319028. From half-bottle; not notated as 169eme on the label. This is a pretty textbook edition of Grande Cuvée, with a typical blend of Krug richness and a relatively lighter profile. Fairly fruit forward at this point, this has a bright and cheerful disposition. Easy to drink, and in this size, doubly so, even if it's my understanding that this form factor will be discontinued soon.
#11-17. Served double blind; very easy to get to German riesling, and the lack of the streak of green apple acidity on the palate made me think Nahe. It wasn't much further a stretch to guess Dönnhoff. Slightly peachy, the fruit profile seems to indeed emphasize stone fruits. A slight bit of mineral chew on the back end, and a generally light, weightless texture on the palate. Tasty as always.
Served double blind. Clearly a different style than the Dönnhoff next to it; not least because it tastes a fair bit drier (perhaps at something like a feinherb level?). Good minerality and freshness here, but not quite the mineral depth from the best examples of German riesling. I was thinking this was along the lines of an entry level feinherb from something like the Rheingau or Pfalz.
Pretty tasty stuff, and despite the prestigious producer on the label, this drinks very nicely as an easy bistro-style wine. A very fruited attack at first, this thins out a little on the midpalate and finish, and shows plenty of acidity and dusty tannins. Nothing fussy here.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
In the context of the disastrously awful vintage that is 2004, this is actually pretty good. There doesn't appear to be any of the off-putting green notes in this, but the nose is definitely on the herbal side of things and the fruit is mostly dissipated. The palate is dilute and thinned out. Not much of interest here, save the academic interest of this wine's overperformance in the worst red Burgundy vintage in many, many years.
From half-bottle. #83/200, bottled in 2017. This is truly fantastic stuff. A nose of truly aged sherry, chock full of nuts and dried citrus peel and salinity. The palate is where this shines; I love the rich textural quality of this wine; the almost oily-like texture counterbalanced by acidity and a sensation of sweetness from the desiccated fruit flavours. A little heady and high in alcohol but overall this is still very well balanced. I learned about this producer after reading Peter Liem's book and I'm incredibly glad I did. I'm a fan.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvee Edition 169eme 93 Points
France, Champagne
319028. From half-bottle; not notated as 169eme on the label. This is a pretty textbook edition of Grande Cuvée, with a typical blend of Krug richness and a relatively lighter profile. Fairly fruit forward at this point, this has a bright and cheerful disposition. Easy to drink, and in this size, doubly so, even if it's my understanding that this form factor will be discontinued soon.
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2016 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 93 Points
Germany, Nahe
#11-17. Served double blind; very easy to get to German riesling, and the lack of the streak of green apple acidity on the palate made me think Nahe. It wasn't much further a stretch to guess Dönnhoff. Slightly peachy, the fruit profile seems to indeed emphasize stone fruits. A slight bit of mineral chew on the back end, and a generally light, weightless texture on the palate. Tasty as always.
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2019 Heart & Hands Riesling Estate 90 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes, Cayuga Lake
Served double blind. Clearly a different style than the Dönnhoff next to it; not least because it tastes a fair bit drier (perhaps at something like a feinherb level?). Good minerality and freshness here, but not quite the mineral depth from the best examples of German riesling. I was thinking this was along the lines of an entry level feinherb from something like the Rheingau or Pfalz.
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2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Dolcetto d'Alba 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba
Pretty tasty stuff, and despite the prestigious producer on the label, this drinks very nicely as an easy bistro-style wine. A very fruited attack at first, this thins out a little on the midpalate and finish, and shows plenty of acidity and dusty tannins. Nothing fussy here.
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2004 Noël Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte Rouge 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
In the context of the disastrously awful vintage that is 2004, this is actually pretty good. There doesn't appear to be any of the off-putting green notes in this, but the nose is definitely on the herbal side of things and the fruit is mostly dissipated. The palate is dilute and thinned out. Not much of interest here, save the academic interest of this wine's overperformance in the worst red Burgundy vintage in many, many years.
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NV El Maestro Sierra Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Oloroso 1/14 95 Points
Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
From half-bottle. #83/200, bottled in 2017. This is truly fantastic stuff. A nose of truly aged sherry, chock full of nuts and dried citrus peel and salinity. The palate is where this shines; I love the rich textural quality of this wine; the almost oily-like texture counterbalanced by acidity and a sensation of sweetness from the desiccated fruit flavours. A little heady and high in alcohol but overall this is still very well balanced. I learned about this producer after reading Peter Liem's book and I'm incredibly glad I did. I'm a fan.
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