Consistent with the magnum of this that RN opened a few weeks ago. Dark red fruit, almost verging on black, with a lovely palate weight thanks to a modest touch of oak. Sweet and primary, but already amply drinkable now.
Kind of a foursquare showing for Fichet. This lacks the mineral and structural intensity I tend to expect from the house, which was kind disappointing. Nice fruit profile but this is a wine that I'd prefer to drink sooner than later.
Brilliant. Effusive, mature nose with a hint of pyrazine, but generous black fruit as well. On the palate, this is matured, with a brilliantly silky texture and an outstanding balance of still-lively black fruit and leathery, old Bordeaux-style notes. Among the best examples of Australian cabernet I've had.
A solid showing of this. It's certainly getting to be long in the tooth for Champagne, as far as my palate is concerned, but I love the riper profile and those aged chardonnay notes here. Opulent fruit, showing quite yellow and rich. The bubbles are starting to fade, so one to drink sooner than later.
Brilliant stuff, which isn't surprising given the estate. A generous nose with black fruit and dried herbs, though perhaps just a hair on the volatile side. On the palate, there is a lovely mix of red and black, and just the right amount of acidity. The young tannins aren't particularly hard right now, but the relatively higher abv does poke through a little bit. Better with a few years.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Brilliant stuff. Not reductive here, but clearly showing the weight and power of the house style. Lacking a bit of complexity and weight -- more a function of the site than anything else though. I love the mix of fruit and complexity here -- a great showing and aging very well -- there's scarcely a note of secondary.
For the price, you get some insane bang for your buck here. You get some of the ripeness of the vintage, coupled with some Côte de Beaune oomph on the palate. Lovely breadth on the palate, with some lemon-driven acidity and some back-end minerality too. Lavantureux delivers, as always.
Never understood these wines. They're thin and weak and incapable of aging -- it's like you're trying to make Jura in California. Emaciated and missing fruit with a weird funky Jura-like profile, this is at the most complimentary, a middling, misguided attempt. A wine borne out of a fad and a poster child of one of those "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" situations.
Plenty of complexity, with a fair amount of fruit and richness on the palate. A deeper, richer rose, especially with just the right amount of age. Great stuff for drinking right now.
One of the better bottles of Bereche I've had in a while; I've fallen a bit out of love with the wines but this one is very impressive. There's more breadth on the palate and a lovely note of ripe white fruit that actually is more sweet than tart. Slightly bready, but in a good way too.
2022 Hospices de Beaune Volnay 1er Cru Santenots Cuvée Jéhan de Massol (Y. Clerget) "Cuvée 312"
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Consistent with the magnum of this that RN opened a few weeks ago. Dark red fruit, almost verging on black, with a lovely palate weight thanks to a modest touch of oak. Sweet and primary, but already amply drinkable now.
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2022 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault Les Chevalières 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Kind of a foursquare showing for Fichet. This lacks the mineral and structural intensity I tend to expect from the house, which was kind disappointing. Nice fruit profile but this is a wine that I'd prefer to drink sooner than later.
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1990 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 95 Points
Australia, South Australia
Brilliant. Effusive, mature nose with a hint of pyrazine, but generous black fruit as well. On the palate, this is matured, with a brilliantly silky texture and an outstanding balance of still-lively black fruit and leathery, old Bordeaux-style notes. Among the best examples of Australian cabernet I've had.
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2012 Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Avizoise Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Flawed
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged September 2018, 5 g/L dosage. Slightly heat-damaged along the way.
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1990 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
A solid showing of this. It's certainly getting to be long in the tooth for Champagne, as far as my palate is concerned, but I love the riper profile and those aged chardonnay notes here. Opulent fruit, showing quite yellow and rich. The bubbles are starting to fade, so one to drink sooner than later.
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2015 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
Something not quite right here. Not particularly reductive, but kind of flabby and green. Can't believe this is a representative bottle.
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2021 Podere le Boncie (Giovanna Morganti) Chiesamonti Toscana IGT 93 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Brilliant stuff, which isn't surprising given the estate. A generous nose with black fruit and dried herbs, though perhaps just a hair on the volatile side. On the palate, there is a lovely mix of red and black, and just the right amount of acidity. The young tannins aren't particularly hard right now, but the relatively higher abv does poke through a little bit. Better with a few years.
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2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Cuvée Nicholas et Mathis 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
Brilliant stuff. Not reductive here, but clearly showing the weight and power of the house style. Lacking a bit of complexity and weight -- more a function of the site than anything else though. I love the mix of fruit and complexity here -- a great showing and aging very well -- there's scarcely a note of secondary.
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2019 Roland Lavantureux Chablis Vauprin 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis
For the price, you get some insane bang for your buck here. You get some of the ripeness of the vintage, coupled with some Côte de Beaune oomph on the palate. Lovely breadth on the palate, with some lemon-driven acidity and some back-end minerality too. Lavantureux delivers, as always.
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2014 Domaine de la Côte Pinot Noir Siren's Call 85 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Never understood these wines. They're thin and weak and incapable of aging -- it's like you're trying to make Jura in California. Emaciated and missing fruit with a weird funky Jura-like profile, this is at the most complimentary, a middling, misguided attempt. A wine borne out of a fad and a poster child of one of those "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" situations.
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2020 Domaine Pascal Cotat Sancerre Chavignol Rosé 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Plenty of complexity, with a fair amount of fruit and richness on the palate. A deeper, richer rose, especially with just the right amount of age. Great stuff for drinking right now.
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2012 Bérêche et Fils Champagne Les Monts Fournois 93 Points
France, Champagne
One of the better bottles of Bereche I've had in a while; I've fallen a bit out of love with the wines but this one is very impressive. There's more breadth on the palate and a lovely note of ripe white fruit that actually is more sweet than tart. Slightly bready, but in a good way too.
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