A super bright, electric sort of riesling. Really starting to crush on these Aussie rieslings these days (even though this is effectively geographically unrelated to my other favourite -- Grosset). This doesn't have quite the same leanness as the Grosset, but there's more of a plush fruit character (though not by much) that gives this more of a rounded mouthfeel, even though this is still very much a high-acid, tension-driven riesling. I preferred this to the Isolation Ridge.

I didn't like this quite as much as the Poison Hill; I found this slightly more austere. A slight hint of minerally reduction on the nose to start, but this does flesh out on the palate somewhat. There's more structure here and this doesn't feel as exciting to drink, at least right now. I think this has more extract and oomph for aging, as it definitely feels like there's some seriously good material here. In any case, I'm happy to own some more, and look forward to revisiting it with time.

Disgorged February 2010, 0.5 g/L. Definitely not the type of Champagne that I go for these days -- crazy high acidity with a bit of a green herbaceous note that feels out of balance given the relative lack of fruit. Feels a bit sour, and lacking breadth on the palate, not to mention that the profile is aging quite a bit, and gives this a slight nuttiness as well.

I always say that we should age the Tempier, but trying this made me wonder if I actually like what it becomes with age. It's a very mood-dependent thing, and maybe it just didn't really do it for me today. Very savoury, with a slight herbal bitterness. I missed the freshness of a recent 2020 here. It's definitely a contemplative wine at this point.

From a bottle that had been opened a few days ago. Crazy amount of oak on this, in a good Rioja sort of way, but still quite distracting. Like the 2016 Tempier today, the sort of rose that requires work to enjoy. Bone dry with almost no fruit here, and some high-toned notes on the finish.

Somewhat odd for me; this didn't show as well as some of the other de Moors I've had. I guess they can be somewhat inconsistent at times. A slight natty quality here, but not really in a bad way, with a distinct spicy/herbal note running through it. This has the breadth of 2015 and the acidity of Chablis, but it didn't feel like this was well-integrated.

Disgorged 5/2021. Bone dry and a little masochistic as far as high-acid champagnes go. I liked the chalky minerality here (I guess that's as advertised) but this veers too high-acid and enamel-stripping for my taste.

Nice to visit this after a long while; I think this is starting to fade away and begin a slow descent. The fruit is fading and the wine feels like the acidity is a bit too prominent at this point. Thinning out and not quite as enjoyable as I remember it being a few years ago (we drank a lot of this when it was easy to get). I guess my note 2.5 years ago was pretty spot on. Drink up.

Somehow, this got more and more reductive over the course of the afternoon. How that works, I've no idea. An intensely sulphurous nose that effectively overwhelms everything else, but there are some lactone/praline notes as well, so maybe part of it is oak? In any case, there's too much matchstick here to make it accessible for enjoyment now, even though it seems like this has nice weight on the palate. Will this ever come around? Who knows -- it feels chronically reduced to me.

Tropical fruit on the nose, with a distinct pineapple note. Juicy and not too complex. Reasonably drinks at the level of a Bourgogne blanc, and has a price to match. Clean and simple, and easy to enjoy, especially at the price point.

Pretty clean, if a little broader and richer than the average white Burgundy (which is of course the easy comparison to make). Slightly reductive -- I waited a fair bit before getting to this because I wanted some of that to dissipate. Definitely more complex and layered than the 2018 Mainque alongside, as to be expected, but I'm not too keen on the overall value proposition here. Good minerality and acidity, with fruit that feels a little fat and sweet. Reading a recent note from half a year ago, I think this is still pretty consistent.

Apparently this needed a good shake to get rid of a bunch of dissolved fizz. Bitter, herbal, and oily, with plenty of weird oxidative funky notes that, well, just don't taste clean. I can understand why there is interest in this wine, but I'm definitely not the target market.

Great, old-school Burgundy from a cool vintage. Lightly perfumed with plenty of red fruit notes and a slightly autumnal mushroom note. Wispy and acid-driven on the palate, but with resolved, and slightly powdery tannins. Really nice to experience one of these wines in a relatively mature stage.

This is pretty clean (no 2006 funk) and shows the weightiness that you would expect for a Bonnes Mares; generally leaning towards black fruit rather than red, with more of a toasted oak signature than I would have liked to taste. Still seems relatively young (at least this bottle) and I think there would be profit to further aging, with the hope that more of the prickly oak elements recede. There's enough fruit to support that for now.

Clasically-styled Burgundy, with a leaner profile, as typical for the vintage. A light touch here, with lovely 2008 aromatics. The fruit isn't as pronounced, but the tannins and acidity aren't as pronounced here that this feels like one of those poorly evolving 2008s (that said, I'm still in general a bearish on the vintage). This bottle, while maybe not displaying the full weight of a grand cru, is drinking really well right now, and I quite like where this has evolved right now.

Pretty typical old school Rioja -- a bit of funk, some TCA-like notes, a bit of brett, some oxidation, it's a veritable mix of wine flaws in a way that somehow all add together to become something different. A bit of dried red fruit here, with hints of all of those off notes somehow adding something to the wine. It's not something I would want to drink a lot of, but this is definitely an interesting bottle.

Wow, this is a brilliant bottle of Oregon pinot noir. Juicy, but slightly tart red fruit, with notes of cranberry and strawberry. Lovely counterbalancing acidity and a very deft, light touch on the palate make this almost too easy to drink. Great complexity for a wine made in this style (sometimes they feel a bit thin to me). Very impressive now; I'd love to see how this ages. A pleasure to try.

Drinks like a cool-climate pinot (there haven't been that many cool Oregon vintages since then). Tart eating cherries (as opposed to straight up tart cherries) on the nose with a bit of spice and stemminess. The palate is acid-driven and lean, with slightly coarse tannins. Certainly this has the material for further aging, but I do like the balance of the tart fruit with the structure right now.

#07-00, 7.5% abv. Ripe on the nose and palate, with some of the more spicy and tropical notes, but lacks the definition that the best riesling bottlings can have. The fruit tones are partially desiccated and show some golden notes as well as acidity, but the precision just isn't quite there. Enough acidity to help things stay balanced though.

From half-litre. A new producer to me. A distinct note of raisins here, with a slight tannic bitterness that evokes black tea. Generously sweet, but there's definitely quite a bit of acidity to counterbalance it. A bit of oiliness from the sugar, and some animale from the chenin.