USA, Oregon, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater
Day-old sample. Very lovely syrah aromatics here -- love the stemminess, olive brine, and smoke. Not particularly rustic. The fruit is quite opulent but there's a touch of burnt rubber here and a slight tinniness that is probably more a function of a very small amount of wine left in a bottle overnight.
Day-old sample. Essence of strawberry here. It's so clean and bright, with a lovely elegance, and beautiful acidity that cuts through the more fruit-forward qualities. Unmistakably Oregon pinot, and despite being a day old, this is very pretty and not showing signs of oxidation.
Day-old sample. Very cabernet franc. Impressive mix of both the pyrazines and sweet fruit that gives this more of a body than many Loire renditions. It's veers a hair towards confected, but with the counterbalance of the acidity and bell pepper, this actually integrates very nicely.
Served double blind. Thought this was a great villages-level white Burgundy, made with a little more badonkadonk. Very clean, nary a hint of the oxidative or oxidative-adjacent notes. Clean, crisp, and an outstanding wine for the price.
Wax top. Hands down the best bottle of this wine I've ever had (and I've had this wine quite a few times). Not overt reduction here. This is expressive, laser-focussed Chablis, with just the right amount of salinity, yellow fruit, minerality, and everything else that you want. The acidity is really on point -- it's dialled in and potent, but never sharp or screechy. With air, this picks up another dimension in that chewy, almost-tannic mineral quality.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Quite impressive in its stature here -- it's very Le Moine and very Perrières. Opulent and thickly textured, this comes across a little bit like PYCM sans all the reduction. The oak is dialled in, the vintage yields plenty of acidity. The expected breadth is here, and while there's no doubt in my mind for aging, it's very much enjoyable now already.
Comes off a little round on the palate, but all that classic richness of a Keller GG is here on full display. It's not as incisive as it could be, but there's a calm, serene quality to this that differentiates it from some of the other orange labels that I've had. A hint of lychee, plenty of green herbs on the nose, and just a hint of sweetness from the overall richness of the wine.
Whoa. This is still so burly and structural, with so much tannic backbone I could believe it if you said this was like 10 years old. The fruit has a deft, light touch, though it veers a bit black for Truchot. Of course, the question is whether the fruit will last alongside that burly tannic structure. I'm still doubtful.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Absolutely love this. It's very BG in style, with its sappy red fruit and ample acids. The sheer amount of fruit here pushes the wine to become almost a little sweet, but it's not like a cloying sort of thing. Beautiful red-fruited perfume as well, and plenty of weight on the palate, in that this doesn't come off as a post-modern wine at all. Despite BG being a Fixin house, it's quite clear in my mind that these more prestigious sites really do justify the increase in price versus the Fixins.
Holy wow this is good. Probably the best bottle of Bartolo I've had in a long time. The nose is so perfumed, with stunning florals, and crisp red fruit that show just the right mix of sweet and sour. On the palate, this hides its 14% abv very, very well. It comes off so cool and elegant, with again the sweet fruit, but a slight tarry note and plenty of tannins on the back end. The fruit profile is crisp and delicate, the aromatics so crystalline and pure. Unmistakably a wine with plenty of potential, but it is absolutely no waste to enjoy this right now in the throes of youth.
2022 Martin Woods Syrah
USA, Oregon, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater
Day-old sample. Very lovely syrah aromatics here -- love the stemminess, olive brine, and smoke. Not particularly rustic. The fruit is quite opulent but there's a touch of burnt rubber here and a slight tinniness that is probably more a function of a very small amount of wine left in a bottle overnight.
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2022 Martin Woods Pinot Noir Bednarik Vineyard
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Tualatin Hills
Day-old sample. Essence of strawberry here. It's so clean and bright, with a lovely elegance, and beautiful acidity that cuts through the more fruit-forward qualities. Unmistakably Oregon pinot, and despite being a day old, this is very pretty and not showing signs of oxidation.
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2021 Martin Woods Cabernet Franc Walla Walla Valley
USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Day-old sample. Very cabernet franc. Impressive mix of both the pyrazines and sweet fruit that gives this more of a body than many Loire renditions. It's veers a hair towards confected, but with the counterbalance of the acidity and bell pepper, this actually integrates very nicely.
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2021 Domaine Rolet Chardonnay Arbois 90 Points
France, Jura, Arbois
Served double blind. Thought this was a great villages-level white Burgundy, made with a little more badonkadonk. Very clean, nary a hint of the oxidative or oxidative-adjacent notes. Clean, crisp, and an outstanding wine for the price.
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2019 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chardonnay Bourgogne 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Solid stuff. Not particularly characterful as far as Ramonet can be. Good, clean chardonnay showing some of the fullness of the vintage.
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2014 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Wax top. Hands down the best bottle of this wine I've ever had (and I've had this wine quite a few times). Not overt reduction here. This is expressive, laser-focussed Chablis, with just the right amount of salinity, yellow fruit, minerality, and everything else that you want. The acidity is really on point -- it's dialled in and potent, but never sharp or screechy. With air, this picks up another dimension in that chewy, almost-tannic mineral quality.
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2017 Lucien Le Moine Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Quite impressive in its stature here -- it's very Le Moine and very Perrières. Opulent and thickly textured, this comes across a little bit like PYCM sans all the reduction. The oak is dialled in, the vintage yields plenty of acidity. The expected breadth is here, and while there's no doubt in my mind for aging, it's very much enjoyable now already.
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2021 Weingut Keller Oberer Hubacker Riesling Monopol 93 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
Comes off a little round on the palate, but all that classic richness of a Keller GG is here on full display. It's not as incisive as it could be, but there's a calm, serene quality to this that differentiates it from some of the other orange labels that I've had. A hint of lychee, plenty of green herbs on the nose, and just a hint of sweetness from the overall richness of the wine.
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2005 Domaine Truchot-Martin Bourgogne 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Whoa. This is still so burly and structural, with so much tannic backbone I could believe it if you said this was like 10 years old. The fruit has a deft, light touch, though it veers a bit black for Truchot. Of course, the question is whether the fruit will last alongside that burly tannic structure. I'm still doubtful.
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2019 Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Absolutely love this. It's very BG in style, with its sappy red fruit and ample acids. The sheer amount of fruit here pushes the wine to become almost a little sweet, but it's not like a cloying sort of thing. Beautiful red-fruited perfume as well, and plenty of weight on the palate, in that this doesn't come off as a post-modern wine at all. Despite BG being a Fixin house, it's quite clear in my mind that these more prestigious sites really do justify the increase in price versus the Fixins.
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2019 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 98 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Holy wow this is good. Probably the best bottle of Bartolo I've had in a long time. The nose is so perfumed, with stunning florals, and crisp red fruit that show just the right mix of sweet and sour. On the palate, this hides its 14% abv very, very well. It comes off so cool and elegant, with again the sweet fruit, but a slight tarry note and plenty of tannins on the back end. The fruit profile is crisp and delicate, the aromatics so crystalline and pure. Unmistakably a wine with plenty of potential, but it is absolutely no waste to enjoy this right now in the throes of youth.
Post a Comment / 11 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No