A solid bottle of champagne, no doubt, but certainly not at the level that the current market price commands. I understand the allure of the story, of course, but at the end of the day, it's what's in the bottle that counts. A good amount of freshness here, but mostly a structural champagne without too much fruit on the nose or palate. It overall felt a little thin.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
If I have my story straight, this is from a site that yields some of (if not the) lowest pH wines out there. For a 2016, this is remarkably acid-driven, but it is still not the high-acidity, racy white Burgundy that I love. Initially this showed quite a bit of reduction on the nose, but it did diminish with air. On the other hand, the palate shows a little bit of wooliness that seems more at home with chenin than chardonnay. Good, but I think the difficulties of the vintage show through.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
From the same lot as a corked bottle a few months ago. This bottle, fortunately, was not. Decanted 2-3 hours before service. The nose is very up front and forward, showing plenty of classic Dujac spice and a sweet tone from the fruit that is just as compelling. The palate on this is more lithe and lifted than the CSD, and you get a lovely sense that this is mature and fully at peak. There's something about this vintage where you get a sensation of high acids (Jeremy Seysses had once remarked to me that the analytics didn't show higher acid, only to follow that up by saying that one tastes what one tastes) and this bottle leads you down that same path. The perfumed delicacy on the palate feels just plain luxurious, and it would be an absolute thrill to open a bottle of this any time, but tonight, I felt that this was eclipsed by its southern neighbour.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
Decanted for 2-3 hours before service. Served next to the CdlR and the differences between the two wines was stark. To be sure, these two bottles are from different sources, but this bottle was much more up my alley tonight (and in the few instances where I've had the two flagship Dujac wines side by side, I think I've preferred the CSD). For tonight's flight, while the CdlR seemed fully mature and at peak, the CSD was much more intense and burlier, and seemed to have a darker complexion. The tannic structure here was more pronounced and I think this still has a long way to go. The Dujac spice was more obvious on the CdlR though, I think because the wine was just overall a little lighter. Thrilling.
As a bit of a post-script, I re-read Jeremy Seysses's comments in Jasper Morris's Inside Burgundy 2nd Edition regarding the differences between CSD and CdlR, and I would be in broad agreement with what he said, the only difference being that in this case I found the CdlR's tannins to be the silkier of the two and the CdlR the more readily approachable wine.
A gorgeous bottle of port, even from the pop and pour. The fruit on this is stunning; it's all plums and figs, and while it is unequivocally sweet, it is relatively dry for port (at least, that I can remember -- I drink port maybe once a year?). Most impressively, the spirit is incredibly well-integrated. You don't feel the heat here whatsoever; it's so silky texturally. Nacional is truly among the best of the best.
2008 Marie-Noëlle Ledru Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
A solid bottle of champagne, no doubt, but certainly not at the level that the current market price commands. I understand the allure of the story, of course, but at the end of the day, it's what's in the bottle that counts. A good amount of freshness here, but mostly a structural champagne without too much fruit on the nose or palate. It overall felt a little thin.
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2016 Domaine Dujac Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Monts-Luisants Blanc 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
If I have my story straight, this is from a site that yields some of (if not the) lowest pH wines out there. For a 2016, this is remarkably acid-driven, but it is still not the high-acidity, racy white Burgundy that I love. Initially this showed quite a bit of reduction on the nose, but it did diminish with air. On the other hand, the palate shows a little bit of wooliness that seems more at home with chenin than chardonnay. Good, but I think the difficulties of the vintage show through.
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1996 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
From the same lot as a corked bottle a few months ago. This bottle, fortunately, was not. Decanted 2-3 hours before service. The nose is very up front and forward, showing plenty of classic Dujac spice and a sweet tone from the fruit that is just as compelling. The palate on this is more lithe and lifted than the CSD, and you get a lovely sense that this is mature and fully at peak. There's something about this vintage where you get a sensation of high acids (Jeremy Seysses had once remarked to me that the analytics didn't show higher acid, only to follow that up by saying that one tastes what one tastes) and this bottle leads you down that same path. The perfumed delicacy on the palate feels just plain luxurious, and it would be an absolute thrill to open a bottle of this any time, but tonight, I felt that this was eclipsed by its southern neighbour.
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1996 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis 98 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
Decanted for 2-3 hours before service. Served next to the CdlR and the differences between the two wines was stark. To be sure, these two bottles are from different sources, but this bottle was much more up my alley tonight (and in the few instances where I've had the two flagship Dujac wines side by side, I think I've preferred the CSD). For tonight's flight, while the CdlR seemed fully mature and at peak, the CSD was much more intense and burlier, and seemed to have a darker complexion. The tannic structure here was more pronounced and I think this still has a long way to go. The Dujac spice was more obvious on the CdlR though, I think because the wine was just overall a little lighter. Thrilling.
As a bit of a post-script, I re-read Jeremy Seysses's comments in Jasper Morris's Inside Burgundy 2nd Edition regarding the differences between CSD and CdlR, and I would be in broad agreement with what he said, the only difference being that in this case I found the CdlR's tannins to be the silkier of the two and the CdlR the more readily approachable wine.
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1996 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 95 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
A gorgeous bottle of port, even from the pop and pour. The fruit on this is stunning; it's all plums and figs, and while it is unequivocally sweet, it is relatively dry for port (at least, that I can remember -- I drink port maybe once a year?). Most impressively, the spirit is incredibly well-integrated. You don't feel the heat here whatsoever; it's so silky texturally. Nacional is truly among the best of the best.
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