Academics need wine too

Tasted Friday, November 8, 2024 - Saturday, November 9, 2024 by salil with 108 views

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

  • 2021 Pierre Gonon Ardèche Les Iles Feray 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Ardèche

    (11/8/2024)

    Terrific showing. A lighter, more red fruited expression of this that's driven by bright acids and shows plenty of savoury olive and saline/briny notes around the fruit, not a big wine but absolutely delicious to drink. One of those wines where I could just sit and contemplate over a glass for a while, and then drink another glass in a couple of minutes for sheer visceral pleasure.

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

  • 2020 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine 90 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (11/8/2024)

    Consistent with my notes from a year ago. Superb wine. There's a brightness and juiciness to the red fruit that makes it so easy to drink for straight visceral pleasure, but also a lovely savoury earthiness and forestal greenness around the fruit that adds plenty of depth. Stunning value at the price, and a reminder that I need to buy these more often instead of just going straight to Grezeaux.

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

  • 2021 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Spätlese 91 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    (11/8/2024)

    Very nice showing, though not quite at the level of my last bottle. Still, this is excellent with delicious, vibrant Mosel fruit and gentle slatey and floral notes, and a bright acid spine beneath. This feels a touch sweeter and rounder than I remember, but works very well with the biryani.

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

  • 2021 La Ca' Növa Barbaresco Vigna Bric Mentina Montefico 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    (11/8/2024)

    Very pretty, but gives the impression it's holding quite a bit in reserve. Was curious to get a read on this young after buying a mixed case of this + Montestefano, but this is nowhere near as giving as the 20 or 18 were young. The fruit's rather coiled, and needs some time to unravel. It's understated, but there's a sense of vibrancy and freshness to the red fruited flavours, and higher toned herbal and faintly floral notes emerge with more air, contrasting with the more bitter earthiness and grainy tannin that's notable on the back end. I like the overall balance a lot, but I'll keep my hands off my remaining bottles (and the Montestefano) for a while.

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

Flight 2 (5 Notes)

  • 2022 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux 91 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (11/9/2024)

    Consistent with my previous note, outstanding wine (and a superb value). Though drinking this a day after the Le Domaine bottling (2020), I'm struck by how little gap there is in terms of quality between the two (more a nod to the quality in the Domaine bottling, rather than a knock on Grezeaux).

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

  • 1986 Château Meyney 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    (11/9/2024)

    Perhaps the best of the bottles I've had - this was the best looking from this auction batch, with a fill just below the neck and the cork in excellent shape. Decanted an hour before serving, and the aromatics are compelling - mature red and black fruit, warm earth, tobacco, and more savoury cedar and graphite all coming together into a lovely scent that I could have just sat and enjoyed all dinner. There's just a very faint hint of that Cordier funk here, it shows more as an earthy element rather than anything overly leathery/animale. The palate presence is lovely, medium weight and graceful with the tannin all resolved. Only flaw here is that 750 mL was an inadequately small serving size for the table.

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

  • 2022 Domaine Glantenay Volnay Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

    (11/9/2024)

    Another great bottle, consistent with the last. Bright red fruits, earth, light herbal notes, light on its feet while showing a sappy, rich quality to the fruit at the same time. Terrific value for a village and I'm excited to try the 1ers at some point.

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

  • 2016 Château Rieussec 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    (11/9/2024)

    Served with canelés de Bordeaux (really, the only reason I'm buying/holding Sauternes these days). Surprisingly pale in colour and light for a Sauternes - the orange creamsicle, honey, and other botrytis flavours are here, but it feels relatively thin and almost a little hollow on the back end. The flavours work well with the canelés, but there's not much body here and I'm left wanting more. Meh.

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

  • 1968 Blandy's Madeira Sercial 95 Points

    Portugal, Madeira

    (11/9/2024)

    Decanted about 5 hours before serving. This is lovely. Savoury and sweet at the same time with layers of toasted nuts, dried figs, citrus peels, and more savoury smoky and faintly high-toned elements all coming together seamlessly. There's remarkable aromatic depth here, impressive richness on the palate, and then a really powerful spine of acidity beneath (well, it is Sercial) that just cuts through everything and leaves it finishing with mouthwatering lemony tartness. Terrific.

    Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

×
×