From magnum, but I forgot to check the disgorgement on this. Not too complex, but there is far more vibrancy in this bottle than I recall from the other times I've had this wine. There's a touch of white grape and a mild creaminess. That vibrancy here continues to further my belief that champagne is better in magnum.
Very nice wine for the level, with just a mild hint of yellow fruit on the nose. There's a nice sappy quality here, and the palate, while dominated by the lean 2010 acidity has a nice roundness from the fruit (and perhaps a very slight bit of nuttiness) that balances things out.
Not really my style of white wine -- this shows a slight bit of funk on the nose and the palate seems to carry something that isn't quite clean, but at the same time, there's an almond-like bitterness here, as well as a relatively low acid profile.
From magnum. Brilliant stuff. This is a very fresh bottle with great liveliness and vivacity. The fruit, while on the yellow side of the spectrum, is bolstered by a lot of acidity and minerality. Very complex, with quite a fair bit of extract. This is a lot better than some younger vintages I've had -- whether this is something to do with the vintage itself, winemaking changes, or just the form factor, I've no idea.
From magnum. Not too complex, but a very pure, bright, and vibrant white Burgundy. There's just a very slight bit of sweetness from the fruit, but the acidity and minerality here are absolutely spot on. Needs some time for it to really get going -- the first tastes were a little nondescript.
There's a lot here that I really like -- the clean white fruit, mineral cut, and racy acidity on the finish, but there's some slight wooliness on the palate that is a little distracting.
From magnum. Not sure if this was entirely sound, but the issue was mostly one of advancement. There's generally a nice pyrazine element here, but the fruit comes off a little muddy and browned, whereas I would have expected something much more alive. Doesn't seem overdone like the 2012 I had a few years ago (which was downright terrible), but at least this magnum doesn't seem to be holding up too well. Admittedly, I'm not terribly interested in revisiting this either way.
Served double blind. From the nose, I picked up some really nice red fruit, eventually coming into focus as tart cherries, as well as a little bit of that tar and roses thing. The palate is a little hollow, and doesn't seem to have much flesh on the bones, finishing with a big dose of acid and some really big tannins. Immediately identified as nebbiolo, but I thought this was a decent Langhe as opposed to the vaunted Monprivato. The lack of ripe fruit here made me guess 2012 or 2014. In hindsight, the received wisdom tends to say that Monprivato tastes dilute when young, but bulks up with age; I'd love to see that latter half come true.
Served double blind. Again immediately identified as nebbiolo -- but I guessed this to be of higher quality than the 2014 Monprivato that I had blind alongside. This is a wine that is flashier (though not in the modernist oak sort of way). The fruit here is still quite red, but it is ripe and sweet, and there is a lovely concentration on the palate that helps to bridge the gap from the nose to the finish.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
I really love how 2000 red Burgundy has been developing in the last few years, and this bottle is no exception. The light hand that Barthod uses I think causes the fruit to seem to dissipate a little earlier than most other producers, and a lot of the mushroom and barnyard comes forward with the retreat of the fruit. This is a wine that's sitting right inbetween the two phases (though it's a little more funky than I generally like my Burgundy). There's a beautiful red-fruited element here, and the lightness still shows prominently. I won't be waiting to drink up the rest of my bottles.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
I have no clue about the stem regimen on this wine, though I am pretty convinced there must've been some in this wine. There's a lovely purity here, and this is another very red-inflected 2006 (in the same vein as the Truchot Les Sorbes earlier this week). And again the fruit here is crunchy, but there's also a very nice spice element here. It's a richer wine than the 00 Barthod, and there are fewer mushroom elements here. The fruit is cleaner and brighter -- I was a bit torn between whether I preferred this or the Barthod, but upon some more reflection, I think I'd have to give this bottle the nod. Delicious now; no reason to hold.
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Still super purple and juicy, with lots of black fruit and plenty of lovely syrah spice. Ridiculously young still, this needs a lot of time to calm down, but the expected syrah elements are all here. The palate has a nice kick of acidity, but I somehow expected something a little more complex and intense given the nose. And I'll maintain that this edition is in general better than the 2016.
The nose is definitely 2015 syrah -- tons of ripe black fruit and a good amount of spice as well to go with it. The palate shows some lightness, with acidity to balance out some black fruit, but I picked up something a little funky on the finish (reminded me a bit of dead yeast or somesuch) that was quite distracting.
Barrel sample. I went into this without any idea what to expect, but was downright surprised by how good this was. Sure, it's a super young Napa cabernet, with still some rawish oak on the nose and palate, but the fruit is clean and ripe, without being overdone, and balanced by this awesome dusty quality that just works. I think almost-finished barrel samples tend to be more accessible and juicy than the finished product, but I really like what I experienced here.
I generally like the newer Enfield wines (the chardonnays are fantastic, and the cabernets are quite unique), but this bottle was a miss for me. The nose had some off aromas that were slightly savory and a bit funky, but there was also something like coconut too. The palate was weak and thin, and this definitely didn't have the heft I'd expect tempranillo to have.
There's a funky element on the nose here that is slightly mushroomy and earthy, but the rest of the wine is fairly clean. It's a fatter wine, with a palate that does have a nice bit of acidity to cut it, but this is overall a fairly nondescript but pleasant wine.
#61-08, 12% abv. Unpopular opinion: dry wine in the Mosel doesn't work. It's decent at best, and will never, ever reach the heights of the proper Prädikatswein. The nose here is great -- it's got a slight herb/spice character along with some white fruit that promises all the good things that Mosel has to offer, but then it trips over its shoelaces and falls flat on its face. Where's the lightness and elegance here? It's a hefty, bulky wine, with the fruit a little weighty thanks to the vintage, but the alcohol is too high and this feels ungainly.
NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne 90 Points
France, Champagne
From magnum, but I forgot to check the disgorgement on this. Not too complex, but there is far more vibrancy in this bottle than I recall from the other times I've had this wine. There's a touch of white grape and a mild creaminess. That vibrancy here continues to further my belief that champagne is better in magnum.
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2010 Jean-Pierre Launois Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Very nice wine for the level, with just a mild hint of yellow fruit on the nose. There's a nice sappy quality here, and the palate, while dominated by the lean 2010 acidity has a nice roundness from the fruit (and perhaps a very slight bit of nuttiness) that balances things out.
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2016 Domaine Giudicelli Patrimonio Blanc 85 Points
France, Corsica, Patrimonio
Not really my style of white wine -- this shows a slight bit of funk on the nose and the palate seems to carry something that isn't quite clean, but at the same time, there's an almond-like bitterness here, as well as a relatively low acid profile.
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1998 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
From magnum. Brilliant stuff. This is a very fresh bottle with great liveliness and vivacity. The fruit, while on the yellow side of the spectrum, is bolstered by a lot of acidity and minerality. Very complex, with quite a fair bit of extract. This is a lot better than some younger vintages I've had -- whether this is something to do with the vintage itself, winemaking changes, or just the form factor, I've no idea.
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2014 Frédéric Cossard Rully 1er Cru en Vauvry 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully 1er Cru
From magnum. Not too complex, but a very pure, bright, and vibrant white Burgundy. There's just a very slight bit of sweetness from the fruit, but the acidity and minerality here are absolutely spot on. Needs some time for it to really get going -- the first tastes were a little nondescript.
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2014 Bruno Rochard Anjou Moque-souris 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Anjou
There's a lot here that I really like -- the clean white fruit, mineral cut, and racy acidity on the finish, but there's some slight wooliness on the palate that is a little distracting.
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2003 Quintessa 85 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
From magnum. Not sure if this was entirely sound, but the issue was mostly one of advancement. There's generally a nice pyrazine element here, but the fruit comes off a little muddy and browned, whereas I would have expected something much more alive. Doesn't seem overdone like the 2012 I had a few years ago (which was downright terrible), but at least this magnum doesn't seem to be holding up too well. Admittedly, I'm not terribly interested in revisiting this either way.
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2014 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served double blind. From the nose, I picked up some really nice red fruit, eventually coming into focus as tart cherries, as well as a little bit of that tar and roses thing. The palate is a little hollow, and doesn't seem to have much flesh on the bones, finishing with a big dose of acid and some really big tannins. Immediately identified as nebbiolo, but I thought this was a decent Langhe as opposed to the vaunted Monprivato. The lack of ripe fruit here made me guess 2012 or 2014. In hindsight, the received wisdom tends to say that Monprivato tastes dilute when young, but bulks up with age; I'd love to see that latter half come true.
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2014 Roccheviberti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Served double blind. Again immediately identified as nebbiolo -- but I guessed this to be of higher quality than the 2014 Monprivato that I had blind alongside. This is a wine that is flashier (though not in the modernist oak sort of way). The fruit here is still quite red, but it is ripe and sweet, and there is a lovely concentration on the palate that helps to bridge the gap from the nose to the finish.
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2000 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Véroilles 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
I really love how 2000 red Burgundy has been developing in the last few years, and this bottle is no exception. The light hand that Barthod uses I think causes the fruit to seem to dissipate a little earlier than most other producers, and a lot of the mushroom and barnyard comes forward with the retreat of the fruit. This is a wine that's sitting right inbetween the two phases (though it's a little more funky than I generally like my Burgundy). There's a beautiful red-fruited element here, and the lightness still shows prominently. I won't be waiting to drink up the rest of my bottles.
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2006 Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
I have no clue about the stem regimen on this wine, though I am pretty convinced there must've been some in this wine. There's a lovely purity here, and this is another very red-inflected 2006 (in the same vein as the Truchot Les Sorbes earlier this week). And again the fruit here is crunchy, but there's also a very nice spice element here. It's a richer wine than the 00 Barthod, and there are fewer mushroom elements here. The fruit is cleaner and brighter -- I was a bit torn between whether I preferred this or the Barthod, but upon some more reflection, I think I'd have to give this bottle the nod. Delicious now; no reason to hold.
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2017 Pax Syrah Sonoma Hillsides 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Still super purple and juicy, with lots of black fruit and plenty of lovely syrah spice. Ridiculously young still, this needs a lot of time to calm down, but the expected syrah elements are all here. The palate has a nice kick of acidity, but I somehow expected something a little more complex and intense given the nose. And I'll maintain that this edition is in general better than the 2016.
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2015 Domaine Les Bruyères Crozes-Hermitage Georges 85 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
The nose is definitely 2015 syrah -- tons of ripe black fruit and a good amount of spice as well to go with it. The palate shows some lightness, with acidity to balance out some black fruit, but I picked up something a little funky on the finish (reminded me a bit of dead yeast or somesuch) that was quite distracting.
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2017 Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Napa Valley
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Barrel sample. I went into this without any idea what to expect, but was downright surprised by how good this was. Sure, it's a super young Napa cabernet, with still some rawish oak on the nose and palate, but the fruit is clean and ripe, without being overdone, and balanced by this awesome dusty quality that just works. I think almost-finished barrel samples tend to be more accessible and juicy than the finished product, but I really like what I experienced here.
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2012 Enfield Wine Co. Tempranillo Shake Ridge Ranch 85 Points
USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
I generally like the newer Enfield wines (the chardonnays are fantastic, and the cabernets are quite unique), but this bottle was a miss for me. The nose had some off aromas that were slightly savory and a bit funky, but there was also something like coconut too. The palate was weak and thin, and this definitely didn't have the heft I'd expect tempranillo to have.
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2014 Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss Pinot Blanc Kritt 88 Points
France, Alsace
There's a funky element on the nose here that is slightly mushroomy and earthy, but the rest of the wine is fairly clean. It's a fatter wine, with a palate that does have a nice bit of acidity to cut it, but this is overall a fairly nondescript but pleasant wine.
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2007 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese ** (White Capsule) 85 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
#61-08, 12% abv. Unpopular opinion: dry wine in the Mosel doesn't work. It's decent at best, and will never, ever reach the heights of the proper Prädikatswein. The nose here is great -- it's got a slight herb/spice character along with some white fruit that promises all the good things that Mosel has to offer, but then it trips over its shoelaces and falls flat on its face. Where's the lightness and elegance here? It's a hefty, bulky wine, with the fruit a little weighty thanks to the vintage, but the alcohol is too high and this feels ungainly.
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