New producer to me. Very nice, old school, slightly baroque style of Champagne, with a lovely opulence and a touch of yellowing fruit thanks to its modest age. Great cut, a touch of lemon zest for freshness, and a lovely, rounded palate.
#30-20, 8.5% abv. Love the vintage for riesling, and obviously love Keller's Kabinett, which may well be the pinnacle of his lineup (hottish take?). Youthful, zippy, electric, mineral, and precise. Far too easy to drink and extraordinarily enjoyable in the throes of youth.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Good, but clearly not at the level of a legendary 1953 Corton Clos de Roi at the restaurant which shall not be named. Autumnal, old Burgundy, with a modest spice note. Not too distinctive at this point, nor does it really have the weight of a grand cru.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Still too young for proper enjoyment. This certainly got a lot better with air, but at first, it was very simplistic, with tons of ripe fruit. All in all, it's held together very well despite the opulent fruit, perhaps with a little help from the high alcohol (15%) and a slightly rustic twist for all that (mostly) black fruit. The "weaker" vintage blends very nicely with the bigger style of CdP.
Pretty boring (and almost tasteless) right when I opened it, but we put it into a decanter, where it certainly started to blossom. Though it never got to the same point as the Verset alongside, that decant opened the wine up to a great degree. This does have a bit of the old school Hermitage rusticity and weight, but it doesn't stack up with the best bottles of Sorrel I've had -- it's still a little bit ornery if anything.
Verset may well have been the best producer of Cornas in my lifetime so far (and those of you who know my palate know my deep, abiding love for Allemand), but alas the label is now extinct. This was a brilliant showing, if a little unexpected for 1995 in that there is such a lightness and delicacy to the fruit, as well as a strong red tint. The palate has of course that typical Verset balance of rusticity and silken beauty -- but in a very different way than Allemand. Maybe it's that Verset comes off a bit more wild and feral?
#20-19, 7% abv. I mean, it's young Emrich TBA. Is there really anything more to say? A kaleidoscopic array of fruit and green herbs on the nose and palate, with a clean, wasabi-like (Eiswein?!) bite on the finish. The fruit notes range from apple all the way to passionfruit, and like the best examples of TBA, you can find and focus on each individual element. That delineation is what makes these wines so special -- the filigreed precision and intricacy. And as much as I love old TBA, the young ones are just as impressive and stunning.
1998 De Saint Gall Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Orpale Blanc de Blancs 90 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
New producer to me. Very nice, old school, slightly baroque style of Champagne, with a lovely opulence and a touch of yellowing fruit thanks to its modest age. Great cut, a touch of lemon zest for freshness, and a lovely, rounded palate.
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2019 Weingut Keller Niersteiner Hipping Riesling Kabinett 93 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
#30-20, 8.5% abv. Love the vintage for riesling, and obviously love Keller's Kabinett, which may well be the pinnacle of his lineup (hottish take?). Youthful, zippy, electric, mineral, and precise. Far too easy to drink and extraordinarily enjoyable in the throes of youth.
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1978 Pierre Ponnelle Echezeaux 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Good, but clearly not at the level of a legendary 1953 Corton Clos de Roi at the restaurant which shall not be named. Autumnal, old Burgundy, with a modest spice note. Not too distinctive at this point, nor does it really have the weight of a grand cru.
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2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin Flawed
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Corked.
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2011 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins 93 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Still too young for proper enjoyment. This certainly got a lot better with air, but at first, it was very simplistic, with tons of ripe fruit. All in all, it's held together very well despite the opulent fruit, perhaps with a little help from the high alcohol (15%) and a slightly rustic twist for all that (mostly) black fruit. The "weaker" vintage blends very nicely with the bigger style of CdP.
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1991 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Oxidized. Not bad enough to dump but bad enough to not drink, so there's gonna be a very expensive pot of braised beef in the future.
Postscript: it's the best pot roast I've ever had.
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1995 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Pretty boring (and almost tasteless) right when I opened it, but we put it into a decanter, where it certainly started to blossom. Though it never got to the same point as the Verset alongside, that decant opened the wine up to a great degree. This does have a bit of the old school Hermitage rusticity and weight, but it doesn't stack up with the best bottles of Sorrel I've had -- it's still a little bit ornery if anything.
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1995 Noël Verset Cornas 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Verset may well have been the best producer of Cornas in my lifetime so far (and those of you who know my palate know my deep, abiding love for Allemand), but alas the label is now extinct. This was a brilliant showing, if a little unexpected for 1995 in that there is such a lightness and delicacy to the fruit, as well as a strong red tint. The palate has of course that typical Verset balance of rusticity and silken beauty -- but in a very different way than Allemand. Maybe it's that Verset comes off a bit more wild and feral?
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1970 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu Flawed
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
From half-bottle. Corked.
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2018 Emrich-Schönleber Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 98 Points
Germany, Nahe
#20-19, 7% abv. I mean, it's young Emrich TBA. Is there really anything more to say? A kaleidoscopic array of fruit and green herbs on the nose and palate, with a clean, wasabi-like (Eiswein?!) bite on the finish. The fruit notes range from apple all the way to passionfruit, and like the best examples of TBA, you can find and focus on each individual element. That delineation is what makes these wines so special -- the filigreed precision and intricacy. And as much as I love old TBA, the young ones are just as impressive and stunning.
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No