9/23/2022 - jviz wrote:

This says bottled in 2010, it is holding up very well, large scaled and smoky, 38% petite verdot , both interesting and unique

8/23/2022 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Pale straw. Much more tense than a recent bottle with salinity and some grapefruit rind and a bit less generous, but still a lovely villages. May benefit from a bit more time (perhaps just a year or two).

8/11/2022 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Sweet cherry pipe tobacco.
Tasty with a slightly bitter finish.
I’d serve on the cool side and wait a few years.

2/12/2022 - glimmervoid Likes this wine:

Nuits-Saint-Georges is a town in eastern Burgundy, which gives the name to Côte de Nuits, the northern half of the Cote d’Or. It is known for a structured, mineral, powerful style of Pinot Noir. There are 41 premier cru climats belonging to this appellation. While there are no grand cru sites, the many premier cru vineyards are among the finest in the district.

The second half of the name 'Nuits-Saint-Georges' comes from the Saint Georges vineyard, it is just south of the town and has been renowned as a source of good wines for hundreds of years. In the 1890s, the town of Nuits added the vineyard’s name to its own, hence we know it today as NSG. Unsurprisingly, the wines from the Saint Georges vineyard command the highest price in NSG.

Chateau gris is a small premier cru vineyard on the higher slopes of the Cote d’Or, overlooking the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges. This is a sub-section of the village level Les Crots (which means the shit or droppings), the name likely comes from the brown soil, with plenty of small limestone rocks and a layer of oolitic limestone that is again underpinned with pink Premeaux limestone.

The Château Gris section of Les Crots covers 2.8 hectares within the 4 hectares of Les Crots. The vines sit on terraces and slopes around the eponymous château building, prominently visible on the slopes above Nuits-Saint-Georges, directly overlooking the road to Chaux as it winds up the slope on the west side of the town. The vineyard itself is a monopole, once controlled by Lupé-Cholet, it is now run by Albert Bichot. The story of the chateau itself is quite interesting, it was built in the 18th century, and the roof of the castle was covered in grey slate even though tiles are traditionally used in Burgundy, hence it came to be known as grey castle.

The climat is one of the most elevated and northerly sites between Premeaux-Prissey village and Nuits-Saint-Georges. The vineyard's steep slope has had a considerable effect on the terroir, and the site has been terraced to make it easier to work. Regardless, the soil is thinner and rockier than on the land below, and covers a hard layer of limestone.

Château Gris' east-facing position on the hill also gives it an excellent exposure to sunlight for much of the day. This warming influence is important in Burgundy, as it helps to ensure that the grapes reach maximum ripeness despite cool continental influences.

The Bichot family has been in Burgundy since 1350. They initially settled in the fief of Chateauneuf-en-Axois. The family’s coat of arms has not changed since, nor has its symbol, a doe (biche). In 1831, Bernard Bichot founded his own wine company in Monthélie, just a few km south of Beaune, but grandson Albert established the company in Beaune itself at the end of the 19th century. 6th generation Albéric Bichot has been running the Domaine since 1996. Today, Albert Bichot owns six estates that cover Burgundy from North to South.

2012 was a year marked by problematic weather conditions in the Cote de Beaune, but it was an excellent vintage in the Côte de Nuits.

The nose was overt at bottle open, but gradually faded, initial raspberries on the nose gave way to some dried berries, with some chalky minerality and some herbaceous notes. On the palate it is quite rich and broad, with a nice energy from the limestone soils. It is long and intense, mid palate focused, a nice cool climate style.

5/21/2022 - Soteralzowine Likes this wine:

Everything is finesse here. Purity of fruit, silky tannins, subdued minerality, delicate balance. A wine to appreciate slowly. However, it is so difficult to not want to guzzle down. I wanted to keep coming back to it. A good sign!

1/31/2022 - jviz wrote:

This vintage isn’t growing on me. This was quite a sound bottle but had a bit of roasted fruit tones on the nose and palate. It’s still quite youthful, in the sense that the wine is still reasonably compact, with bright acidity and low alcohol; even so, as I was tasting it, my mind went to the Southern Rhone, which is not what I’m looking for from LdH. I love this bottling in .375 for checking in and so far, favor 2008

4/4/2022 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Fairly light garnet
Light cherry aromas and flavors
Fairly light on structure, decent acidity, and finishes pretty easy (with an interesting hint of menthol)
From this bottle, this doesn’t seem to have the bones for the long haul, but more experienced tasters have suggested not starting drinking until 2023
Easy to like at this stage (89+?)

5/31/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Crystal clear, light scarlet ruby
Light cranberry aromas
Light fresh sour and bitter cherry flavors and decent minerality
A bit thin, but refreshing served a bit on the cool side. Simple and easy, with a bitter finish.
92% Pinot, 8% Cesar.

1/31/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Still rather youthful with a strong core of red cherry and kirsch. Elegance nose with savory notes and earth, just a bit of heat/VA. Still have some rather prominent tannins on palate and finish. Drinking well now but has has some time to develop.

11/29/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Fairly deep purple, not opaque
Ripe dark fruit with some graphite
Ripe flavors (blind I thought California) with a tough green streak. Needs time and a decant, but nice wine 90+

10/3/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Still deep purple
Ripe rich balanced huge oakville
Absolutely lovely and still quite young. Its recent dumb phase has passed, leaving a rich huge Napa.
Very enjoyable now, though I’d choose to hold. Or at least a very long decant

5/28/2020 - jviz wrote:

A rather advanced bottle, but certainly sound to my palate. Slight note of petrol on the nose, followed by bruised apple, faint hint of sherry, waxy lime peel with searing acidity and a dry finish. This wine is at peak maturity, which, for 2013, could be viewed as encouraging (“hey, these bottles are really coming around and I don’t have to wait 10 years!”) or discouraging (“uh oh, that was fast”) depending on your viewpoint. Or maybe it’s just my bottle. I’d check in soon if I were you

3/22/2021 - jviz wrote:

Suckled again! I bought a couple of these at a good price based on the rating from JS. Now, I don’t drink much brunello and often miss it when blinded, so take this with a grain of salt; but if this is anywhere close to a 100 point wine, I’ll eat my hat.

PnP over a couple hours in a Grassl Cru. Medium ruby, with red cherry and leather polish. Aromatically a bit closed with bright red fruit on the palate and chewy tannins on the finish. Nice balance and lift argue that this will blossom as the tannin shed.

Is it flawed in any significant way? Nope
Will it improve with age? You betcha
Is it a particularly compelling Sangiovese? Not in my book

4/7/2021 - cos65 wrote:

sb
Served blind I had a hard time identifying the grape. Obviously Cali.
Made in a party wine style to be tasty, but not terribly good.
On the reveal I was not very surprised, but rather disappointed, even for a wine meant to be in a forward style (and compared to prior vintages)
NFS

2/3/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine:

sb
Deep clear ruby purple
Bright fresh crushed dark berry aromas
Big dark fruit flavors, dry, med high alcohol
Nice acidity, and avoids any overripeness.
Served blind, I missed any grenache component despite blend of 60% grenache, 30% syrah and 10% cariagne.
Quite nice, long decant or more cellar time. Seems to be performing well above its price tag

1/31/2021 - jviz wrote:

3rd of 6 half bottles. This was the best of the bunch to date by a wide margin. Very clean and expressive, with good earthiness and bright red plum on the nose. Compact berries with fresh acidity and a backbone of dried herbs like oregano and bay leaf. It harkens of a well made bordeaux and drinks astoundingly younger than 2007. Good bottles have many miles to go

Update: I poured 4.5 oz of this into a glass container and capped it with no headspace. Revisited 4 days later. With whatever aeration took place, the wine is showing more mulled plum and roasted notes than before. Still with good supporting acidity but this was best on day 1 for me

1/30/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Big sweet creamy raspberry blueberry pie flavors with some oak.
Big and delicious and over the top (almost...)
Lovely if you like the style

1/24/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

10yr anniversary dinner, so circumstances may have biased me a bit, but this was lovely. Elegant and nuanced, with a classic (feminine?) expression. Lifted aromatics, quite floral l, with the voignier integrated but clearly lifting the Syrah component. Palate was quite accessible and enjoyable now, but well crafted and balanced, so even though structure was rather hidden, I suspect this will age gracefully. Not a producer I’m familiar with but one to seek out for sure.

1/17/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Deep purple
Bright blackberry blueberry and smoke.
Olive and black pepper flavors.
This is tremendous.
Obviously begging for time, but absolutely fascinating at this time

1/16/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine:

sb
Lovely chestnut garnet colored
Some smoky gamey aromas
Fairly plush with a slightly hard finish.
Still quite alive.

1/6/2021 - cos65 wrote:

sb
Pale straw yellow.
Decent enough, light elegant easy sort of Chardonnay, but really seeming lacking in charm.
None of the richness expected. This was a recent purchase, so hopefully better cellared examples may have more life.

12/20/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Picked up at Costco, no pretext. Expressive wine, pure red cherry fruit. Some earth mixed in on the nose. Solid Pinot, no idea if it’ll age, but delicious now.

12/2/2020 - macker100 wrote:

Always love this lesser known Tavernelle producer. Dark purple that will benefit from additional ageing. I can see this going through 2030 easily. Dark cherries, plums, herbs, and blackcurrant. Smoky and rich raspberry nose. It maintains stark tanginess, but has enough deep fruit to offset. 8 years in this is as good as the 2004 vintage and might turn out even better. 92+

11/9/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:

SB
Fairly dark ruby violet with just a hint of garnet at the rim
Fairly shy aromas
A new world sweetness, well integrated alcohol (15%) which didn’t overpower, lovely berry fruit and a hint of an herbal resinous finish. Very nice example.

10/4/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Odd squarish warped bottle.
Crystalline scarlet ruby with a garnet rim
Soft bitter cherry opening,
But gained quite a bit of leathery, tannic fruit with air. Lighter alcohol
Persistent on the palate.
Nice, but dry dry

9/17/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

This showed well almost immediately. Black fruits with distinct red fruit highlights. Plush, rather soft on the palate, just a faint hint of tannins on the mid and late palate. Mild flint and smoke on the nose. Finish is soft, caressing, and chocolatey. Hit the spot tonight. Probably has the structure to age even if rather hidden behind the fruit on this night.

9/18/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Looks like I purchased on release. Sandalwood nose, with a bit of tobacco leaf. Shows a little iron and blood on the palate along with with provincial notes—but notably these elements are rather muted on the nose. Palate was rather soft and plush on entry, fine mostly resolved tannins. Leans toward dark savory fruit, lacking a bit of energy. This bottle was not as strong as my last, and the relative low acidity on the palate seems to imply a shorter lifespan than some other vintages. However, this is well crafted, elegant and seamless—distinct contrast to the more savage and muscular vintages.

8/15/2020 - texaswinelover wrote:

Just picked this up and popped it day #1. Ok. Wine is bright and fresh with earthy subtle notes. Nose very reticent. Acid surprisingly balanced vs my expectations. Haven’t had a lot of cru Beaujolais so take my assessment with a grain of salt. Enjoyable but I was expecting more of everything esp at the $55 price point.

1/5/2018 - Nutty08 wrote:

Quite good. A little fruit and toast/leeds on the nose. Palate rounder than expected, with rather forward fruit, but hangs on the finish for quite a while. Repeating toast/leeds notes on the palate and finish. I can see how time may make this more interesting.

4/15/2020 - Nutty08 wrote:

Followed over 2 nights. Came across as monolithic and heavily oaked. Fruit was concentrated, darker profile, with a silky texture that dried out on the back end with tannic structure. Not a lot of texture or depth on the palate and just a hint of heat on the nose. Seems like the parts were there but out of sync at this point. I generally like the bottling--but usually open when older. best to wait.

4/29/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Served blind
Fairly deep black purple.
Fresh violets and raspberry on the nose
On the palate this is bone dry, and seemed quite balanced, restrained and needing much more time.
My initial thought was actually a northern Rhône,
Really quite nice balance and avoids any heaviness.

2/4/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Served blind
Light straw gold
Light pear aromas
Building acidity, quite austere
On a recent Guild Somm podcast, Nick Jackson talked about Chenin having a crescendo acidity.
This wine has it
Bone dry Anjou
NFS

6/4/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Lovely fresh light red. Cherry and raspberry flavors. Quite light on the palate and fades on the finish, but solid with food. Good table wine. Mild tannins.

1/22/2020 - cos65 wrote:

Served blind.
Bright floral candied raspberry notes
Lowish acid, with some chalky tannins in the finish. Not a ton of change with an hour of air. More time? Serve cool, drink fast?

9/1/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Impressive. Smoky and dark fruited, polished strong tannins and a bit of vanilla. Love the dark profile and smoky flint notes. Really strong entry level wine.

10/31/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Slightly modern and sleek—but retains freshness and St Estephe typicity. Drink or hold. Very enjoyable.

10/13/2019 - Not647f wrote:

Again, end of the night, this time with macarons. This is a really nice dessert, as well as a dessert wine. Ripe, unctuous, not overly heavy, same flavor profile as before. Now to slow my consumption. (That shipment of 1998 Raymond-Lafon ought to be on the way soon.)

10/10/2019 - cos65 wrote:

Served blind
Medium ruby purple
Fairly ungenerous at first
Better with air.
Needs time, but I’m not sure what you’ll be left with in 5-10 years.

9/19/2019 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Rather stunningly delicious and flamboyant.
Tons of buttery chard fruit and an almost charred bourbon barrel flavor.
Really quite over the top, but hard not to smile while drinking this.
By no means is this a “subtle” wine, but for brash, in your face CC, this is hitting on all cylinders YFS

8/28/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

Refined and polished, leaning modern but still elegant. Accessible, with a roundness on the palate, probably from the merlot. Flint and smoke, almost Pauillac-like. Didn’t seem like St Estephe to me. Fine, but likely needs some time to show depth and soul. Best to hold. Better on night 2.

8/25/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:

My last bottle and seemingly the most tired. Some bricking, tertiary notes. A little dry and thin on the palate but quite fresh—loainga bot of fruit and “fat”. Moderate length finish. Still enjoyable for fans of OLD bdx but seems to clearly be in slow decline. Time to drink up.

3/11/2018 - kostaslonis wrote:

Oinorama Wine Fair 2018; 3/10/2018-3/12/2018 (Zappeio): 100% Melon de Bourgogne, orange wine
Ripe fruit in the palate, high acidity, leathery/gamey notes, ripe to overripe citrus and stone fruit, wild, med finish

10/24/2018 - TannicBeast Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. Clear, bright medium yellow, with a gold hue. The nose is clean, medium in intensity, with golden apple, ripe pear, lemon, white flowers, chamomile, almond and an intriguing medicinal herb note. The nose is youthful and there is no oak apparent. The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, medium to medium (+) alcohol (actually 14%), with a pronounced minerality and a slight bitterness on the finish. This is a very nicely balanced wine, with medium (+) body, flavor intensity and length. It is drinking well now and is likely to improve over the next several years.

This wine is clearly a 1-2 year old, Old-World, cool-to-moderate climate wine, but after that things get very tricky. It could be a young Alsatian Pinot Gris (based on the hue and slight bitterness), but lacks the intensity and bruised fruit. It could be a Chardonnay, but the absence of oak and malo notes make that unlikely. The stumper is that it lacks the wax, lanolin and cheese rind notes that are typical of Chenin, nor does it have the RS and marked floral notes that one would typically associate with a Vouvray.

12/27/2018 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Bright light yellow
Lean and a bit restrained at present.
Sound, but tight. I’d hold

6/18/2016 - texaswinelover wrote:

Popped and poured. Not what I was expecting from jancis Robinson reviews. I found the oak to be very spicy and astringent. Fruit was certainly present but balance was off. Modern end styled but just not ready at this time. Not sure I will buy more.

10/1/2018 - cos65 wrote:

From 300ml labeled 28.12

This has some color pale straw
Light honey suckle flavors and a hint of roses with lovely texture, but the alcohol is very present and detracts a bit. I’m curious if this was a bit old.

8/27/2018 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Light ruby
Juicy refreshing acidity and Red fruits, but finishes a bit chunky and rustic. Tasty now, i worry this could lose its charm with time?

8/22/2018 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Still dark ruby purple
Dry dark blue fruit.
Palate drying tannins,
But comes off as even somewhat elegant at this point?
Nice

8/26/2018 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Deep ruby garnet
This continues to drink wonderfully.
With an hour decant, bright maraschino with silky, cedar, leathery tannins.
Not a blockbuster, but lovely.

8/13/2018 - cos65 wrote:

Pale yellow.
Served ice cold this has decent acidity and balance with definite strong rosemary and sage component.
Pretty decent if you don’t mind the herbal, slightly medicinal nature