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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
Red

2022 Domaine Dandelion Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Nature

 Pinot Noir more
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2/4/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 points

Vinolok closure covered by wax. Whole bunch fermentation, 20 days maceration, foot trodden, aged in neutral oak, no sulfur added, 12% ABV. More tannic and structured than the Rosie Red 2022 tasted last year, and therefore decanted briefly. Such a clean, pure and bright expression of variety and terroir, cool minerality, hint of pepper, red currants, clear lines and a lovely sense of direction, fresh and flowing and beautifully balanced with sandy tannins providing grip, dry frinish with a hint of green tea. Needs two years.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    2/14/2024 9:09:00 AM - For my palate the acidity was fine!
White

2017 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis

 Chardonnay more
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1/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: flawed

Second bottle from a half case purchased from the Dutch importer in 2019, when I tasted this wine for the first time. I was very optimistic back then, but I am afraid it is not living up to my expectations. The nose has a clear Chablis character of oyster shell and citrus, but the palate is quite dull and the finish is hollow and lacks drive. Sometimes I think I detect a hint of TCA on the nose, and there is a slight rough edge which is also indicative of this fault. Probably faulty (I hope it is), and I will record it as such.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    1/25/2024 9:07:00 AM - Glad to hear it François1986! I will try another bottle soon.
Red

1997 Château Malescot St. Exupéry

 Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend more
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10/13/2006 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 85 points

A private tasting (The Hague): A bit scraggy, light and vegetal, old-fashioned, somehow atttractive anyway.
Red

2001 August Kesseler Rüdesheimer Berg Schloßberg Spätburgunder Trocken

 Rheingau more
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2/23/2012 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 points

Alcohol at 14.5.%. Bacon, rich oak, amazing minerality, rich fruit, beautifully balanced and structured, lovely length. Good now but will last - 2016.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    1/4/2024 7:17:00 PM - Good to know S-C-S, thanks!
White

2020 Le Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc

 Sauvignon Blanc more
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12/8/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 points

Similar in style to the 2021 tasted yesterday, but not quite its equal in playful finesse. It has a bit more power and weight, the aromas display wax and lemon rather than flowers, quite soft in style on the palate but with a nice crispness to it, noticeable bitters, lemon and earth on the finish. Drink at cellar temperature or just above. Note: 1/3 was kept in the fridge overnight and restasted at lunch on the second day. I detected a whiff of straw on the finish. It looks like this wine is quite susceptible to oxygen.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    12/9/2023 9:18:00 AM - Thank you for your kind words Sagan99!
Red

NV Domaine Rougeot Vin de France La Piquette

 Pinot Blend, Pinot Noir more
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7/11/2021 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 points

A private lunch (Restaurant Vanderveen, Amsterdam, NL): "Distribué sous le manteau". A French bureaucrat's nighmare. A blend of all the "leftovers" with a barrel of Pinot Noir from Pommard and some Aligoté from Monts Luisants. No added sulphite. Highly unusual and very delicious. Juicy and soft, silky and fresh, very delicate fruit flavours with lovely nuance (red berries, hints of peach and lemon), hints of forest floor, red meat and mealiness, no noticeable funkiness, very mild tannins, just a hint of carbon dioxide to protect the unsulphured wine, good length.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    10/21/2023 10:46:00 AM - Thank you Verde para Vino!
White

2014 Lelarge-Pugeot Coteaux Champenois Vrigny Blanc Chardonnay

 more
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8/22/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 points

A business lunch (Café Restaurant Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL): Made from 100% Chardonnay, organic viticulture, lieu-dit Côte des Glaises, spontaneous fermentation, aged 10 months in (one single) barrel and 5 years in bottle, released in 2021, 11% ABV, 300 bottles produced. High acidity but generous, bruised apple, delicately oxidative, limestone minerality, slender and elegant, hint of cream, marvellous drive and length.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/23/2023 6:48:00 AM - Two things. One: malo in bottle is a fault, full stop. People don't make wine that way. Two: malo in bottle does not only produce buttery aromas, but it also produces carbon dioxide which is trapped in the bottle. My bottle did not show any buttery aromas and it was perfectly still. I guess you had a faulty bottle. Bad luck, when there's only three hundred around.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/23/2023 8:01:00 AM - Beste Joost en Tamara,

    I see that you have (re-) amended your comment. An earlier version added: "We will look on internet to check if CO2 is formed during malolactic fermentation. You sound like you know everything. That's dangerous." You subsequently deleted these three (added) sentences (I have a screenshot).

    I guess that you have found what you were looking for. I don't know much about wine, but I like to think that after 35 years of taking a keen interest in wine, I have at least the basics covered. Please don't blame me for your own ignorance and please get off my back. Het is wel goed zo. Thank you.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/23/2023 10:43:00 AM - I appreciate that you want to learn, but I would also appreciate it if you cease all communication with me. It is clear that we don't understand each other, and further exchanges of comments will lead to nothing. Thank you.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/23/2023 11:07:00 AM - Please feel free to make comments, it's a free world, but I will not respond. I trust that you understand. Thank you.
Red

2018 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero

 Nebbiolo more
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6/13/2022 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 95 points

Eck & Maurick 20th Anniversary Tasting (Caffè Toscanini, Amsterdam, NL): Classically explosive Monvigliero nose, very pure and precise, flowing palate, much lighter in style than the 2015 tasted in 2020, all finesse and elegance, percaline tannins wrapped in elegant flesh. Real finesse.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/6/2023 6:07:00 AM - Monvigliero is an exceptional vineyard in Verduno which produces wines that are quite unique in the Barolo spectrum. The maceration at Burlotto is very long (60 days), but the high elevation of the vineyard and the sandy soils deliver unparalleled elegance and fragrance, and - especially in a vintage like 2018 - early drinkability. It has become frightfully expensive however (around Euro 400 per bottle), and I am glad to have a number of vintages in my cellar (back to 2004, still drinking well). The wines of Monforte d'Alba, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba (in the south and east of the DOCG) are much more masculine and "beefier". With the exception perhaps of Bricco Rocche, which has more sand in its soils and delivers more perfumed wines. The permutations are endless, there is no single truth.
Red

2019 Ada Nada Barbaresco Valeirano

 Nebbiolo more
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8/4/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 91 points

Light colour, very fresh and modern style but good varietal typicity, aromatic, red berries and forest floor, sweet and sour, sandy tannins, dry finish with good resonance and decent length. At Trattoria Breda, Amsterdam, NL.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/5/2023 11:46:00 AM - The sweet-and-sour character (also noted by Walter Speller on the Purple Pages) would never be present in a traditionalist wine. It's not something I'm very fond of. But as an early drinker with pizza this is fine.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/6/2023 2:27:00 AM - Modern versus traditional is a complex theme in Barolo and Barbaresco. Much has been written about the so-called "Barolo wars" of the '80's and '90's. Using new French barriques instead of the traditional old Slavonian botti was one of the ways in which the modernists tried to achieve a more "international" style of wine with a deeper colour and softer tannins (hoping to please Robert Parker, no doubt).

    When I call this Barbaresco modern, it's more about the wine making process as a whole and especially the tannin management. The maceration time is short (10-12 days) to limit the phenolic extraction and the wine spends the latter part of its 18-20 months in wood in barrique (and then 6-8 months in bottle, since Barbaresco cannot be released until its 26 months old). In comparison, the Produttori del Barbaresco macerated their basic 2019 Barbaresco for 30 days at 28C with 2-3 remontages per day, and aged the wine for 24 months in botti (no barrique).

    The fruit was clearly harvested at full physiological ripeness (which accounts for the sweetness in the fruit), with a healthy total acidity (5.5 - 5.7 grams per litre). The result is an easy-going, fruit-driven wine with mild tannins, made for early consumption, whereas a traditional Barbaresco would be far more structured and tannic, with an equally longer life span.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/6/2023 5:45:00 AM - Thanks for your comments, joostentamara. I agree that the Valeirano will probably last a decade, although I wonder if it is capable of "meaningful evolution". As a wine designed for drinking young, will it develop a structural harmony and aromatic complexities which are worth waiting for? Or will it just get older without actually improving? Trattoria Breda also had the Cichin on the wine list (and even in the enomatic, if I am not mistaken), not sure about the Elisa. Both have had short macerations too, and I guess I like my Barolo and Barbaresco a bit more robust, but I will go back to try.
Rosé

2022 Domaines Ott Côtes de Provence By.Ott

 Grenache more
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6/13/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote: NR

With a little bit of a scallion taste to it.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    8/1/2023 10:46:00 AM - My bottle was fine - no off aromas or flavours. Could your bottle have been light struck? When champagne in a clear glass bottle is light struck, it often develops an aroma of onion?
Red

2019 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco

 Nebbiolo more
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7/5/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 points

A private dinner (Café Maurits, Amsterdam, NL): Bottled October 2022. Pale strawberry red with a watery rim; aromatic nose, red berries and spices, flowers (violet, rose), slightly dusty, hint of undergrowth; supple attack, nice hint of sweetness, good weight (14% ABV), lovely balance and harmony, firm but feminine tannins; creamy finish with very good resonance and length. Delightful now, good future. Drink now - 2030.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    7/9/2023 9:56:00 AM - Hi sleepyhaus, I guess it is a matter of personal preference. I like to drink Barolo and Barbaresco on the younger side, hence the short drinking window. But I have no doubt that it will last longer. In fact, just last Saturday I had Bricco Boschis 1985 from Cavalotto and that was still on fine form! Cheers, Xavier
White

2021 Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Blanc

 Chardonnay more
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5/16/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 89 points

Benjamin Leroux Tasting and Lunch (Restaurant Fitzgerald *, Rotterdam, NL): Made with 100% whole bunch, from vineyards in Meursault, aged in 1200 litre foudres for 12 months, followed by six months in stainless steel on the fine lees. Slender and tight style, firm and vibrant acidity, some leesy complexity, hint of wood, decent length.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    6/3/2023 10:40:00 AM - Yes, I would say that it is ready for drinking, it may soften with another 12 months in bottle.
White

2014 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc

 Chardonnay more
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5/15/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 points

A private dinner (Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL): The style and quality of a very good Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru except on the finish, where it is a little more blunt. Mild reduction and deep minerality on the nose, complex and ripe citrus and a hint of orchard fruit, delicate top quality oak; energetic and fresh palate, silky and creamy, cool minerality, perfectly harmonious, perfect balance and good weight; long and complete finish with hints of earth and savoury oak.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    5/23/2023 10:40:00 AM - Thanks Carlo for your very kind words! I would say that this wine is ready now, but it should last another five years with ease. Cheers!
White

2020 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes

 Chardonnay more
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1/31/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 97 points

Chassagne Ruchottes / Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru tasting (Groot-Ammers, Netherlands): Incredible expression and finesse, marvellous purity and effortless ease, floral and lifted, ultra-refined bitters, orange and lemon, marvellous fraicheur, never-ending, dreamy finish. Magical, weightless, it floats. Ruht in sich.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    3/27/2023 5:12:00 AM - I think that I would enjoy the 2020 now for its youthful brilliance, and let the 2017 sleep for a few years.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    4/30/2023 5:11:00 AM - Definitely PnP. Do not decant. You will miss the awakening (“l’éveil”) of the young wine.
Red

2021 Maison Glandien La Leux

 Vin de France Pinot Noir more
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2/10/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 points

Light and bright, supple and juicy, ripe citrus and green apple, very mild bitters, soft and easy, natural and relaxed, youthful finish. Innocuous almost. Fun wine, but nothing too serious. At wine bar Oocker, Amsterdam, NL.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    4/20/2023 8:42:00 AM - Hype + (perceived) scarcity = ridiculous prices. Lalou Bize-Leroy invented the concept, and she has found many followers...
White - Sparkling

2020 Aufricht Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature

 Baden Chardonnay more
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4/1/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 points

A private dinner with friends (Restaurant Rijsel, Amsterdam, NL): Lots of minerally energy, bright and crisp and yeasty, very dry, tight and borderline austere, direct and angular, not all that easy to love.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    4/3/2023 11:08:00 AM - @guillermo-: no, not really, I don't think that age will change a lot, but it may obviously soften the edges.

    @DantheMan123: Very interesting that our experiences were so diametrically opposed. Another person who tasted from this bottle mentioned on Instagram: "bone dry, bit rigid". Bottle difference? Will have to try again!
Red

2019 Giuseppe Rinaldi Nebbiolo Langhe

 Langhe DOC more
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3/21/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 points

A private dinner (Ristorante La Ciau del Tornavento *, Treiso, Italy): The first bottle was not clean. The sommelier disputed that it was corked, but agreed to bring a second bottle which was better. The dry and hot vintage shows on the nose, there is a dried aspect to the fruit, and there is a touch of oak resin. The nose displays strawberries, roses, oranges spiked with cloves, and a whiff of tar; the palate is very firm and a bit clenched because of the heat, with pretty massive tannins although there is some flesh to cover them; the finish convinces with its excellent resonance and length. Needs a couple of years to soften and unfold. PS: the first bottled was subsequently served at a table of six right next to us, where the host clearly had his doubts about the bottle too, but decided not to make a fuss. That's how they roll at La Ciau del Tornavento...

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    3/24/2023 - From what I can tell, there were very hot weeks in the Langhe in June and July 2019, but there was timely rainfall as well. Still, the fruit in this bottle felt a bit dried up - and perhaps it shouldn’t have. I was not sure about the second bottle either to be honest, there was a certain unevenness that seemed to come and go, but in the circumstances we decided to accept it. I did mention it to the sommelier, who said that “wines from Rinaldi are often not completely clean”, which amounted to: “now shut up and drink your wine”. We finished our meal and were glad to get out of the restaurant again. La Ciau del Tornavento was a complete waste of time and money.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    3/24/2023 7:12:00 AM - Thank you for your kind words! 🙏🙏🙏
Red

1999 Château Lynch-Bages

 Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend more
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8/5/2022 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 points

Final bottle from a half case purchased at auction in 2007. Pristine condition. Not decanted, opened three hours in advance. Delicate, fragrant and fresh. Cool minerality, crisp blackcurrants and meaty warmth. Whiff of flowers. Such an elegant and transparent Lynch-Bages, bright and juicy, with just the level of tannic grip. Good length. Completely ready.

  • Comment posted by Xavier Auerbach:

    3/24/2023 12:48:00 AM - I wrote NOT decanted, but opened three hours in advance. No, I would not decant, the wine is far too delicate.

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