2/23/2021 - finediningnyc Likes this wine:

I don’t usually write about wines that didn’t come from my own cellar, but this young beauty deserves some love. Indeed early on in what will be a very long life, but oh so giving even at this stage. It is clear Fourrier, with absolute Grand Cru weight, density and intensity. It shows red and blue fruit, hints of winter citrus, fresh violets and a fine mineral infusion. There is exceptional delineation, finesse and seductive texture and the finish is supremely long and focused with great tension and fine grained tannins. Surely many more fantastic years ahead but still a joy to try at this stage and to find on the illustrious wine list at Per Se.

9/5/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

What was that? There's some reasonable cherry fruit on the nose and a bit of earth, but then...... Hollow on the midpalate, the wine just disappears after the initial bit of fruit, yet it's also somehow slightly extracted and confected on the finish. I couldn't finish my glass. A massively disappointing effort for a 16, which is my favorite vintage since 2010.

1/31/2022 - acyso wrote:

January Rhônes (Chicago, IL): I have so much trouble with this wine. The red is handily one of the best wines made in France, but this one... "It's a freight train," said an extremely qualified professional at the table. Oily and spicy at the same time, but then the midpalate seems to evaporate into alcoholic fumes and some bitterness. A touch sweet but just lacking the freshness that I want in any wine. It's hard to see me wanting a glass of this with anything.

1/16/2021 - Nicephoras wrote:

Double blind. Some reduction on the nose, but not obtrusive and blows away reasonably quickly. Nose is a bit tropical, and there's a hint of tropicality on the palate, but this feels correct rather than obtrusive. The palate has great acidity, mostly with white fuit and there's just wonderful tension on the mid-palate, almost grand cru quality. The finish is medium, but good, with some more hints of tropicality. The tropical notes and palate tension made me think this was a big vintage Meursault from a very good producer - a more restrained vintage of PYCM or a Roulot, from 2010 or maybe 2011? Was surprised it was a 2015, as the acidity is considerably greater than what I'm used to in 15. A terrific wine and the finish expanded when we revisited this later in the evening.

1/7/2022 - Nicephoras wrote:

Wow, the guesses on this blind were all over the place. Two people called it a young Barolo. Another called it a 90s Napa, another a Cab Franc dominant Bordeaux and someone a 15 red Burgundy. Closest call was an early 90s Cote Rotie. Personally, it felt not too atypical; the nose has a lot of VA, but some very pretty dark reddish fruit (a bit a la Allemand). However, the palate is very tannic, despite this being 04 - it's just a wall of structure right now, with some olive on the finish. I'm burying the rest of mine in storage. I'd note the provenance on this is impeccable, so they've been aging appropriately.

9/9/2021 - Nicephoras wrote:

My bottle, from mag. Just too young. There's great promise here, and as always with Comtes it's a very vinous rose, but this should have slept longer. Made for a wonderful palate refresher later in the evening :)

1/5/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Blanc de blanc and shows it with a touch of reduction on the nose and then classic Chardonnay notes on the finish. Like Puligny, said my friend, and he wasn’t wrong. If Roulot made Champagne, it’d taste like this I think. Precise, and the lack of dosage doesn’t hamper it. Unlike, say, Suenen or Marguet (both of which I like), the acidity here is precise rather than racy. Very much my kind of drink.

11/7/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Opened to celebrate the election, as it felt appropriate. Cristal is so far my favorite 2008, though I do think it's a slightly overrated vintage (as I prefer Chardonnay) - I like the 09 better, but we'll see how this ages. That said, it's an absolutely delicious wine with great tension.

11/4/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Another late 2000s Burlotto, another bizarre nose. The same elderberry/St. Germain thing, that's just so strange. The body is fine, but what I want from Burlotto is the Chambolle in Barolo feeling, not this. Maybe it's me at this point. So strange.

11/4/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

The best Clos Rougeard I've ever had - at least for the first four hours. Unlike most Allemand, this is quite a bit green, and is fairly monolithic, which isn't my usual experience with 2011 Rhones. Part of the problem with decanting Allemand is that you lose some of the immediate intense perfume, but this needs it - there's just too much pyrazines. But after about 4 hours this settles down and becomes quite nice. Hold.

10/15/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Dinner at Jua. Brought by Grace and clearly the red wine of the night. A lot of red fruit on the nose, with just a touch of VA. The fruit is now clearly secondary, but is not fading. The tannins are now fully resolved and the fruit is lean, but carries all the way through to a long finish. A fair amount of iron - this is a bit of a rustic wine. But that doesn't detract from the charm. The whole cluster is also clearly coming through on this wine.

5/24/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Tasted double blind. Apparently super allocated, and not a bottling I’ve had before. Big apple notes on the nose with a bit of lemon, similar on the front palate. There wasn’t really much brioche, the bubbles were a bit big and the finish was short and a bit bitter, which made me think it was some kind of weird sparking chenin. Not my thing.

7/18/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Double blind. Some reduction on the nose, but what immediately comes through are the tropical flavors - banana, guava, maybe some melon. The palate is ripe, with a decent balance but clear oak with a touch of that same tropicality on the finish. The acidity is relatively low, which made me think 2015. On a night where my calls on the reds was generally off the mark, I at least nailed this by calling it a 15 PYCM Meursault 1er (though Charmes not Perrieres). There is a distinctive style to these wines, though it's just not the one I prefer.

10/2/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Most 90s I’ve had have still had too much structure, but this was in a very nice place. Lots of graphite on the nose, fruit that’s turning secondary but still prominent, but tannins in a happy place. A bit greener than I’d expect for a 90 Pauillac, but very nice. An underrated property.

8/20/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Niche Niche 8/20: It's Reynard, so it's good, but this is not a great bottle. Solid fruit, but the bottle is a bit dilute and the tannins are a bit rustic. This lacks the finesse you expect from Allemand in what was a generally tough vintage for the Northern Rhone.

7/7/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Day 1: A ton of reduction on the nose, though it blows off after an hour and a half or so. Some nice blue fruit on the nose and the initial palate, though the back half of the palate is pretty hot - there's more extraction here than I'd have expected for the vintage. The finish starts out nicely but then dissipates entirely. Not entirely unsurprising for a village. The finish also has some bitterness - this is either from some drying tannin or poorly integrated oak.

Day 2: The nose still has the nice blue fruit, but there's now a bit o red. There are more hints of vanilla and some vigorous stirring reveals a lot of vanilla. The palate has settled down some, with the heat showing less prominently, but the finish is now more easily explained by oak - too much of it. Decent wine, but more extracted than I'd prefer, and I'm not sure it can handle its oak regime.

8/7/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

From .375. Sappy red fruit on the nose, more primary than I might have expected, but the palate is all old school Faiveley - structure and chalky tannins. There's quite a bit of fruit here, but the tannin definitely overwhelms it on the palate - it's old school Faiveley! This tired in the glass surprisingly faster than I'd have expected (may be the .375), but if consumed faster this has a lot of life left on it. It's always a good reminder to see how much winemaking matters in Burgundy; Mugnier's 2002s are spectacular for their balance of fruit and structure, and by 2006 his stamp is clearly on Clos de Marechale. Whereas this is entirely consistent with old Faiveley.

7/20/2020 - aagrawal wrote:

Coravin. Medium-deep ruby; medium-plus aromatics, red and black fruits, earthy, iron and minerals, slight smoke; palate is medium bodied with excellent plush mouthfeel, elegant medium-plus acidity, balanced medium 13.5% alcohol, fruits are still mostly primary through the midpalate but with good concentration; finish is medium length and just a bit shorter than the nose and palate may suggest. A very lovely, traditionally made northern rhone syrah, still quite primary but integrated and enjoyable. I think this is excellent value and will improve for a decade or more. Will try to wait 3-5 years for my next bottle. 90-91

7/18/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

A solid wine, though the cranberry and the sweetness are also the reason why I find Alpine one of my two least favorite Rhys vineyards; the stemminess doesn't help. The nose has some of the classic strawberry profile I associate with Rhys which makes it distinct from old world pinot.

7/11/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Blinds at Jason Mark III(?): My first Tremblay. This is dense and very dark fruited. A touch of oak, though not obtrusive. I didn't get any Vosne signature on it - this felt very Morey to me, which I suppose makes sense. A nice wine and drinking well, with very good heft for a village. I'm not going to look for it at current pricing, but that's not the wine's fault. Reminded me of Hubert Lignier quite a bit.

7/11/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Petrol on the nose, and you can almost smell the minerality. On the front palate, there's a very minerally (almost sparkling note) with white fruit, which leads to the midpalate which is suddenly HEAVY - it's almost like a well made California chardonnay texture (not flavor profile!) - almost presses on your tongue, which then leads to a very nice finish which is mineral - you're almost sucking Mr. Keller's stony terroir here. Some zippy acidity, no sign of a hot vintage.
As always, I find Keller's wines distinctive rather than great - these are very unique expressions of Riesling (and very good, of course). Though, I'm also being a bit ungenerous, as this is a $40 wine - it's a wonderful value, but I think I appreciated it a bit more on an intellectual rather than an emotional level. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

7/3/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Next to the village Chambolle this comes off as a touch clunky and heavy, and the nose lacks the same explosive fruit. At the same price, the village Chambolle is clearly the way to go imho. This is more dark fruited, though if one is looking for more dark fruit, Roumier's MSD seems like an odd choice.

5/17/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Served double blind. Identified as nebbiolo after some clear VA, some heavy balamic notes and reasonable tannins. However, this also had a fair bit of heat and had some bricking and some oxidation on the back end. Was surprised this was a 2015 - didn't show well. My first experience with this producer.

4/23/2020 - Chomsky wrote:

Uh oh. I haved loved Gilles's Cornas for a number of vintages but this is just... too much. Deep purple-black; the nose is spirity, there's a distracting bitterness on the finish, and the fruit is very, very ripe - like, Santa Barbara Syrah ripe - dark and confectionary. I decanted and tasted over a couple of hours, and the wine got more savory and silky but the heat never really dissipated. Maybe it just needs 20 years? I'll revisit the rest of the bottle after a night or two.

3/10/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

This is why you age Levet. After about 20 minutes the funk blows off and what’s left is a core of sweet red fruit that still maintains its animale and olive notes. After 3 hours in a decanter, darker olive notes begin to take over, likely showing that this is moving in a similar direction as a 98 drink last year. Gorgeous and in a flight of most 04 Rhônes that matter bettered only by the Reynard.

3/12/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

A slightly odd bottle. Initially it showed VERY green, which I tend not to expect from this relatively Merlot heavy estate (until they tore up the merlot). With time, the green subsided to an extent to reveal a more classic and correct Bordeaux profile. However, it never entirely shed the green notes, and if I wanted to drink Loire reds, I’d drink Raffault, and I don’t. As always, there are no great wines, only great bottles. Because when the 89 Pichon Lalande is on, it’s ON.

1/10/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:

Dark fruit on the nose (it’s Lignier, after all) and some secondary characteristics. Primary on the palate with tannins not yet resolved imo. My friend thought it was ready to drink now - I would hold, as I think Lignier’s wines are made for the longer haul. Decant would have helped, though somm argued that “older pinots are often delicious on pop and pour”. Huh.