Very enjoyable - nothing earthshaking, but this was a stylish and very quaffable Chablis 1er Cru. Great QPR for what you get. There was a bit of sulphur on the nose at first, but that blew of fairly quickly. After that, the wine actually smelt uncharacteristically ripe for a Chablis, with really sweet stone fruit at the fore, almost a bit candied. Thankfully, these drew apart with time to show more classic notes of seashell and limestone, maybe a touch of lime zest. Overall quite attractive, but I felt it was just a bit distractingly sweet smelling. The palate was right back to Chablis though, and very nice indeed. Structured, defined, textural, with a lovely spine of limestone and seashell mineral threaded to a clean, clear mouthful of white fruit and citrus zest, with just a shade of the stone fruited notes picked up on the nose running just peeking out. It had such a lovely finish too, almost grippy in its flinty, seashell minerality as the just lingered and lingered on the back palate. Almost like sucking on a stone. That overtly sweet nose aside, this was a really nice wine that really punched above its weight. A great example of how nice an unoaked Chardonnay can be. Drinking well young, and a beautiful pairing with aged Comte, but this definitely has the bones to age. I am just a little afraid that the sweetness on the palate will chase up with the palate in time.
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
This was really nice. Not quite Southern Rhone, but delicious in a very Aussie way. The nose was a bit tight at first, with some musty carpet and old cupboard must, but this all blew off and opened up beautifully over the night to show lovely notes of dried cherries and plums, dusty earth, brush herbs, and wafts of eucalyptus, even a touch of dried flower petals that came up with time. Very nice. The palate was very light on its feet, with lots of fresh acidity and just that touch of fine tannins framing juicy notes of black cherries and plums, all liberally seasoned with lovely bits of dried earth, preserved sour plums and dried eucalyptus, a touch of coffee beans, and just a little hint of crushed beetles. All very Aussie. Decent finish too - bright and juicy, with a squeeze of citrus acidity to go with dried fruit and more earthy notes. Served blind, I thought it was a mid-1990s GSM, and probably Henschke given the stylings. I wondered where all that freshness came from though - whether it was natural or (more likely) a judicious use of acidification. Whatever the case, this was a delight to drink.
2017 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Very enjoyable - nothing earthshaking, but this was a stylish and very quaffable Chablis 1er Cru. Great QPR for what you get. There was a bit of sulphur on the nose at first, but that blew of fairly quickly. After that, the wine actually smelt uncharacteristically ripe for a Chablis, with really sweet stone fruit at the fore, almost a bit candied. Thankfully, these drew apart with time to show more classic notes of seashell and limestone, maybe a touch of lime zest. Overall quite attractive, but I felt it was just a bit distractingly sweet smelling. The palate was right back to Chablis though, and very nice indeed. Structured, defined, textural, with a lovely spine of limestone and seashell mineral threaded to a clean, clear mouthful of white fruit and citrus zest, with just a shade of the stone fruited notes picked up on the nose running just peeking out. It had such a lovely finish too, almost grippy in its flinty, seashell minerality as the just lingered and lingered on the back palate. Almost like sucking on a stone. That overtly sweet nose aside, this was a really nice wine that really punched above its weight. A great example of how nice an unoaked Chardonnay can be. Drinking well young, and a beautiful pairing with aged Comte, but this definitely has the bones to age. I am just a little afraid that the sweetness on the palate will chase up with the palate in time.
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1996 Henschke Johann's Garden 92 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
This was really nice. Not quite Southern Rhone, but delicious in a very Aussie way. The nose was a bit tight at first, with some musty carpet and old cupboard must, but this all blew off and opened up beautifully over the night to show lovely notes of dried cherries and plums, dusty earth, brush herbs, and wafts of eucalyptus, even a touch of dried flower petals that came up with time. Very nice. The palate was very light on its feet, with lots of fresh acidity and just that touch of fine tannins framing juicy notes of black cherries and plums, all liberally seasoned with lovely bits of dried earth, preserved sour plums and dried eucalyptus, a touch of coffee beans, and just a little hint of crushed beetles. All very Aussie. Decent finish too - bright and juicy, with a squeeze of citrus acidity to go with dried fruit and more earthy notes. Served blind, I thought it was a mid-1990s GSM, and probably Henschke given the stylings. I wondered where all that freshness came from though - whether it was natural or (more likely) a judicious use of acidification. Whatever the case, this was a delight to drink.
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