto Piemonte.
A fairly underwhelming performance here. This seems to be aging far faster than it ought to, especially given the high acid vintage. Shows some browned apple, which is also concerning. Overall, a little flat and boring.
To be sure, this is on its last legs. The nose has a fair bit of brett, but also some classic feral syrah elements. Some pepper, some animale, some black fruit still. The palate is thin and there's mostly acid left. Needs food to balance out these rough edges -- a smoked pinkelwurst did a great job on that front.
Disgorged October 2016. I really do wish this had a bit of dosage. The nose had really pleasant elements of citrus, but the palate just doesn't live up to it. Thin, with the acidity playing too prominent a role and not much on the midpalate either.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Nicely reduced on the nose, with just the right amount of matchstick. Surprisingly this shows a little bit of sweetness, but it also gives more heft and lends balance to the racy acids. Interesting additional note of almonds here, which doesn't seem entirely on theme, but isn't unwanted either. Finish comes off slightly bitter.
Served double blind. Heavily reduced. Spicy aromatics and a very mild touch of sweetness. Bigger palate presence than most German riesling, so I ended up putting this as a Smaragd of some sort. Good racy acidity, so it's not the Pichler sort.
Very perfumed with a distinct watermelon note on the nose alongside some dried fruit and earth. Fairly floral as well. The palate is delicate and has a bit of salinity, but it does show its age, surprisingly.
From 700ml. Intense plum notes counterbalanced by some nice herbal and green tones. Very cool on the palate, with acidity to counterweight the red fruit flavours (that aren't too ripe, I might add). Juicy and pleasant.
I liked this more than what I remembered of the Cornas. The nose had a slight bit of reduction, but there were a few meaty elements as well as the requisite 2015 fruit. The palate is surprisingly lighter than the nose, but with good acids. If anything, I would have expected some more heft, given the vintage.
Served double blind. 2002 Loire cabernet franc. So much pyrazine and with the fruit and power, this really seemed to be a good call. Loved the hint of sweetness on the fruit, showing some ripeness as well. Not the best blind call I've made.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Fantastic Brunello, with a nose that is chock full of herbs, cherries, cough syrup, and earth. Large-scaled on the palate with a really plummy and generous richness, but also some floral tones that add delicacy to this huge wine. Good stuff -- pretty sure this will be remembered as one of my gateway wines into Brunello.
Defies the expectations a bit (in that it's zinfandel, and kind of good). Meaty and peppery nose that can't hide the black and purple fruit. The palate isn't jammy but there's definitely some heft to it. Good earthiness and thankfully a lighter oak treatment make this more tractable.
#21-15, 12% abv. Pretty strong reduction here, causing a little bit of funkiness on the nose as well. Overall, good roundness and ripeness with a hit of pineapple I quite like, but I wish the palate was a little broader, and that overall there was a little more richness as well. The midpalate and finish are a little thin.
#15-06, 7.5% abv. From half-bottle. Touch of herbal elements here balance out some really soft fruit elements. There's plenty of acidity but none of it is racy. This isn't a very loud or piercing riesling, it's more of a gentle, wafting sort of wine. Seems to have very little botrytis influence, if any.
Mild reduction on the nose here. You can pretty much smell the acidity as well; I do like the steely qualities in this wine, and that slight hint of fruit and mineral as well. Obviously taut, this needs plenty of time to soften up.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Very pleasant, easygoing wine with some very delicate red fruit on the nose and palate. It's good some heft, despite the lighter fruit elements, and there's a hint of ripe fruit and plenty of acidity to wash it away. Served blind, I wouldn't be entirely convinced this was a 1er cru at all -- the concentration and complexity really do feel to be a Bourgogne AC level instead. Nonetheless, it's pleasant, if not necessarily worth the steep tariff.
NV Marie-Noëlle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
A touch of biscuit on the nose, which follows through on the palate. Heaps of acidity and cut to help that not get too rich, but overall, the palate profile is a little bit thinner than I'd like.
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2008 Jean Pernet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
A touch of bread on the nose and palate, but also some sweet fruit. This has the expected 2008 acidity which helps balance the overall wine, but it's lacking in overall complexity.
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2014 Domaine Belluard Mondeuse Vin de Savoie 88 Points
France, Savoie, Vin de Savoie
Served double blind. Slightly carbonic, plenty of youthful red fruit and a hint of spice had me thinking young, lower-end syrah, but the tannic structure was that of nebbiolo. Nice red fruit overall, and a good amount of acid. Ended up going to Alto Piemonte.
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2004 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Special Club Brut 88 Points
France, Champagne
A fairly underwhelming performance here. This seems to be aging far faster than it ought to, especially given the high acid vintage. Shows some browned apple, which is also concerning. Overall, a little flat and boring.
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1994 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
To be sure, this is on its last legs. The nose has a fair bit of brett, but also some classic feral syrah elements. Some pepper, some animale, some black fruit still. The palate is thin and there's mostly acid left. Needs food to balance out these rough edges -- a smoked pinkelwurst did a great job on that front.
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2013 Piollot Champagne Colas Robin Brut Nature 85 Points
France, Champagne
Disgorged October 2016. I really do wish this had a bit of dosage. The nose had really pleasant elements of citrus, but the palate just doesn't live up to it. Thin, with the acidity playing too prominent a role and not much on the midpalate either.
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2013 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Clos de la Chateniere Blanc Vieilles Vignes 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Nicely reduced on the nose, with just the right amount of matchstick. Surprisingly this shows a little bit of sweetness, but it also gives more heft and lends balance to the racy acids. Interesting additional note of almonds here, which doesn't seem entirely on theme, but isn't unwanted either. Finish comes off slightly bitter.
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2012 Tiefenbrunner Müller-Thurgau Alto Adige - Südtirol Feldmarschall von Fenner 90 Points
Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol
Served double blind. Heavily reduced. Spicy aromatics and a very mild touch of sweetness. Bigger palate presence than most German riesling, so I ended up putting this as a Smaragd of some sort. Good racy acidity, so it's not the Pichler sort.
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1997 Quinta das Vinhas de Areia Colares MJC 90 Points
Portugal, Lisboa, Colares
Very perfumed with a distinct watermelon note on the nose alongside some dried fruit and earth. Fairly floral as well. The palate is delicate and has a bit of salinity, but it does show its age, surprisingly.
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2015 Marc-Henri Leyvraz Merlot Grand Cru 90 Points
Switzerland, Vaud, Lavaux, St. Saphorin
From 700ml. Intense plum notes counterbalanced by some nice herbal and green tones. Very cool on the palate, with acidity to counterweight the red fruit flavours (that aren't too ripe, I might add). Juicy and pleasant.
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2015 Aurélien Chatagnier Côte-Rôtie 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
I liked this more than what I remembered of the Cornas. The nose had a slight bit of reduction, but there were a few meaty elements as well as the requisite 2015 fruit. The palate is surprisingly lighter than the nose, but with good acids. If anything, I would have expected some more heft, given the vintage.
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1995 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Served double blind. 2002 Loire cabernet franc. So much pyrazine and with the fruit and power, this really seemed to be a good call. Loved the hint of sweetness on the fruit, showing some ripeness as well. Not the best blind call I've made.
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2004 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino 93 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Fantastic Brunello, with a nose that is chock full of herbs, cherries, cough syrup, and earth. Large-scaled on the palate with a really plummy and generous richness, but also some floral tones that add delicacy to this huge wine. Good stuff -- pretty sure this will be remembered as one of my gateway wines into Brunello.
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2002 Kenwood Zinfandel Jack London Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Defies the expectations a bit (in that it's zinfandel, and kind of good). Meaty and peppery nose that can't hide the black and purple fruit. The palate isn't jammy but there's definitely some heft to it. Good earthiness and thankfully a lighter oak treatment make this more tractable.
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2014 Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Birkweiler Kastanienbusch Riesling Großes Gewächs 90 Points
Germany, Pfalz
#21-15, 12% abv. Pretty strong reduction here, causing a little bit of funkiness on the nose as well. Overall, good roundness and ripeness with a hit of pineapple I quite like, but I wish the palate was a little broader, and that overall there was a little more richness as well. The midpalate and finish are a little thin.
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2005 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 93 Points
Germany, Nahe
#15-06, 7.5% abv. From half-bottle. Touch of herbal elements here balance out some really soft fruit elements. There's plenty of acidity but none of it is racy. This isn't a very loud or piercing riesling, it's more of a gentle, wafting sort of wine. Seems to have very little botrytis influence, if any.
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2016 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Clos de Guichaux 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur
Mild reduction on the nose here. You can pretty much smell the acidity as well; I do like the steely qualities in this wine, and that slight hint of fruit and mineral as well. Obviously taut, this needs plenty of time to soften up.
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2016 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Rouge 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Very pleasant, easygoing wine with some very delicate red fruit on the nose and palate. It's good some heft, despite the lighter fruit elements, and there's a hint of ripe fruit and plenty of acidity to wash it away. Served blind, I wouldn't be entirely convinced this was a 1er cru at all -- the concentration and complexity really do feel to be a Bourgogne AC level instead. Nonetheless, it's pleasant, if not necessarily worth the steep tariff.
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