Comments on my notes

Red

2004 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo

7/26/2022 - M.Batard wrote:

92 points

Opened 30minutes ahead, and decanted just before serving. Consistent with earlier Jan22 note. Very dark ruby-purple, dense. Blackberry and plum fruit, with a hint of spiciness. Tannins not noticeable this time, quite well-integrated: very smooth. Paired very nicely with lamb kebabs and spicy harissa roasted carrots.

M.Batard commented:

10/15/22, 11:47 AM - @wren460 I just saw this, so sorry for late reply. I'm no expert, but generally these Riojas will last a very long time. But doubt it improves from here...

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White

2020 Gunderloch Jean Baptiste Riesling Kabinett Rheinhessen

4/10/2022 - M.Batard wrote:

89 points

Offered by the glass at Cree Wine Co., Clinton NJ. I've got poor detail for this note, but must document that this was by far the best pairing for the shrimp tempura/yellowtail/mango sushi roll made by guest chefs from Ryujin. Brought home more bottles to take with me to Ryujin itself asap!

M.Batard commented:

5/17/22, 8:11 PM - Perhaps our paths will cross there, or elsewhere in the BYOs of Somerville…Look out for the skinny bottles!

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Red

1997 Clos Erasmus Priorat Grenache Blend, Grenache

1/8/2022 - M.Batard wrote:

94 points

Dark ruby-purple color, but seemed brighter as we poured. Plum and black currant, with note of tobacco, tar, and spice. Savory, complicated, and wonderful. Paired with, ahem, turkey chili—which is why I reached for the priorat, for low tannins and its own spice. First dip into the Chris’s Cree shipment! Good omen for the rest…

M.Batard commented:

3/31/22, 1:58 PM - This bottle came from a bulk purchase of a portion of a private collection that was going to be sold at auction. A wine merchant I've bought from for 15 years or so had helped the collector build his cellar over many years. I happened to inquire at the right moment. Same merchant, Chris Cree, has just opened a new wine bar in Perryville/Clinton, just off I-78, Cree Wine Company. Taste before you buy. He also sometimes has library releases of older wines, such as yesterday's offer of 2009 Cos d'Estournel. The other way, of course, is to buy today and then sit on it until later. Requires discipline.

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White - Sweet/Dessert

1988 Château Suduiraut Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend

12/31/2020 - M.Batard wrote:

92 points

Golden color, slightly viscous. Apricots and caramel. Paired wonderfully with foie gras in the cold barn venue.

M.Batard commented:

1/14/21, 10:55 AM - Ah, cold barns are what we are reduced to in this age of outdoor, distanced socializing: cuts out the wind and the rain or snow, but plenty of air volume and open doors/windows. Still, managed a good range of wine and food parings: Champagne/oysters, Sauternes/foie gras, Gewurtztraminer/Thai curry soup, St.Estephe/steak, and more Sauternes + Calvados. Firepit just outside...

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Red

2013 Chad Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder

3/19/2019 - M.Batard wrote:

91 points

Once again, luscious blackcurrant flavors with integrating tannins. Very good drinking, ifnot complex.

M.Batard commented:

11/10/20, 7:02 PM - i bought (and have now drunk) a fair amount of '12, '13, '14s All very drinkable, but none really living up to the expectation of really good stuff on the cheap...

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Red

2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Nebbiolo

6/19/2020 - M.Batard wrote:

92 points

Crumbly corks in both bottles, so I’m going to look for opportunities to drink my remaining bottles. Red fruit and roses on a very savory palate. Lots of depths, but felt like an aficionado’s wine...less classically wonderful than I’d hoped, and certainly not hedonistic. Paired with Fascino’s short ribs and marinated lamb.

M.Batard commented:

11/10/20, 7:00 PM - I'll try it on the next one...thanks for the tip, 'neighbor'!

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Red

2012 Abadia Retuerta Selección Especial Sardon de Duero Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo

3/31/2018 - M.Batard wrote:

90 points

Off the wine list, Snake River Grill, Jackson. Blackberries, black cherry, and spices. Needs a bit of time with air—wished we had decanted. But quite smooth against our elk, beef, pork and vesl dishes. Medium finish

M.Batard commented:

11/10/20, 6:54 PM - I love the wine, but, for me, it's all about the food pairing!

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Red

2013 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus Tempranillo

12/31/2018 - M.Batard wrote:

91 points

From the wine list at Snake River Grill, Jackson. I gravitate to someone else's description of 'figs and blueberries,' but to be honest, this was just too young--inhibited by the tannins that are still fairly prodigious. Wish it had been another five years older; as it is, I'd rather drink ten-year-old PSI (the baby Pingus)...Thank goodness I had the braised lamb shank, which was the perfect combination for this immature wine.

M.Batard commented:

11/9/20, 10:09 AM - I had very consistent enjoyment of a case of 2009 PSI, with last bottle consumed April 2020. But can't speak for how they've done in less favorable vintages. Would certainly try other vintages if I ran across them, but didn't search them out--if that is a measure of my enthusiasm...?

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Red

2018 Mollydooker Shiraz Blue Eyed Boy South Australia

10/11/2020 - M.Batard wrote:

90 points

Brought this to Andrew G’s 70th, he of South Australian origins and possessor of true blue eyes...alas, not left handed.
Beautiful blueberries and plum fruit, with no tannins getting in the way. I love the comment of CLASSICALSPIN : “Strong enough legs to walk itself right out of the glass.” Three bottles disappeared without complaint.

M.Batard commented:

10/14/20, 8:08 PM - Ha! I’m a little bit old school to try that one; ranks up there with the suggestion a German friend had for young Bordeaux: 20 seconds in the microwave after opening and immediately re-corking. Puts a decade of bottle age on it, he says.

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White - Off-dry

1981 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Sang Riesling Spätlese Mosel Saar Ruwer

3/27/2009 - Eric B wrote:

Riesling revelry at Gabiela's (Gabriela's Portugese Cuisine): "Oh yeah" - initial reaction at smelling this aged riesling. Smoky, petrolly, Tart (lemon), with no noticable sweetness.

M.Batard commented:

12/19/18, 6:58 PM - Very odd. just acquired two bottles of old Karthauserhofberg Eitelsbacher Sang Riesling, so went to enter on my CT. Looked for notes. Not many people who have both eaten at Gabriele's in Somerville and tasted old K.E. Riesling. You might be interested to know it is now an up-country Thai restaurant (ate there yesterday, sans Riesling.)

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Red

2000 Château Gruaud Larose St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend

9/26/2018 - M.Batard wrote:

93 points

Just a taste, off the list at 67 Pall Mall. Luscious full nose of cassis, mushroom, and leather. Open nose and integrated palate. Decently long finish. Preferred this to the 2000 Leoville Barton.

M.Batard commented:

12/10/18, 7:44 PM - PSPatrick, I'm glad we share the same palate instincts; but I'm not at all confident in my ability to predict aging potential--even though that is my main obsession: buying early and sitting on these wines until they are magical! And of course, I started a bit late...

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Red

2013 Chad Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley

5/3/2018 - M.Batard wrote:

89 points

Wow. Quite a difference from last bottle. This one was opened at the end of the evening, and re-corked shortly after. Now, five days later—assuming this is a long slow-oxidation...? Wine was luscious blackberries and blueberries. No tannins obscuring the fruit. But, alas, no complexity.

M.Batard commented:

7/31/18, 6:57 AM - No, I didn't taste from that bottle. It was a long birthday party evening, and the Chad was laid on for the wine pourer to open when the '96 Ch. Montrose was gone but red was still demanded. They opened two, but only one was used. Five days was coincidence; I never go that long between glasses of wine...

I have a bunch of Chads as well; do you have a favorite? I liked the first one(s) I had, but have become less enamored. I was really buying the '12, '13', '14 California vintages, and trusting that the quality would be high....
M.Batard commented:

8/3/18, 6:47 AM - I've got the Mt. Veeder from '12, '13, and '14 (Says my Cellartracker! But some consumption has gone unrecorded, I suspect.)

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White - Off-dry

2010 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Mosel Saar Ruwer

11/17/2015 - M.Batard wrote:

JYL contribution to Riesling night. Yellow peach, citrus, and slate minerality. Velvety texture that nevertheless remains fresh and bracing with good acidity. Great depth. Love JR's phrase, "molten pleasure." Paired admirably with Chinese take-out from Legend.

M.Batard commented:

3/27/16, 1:03 AM - Mye, thanks for pointing out. I've corrected the fat finger: NOT flawed, at all!

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White

2011 Halter Ranch Cotes de Paso Blanc Paso Robles White Rhone Blend

2/13/2016 - M.Batard wrote:

89 points

Interesting notes of unripe apple, sharp citrus, and something bitter-maybe quinine. Flat and dry mid palate, after starting with a luscious touch. Very long finish. Paired very well with Mandarin orange chicken and fried rice...!?!

M.Batard commented:

2/13/16, 6:48 PM - This note was mis-posted: I drank the 2013, but can't edit in the app!

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Red

1990 Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend

10/19/2013 - walkerjfw wrote:

94 points

At Verve Restaurant in Sommerville with tom and Susan. Excellent wines (BYO) and food. This one from my cellar. Decanted 90 minutes, poured back in the bottle. Fair amount of sediment

Nose of dark fruits, cedar, spices. Diuring the decant it had some barnyard that blew off by dinner. On the palate was thick blackberry, tea. mocha, tar/leather, plums, tobacco and forest floor

In a great place right now, the way well aged Bordeaux should be. Has a way to go, will continue to mellow. Would have been WOTN but we drank next to an 89 Lafite...

Drink or hold

M.Batard commented:

10/28/13, 8:22 PM - Verve? BYO is possible? Who knew?

M. Batard

Comment

Red

1982 Château Phélan Ségur St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend

12/26/2011 - Goldstone wrote:

93 points

Drank over a leisurely Boxing Day lunch in the sunshine at Top Deck. Near-pristine bottle with a good fill and a well-behaved cork. Deep ruby dusty semi translucent colour. Nose is slightly musty old leather luggage, damp earth, wet boots , matured cigar leaf...very deep and perfect old Bordeaux. Palate is gorgeous old leather, fresh prunes, confit dates, confit figs,....beautiful sweetness....very mouth warming and velvety....dusky fully mature raspberries and autumn blackberries. Moderate length and short but sweet resonance. Further time in the glass gives it old plums and Eastern spices...still good moderate acidity...fully resolved dusty tannins. The wine had a semi-precision of cut that raised it above the Certan de May 1988 we drank alongside it. This wine has stood the test of time well since we drank it on the same occasion and location in 2005......quite a few years of life ahead of it but won't improve so is perfect to drink now. Loved it....

M.Batard commented:

5/18/13, 9:44 AM - This is a beautifully written note, and evokes what I tasted last night, although poor storage conditions meant that our bottle could only hint at what your note suggests it should have been...Thanks!

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White

1990 Schloss Schönborn Riesling Estate Rheingau

2/16/2013 - asareh Likes this wine:

93 points

Aromas of orange blossom, kerosene, and toasted nuts on the nose lead to creamy peach and lime pith on the palate. The residual sugar in this Medium-Dry is flawlessly masked by the firm weave of intact acids. 12.5% Alcohol. Once it opens up, everything is in perfect harmony & there is still plenty of life left in this 23-year-old beauty. Crisp and refreshing.

M.Batard commented:

2/23/13, 2:56 PM - The medium-dry estate riesling is actually a re-labeled 'riesling spatlese', which already has an entry and a dozen tasting notes. Seems to be different wine from the garden variety 'estate riesling'...

Very good note.

Comment

Red

2006 Andrew Will Two Blondes Vineyard Yakima Valley Red Bordeaux Blend

1/16/2013 - Mr.Overhill wrote:

90 points

I think that this one might have been slightly corked, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and go with a borderline outstanding. Compared to the other 2blondes I had last year this one was much more muted on the nose, had some green stalky flavors and a short finish. Nonetheless, it was a decently weighted wine with softening tannins and a strong black cherry, almost plummy flavor profile. If it was corked I would be able to explain the bottle variance, otherwise I would suggest that if you have these, drink them now, not later.

M.Batard commented:

1/19/13, 9:25 AM - Wonder if there is a chance this goes through a 'dumb' phase, like many French Bordeaux?? Only to come out the other end of it more glorious and complex?

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