Probably the best bottle of this wine I've tasted to date -- the style is certainly rich and autolytic, but this bottle seemed to have more overall cut and much less bready/doughy funk than I remembered from my previous experiences. Nonetheless, this swings more earthy than I generally care for. The saving grace this time is the acidity being a bit more intense, which brightens up an otherwise really doughy wine.
Disgorged November 5, 2008. This is the oxidative Selosse that I know and love. The nose shows a hint of oak spice, lots of browned apples, some nuttiness, and seems to imply something that will have a bit of a saline character on the palate. And it does! These older disgorgements can be hit or miss for me sometimes (believe it or not, they can get too oxidative), but this bottle did not. Like many of the older Selosse wines I've had, this seemed to pick up steam with air -- showing a little brighter, and the fruit less browned. Nonetheless, quite a bit of oak and browned fruit here, but wrapped up with plenty of acidity and overall concentration and a nice dose of chalk as well.
If I had this blind, apart from a smidgen of mushroomy richness on the nose and palate, I'm pretty sure the tart white fruit and acid structure would have made me call this a blanc des blancs instead. I'm generally not a huge fan of the brut zero style, and this bottle comes off far too lean and sharp, without any counterbalancing richness. I do like the amount of material here; the chalkiness is especially nice, but I do wish there was a little more weight and roundness on the palate.
Is Paris getting better every year? Yes, I think he is. Although the only bottle of the 2015 I've tasted so far was corked, I find myself comparing this to my conception of the previous vintage, which is an inky black, fruit-rich and very broad-shouldered one. This wine, however, is far on the opposite side of the spectrum of that. It's a very red-fruit-and-acid-driven syrah, with just a mild hint of spice. The palate initially seemed to be quite tight and unyielding, but a few hours in a decanter loosened up the wine a lot, both on the nose and on the palate. Lots of acid, this is one for the long haul, but more than enjoyable now with a decant.
Something not quite right with this bottle, I think. I've never picked up so much brett on the nose in a Paris wine, and this had it in absolute spades. Underneath it was some of the expected black fruit and a hint of spice, but it was mostly obscured by the brett. There was also a lot of funk on the palate as well, and an overall dirty sensation, which really isn't right. A certain master somm said it was corked on the palate, but being as sensitive as I am to it, I can't say I picked it up.
This is a bit of a sleeper wine in that it doesn't really stand out as a great vintage, but there's a workhorse like quality here that just keeps chugging on. This very much fits my perception of Cornas -- black fruited and dense -- but it does lack the elegance of some of the best syrahs (as a note, I think I picked up some of it in 2016, and I'm super excited to see how the wines stack up every new vintage). I think I've complained a little bit about how these wines are a little more polished than I like, and that description does fit the bill here. Nonetheless, there's a lot of good material here, and I think at this point, it's time to let these sleep.
The last Geynale bottled under Michel's name, and what a stupendous wine this is. There is an amazing old-school sensibility about this wine, and you pick up this massive amount of smoke and olive on the nose, which is to me, what syrah is all about. This is wild, and a product of some less than clinical winemaking, but the end result is that domesticated feral quality that really appeals to me. Not funky nor dirty, but there is still plenty of rusticity here. The fruit is well-defined and still fresh, with tannins on the cusp of resolution. For my palate, absolutely brilliant now, but there's no danger of aging this further.
2004 is one of my favourite Rhone vintages of the current millenium so far, as it is one that lends itself to elegance, but I'll have to admit that this wine was quite inscrutable. It's just an upset, coiled bottle of black fruit and earth, and seemed to refuse to give up anything. You could coax a little fruit here and there with some swirling, but the structure seemed to be dominated by the tannins and there was none of the elegance of the vintage here. Still, I did feel like the raw materials are there, maybe this just needs more time?
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
This wine can be hit or miss sometimes, but this bottle was a hit. The nose has a bit of a wooly quality, followed by some dried stone fruit flavours and maybe something that reminds me of cantaloupe? The palate is moderately sweet, and there's an oily texture overall, which in a correlated manner tells you that the acidity here is relatively low. Indeed, I like my sweet wines with a little more cut, but this isn't so heavy and thick that it truly needs that acidity to cut it.
2002 Vincent Couche Champagne Brut Millésimé 90 Points
France, Champagne
Probably the best bottle of this wine I've tasted to date -- the style is certainly rich and autolytic, but this bottle seemed to have more overall cut and much less bready/doughy funk than I remembered from my previous experiences. Nonetheless, this swings more earthy than I generally care for. The saving grace this time is the acidity being a bit more intense, which brightens up an otherwise really doughy wine.
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NV Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged November 5, 2008. This is the oxidative Selosse that I know and love. The nose shows a hint of oak spice, lots of browned apples, some nuttiness, and seems to imply something that will have a bit of a saline character on the palate. And it does! These older disgorgements can be hit or miss for me sometimes (believe it or not, they can get too oxidative), but this bottle did not. Like many of the older Selosse wines I've had, this seemed to pick up steam with air -- showing a little brighter, and the fruit less browned. Nonetheless, quite a bit of oak and browned fruit here, but wrapped up with plenty of acidity and overall concentration and a nice dose of chalk as well.
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2010 Leclerc Briant Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Meuniers Brut Zéro 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
If I had this blind, apart from a smidgen of mushroomy richness on the nose and palate, I'm pretty sure the tart white fruit and acid structure would have made me call this a blanc des blancs instead. I'm generally not a huge fan of the brut zero style, and this bottle comes off far too lean and sharp, without any counterbalancing richness. I do like the amount of material here; the chalkiness is especially nice, but I do wish there was a little more weight and roundness on the palate.
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2016 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Is Paris getting better every year? Yes, I think he is. Although the only bottle of the 2015 I've tasted so far was corked, I find myself comparing this to my conception of the previous vintage, which is an inky black, fruit-rich and very broad-shouldered one. This wine, however, is far on the opposite side of the spectrum of that. It's a very red-fruit-and-acid-driven syrah, with just a mild hint of spice. The palate initially seemed to be quite tight and unyielding, but a few hours in a decanter loosened up the wine a lot, both on the nose and on the palate. Lots of acid, this is one for the long haul, but more than enjoyable now with a decant.
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2014 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Something not quite right with this bottle, I think. I've never picked up so much brett on the nose in a Paris wine, and this had it in absolute spades. Underneath it was some of the expected black fruit and a hint of spice, but it was mostly obscured by the brett. There was also a lot of funk on the palate as well, and an overall dirty sensation, which really isn't right. A certain master somm said it was corked on the palate, but being as sensitive as I am to it, I can't say I picked it up.
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2013 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
This is a bit of a sleeper wine in that it doesn't really stand out as a great vintage, but there's a workhorse like quality here that just keeps chugging on. This very much fits my perception of Cornas -- black fruited and dense -- but it does lack the elegance of some of the best syrahs (as a note, I think I picked up some of it in 2016, and I'm super excited to see how the wines stack up every new vintage). I think I've complained a little bit about how these wines are a little more polished than I like, and that description does fit the bill here. Nonetheless, there's a lot of good material here, and I think at this point, it's time to let these sleep.
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2006 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
The last Geynale bottled under Michel's name, and what a stupendous wine this is. There is an amazing old-school sensibility about this wine, and you pick up this massive amount of smoke and olive on the nose, which is to me, what syrah is all about. This is wild, and a product of some less than clinical winemaking, but the end result is that domesticated feral quality that really appeals to me. Not funky nor dirty, but there is still plenty of rusticity here. The fruit is well-defined and still fresh, with tannins on the cusp of resolution. For my palate, absolutely brilliant now, but there's no danger of aging this further.
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2004 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
2004 is one of my favourite Rhone vintages of the current millenium so far, as it is one that lends itself to elegance, but I'll have to admit that this wine was quite inscrutable. It's just an upset, coiled bottle of black fruit and earth, and seemed to refuse to give up anything. You could coax a little fruit here and there with some swirling, but the structure seemed to be dominated by the tannins and there was none of the elegance of the vintage here. Still, I did feel like the raw materials are there, maybe this just needs more time?
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2002 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
This wine can be hit or miss sometimes, but this bottle was a hit. The nose has a bit of a wooly quality, followed by some dried stone fruit flavours and maybe something that reminds me of cantaloupe? The palate is moderately sweet, and there's an oily texture overall, which in a correlated manner tells you that the acidity here is relatively low. Indeed, I like my sweet wines with a little more cut, but this isn't so heavy and thick that it truly needs that acidity to cut it.
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