Disgorged March 2017 (so I think 2013 base?). Bright and powerful, with lots of exuberant tart fruit. This is pretty light and elegant, and holds its acidity well. It's definitely on the racy, high-acid side of things, but the overall ripeness here seems to work nicely. A nice touch of chalky minerality here as well. Overall, even though I'm not generally a massive fan of these high-acid expressions of champagne, I think this bottle does a really good job of balancing everything out.
Served double blind. If you look at my note from two days ago, I said that if I had the 2012 version of this blind, I would have called it chenin. Guess what I called this? I'm consistent, if not correct. This bottle I enjoyed a lot more than the 2012 version (which seemed a little wooly and funky) -- this was much more pure and clean, and there was much more delineation between the fruit and mineral elements here. Nice overall concentration and intensity, as well as great complexity.
From magnum, because of who brought it. There's definitely a big stylistic difference between this and the Bereche Beaux Regards. Whereas the Bereche was racy and lean, this had that same acidic structure, but showed more sweetness, fat, and heft. This is jampacked with tasty material, and even though the track record for all these new hipster champagnes is arguably spotty, I'd love to revisit this with even more time on it.
This initially was fairly subdued, but the nose seemed to grow in intensity with more and more air. There are the typical fruit and spice riesling notes on the nose and palate, but the most impressive thing about this bottle is that intense rocky minerality that almost obscures everything else. There's some serious fruit underneath all those chunks of rock, but this is a wine that shows some really serious rocky heft.
This came off a little headier and more intense than I generally would have liked. There's definitely some really good structural elements here, with a generous helping of fruit and a fairly thick and rich texture. Overall though, the wine feels a touch hot and a lot blowsier than I generally like my Loire whites.
This doesn't come across as intensely and concentrated as the 2015, and the nose here definitely has some unmistakable northern Rhone elements -- black pepper, olives, a hint of smoke. Overall, compared to what I remember of the 2015, this is more elegant, with more red-fruited acidity and a slightly leaner profile. I've been pretty impressed by the 2016s I've tasted so far, and this one is no exception.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
This isn't just great for the region, this is unequivocally great wine. Exuberant red fruit on the nose coupled with a generous sprinkle of dried herbs. This is sweet and ripe, but balanced so incredibly well, with plenty of young tannin and a very slight bitter note that helps with the sweet fruit. Very perfumed and delicate, but intensely concentrated at the same time.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
The reduction on the nose here is a dead-ringer for Dom. Easily outclasses a lot of entry level champagne. There is a really soulful expression of chardonnay here, culminating in a really nice vein of acid. This is a well put together bottle of bubbles.
Served blind. Slightly creamy, and fairly sweet, but not necessarily in the best way possible. Immediately went to champagne on this, but it's just pretty solid, unoffensive basic level stuff.
NV Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Ludes Les Beaux Regards 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Disgorged March 2017 (so I think 2013 base?). Bright and powerful, with lots of exuberant tart fruit. This is pretty light and elegant, and holds its acidity well. It's definitely on the racy, high-acid side of things, but the overall ripeness here seems to work nicely. A nice touch of chalky minerality here as well. Overall, even though I'm not generally a massive fan of these high-acid expressions of champagne, I think this bottle does a really good job of balancing everything out.
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2013 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 93 Points
Italy, Abruzzi, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Served double blind. If you look at my note from two days ago, I said that if I had the 2012 version of this blind, I would have called it chenin. Guess what I called this? I'm consistent, if not correct. This bottle I enjoyed a lot more than the 2012 version (which seemed a little wooly and funky) -- this was much more pure and clean, and there was much more delineation between the fruit and mineral elements here. Nice overall concentration and intensity, as well as great complexity.
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2012 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Millésimé Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules 93 Points
France, Champagne
From magnum, because of who brought it. There's definitely a big stylistic difference between this and the Bereche Beaux Regards. Whereas the Bereche was racy and lean, this had that same acidic structure, but showed more sweetness, fat, and heft. This is jampacked with tasty material, and even though the track record for all these new hipster champagnes is arguably spotty, I'd love to revisit this with even more time on it.
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2008 Weingut Keller Morstein Riesling Großes Gewächs 95 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
This initially was fairly subdued, but the nose seemed to grow in intensity with more and more air. There are the typical fruit and spice riesling notes on the nose and palate, but the most impressive thing about this bottle is that intense rocky minerality that almost obscures everything else. There's some serious fruit underneath all those chunks of rock, but this is a wine that shows some really serious rocky heft.
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2015 Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Clos Romans 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur
This came off a little headier and more intense than I generally would have liked. There's definitely some really good structural elements here, with a generous helping of fruit and a fairly thick and rich texture. Overall though, the wine feels a touch hot and a lot blowsier than I generally like my Loire whites.
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2016 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
This doesn't come across as intensely and concentrated as the 2015, and the nose here definitely has some unmistakable northern Rhone elements -- black pepper, olives, a hint of smoke. Overall, compared to what I remember of the 2015, this is more elegant, with more red-fruited acidity and a slightly leaner profile. I've been pretty impressed by the 2016s I've tasted so far, and this one is no exception.
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2012 Tenuta Greppo (Biondi-Santi) Brunello di Montalcino 95 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
This isn't just great for the region, this is unequivocally great wine. Exuberant red fruit on the nose coupled with a generous sprinkle of dried herbs. This is sweet and ripe, but balanced so incredibly well, with plenty of young tannin and a very slight bitter note that helps with the sweet fruit. Very perfumed and delicate, but intensely concentrated at the same time.
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2012 Caraccioli Cellars Brut Cuvée 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
The reduction on the nose here is a dead-ringer for Dom. Easily outclasses a lot of entry level champagne. There is a really soulful expression of chardonnay here, culminating in a really nice vein of acid. This is a well put together bottle of bubbles.
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NV Jean-Noël Haton Champagne Brut Classic 85 Points
France, Champagne
Served blind. Slightly creamy, and fairly sweet, but not necessarily in the best way possible. Immediately went to champagne on this, but it's just pretty solid, unoffensive basic level stuff.
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