4/26/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

From vineyards in Lancié, 2 miles south-east of Fleurie, sandy soils, 100% destemmed, vinified in tank, aged for 12 months in used cask and amphorae, 12.5% ABV, bottled unfiltered in August 2022, with 2200 bottles produced. Pale cherry red colour; fruit-driven nose (sweet raspberries, strawberries, cherries), whiff of candy, hints of earth and warm spices, flowers, stony freshness; elegantly juicy and supple palate, silky texture, mild tannins, just a prickle of carbon dioxide, good flavour intensity in what is essentially a light wine; the complete finish starts out juicy and then becomes drier. More approachable than last year.

4/26/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Attractive, fragrant nose with a lovely sense of place; cool and silky palate, elegant and fresh, distinctly on the lighter side, well-defined (citrus and orchard) fruit and a nice balance; noticeable bitters on the finish, which is dry and chalky but has very good length. At La Cabane, Chassagne-Montrachet, France.

4/25/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant La Garaudière, Levernois, France): Pure and bright expression of variety and terroir, nicely layered aromas (roses and violets, peaches and raspberries, smoke), elegant (12.5% ABV) yet intense palate with with crunchy fruit and black pepper, wonderfully fresh and minerally, energetic but youthfully tight finish.

4/25/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant La Garaudière, Levernois, France): Solid, good fruit and freshness, nice oak spice, a bit unpolished on the finish. Not very expressive, perhaps abit dull even.

4/25/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Light on its feet but intense. The subtle skin contact adds structure and yeasty complexity. Steely acidity, lemon curd, very good varietal typicity, convincing finish. Much more generosity and charm than the skinny Le Coulezain 2021. At restaurant Caves Madeleine, Beaune, France.

4/25/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Drinks with Steen Öhman (Wine Bar La Cuverie de Vosne-Romanée, Vosne-Romanée, France): Bottle No. 043 / 137. Not decanted. Rich and concentrated but transparent and precise, griotte and rose, hugely energetic chalky minerality, deep yet lifted, perfect weight (13% ABV), wonderful acidity, quite structured and in that sense almost Bordeaux-like, firm but finely grained tannins, slighty sweet oak, very long and layered finish. Very impressive if somewhat unusual in style.

4/25/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Drinks with Steen Öhman (Wine Bar La Cuverie de Vosne-Romanée, Vosne-Romanée, France): Beautiful acidity, quite big and really ripe for a 2021, succulent fruit, hint of oak spice, noticeable bitters, quite structured, energetic, very good length. An opulent wine.

4/24/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A well-behaved wine. Well made, relatively modern, clearly 100 destemmed, lovely balance, ripe fruit and freshness, well-judged oak. Perhaps more solid than exciting, but that is exactly what I woul expect from a Santenay.

4/24/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Le Maufoux, Beaune, France): Characteristically pure and relaxed, beautifully primary juice (cherry, peach), but not without the earth and iron expression of its Nuits terroir, light on its feet (especially for a 2020), sensual but precise and transparent, gentle and flowing, silky-sweet, light but firm papery tannins, whiff of spice, crunchy fruit on the dreamy finish. Such charm.

4/24/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Le Maufoux, Beaune, France): One barrel produced, 272 bottles and 12 magnums. Very light on its feet, almost ethereal, effortless elegance, just ripe, creamy lemon, steely acidity, silky texture, aromatic green herbs, attractive hint of sweet oak, balanced and silky, gentle bitters, very good length. A delicate wine to drink in its first decade.

4/22/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Very pale, white-golden pink. Arguably quite a technical wine, centered around a supple, and juicy, easy Grenache core, bubblegum and floral notes but there's hay and pleasant bitters too, soft but fresh acidity, strawberry, good length. Very decent rosé, pretty good value.

4/23/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Wine Bar La Cuverie de Vosne-Romanée, Vosne-Romanée, France): Delightfully pure and precise, transparent and elegant, cool and minerally, flowers and Asian spices, sweet and juicy fruit of freshly crushed red berries, cherries and peaches, silky texture, judicious oak, papery tannins, mildly austere finale with very good resonance and length. Textbook Lutenières, very delicious.

4/23/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Wine Bar La Cuverie de Vosne-Romanée, Vosne-Romanée, France): Very fresh and floral - reminds me of the style of Charles Lachaux. Not as lifted and more chalky as that Aligoté, but certainly not the reductive style so en vogue these days.

4/23/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Superlative Chablis. Marvellous nose, explosive white peach and salted lemon. Authoritative palate, structure, freshness, ripeness, tension, concentration, elegance, impeccable expression of the terroir and the style of the vigneron, harmonious, sculpted, everything in the right place. Salty finish with huge energy and length. Fabulous now and for 20+ years. Sovereign. At bistro Bord de l'eau, Hostellerie Levernois, Levernois, France.

4/23/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Bottled 9 August 2018, 12.5% ABV. Decanted. Incredibly fresh, youthful and energetic, piercing estery acidity - not unlike a Gueuze from Cantillon, subtle elevage notes (yeast, fresh white almonds), a vertical, linear wine, steel and creamy lemon, tart citrus, fenugreek and salinity, hint of peach, gains ampleur in the decanter, tightly coiled, incredible drive and length on the seemingly endless finish, unripe strawberry, green apple. Like a TGV, just goes on and on. My fourth vintage of this wine - the 2007 and 2016 had identical scores, the 1998 was the odd man out in my lifetime vertical so far.

4/22/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Because spring frosts destroyed a large part of the harvest in the Côte de Beaune, Marthe Henry Boillot turned to her friend Anne Victoire Montrozier, who enabled the creation of this cuvée with grapes from her family property Château des Moriers. Probably produced without any addition of sulfur, as there is a hint of preserving carbon dioxide, and the wine as a whole feels quite natural. The style is wonderfully fresh and digestible, a fragrant nose with roses and a hint of undergrowth, an elegant (12% ABV) and minerally palate with delightful flavours of ripe peaches and strawberries, and a silky finish with amarena cherries, very good length. At Maison Deveney Mars, Puligny-Montrachet, France.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Wein & Tafelhaus *, Trittenheim, Germany): Very different in style from the 2013. The nose is more closed initially but opens up to almost fleshy apricot aromas; the palate is tighter and more energetic, but the finish is incredibly expansive and seemingly neverending.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Wein & Tafelhaus *, Trittenheim, Germany): Very open and aromatic on the nose, intoxicating and almost medicinal, rich but not entirely smooth on the palate, quite a lot of heat on the finish.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Wein & Tafelhaus *, Trittenheim, Germany): Uvaggio denotes a blend of Nebbiolo, Vespolina and Croatina. Mature alto Piemonte, firm and fresh, forest floor, fresh cherry and strawberry, elegant weight (13.5% ABV), firm tannins, more playful than a 100% Nebbiolo would be.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Wein & Tafelhaus *, Trittenheim, Germany): Delicately natural in style, beautifully pure varietal expression, flowers and sour cherries, gently grippy style, very energetic and minerally, spicy depth, precise palate, finely grained tannins, chalky finish with very good length.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Wein & Tafelhaus *, Trittenheim, Germany): Intense but lively yellow colour; nose opens up beautifully in the large Zalto glasses, fresh and juicy pineapple, hints of honey and spicy, waxy bottle age; wonderfully full and flowing palate, almost Burgundian weight and buttery richness (Zeeuwse boterbabbelaar), ripe but firm acidity, well balanced; very convincing finish, excellent resonance and length. Unique style, fascinating wine. Goes through distinct phases (pineapple, honey, butter) in about 45 minutes and then loses its expression. Drink soon.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Wein & Tafelhaus *, Trittenheim, Germany): Pale salmon colour, fine mousse, refreshing, dry and minerally, delightfully layered fruit (peach, cherry), crisp acidity drives the finish, which has excellent length.

4/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Chez Armand, Mimande (Chaudenay), France): Elegant and bright, grippy and earthy, transparent and precise but does lack power or weight (13.5% ABV), smoky, red berries and forest floor, has drive and length.

4/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Chez Armand, Mimande (Chaudenay), France): Harvested 3 September 2020, no new oak, SO2 libre 11 mg/l, 12% ABV, 1945 bottles produced. Has developed very well since I last tasted this in 2022, very typical for 2020 with its tension between ripe citrus and orchard fruit and fresh acidity, concentrated but airy, elegant weight (12% ABV), rounded off nicely by the oak (none new), convincing finish.

4/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Lovely, light, ruby red colour; attactive, open nose, ripe but fresh fruit (raspberry), oak spice, forest floor and violets, minerally freshness, good depth; juicy and supple palate with refreshing acidity, supported by gentle tannins, elegant weight; good resonance and length. At Maison Deveney Mars, Puligny-Montrachet, France.

4/22/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Le Soufflot, Meursault, France): From Taillepieds and Clos des Chênes, bottled January 2023 with the chèvre à deux becs. No stems this year. Light and elegant, beautifully defined red and blue berry fruit, floral lift and a whiffs of undergrowth and sweetness from the wood, aromatic and fresh, toute en delicatesse (12.5% ABV), creamy texture and minerally energy, percaline tannins, exciting interplay of ripe fruit, tannins and acidity on the long finish.

4/22/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Le Soufflot, Meursault, France): From a plot of vines of 0.38 hectares owned by Domaine Martenot-Mallard. Bottle No. 557 from 889 produced. Beautifully layered sweet and ripe orchard fruit with a tropical edge, lift from subtle aromatic Asian spices (kurkuma) and green herbs, wonderfully harmonious and flowing palate, perfect weight (13.5% ABV), seamless and silky, elegant and remarkably light on its feet, just visible oak, dreamy finish with lemon curd. Incredibly moreish, to swoon in. Definitely worth the price of admission - if you can get it.

4/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Restaurant Le Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet): Spiced orange intensity, woody depth, aromatic, smooth and silky-sweet, powerful and concentrated, quite hot on the finish, green Chartreuse complexity and a touch of yeast. Impressive and exciting but lacks the finesse for a higher score.

4/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Restaurant Le Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet): In a lovely place, opens up well, youthful energy paired with some tertiary evolution, black tea from the stems, juicy and fresh red berries (strawberry, raspberry, sweet blackberries), subtle touch of spicy oak, creamy texture, good volume, harmonious, percaline tannins, cool minerality, marvellous intensity of sweet fruit on the very long finish. Beautifully composed.

4/21/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Restaurant Le Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet): Beautifully defined. The style of the vigneron and the vintage perfectly expressed on the heavier soils of Morgeot. Pure and precise, lifted (miyagi and white flowers) but rich and concentrated, creamy lemon and orchard fruit, nicely buttery, attractive salty oak, earthy notes, silky-smooth texture, lovely minerally energy and freshness provide tension, long and convincing finish with a beautiful fruit expression. "Aus einem Guss" - as the Germans would say.

4/13/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Barlotta, Amsterdam, NL): Ripe fruit, rounded and buttery, soft but fresh acidity, ripe orange and a whiff of salty oak on the finish, good length.

4/13/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Barlotta, Amsterdam, NL): De Reyve is a brand of the cooperative Union de Champagne. A decent wine, fruit-driven with ripe citrus and some brioche, rounded but fresh palate with noticeable bitters from the taille.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private (second) dinner (Café Parlotte, Amsterdam, NL): Firm and structured, concentrated and tannic, dusty and cedary and frankly charmless, clenched and with a clear touch of raw chocolate on the finish. Low-level akrolein? Not rated.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private (second) dinner (Café Parlotte, Amsterdam, NL): Stunning balance between succulent fruit and soft but fresh acidity, extremely youthful but with perfectly judged oak, minerality and weight, long finish.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private (second) dinner (Café Parlotte, Amsterdam, NL): Lot No. 19JI, disgorged 24 March 2023. Organic viticulture. Wonderfully rich and relaxed style, bruised apple, ripe and vinous but energetic and fresh, quite weighty but does not lack elegance, big and long finish.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Brasserie Margaux, Amsterdam, NL): Ripe and soft style with some creamy and spicy wood, juicy and easy, gently grippy bitters, attractive but without the energy and elegance of the Bouland which preceded it.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Brasserie Margaux, Amsterdam, NL): Wonderfully fresh amd bright, supple and charming, energetic granite minerality, creamy strawberries, gentle tannins, long and flowing finish. Exemplary Morgon, delightful now, good future.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Brasserie Margaux, Amsterdam, NL): A pretty wine, flowers and orchard fruit, spiced strawberries, juicy and supple, lovely hint of fruity sweetness, lively acidity and minerality, good resonance and length.

4/12/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Brasserie Margaux, Amsterdam, NL): Lovely aromatic intensity and terroir expression, salted lemon and oyster shell, slightly fat on the palate, lacks a bit of drive and length on the finish.

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner with friends (Restaurant Auberge, Amsterdam, NL): Bottle No. 201 from 432 produced. It was already very late and it had been a very long day, but this wine had no difficulty whatsoever in grabbing my attention. Spectacular expression, griotte, deep and sweet, energetic, precise and pure and silky-smooth, very seductive, silky tannins. Star quality.

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner with friends (Restaurant Auberge, Amsterdam, NL): No detailed notes. Elegant and civilised, silky, lovely fruit,

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner with friends (Restaurant Auberge, Amsterdam, NL): Identical to my previous note. Palo blanco really shines in this vintage.

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner with friends (Restaurant Auberge, Amsterdam, NL): Made from 100% Pinot Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and from Chavot, fermented in barrique and foudre, 30% rosé de macération, 10% vin rouge and 60% vin blanc (of which 40% vin de réserve), dosage 2.5 gr/l, disgorged March 2023. No detailed notes, but the fruit struck me as particularly impressive and beautiflly layered.

9/16/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Académie des Cinquante Burgundy - Germany Tasting (Overveen): Tasted blind. Pure and floral, fragrant, Alpine herbs, delicately creamy, hint of spice on the finish, firm but fine tannins, noticeable oak on the finish. In a relatively impenetrable phase, not nearly as convincing now as last year, revisit in 2025. Score based on potential.

4/20/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Unlike the unruly 2019 this is a civilised wine in the vein of the refined 2017, rounder obviously and with riper, darker fruit, but in the same beguiling, feminine style. Some stems on the nose (30%), perfect weight (12.5% ABV), silky-smooth and flowing, vibrant acidity, papery tannins, and very fine length. At Das Weinhaus, Trier, Germany.

4/19/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Final bottle from a three bottle lot purchased from a reputable German merchant in 2020. Decanted two hours in advance. Substantially identical to my previous note. The radiant fruit and crystalline purity which are so characteristic for KP Keller's style are clearly in evidence, remarkably bright acidity for a 2018, the hint of residual sugar is well integrated, calm finish with layered fruit (strawberry, peach) and very good length. Will age longer, but I really like it the way it is now.

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Energetic, tea-like, pure and precise, grippy, not really at ease with itself right now, needs time. The second 2020 Arnoux-Lachaux today that does not perform. Was I unlucky, or is it part of a broader picture? At wine bar Oocker, Amsterdam, NL.

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Elegant, stylish, smoky, Asian spices, silky tannins, very classy. Exemplary. At wine bar Oocker, Amsterdam, NL.

4/15/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Duroché Masterclass and Lunch (Restaurant Rijsel, Amsterdam, NL): Tasted blind. Very hard to determine. First impression is clearly Chardonnay, but there is also a touch of linen and chamomile which I associate with Chenin Blanc, and the finish is very green, almost like a Cabernet Franc vinifié en blanc. Ill at ease with itself.

4/18/2024 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A domaine that flies under the international radar, but that delivers very decent and sometimes excellent wines. Les Chaumées is a cool vineyard high up on the hill, and very good producers have holdings here. In 2019 "chez Jouard" this is a pretty big wine - a full 15% ABV on the label. The weight and concentration are clearly noticeable but they does not throw the wine off kilter - there is sufficient acidity and minerally energy for balance. The fruit is very ripe but fresh, and the tropical edge is attractive. The oak is present but well-judged. The aromatic expression is limited - the price to pay for all that ripeness and power, and also a limitation on the score. No point in keeping this - drink soon.