Mostly Champagne & Burgs (VVF, Krug, DP, Rousseau, Fourrier,…)

Tasting with eight friends and far too much wines.

Note: Flower/Leaf Day, good weather

• 2005 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted double blind. My first time drinking the 2005. True to the house style, this is fresh, toasty with bright fruit and already in the zone with nice tertiary caramel aromas adding to the complexity. This is drinking beautifully today while you still have to wait for the 02/06/08 to reach their maturity plateau. It doesn’t have the depth of those vintages for sure but is still a great Champagne. Easily 94/95 pts.
  
  TN: Medium expressive nose with toasty aromas, fresh fruit and some minerality. On the palate this shows beautifully with caramel, toast, fresh orchard fruit, minerality. Medium complex only but with fairly good precision. Overall, this is sexy and seductive with a nice medium acidity lending the wine enough freshness. Fine mousse, round and well balanced. Wonderful length and mid palate weight.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no extensive decanting necessary.

  Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Union Champagne de Saint Gall Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 93 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. This was one of the positive surprises of the tasting. A winery I’ve never heard of before. The highlights for me are the precision and superb freshness without losing its roundness. It doesn‘t have quite the mid palate weight and complexity of the Comtes 2002 we had in the next glass, but still impressive. With a few more years of age, some more tertiary aromas this can climb even higher.
  
  TN: Medium- expressive on the nose with lots of minerality, some toasty notes and a fresh orchard fruit core. On the palate this is quite beautiful with superbly defined orchard fruit, apples, citrus, nice minerality, some toastiness. Quite round and soft and superbly fresh.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, good from the go. No decanting needed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• NV Bérêche et Fils Champagne Brut Réserve 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted double blind. This is a stunning Champagne for its price class, clearly punching above its weight thanks to a complex aroma profile delivered in HD. This bottle was still in need of some more years in the cellar to further soften but it held up well against a Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2005 in the next glass (rated 94+). Certainly a Champagne to stock up.
  
  TN: On the nose, backed apple, minerality, some quince. Medium+ expressive, medium precision. Quite intriguing. THe palate this is super fresh and light thanks to a high aicidty, full of minerality, backed apple, some fresher orchard fruit, some lime and toasty notes. Quite rich, complex and fresh. The structure is not as luxurious as with the best Champagnes but overall this is quite complete of great quality.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, good from the go.

  Post a Comment / 6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• NV Henri Giraud Champagne Grand Cru Fût de Chêne MV16 88 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. This is not my cup of tea. And I tried to retaste in on Day 2 (was not a hit in the group and hence still had quite a bit left). While I can appreciate the richness, this was a bit too strange. The aromatic profile was quite weird with notes and yes, smells I can‘t really pinpoint. And it had far too much bubbles, like a San Pellegrino… it was difficult to properly put the nose into the glass at first (no problem on Day anymore 2). I’m usually a sucker for wines with singular aromatic expressions but I couldn’t really handle this one. But I’m sure there are many lovers of this house and style out there. Those people should just ignore my note.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvee Edition 169eme 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Wow, this is fantastic. Even this young, this is so disarmingly easy to drink. The complexity is high, the precision impressive, the wine is fresh and layered but already so round and creamy. The house style with toasty/nutty notes is quite apparent. We had this next to the excellent Dom Perignon 2008 (rated 96 pts) but while the Krug is so seductive, inviting and complete, the Dom Perignon is still painfully young but shows immense potential and complexity with a precision that is stunning and even clearly better than in the Krug.
  
  TN: Medium expressive nose with seductive toasty notes, some red berries and some spices. Much more impressive on the palate with layers and layers of caramel, toasty notes, hazelnut, orchard fruit, apple, a touch of peach, some lime from the attack through to the long finish. The wine has a medium acidity, perfectly integrated, good weight and substance and a creamy texture and is so incredibly elegant and complete. Wow.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no decanting necessary.

  Post a Comment / 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Dom Pérignon Champagne 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  I’ve tasted this vintage every year since it hit the market back in 2018 and with every year this gets better and better. This was clearly the best bottle yet which beautifully showcased the immense potential and complexity with a precision and linearity that is stunning (the best in any 08 I’ve had to date). Still, and especially compared to the seductive, round and ready-to-go Krug 169eme in the next glass (rated 96 pts), this will need many more years to open up more, unlock everything it has in store, become rounder and more harmonious. Nevertheless, this is the first bottle of DP 08 that really excites me.
  
  TN: Rather backward nose. On the palate is more giving with hyper pure and precise lime, citrus, apple, peach notes, herbs, lots of minerality. For the first time in a DP 08, some bakery notes add to the complexity. As mentioned, impressive contours, so precise, so linear. High but perfectly round acidity, very light and very fine mousse but in terms of roundness and elegance not yet there but that’s just a matter of time.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, good from the go (and gone too quickly, so I don’t know if more aeration would have changed things).

  Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 13 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted double blind. Superb wine with lots of substance and weight, Bollinger’s yeasty signature and added complexity thanks to the 25 years in the cellar. This was one of the highlights of the tasting and it won the race against two heavyweights in the same flight, the Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2002 (rated 93 pts) which showed too wild and not harmonious enough and the Bollinger VVF 2004 (rated 95 pts too, but still a touch behind the RD) which showed a bit muted. On day two, however, the Goisses and the VVF were clearly improved and catched-up to the RD.
  
  TN: Medium+ expressive nose, smoke, toasty oak, very ripe apple, some nutty notes. Quite intriguing. On the palate this is much fresher, light and even seems a touch young. Notes of ripe dark berries, backed apple, minerality at first and it gets better by the minute with more intense, sweet red fruit and some burnt sugar and especially the yeasty notes coming out. Very good length. Very vinous and with time in the glass very round and elegant. Quite complete. Easily 95/96 pts.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no extensive decanting necessary as it opened-up quickly in the glass, but some air helps.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2002 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted double blind. On day one this was not good. At best a 90 pts experience for me. While it showed quite layered it was too wild, with too much bubbles and not harmonious. On day 2, however, it showed much better. Even more layers cam forward and the wine showed wonderfully balanced and superbly delineated (however, not with much expression on the nose). I do not doubt that this is wine can achieve higher highs but this bottle was not up there. 90 pts on day one, 94/95 on day two.
  
  TN: On day one: The nose seems quite wild with lots of bubbles and not much more. On the palate this has a wonderful red fruit potpourri, some apples, lots of minerality, some herbs. Quite round but still too much perlage and too much wildness. Not overly enjoyable in this condition. Much, much better on day two. Not overly expressive on the nose but the palate is fantastic with layers and layers of sweet fruit, honey, brioche and toast notes, crushed rocks. Medium+ to full-bodied, creamy and rich. The wonderfully balanced sweetness is amazing. Superbly delineated and with a medium+ acidity keeping it weightless. 94/95 pts.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted. This bottle definitely needed some air (would have certainly benefitted from an hour in a Champagne decanter).

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2004 Bollinger Champagne Vieilles Vignes Françaises 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  At first muted, this needed air to open up, get more expressive and exciting. The best glass, however, was on day two where it was full on with lots of beautiful aromas, a perfectly round and harmonious structure and texture and a quite perfect balance. One thing is clear, though, if I would have to judge just based on this bottle, I would safely say that VVFs are in no way worth the incredibly high admission price. 94 pts on day one, 95/96 pts on day three.
  
  TN: The nose is a bit muted at first but gets more open with time but never over the two days it is a truly exciting, fully expressive bouquet. A clear step-up on the palate. Lots of complexity with notes of caramel, toffee, herbs, backed apple, lots of red berries, peach, quince and spices. Very rich, round and soft. Highly elegant with very fine bubbles (obviously, on day two). Super complex and very precise.
  
  Decanting: This needed time to open up. I would give it 1 hour in a decanter (or follow it over a whole evening).

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2012 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  The only white wine in the lineup. I’ve had this wine six months ago with consistent results (96 pts). While it might be a bit too broad right upon opening, this get more harmonious, fresh as well as more layered the longer it sit in the glass. The highlights are the complexity and the perfect balance. This is a great wine in a great spot, well deserving the high praise here on Cellartracker.
  
  TN: I’ve only tasted this on day two, the nose is rather muted but on the palate this is great. Ripe orchard fruit, some tropical fruit, especially mango, some citrusy aromas, some honey notes, a balancing layer of minerality and some herbs - all delivered in HD. This is sexy as f*ck with that extra Batard broadness but an superb acidity which cuts right through it, keeping it weightless.
  
  Decanting: I would give it two hours in the decanter.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2009 Domaine Trapet Chambertin 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

  This showed very promising but will definitely need more time in the cellar to open up, become rounder and more complex. Today this is still a bit locked but the substance underneath, the precision and the structure are quite great.
  
  TN: Medium+ expressive nose with strawberries and some blue fruit, some stems and smoke. Quite inviting. On the palate this very soft and round, with beautiful red and blue fruit, stems, tobacco hints, crushed rocks. Gets better by the minute with a more open profile, more sweetness but overall this is still not ready and hence not the most complex wine yet. But it is quite promising as there is obviously a lot of substance embedded in a very good structural frame with very round tannins, a medium+ and well-integrated acidity, good weight from start to finish and an already creamy texture without excess.
  
  Decanting: Decanted for roughly 60 minutes, then back in the bottle and consumed a few hours later. This was not enough. I would decant it a bit longer, but better wait a few years.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2016 J.C. Kuntzer et Fils Pinot Noir Clos de la Perrière Domaine Saint-Sébaste 96 Points

  Switzerland, Three Lakes, Neuchâtel

  Tasted double blind. One of the big surprise of the tasting, this to me unknown Pinot Noir from Switzerland came surpassed many heavyweights in this tasting, partly of course, because it is more mature (despite a younger age) than Burgundy Grand Crus. The wine has a lot of depth paired with good complexity and despite a few hard edges is already in a beautiful drinking window but has the structure and fruit to age further. Burgundian in style, this is a stunning achievement from this winery.
  
  TN: Medium expressive nose with nice candied soft and round fruit with strawberries, blueberries and even some black hints. Some candied fruit. Then a lot of spices. On the palate this explodes with a ripe but not too ripe fruit core, stems, minerality, some herbs and spices, cola. Not as well defined as some other Burgs tonight but still on a good level. High quality tannins but still a touch masculine, medium acidity, creamy texture with good presence from the attack to the finish. Quite complete showing.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no extensive decanting necessary.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2013 Joseph Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. This wine delivered a convincing performance thanks to an impeccable structural frame and the substance that is there. Unfortunately, it remained rather muted and closed over the span of the tasting. But with its depth it seems to be a promise for the future. Give it at least 5 to 10 more years in the cellar.
  
  TN: Medium+ expressive nose, vegetal aromas, dark fruit more than red. On the palate this is still a touch muted, dark fruited. With time more open, a touch vegetal, rather dark fruited and masculine with lots of minerality. The substance is impressive but even with more air, the wine is still quite closed. The frame is good with round, silky tannins and a medium, well-integrated acidity, slightly creamy texture.
  
  Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours which wasn’t enough.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 96 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Tasted double blind. Included in a Burgundy lineup, it was instantly clear that we have a high-end Barolo in our glasses. This 2008 is singing today and is an archetype Barolo with lots of fine red fruit and the signature tar and roses notes. Despite being still young, the structure and texture were very fine and elegant with no hard edges, a weightless feel and creamy sexiness. But there is a strong tannic backbone and a high acidity which will allow for graceful ageing and an even better experience in the future.
  
  TN: Expressive nose displaying bright red and dark fruit, lots of tar minerality and rose water. Amazing on the nose, so intriguing that it was hard to stop smelling. Same on the palate with a complex and highly precise picture with lots of red and some dark berries, tar, roses, mountain herbs. Not yet much tertiary aromas. Still young and vibrant but with ultra-fine tannins, a high but perfectly-integrated acidity, good creamy yet fresh and light texture and feel and good weight from the start towards the long-lasting finish. Complete and superbly balanced.
  
  Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours which seemed fine.

  Post a Comment / 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. While I appreciated the depth of this wine I was not as big a fan as others in our group (see Nostrabacchus note below). I found it too rustic, even aggressive with a not yet perfectly round and integrated tannins and an acidity which was high and not very well integrated. Maybe the wine needs just 10 or 20 more years to get there and reach the level of elegance and softness I expect from such a wine. I’ve tried some more on day two and it showed even more layered but the Ruchottes sturdiness was still there.
  
  TN: The nose is expressive, spicy, a touch funky, not as round as inviting, even a touch aggressive. On the palate this is more inviting, and a touch rounder, full of ripe dark red and red fruit, from fresh to candied, so much spices, herbs and a nice layer of minerality. The substance and precision are quite impressive from the attack and into the quite long finish. The tannins are of good quality but there is a lot of them and they’re not yet perfectly round and silky. The acidity is a touch too high and not very well integrated. Overall, this puts the balance slightly off.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted. Based on my day two experience a good 2+ hours in the decanter would have certainly helped but still not to the point to overcome the imperfections.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2011 Domaine Fourrier Griotte-Chambertin Vieille Vigne 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. This was my (and I guess the groups) winner of the Burgs. Very impressively layered, so much concentration but with absolutely no weight. Perfectly round, elegant and harmonious. Interesting was the comparison to the 2013 Drouhin Griottes we had before, which was 10x more masculine (and still closed). 2011 might not be a very good red wine vintage but this Fourrier today is an absolute winner.
  
  TN: Very expressive on the nose with strawberries, stems, smoke, earthy notes, some teritary funk. On the palate this is so concentrated but without any weight. It‘s absolutely weightless which is the big highlight. There are spices, lots of fine fresh bright red and dark fruit. Some blue fruit. Very beautiful and round. Absolutely silky tannins, a medium, well-integrated acidity, silky texture. Very complete and balanced. Stems and minerality come out as well towards the finish. Absolutely great. The finish is amazing, so long and intense. The spiciness, crismas spices is the highlight.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no extensive decanting needed.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1997 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Three sweet wines tasted double blind to finish this memorable tasting. Two of them were German Auslese with 25 years of age and both showed beautifully. Winner was the Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1997 (94 pts) with its intoxicating and complex nose. This was not a Goldkapsel and hence not that sweet. Auslesen like this with age I prefer as an aperitif and not as a sweet wine. Still this was great and beat the Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Goldkapsel 1995 (91 pts) which showed richer and more fruit-driven but not 100% clean with some cellar/wet cardboard notes on the nose. Lastly, we had a Sauternes which the group liked a lot more than I did. The Chateau Gilette 1947 (86 pts) still showed some nice aromas on the palate but the nose was off (wet carboard smells) and the wine got quite acidity towards the finish.
  
  TN: Wow, this is so super fresh and kicking. The tons and tons of minerality dominate the nose. Underneath that is a strong fruit core with grapefruit, apple and lime. Some lynchee. Lots of spices. And thats only the nose. On the palat the aromas are much more intermixed, much less precise. But still quite interesting. I noted, “feels like an Auslese, it is absolutely not sweet”. The acidity is beautifully integrated and keeps the wine very fresh, also helped by the strong minerality. The nose is certainly at a 95+ pts level, overall this is a very good wine, easily drinking on a 94 pts level.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no extensive decanting needed. Good from the go.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1995 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Three sweet wines tasted double blind to finish this memorable tasting. Two of them were German Auslese with 25 years of age and both showed beautifully. Winner was the Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1997 (94 pts) with its intoxicating and complex nose. This was not a Goldkapsel and hence not that sweet. Auslesen like this with age I prefer as an aperitif and not as a sweet wine. Still this was great and beat the Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Goldkapsel 1995 (91 pts) which showed richer and more fruit-driven but not 100% clean with some cellar/wet cardboard notes on the nose. Lastly, we had a Sauternes which the group liked a lot more than I did. The Chateau Gilette 1947 (86 pts) still showed some nice aromas on the palate but the nose was off (wet carboard smells) and the wine got quite acidity towards the finish.
  
  TN: The nose is not clean. Underneath some wet cardboard smells, some musty notes there are - like on the palate - nice botrytis notes, saffron, quince, peach, apple and pear. Additionally on the palate a wonderful minerality layer which together with the acidity keeps it quite light, fresh and makes you wanna drink more. The balance is impeccable. Could be more if it wouldn’t be for the not so clean profile.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, maybe a bit of air would have helped here. But that will be different from bottle to bottle

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1947 Château Gilette Doux 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Three sweet wines tasted double blind to finish this memorable tasting. Two of them were German Auslese with 25 years of age and both showed beautifully. Winner was the Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1997 (94 pts) with its intoxicating and complex nose. This was not a Goldkapsel and hence not that sweet. Auslesen like this with age I prefer as an aperitif and not as a sweet wine. Still this was great and beat the Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Goldkapsel 1995 (91 pts) which showed richer and more fruit-driven but not 100% clean with some cellar/wet cardboard notes on the nose. Lastly, we had a Sauternes which the group liked a lot more than I did. The Chateau Gilette 1947 (86 pts) still showed some nice aromas on the palate but the nose was off (wet carboard smells) and the wine got quite acidity towards the finish.
  
  TN: Strange Wet paper nose. The wine has the best attack of all three sweet wines fully-on and typical Sauternes with a superb fresh saffron, citrus, orchard fruit and mineral notes but then it quickly gets acidic and falls apart. Clearly past its prime.
  
  Decanting: Not decanted, no extensive decanting needed. Good from the go.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue