Nose: The nose is wide open and expressive from the get-go as it fills the glass with roasted nuts, cider, almonds, red apples, creams, bosc pears, yellow flowers, toast, brioche, custard, and pastry notes. There is excellent depth with this showing off the oxidative notes that are expected.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with tart, high acidity. The acidity is youthful and zesty while the feel shows off great texture and depth with roasted nuts, cider, almonds, red apples, bosc pears, brioche, custard, toast, and some pastry notes.
Overall: Yet again I didn't get the disgorgement on this but this is a newer one. Pretty much this was as good as it always is.
Nose: The nose is showing maturity with a bit of honey but there is still excellent balance with crushed rocks, pears, peaches, apples, nectarines, saline, and yellow flowers.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with crisp, high acidity. There is a lot of refinement and maturity to the feel while the acidity provides a nice spine. This is well balanced with crushed rocks, some honey notes, pears, apples, peaches, saline, and yellow flowers.
Overall: This is well at peak and probably showed a bit more freshness a few years ago. Still, this was a very enjoyable and there is plenty of enjoyment left in the tank.
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Nose: The nose is wide open and plush with sour red cherries, raspberries, roasted herbs, tobacco licorice, leather notes, roses, and earth notes. There is good depth and balance but it does lack some savoriness.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The structure has pulled back with the feel showing excellent balance and poise with sour red cherries, raspberries, tobacco, leather, roasted herbs, and earth notes.
Overall: This is in a great place right now and it feels like it should hold here for a bit. There is good depth and balance with searching, dark red fruits though it lacks some savoriness that would take it to another level.
Nose: The nose is perfumed and lush, filled with licorice, dark red cherries, raspberries, cranberries, spice notes, violets, tobacco, and some earth tones. This shows off very good balance and poise that comes with it being in a mature place.
Taste: The feel is full bodied with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. The structure has peeled back to where it's there for framing with tones of dark red cherries, licorice, raspberries, violets, tobacco, and spice notes.
Overall: This is at peak right now. There is still plenty of time left but there is no need to wait anymore.
Nose: It took a little bit for this to fully open up, but as it did it was classic Cote-Rotie with dark red cherries, raspberries, black olives, violets, black pepper, licorice, tobacco, crushed rocks, and spice notes. There is excellent depth with the dark red fruits showing a youthful freshness to them.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The structure still shows some youth, but it is balancing out with dark red cherries, raspberries, black olives, violets, tobacco, licorice, black pepper, and crushed rocks.
Overall: This is starting to drink, but it could really use another few years. It is almost there and shows off the more elegant side of Cote-Rotie that I really love.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Nose: The nose is perfumed, nuanced, and more together than it was back in 16 as tones of red cherries, strawberries, fresh picked berries, earth notes, mint tones, violets, and herbs. There is still a shyness to the nose but this is much more expressive than the last time I had it.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium tannins. The structure is starting to peel back and is showing very good balance along with red cherries, strawberries, fresh picked berries, earth notes, violets, and herbs.
Overall: This is still improving but it is still better than the last time I had it. There is excellent balance and perfume right now and I look forward to tasting this again in a few more years to see how it has developed further.
Nose: The fruit shows a darker and richer profile with black cherries, tobacco, black raspberries, licorice, violets, spice tones, savory herbs, and earth notes. There is very good depth and this is in savory harmony right now.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The tannins provide more of a spine at this point with black cherries, black raspberries, tobacco, licorice, spice tones, violets, and savory herbs.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully and I feel like the Mourvedre helped especially in this vintage. This still shows the richer tones that 03s generally seem to bring, but it works beautifully here. This feels like it should stay at a really good level for a while and it is fully ready to drink right now.
Nose: This was a straight pop and pour, so it took a little bit to wake up. As it started to open, it showed off elegant tones of black cherries, raspberries, black fruits, licorice, olive tapenade, smoke, violets, tobacco, and some roasted meat notes.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium+ acidity and silky, but slightly youthful medium+ tannins. The structure lets you know that there is a lot of life left in this. The feel, however, is elegant and deep with black cherries, raspberries, licorice, olive tapenade, smoke, violets, and roasted meats.
Overall: Sometimes I can find LaLas showing off a little too much gloss or the oak sticking out a bit much. This bottle was not that, not that by a long shot. Under different circumstances I'm sure this would've shown even better but I am certainly not complaining that it was opened.
Nose: The nose was perfumed and beautifully balanced from the get-go with red cherries, raspberries, dried rose petals, roasted herbs, licorice, ashen notes, dried red fruits, black truffles, earth tones, violets, and tobacco.
Taste: The feel was Medium/full bodied with well integrated, high acidity and silky, high tannins. The tannins are a smidge drying while the feel is pure silk and balanced with red cherries, raspberries, dried rose petals, roasted herbs, licorice, black truffles, violets, and tobacco notes.
Overall: This had an original capsule and it was gorgeous. It is possibly just slightly past peak and working down but it is a real joy to drink.
NV Jacques Selosse Initial 94 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Nose: The nose is wide open and expressive from the get-go as it fills the glass with roasted nuts, cider, almonds, red apples, creams, bosc pears, yellow flowers, toast, brioche, custard, and pastry notes. There is excellent depth with this showing off the oxidative notes that are expected.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with tart, high acidity. The acidity is youthful and zesty while the feel shows off great texture and depth with roasted nuts, cider, almonds, red apples, bosc pears, brioche, custard, toast, and some pastry notes.
Overall: Yet again I didn't get the disgorgement on this but this is a newer one. Pretty much this was as good as it always is.
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2005 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Kellerberg 91 Points
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Nose: The nose is showing maturity with a bit of honey but there is still excellent balance with crushed rocks, pears, peaches, apples, nectarines, saline, and yellow flowers.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with crisp, high acidity. There is a lot of refinement and maturity to the feel while the acidity provides a nice spine. This is well balanced with crushed rocks, some honey notes, pears, apples, peaches, saline, and yellow flowers.
Overall: This is well at peak and probably showed a bit more freshness a few years ago. Still, this was a very enjoyable and there is plenty of enjoyment left in the tank.
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2008 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino 91 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Nose: The nose is wide open and plush with sour red cherries, raspberries, roasted herbs, tobacco licorice, leather notes, roses, and earth notes. There is good depth and balance but it does lack some savoriness.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The structure has pulled back with the feel showing excellent balance and poise with sour red cherries, raspberries, tobacco, leather, roasted herbs, and earth notes.
Overall: This is in a great place right now and it feels like it should hold here for a bit. There is good depth and balance with searching, dark red fruits though it lacks some savoriness that would take it to another level.
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1998 Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nose: The nose is perfumed and lush, filled with licorice, dark red cherries, raspberries, cranberries, spice notes, violets, tobacco, and some earth tones. This shows off very good balance and poise that comes with it being in a mature place.
Taste: The feel is full bodied with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. The structure has peeled back to where it's there for framing with tones of dark red cherries, licorice, raspberries, violets, tobacco, and spice notes.
Overall: This is at peak right now. There is still plenty of time left but there is no need to wait anymore.
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2009 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Nose: It took a little bit for this to fully open up, but as it did it was classic Cote-Rotie with dark red cherries, raspberries, black olives, violets, black pepper, licorice, tobacco, crushed rocks, and spice notes. There is excellent depth with the dark red fruits showing a youthful freshness to them.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The structure still shows some youth, but it is balancing out with dark red cherries, raspberries, black olives, violets, tobacco, licorice, black pepper, and crushed rocks.
Overall: This is starting to drink, but it could really use another few years. It is almost there and shows off the more elegant side of Cote-Rotie that I really love.
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2008 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Nose: The nose is perfumed, nuanced, and more together than it was back in 16 as tones of red cherries, strawberries, fresh picked berries, earth notes, mint tones, violets, and herbs. There is still a shyness to the nose but this is much more expressive than the last time I had it.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium tannins. The structure is starting to peel back and is showing very good balance along with red cherries, strawberries, fresh picked berries, earth notes, violets, and herbs.
Overall: This is still improving but it is still better than the last time I had it. There is excellent balance and perfume right now and I look forward to tasting this again in a few more years to see how it has developed further.
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2003 Domaine Tempier Bandol La Tourtine 92 Points
France, Provence, Bandol
Nose: The fruit shows a darker and richer profile with black cherries, tobacco, black raspberries, licorice, violets, spice tones, savory herbs, and earth notes. There is very good depth and this is in savory harmony right now.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The tannins provide more of a spine at this point with black cherries, black raspberries, tobacco, licorice, spice tones, violets, and savory herbs.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully and I feel like the Mourvedre helped especially in this vintage. This still shows the richer tones that 03s generally seem to bring, but it works beautifully here. This feels like it should stay at a really good level for a while and it is fully ready to drink right now.
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