Lot 9710, disgorged autumn 2015. Good richness and heft -- this definitely shows a slight bit of oxidative quality, but nice acidity and some good fruit to round things off. Always a great value, especially for a wine in this style.

A fair hit of reduction on the nose initially, but also some riper white fruits. The palate shows just a little flabbier than I would expect for Puligny, and the acidity seems to be dialled back just a little bit. I think it might turn out that I'm not a huge fan of the 2016 vintage either...

You know what? I wish they actually stopped the fermentation sooner so that this would have even more sweetness and less alcohol. In any case, it's definitely an odd duck of a wine, with its high alcohol and waxy textures. More interesting than good.

Whoa. Pretty awesome stuff -- classic Oregonian fruit profile on the nose, with some sweet strawberries and plenty of bright red fruit, but there's some nice earthy counterplay here as well. The palate is a lot cooler and racier than what I remember of the Thomas maybe a year and a half ago. Elegant, classy pinot noir.

I'm always happy to try gamay because maybe one day, I'll find a bottle that I actually really give a damn about, but alas this is pretty par for the grape. Mild funk, candied sweet fruit, and an aspartame-like sweetness.

There's no mistaking that this is cool-climate pinot noir. Tons of crunchy red fruit, with lots and lots of acidity. Some nice perfumed elements, but a little too thin for my taste. If I had this blind, I'd probably have ended up at German pinot of some sort. Given the way environmental policy is going these days, I figure within a few more years, these may well be very worthy wines to watch (and I don't even mean that 100% sarcastically).

Lot 02. Classic Hermitage -- bloody and meaty, with just a slight bit of brett to supplement the dense black fruit. A nice pile of earth here as well. The palate comes across as somewhat rustic, with some good acidity to balance out the hefty black fruit and earth. Perhaps thinning a little bit, but still a very convincing wine. This is unmistakable Hermitage, unobscured by the copious oak that so many on the hill seem to like to wreck their wines with.

Why don't I buy these again? I'm an idiot. Super juicy, but plenty of olive and saline qualities. This is honest syrah as it is meant to be. Lots of acidity, but balanced by the still-youthful black fruit. This probably isn't one for extended aging, but it's delicious now regardless.

This wasn't as polished and modernist as I thought it was going to be -- I've had some hit or miss experiences with Saint-Cosme, but this bottle was quite nice. It definitely had some of the red-fruited, spice characteristics that I look for in Côte-Rôtie, and the fruit is really nicely balanced too. Is this the cleaned up, more classic vintage that follows the ripe voluptuous one?

Floral and really intense nose, with lots of interesting elements. Definitely some melon and honey flavours there, which follow through on the palate as well. However, I think this doesn't hold its alcohol that well, and there's a bit of a clumsiness on the finish. I do like the acidity here though...