Bottle 072/387. Served from the wine list at La Reserve in Geneva. First time with this producer, and would not have picked it off the list had it not been for the fact that I was dining with PN (who works in the wine sector).
The first thing that you are hit with when drinking this bottle is the character of the reduction - very much in the style of Jules Brochet Premices. The nose cannot help but catch peanuts, sesame oil, and a smattering of curry leaf for good measure. Very much in the fashion of the moment, and did not really budge even as this got more oxygen.
Though the nose is very characterful, the palate was (by contrast) relatively simple. The mousse is very subtle, and the champagne very quickly settles into a state mirroring that of Vin Claire. There is some pretty framboise that I often get with Blanc des Noirs, and a greenness that I only really associate with greengage fruit. Not overly energetic, and marked down for a lack of definition and weight.
Overall though, a very promising debut vintage, and will look out for this producer again and would expect age to add more nuance overall.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
This is an absolutely intriguing wine for the age and the level. The cork was an absolute terror to extract, so the occassional fragment did manage to find its way into the glass. The colour is very light with a lot of orange but still some garnet at the core. The nose started out a bit slow, but with air that it roared into life. Dried herbs in the style of Reynaud, has some just a hint of soapiness that gets in the way.
The palate doesn't not have the same weight that the nose promises, though not drying at all and had nice acidity. The tannins are present, soft and silky. Definitely on the ethereal side, as might be expected. Somehow, good examples of this wine have held up in spite of the village terroir and the poor vintage. The score does not properly reflect the emotions that this wine is capable of producing.
Truthfully speaking, I do not think that this was the best bottle, or the reality of fifty years on a village Bourgogne might have been too much for the great vintage to bear. Bottle had great level, but the colour was remarkably dark for the age. The nose immediately showed some maderised qualities which translated to a nutty palate and almost no corresponding acidity. Leafy, but not in a good way. Not sure many examples these days will have held up, and oddly comforting that nobody on this site has any in their cellar to deliberate over.
Bottle 175/880. Unlike the previous encounter with OxWombat, the restaurant prepared this for me by giving this a quite hefty decanter of at least two hours. Surprised at how well it held up, but there were some aspects of this wine that proved to be rather different this time around.
Though the initial nose managed to showcase some pink flower aromas, but as it got air you can see the wooden frame start to come through. The nose has a quite pronounced polish, which slightly gets in the way. Brambly when the stems start to come through.
Acid is not super pronounced, candied cherry and some salinity which comes into play at the midpalate and finish. Still have a very silky character, but think I preferred this as a pop and pour proposition at this stage. That said, might be well worth taking the long way round with this, and allowing some hefty cellar rest for the wood to integrate better.
Served blind, and just from the aromatics I could guess that this is Japanese in character. There is the low extraction cola character, umeboshi, with some stemmy and herbaceous character but without the greenness. There is just a touch of volatile acidity, but it is incredibly well managed. Praise be, none of the bretty hues which had managed to negatively colour some of the Takahiko wines I had in the past.
The palate has an incredible concentration of raspberry compote at the front, seasoned with light wooden spice. Great length, acidity doesn't get in the way of the experience though can definitely understand what the prior taster felt by suggesting this was 'tart'. Has a finish which is almost like sake, but the spice is really apparent and somewhat savoury. Definitely superior to any Nana Tsu Mori I had in the past, in part because there is greater harmony and cleanness here.
2020 Benjamin Petit Champagne Pinot Noir 91 Points
France, Champagne
Bottle 072/387. Served from the wine list at La Reserve in Geneva. First time with this producer, and would not have picked it off the list had it not been for the fact that I was dining with PN (who works in the wine sector).
The first thing that you are hit with when drinking this bottle is the character of the reduction - very much in the style of Jules Brochet Premices. The nose cannot help but catch peanuts, sesame oil, and a smattering of curry leaf for good measure. Very much in the fashion of the moment, and did not really budge even as this got more oxygen.
Though the nose is very characterful, the palate was (by contrast) relatively simple. The mousse is very subtle, and the champagne very quickly settles into a state mirroring that of Vin Claire. There is some pretty framboise that I often get with Blanc des Noirs, and a greenness that I only really associate with greengage fruit. Not overly energetic, and marked down for a lack of definition and weight.
Overall though, a very promising debut vintage, and will look out for this producer again and would expect age to add more nuance overall.
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1972 Domaine Clair-Daü Gevrey-Chambertin 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
This is an absolutely intriguing wine for the age and the level. The cork was an absolute terror to extract, so the occassional fragment did manage to find its way into the glass. The colour is very light with a lot of orange but still some garnet at the core. The nose started out a bit slow, but with air that it roared into life. Dried herbs in the style of Reynaud, has some just a hint of soapiness that gets in the way.
The palate doesn't not have the same weight that the nose promises, though not drying at all and had nice acidity. The tannins are present, soft and silky. Definitely on the ethereal side, as might be expected. Somehow, good examples of this wine have held up in spite of the village terroir and the poor vintage. The score does not properly reflect the emotions that this wine is capable of producing.
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1976 Gérard Mugneret Vosne-Romanée Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
Truthfully speaking, I do not think that this was the best bottle, or the reality of fifty years on a village Bourgogne might have been too much for the great vintage to bear. Bottle had great level, but the colour was remarkably dark for the age. The nose immediately showed some maderised qualities which translated to a nutty palate and almost no corresponding acidity. Leafy, but not in a good way. Not sure many examples these days will have held up, and oddly comforting that nobody on this site has any in their cellar to deliberate over.
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2023 Aufricht Spätburgunder Krähen 93 Points
Germany, Baden
Bottle 175/880. Unlike the previous encounter with OxWombat, the restaurant prepared this for me by giving this a quite hefty decanter of at least two hours. Surprised at how well it held up, but there were some aspects of this wine that proved to be rather different this time around.
Though the initial nose managed to showcase some pink flower aromas, but as it got air you can see the wooden frame start to come through. The nose has a quite pronounced polish, which slightly gets in the way. Brambly when the stems start to come through.
Acid is not super pronounced, candied cherry and some salinity which comes into play at the midpalate and finish. Still have a very silky character, but think I preferred this as a pop and pour proposition at this stage. That said, might be well worth taking the long way round with this, and allowing some hefty cellar rest for the wood to integrate better.
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2023 Domaine Takahiko Pinot Noir Clos Da Descion 95 Points
Japan, Hokkaido
Served blind, and just from the aromatics I could guess that this is Japanese in character. There is the low extraction cola character, umeboshi, with some stemmy and herbaceous character but without the greenness. There is just a touch of volatile acidity, but it is incredibly well managed. Praise be, none of the bretty hues which had managed to negatively colour some of the Takahiko wines I had in the past.
The palate has an incredible concentration of raspberry compote at the front, seasoned with light wooden spice. Great length, acidity doesn't get in the way of the experience though can definitely understand what the prior taster felt by suggesting this was 'tart'. Has a finish which is almost like sake, but the spice is really apparent and somewhat savoury. Definitely superior to any Nana Tsu Mori I had in the past, in part because there is greater harmony and cleanness here.
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