11/6/2011 - RickG wrote:

Light to medium color showing bricking. I can't agree with the previous note about this being over the hill. It's 7 years later and while this wine isn't a blockbuster it's a nice Savigny.

Firm acid structure with fully developed fruit. The balance is a bit to the acid side since the fruit's mostly gone into secondary notes. This is OK to drink solo if you like that but it really shone with grilled lamb, the herbs and fat bringing out deeper notes in the fruit and mitigating the acid bit.

Where this really shines is the nose... Lovely from the start it's opened over an hour and shows notes of dried flowers, light spiciness and a hint of forest floor.

No, this isn't for people who need a lot of fruit on their wines, but consider that this is 15 year old Savigny from a high acid vintage. For people who like mature Cote du Beaune wines and enjoy the acid structure, this is a nice wine. Drink now, don't hold and drink with food preferably and you'll have a nice evening.

10/16/2011 - RickG wrote:

Lovely nose. High-toned green notes of menthol and fresh herbs (kind of like tarragon), combined with slight spice notes (allspice, etc), a a hint of flowers.

On the palate, light to medium mature red fruit that's not going over the hill. Slight hint of tobacco. Good acid structure keeps this lively. This is throwing some fine sediment so it really needs to be stood up. I reserved half of this in a clean 375 that went into the fridge - will post any updates that expand on the above

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Disappointing given all the hype around this producer. Nice but reticent, correct, transparent but no real complexity.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: VERY nice wine. One of my faves of the night. Sweet, sappy very open knit red fruit nose. Very expressive. Plenty of fruit to match the acid structure.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Slight vegetal nose. Fine tannins, medium red fruit, bit reductive. Not impressive given the domaine. OK... but... underwhelming

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Off bottle. Very oaky under a ton of reduction.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Light red expressive nose. Mint, licorice, fennel brilliant, intense floarl notes, again in the rhody/azalea range. Light, more ethereal than powerful.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Velvet. Crushed red berry, black pepper nose. tons of structure and acid, cuts off the finish a bit. Surprisingly accessible though for this producer and vineyard.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Piercing nose of space and crushed red berries. Iron/mineral finish. Lots of material there, but like an iceberg, this is showing a small fraction of what it will be with age.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: Spicy, floral (azalea, rhodyedendron) nose Cinnamon, red candy, again spcie notes. Medium weight, very transparent palate. Slight stemmy note on palate. Palate got simpler with air, nose remained lovely.

7/11/2011 - RickG wrote:

2008 Red Burgs: medium deep purple color. Red, crunchy friot notes. Very pure, velvety. Transparent, very lovely. Swells in mouth, long finish. Initial note of vanilla blew off. Not an oaky wine at all.

4/27/2011 - RickG wrote:

Picked up on a lark while at the supermarket, this is quite nice and different. Fruit is a mix of red currants and cherries with some violet floral notes on the nose. The palate follows through on that with some lavender notes too. The palate has definite fruit but maintains transparency finishing with noticeable tannins that are slightly rough (from the Petite Syrah?). Fun wine, esp good with grilled meat.

4/24/2011 - RickG wrote:

Most certainly not premoxed. Light golden in color with hints of green. Hightoned pine and lime blossom nose, slight hints of white pepper and nut oils on the palate. Ready to drink, not going over the hill (premox issues aside) though. For all of the talk about high acids, this isn't acidic - does that intense yet light thing that great burgs do.

4/20/2011 - RickG wrote:

On opening this has bright red-purple fruit, a high toned menthol/garrigue nose and a very clean, almost polished feel to the palate. The fruit opens up on the nose with some air. The palate isn't dense, but shows nice intensity combined with lift from the acid and a transparency that keeps it light vs ponderous. I've a feeling this will evolve nicely with time, so I'm putting half of this into a 375ml bottle and refrigerating this. I'll modify this note if the wine changes materially.

4/16/2011 - RickG wrote:

Lovely wine. The nose is all pears and quince with a hint of honey. The palate follows through on this and adds a tension between an almost white sugar note, the acid and a medium body that adds weight. This held up very well for several days in the fridge, not really changing much. That surprised me - the nose was still prominent 4 days after first being opened. Drink this now or over the next 2-3 years.

3/21/2011 - RickG wrote:

From the last batch of Burgundy that I direct imported, this is the first of four bottles of this that I have. Opened and consumed over 3 hours with veal chops, simple rice and salad.

On the nose this is all crushed red berries with a bit of a lift. The palate is similar, with acid to lift the fruit but not anything that cuts off the finish. As this opened, the finish became longer and the palate showed mature red fruit. Not old, certainly not off, but the difference between a fully ripe red raspberry and one that's just a bit underripe. The mouthfeel lost a bit of vibrancy but gained a bit of plushness. This wine is close to the end of its fruit driven youth... that will last a few more years, but in about 5 years or so I'd anticipate this starting to enter its mature phase. Lovely now, though.

2/27/2011 - RickG wrote:

Opens with tight pear notes and over time those are joined by mature notes of ripeness (tho this is NOT premoxed, it is hitting its plateau). The nose has light white pepper and flowers though the floral notes are muted and more reminiscent of dried flowers. Acids brighten and lift the nose and palate, but this one wants to be drunk in the next 1-3 years unless you like oxidative notes.

1/9/2011 - RickG wrote:

Lovely white fruits, a bit of waxiness and just a hint of petrol starting to br present on the nose. This doesn't have pronounced cut - it's richer than that - but the aromatics are lovely and the palate out of a bottle that I popped and poured is lovely. One more glass, then I cork it to see what happens to it tomorrow.

11/23/2010 - RickG wrote:

This just rocks for the price and is a great example of why I like to use my everyday buys to try different things. Sure, I could get some large production Sauv Blanc, but... come on.

The nose is pear and peppermint. The palate follows through, more on the pear than the peppermint. The mouthfeel is surprisingly full with a nice texture and finish. Will this age? Is it complex? Come on, it's $12. I'm inclined to stuff some bottles in the cellar and see what they do in 3-5 years, but even if I don't, it's a fun wine that tastes good and is different. This is yet another example of why I shop in the European aisles of wine shops... Shipped 6000 miles and through 3 tiers of distribution, and I get something cool for a ten dollar bill plus some change.

Oh and you all got the grape variety as Jacquere, right?

11/21/2010 - RickG wrote:

Popped and a small pour taken to let the bottle air a bit. Right out of the bottle, this has dried violets and fruits, leather and cigar box notes. The palate has lovely red fruit notes in a lighter tone (i.e. it's not dark, dense or primary). Lovely stuff now, real note later. mmmmm....

Over the course of the evening the nose opened up and gained complexity with some hightoned pine notes appearing and hints of balsa wood of all things. The nose is just amazingly on.

The palate, while good, is more modest - it's not dense, dark, etc. This is a very nice Sangio palate actually, showing red fruit, nice mouthfeel and good structure, but in comparison to the top notch nose, the palate's less impressive. It's still quite good though.

Well-stored bottles of this aren't going over the hill anytime soon, but the wine is lovely now and isn't going to get better, it will just become different. Drink now to maybe 5-10 years out.

11/14/2010 - RickG wrote:

Pulled from a cold cellar at around 3pm, cork popped but nothing poured from the bottle. Initial impression of the nose was good - bit faint, but it was cold and just opened. I let the bottle warm a bit and left it open until 6pm when I recorked it and took it over to a friend's.

Classic dried roses on the nose with a bit of spice. Initially light on the palate this put on some weight over the next 3 hours. Lovely medium red fruit and floral notes on the palate. Good acids lift things aromatically but don't cut off the finish or feel unbalanced. A bit of the classic tar too. This is lovely stuff - nice fruit, great nose, good secondary characteristics. It's typically 1990, though, in that it lacks a bit of structure compared to 1989. But that's really quibbling more than anything. This is certainly ready but doesn't show any signs of declining soon - drink now, wait a few years.

11/6/2010 - RickG wrote:

Light, translucent, with notes of green apple, Asian pear and a slight saline note. Some picked up a metallic note off this that I didn't get. Good, slightly pronounced acids. Quite nice.

9/13/2010 - RickG wrote:

Opens up and is mostly all about the grape and is a bit simple. Over the course of a couple of hours, though, this developed nicely, showing subtle floral notes with a bit of honeysuckle. At one point this showed very slight bretty notes but it just added an earthy dimension. Toward the end, the berries came back out and it was nicely balanced between crushed fruit, flowers nicely framed by acids. This is lovely stuff and it's a bit hard to believe it was available at PCC for $12.

9/9/2010 - RickG wrote:

This is a very nice wine on opening. Popped and poured this showed purple fruit with a noticeable plumminess. Tannins round out the palate and give it texture, acids life the palate and keep the plum notes from degenerating into flabbiness. There's a minerally, smoky note to the nose but aromatically this is all about the fruit. It's definitely got the stuffing to age for a couple of years. I'm corking the bottle up and tossing it in the fridge and will update the note if the wine changes a lot.

8/29/2010 - RickG wrote:

Saturday Dinner; 8/28/2010-8/29/2010: This is more of an impression than a considered note since I didn't taste this on open. The bottles was the last third of a bottle a friend had opened the night before and then stored in the fridge. Lovely, precise Puligny notes with good minerality, lemon and some white floral notes. However, this didn't scream grand cru to me - it was competitive with, but not better than, a good premier cru. Was it better the night before? Not according to the friend who'd had it then (this 1/3 of a bottle was the starter for a dinner with a '90 Brunello being the main wine). If you've had Girardin whites from the late 90s and remember them as oaky things, this is NOT that - the flavors were classic Puligny, just not as complex or intense as I'd expect from a Batard.

8/29/2010 - RickG wrote:

Saturday Dinner; 8/28/2010-8/29/2010: At dinner with a friend, this was popped and poured this looked much younger than 20. Color is a translucent dark red/purple with some slight bricking. The nose is immediately on with dried cherry and floral notes and some camphor-like subtleties. The nose stayed much like that for the 2 hours that the bottle lasted, becoming more prominent over time. The palate was medium weight with fruit fading into secondary flavors. Tannins still aren't resolved and probably never will be at this point. Oddly, there was a point about 30 minutes in where the fruit receded and the tannins came to the fore, but the wine recovered from that. The palate is good, the nose is excellent. Given the presence of tannins on the palate this is a wine that benefits from a food with a bit of fat to ameliorate them.

8/23/2010 - RickG wrote:

One more reason premox pisses me off. Not because of the condition of this bottle...

Let me begin again. I bought a noticeable amount of Michel Colin Deleger from 1996 though 2001. I liked the wines on release, so on the principle that if you like them young, you have a good chance of liking them older, i bought. And C-D has been hit pretty hard my the premox bug. What this means is that I've been tending to open and drink the wines sooner versus later - if the choice is between drinking a wine beofre peak or letting it die... I'll drink it.

Fast-forward to tonight. A simple Monday meal. Some lightly smoked steelhead, fresh corn on the cob, sourdough bread. I saw this wine and hesitated... it's not ready if it's good. But, give the history... I opened it. And it's not premoxed. But it's also not close to ready.

Pale golden color, tightly wound nose of pear and other white fruits. Nicely balanced with the acids here, the fruit is a bit reticent. Will air coax it out? Well, not so far. 30 minutes into it, the fruit has actually retreated. It's not taking on the chracteristics of premox - it's just too damn young. I'll let this open a bit and update this note if things change, but thanks, premox, instead of wasting a bottle by letting it go bad, I pretty much wasted one that should have gone longer. Sigh...

8/21/2010 - RickG wrote:

Crumbly cork, with part of the cork falling into the bottle so we decanted through a mesh strainer and back into a clean bottle. For the first 30 minutes this had a typical nose of old red wine meaning it was slightly spicy, a bit musty and with notes of old flowers and forest floor. However at about the 45 minute mark this opened nicely with notes of roses and camphor. The mustiness left and, though the body was light, it was very clear and flavorful. Went very well with a grilled veal chop.

We decided to open t his only a couple of hours before dinner... if you have the opportunity I think this would benefit from the slow oxygen method of Audoze.

8/8/2010 - RickG wrote:

Yes, red Burgundy has to be expensive. That's what most people think, so don't tell them about wines like this...

The nose is the star of this wine - seductive, light red fruit with spice and sandalwood notes, the nose punches above its class. The palate is nice, but is a bit dilute - the fruit matchs the nose in weight which means it's a bit slight. Fine with food, this is weighted a bit to the acidic side for a cocktail wine for most people. Nice with steelhead, I bet this would rock with a roast chicken given, cutting nicely through the fat there. This does put on weight with air, so I'd pop it and grab a glass as you cook dinner - it's not heavy after 30 mins, but the gain in weight is definitely there.

Well worth the $20, I'd drink this now for a year or two.

8/1/2010 - RickG wrote:

On open the nose is a bit sulfited but quickly opens up and has lovely light red fruit, intense floral notes and spice combined with what I can only described as a smell like fresh fall leaves. The palate is a bit one dimensional and dilute though. So far, this is a nose wine.

Ok, with air the fruit comes out a bit on the palate. Where it's a bit balanced toward the acids when first opened, with some air it's still lean but better balanced between the fruit and acid. At $22 this is a nice, short term thing to drink with, oh, say, steelhead and tortellini with basil pesto. The nose overachieves and I think one's opinion of this wine will depend on how one feels about nose vs palate in a wine. The palate is average, the nose rocks.

7/25/2010 - RickG wrote:

Very light floral nose when first opened and fairly shut down palate showing simple red fruit. This opened with air over the course of 2.5 hours and belies the 'don't decant' mantra - the last glass was the best. At the end, this had medium weight sour cherry fruit with overtones of dried flowers in the rose/rhododendron range and a hint of camphor. Lovely, but still too young. This needs another 3-5 years to unwind and then should drink well for some time.

6/29/2010 - RickG wrote:

Lovely wine. Opened and drunk with a peppercorn steak, this immediately showed hightoned green notes of menthol and pine on the nose. On the palate those merged into nice medium bodied red fruit. With air, the nose receded a bit and the palate stayed open. Acids kept this lively but were in no way spikey, they were as I like them, a component that framed and balanced the fruit.

I decanted half of this into a clean 375ml bottle, corked it and put it in the fridge. Opened and drunk 2 nights on (after letting it warm of course), the notes were identical. I'm not sure that this will evolve into something with striking secondary flavors and aromas but, frankly it's in a nice place now and not every wine needs to be aged 25 years to be appreciated. Given the vineyard, this is a nice early Cadence that is drinking far better at 11 years old than I'd have thought. It makes me want to open one of the 98 Taptiels which should be a significant step up... but on the other hand, *those* I think will really be special in a few more years.

Oh, one serving note - there's a fair bit of sediment so I'd stand this up for a few hours and decant the wine off the sediment.

3/10/2010 - RickG Likes this wine:

I wasn't expecting much from this bottle, but it was a pleasant surprise. Popped and poured this is a medium light golden color with light honeyed notes on the nose. Peach and pear notes along with some honey on the palate. This has certainly held up well and isn't about to fade, but past the above it's fairly straightforward wine. A nice surprise that it's alive and drinking well though.

3/6/2010 - RickG Likes this wine:

Intense blackberry and violet aromas. Overtones of animal, meaty notes on palate with a hint of saddle leather. Very fine tannins with a mediumlong finish all of this wrapped around a core of intense fruit. Very good.

1/4/2010 - RickG wrote:

The last bottle I opened was lovely on the nose but rather nondescript on the palate. This bottle shows younger than that one - fragrant purple fruit, floral notes (think rhododendron or violets) on the nose with a little something saline on the backend. The palate is very nice with smooth, fully resolved tannins, moderate body and plenty of fruit that matches the nose. The acid smooths this and lifts the tone of the flavors, but is very much in balance.

1/2/2010 - RickG wrote:

Brilliant nose of rose petals, forest floor and light tar notes. Penetrating, forest leaves and flowers that opened over the 2 hours we drank this wine. If this wine is going over any hill, I'm following it. The color is a limpid reddish brown color with clear edges. Light to medium body on the palate, very slightly spiky acid on the palate that's still quite nice, but the nose is amazing. Note that this isn't a reissued, recently topped up version - this has been in the bottle since '64.

1/1/2010 - RickG wrote:

Opened from a 375 and decanted. After 15 mins the nose is just starting to open up, notes of red and purple fruit, a hint of high-toned menthol and other fresh green herbs and some cocoa. Broad flavors on palate, fine tannins, good silky mouthfeel. Nice density without getting unctuous and overbearing. The palate is transparent in a good way - it lets you look into the various flavors and feels 3D vs a wash of flat flavors and then nothing. Finish is good, lingers maybe 20-30 sec and doesn't cut off. There are good acids here, but this is about fruit and pedigree and this wine will age on the high quality fruit and tannins.

12/22/2009 - RickG wrote:

Opens with a medium bodied red fruit nose with notes of fir and cedar needles... reminiscent of the scent of walking in a forest in spring (fresh notes vs the old leaf notes). Medium boddy and light red fruit on the palate, a bit transparent - good with food and fine for my palate but those who crave palate density will be disappointed. The nose stays consistent over an hour plus taking on some spice and seeing the green recede a bit with more floral notes too. Lovely wine, not blockbuster or OMG but also nice, balanced and with life yet to go.

9/30/2009 - RickG wrote:

Popped and poured after being pulled from a cold cellar and stood up for an hour. Nose gives the impression of roses and violets, but with a cool overtone and notes of cocoa. There's no noticeable oak at all (and this was, if I recall correctly, only about 30% new oak). All of these notes follow through on the palate. It certainly has fruit sweetness but that's balanced by the acid. The finish has a slight dusting of tannins but these are fine vs coarse. Very nice stuff. I put half of this in a 375 for tomorrow and I'll update the note then.

11/13/2006 - RickG wrote:

Nose... Initial notes of pure crushed purple berries compete with roasted meat notes. With air the meaty notes receded and the crushed berries come to the fore, adding a bit of floral note.

Palate... Pure transparent purple fruit... not dense, but still intense. Primary, but not grapey... very refined. Acids balance the wine but only a wine geek would notice them, they're that seamless.

Not the dark, dense wine the 2003 is but still intense and more refined. Lovely stuff.

10/16/2006 - RickG wrote:

Sunday night dinner; 10/15/2006-10/16/2006: Dense red puple color and fruit. Notes of bitter chocolate on the nose. The chocolate notes receded with air and the fruit came out as did the very beginning hints of tobacco notes. Very nice, but this needs 5 years to hit its stride.

10/16/2006 - RickG wrote:

Sunday night dinner; 10/15/2006-10/16/2006: Decanted on opening, this immediately showed rose petal notes with light to moderate red fruit. Lovely, elegant, and pure this has real class. Dusty tannins and a firm backbone of acid tell me that this will last and improve over the next few years - assuming it lasts that long in my cellar...

9/18/2006 - RickG wrote:

OK, fine... Malbec from the Loire, vinified by one of the best producers in Muscadet. Gotta try this... Drunk while watching Monday Night Football with roasted turkey breast and cornbread (traditional Loire fare...).

Light/medium body, raspberry and a bit of pepper braced by firm acidity. This goes down easy and is a refreshing (12% ABV), fun weeknight red that will pair well with roast fowl and the like. At $8 or so, this is a steal, but don't age it - its charm lies in its freshness.

8/11/2006 - RickG wrote:

This starts out with notes of blackberry/marionberry and charcoal. A bit bright due to alcohol... this opens and lightens showing notes of cassis and crushed red fruits. Smooth, easy palate. A bit hot on the finish but hey, this is 16.5%! And, actually, it carries the alcohol very well. The downside? The wine is good, but lacks any real complexity - very fair for the $35 I paid, but for the current $65 market price I'd look elsewhere.

8/6/2006 - RickG wrote:

pronounced yellow color with green tinged throughout. On opeing from cellar temp, this showed a bit of butter and grilled nuts with acids sticking out. As it got air, this improved markedly. Notes of musk melon ad light floral notes appear and the acids integrate well. Not quite outstanding, but nice wine.

7/29/2006 - RickG wrote:

Dinner at Steve's; 7/28/2006-7/29/2006 (On the deck...): from 375.

Ah... brilliant yellow color. Lovely nose and palate. Sweet, but not cloying, this had hints of cream and dried apricots... Very nice.

7/29/2006 - RickG wrote:

Dinner at Steve's; 7/28/2006-7/29/2006 (On the deck...): Opened and poured from bottle. Medium red with bricking, clearish edges. Lovely notes of forest floor with light red fruit flavors. As with most of the 1988s I've had there's a note of iron-like minerality to this on the palate. This note becomes more prominent with air and eventually appears on the nose as well, with the fruit and forest floor receding. Very pleasant for 60-90 minutes and certainly drinkable after that. I'd served this with a matching course in a dinner with seveal people so that the bottle is mostly consumed within the first hour of being open when it's at its best. Do NOT decant.

7/29/2006 - RickG wrote:

Dinner at Steve's; 7/28/2006-7/29/2006 (On the deck...): Being a 1996 I was worried abut oxidation... none of that here. Limpid, light yellow tinged faintly with green. There are hints of the typical Leflaive lemony cream notes, but they are in the background. for about 20 minutes then become a bit more prominent., however this isn't a rich wine, more a wine made intresting by it's raciness and aromatics.

The acids here are very prominent, almost too much so... floral hints came out with more air and the wine did flesh out, but this is relatively lean for a P-M 1er cru. The youthful flavors are receding - hopefully the fruit is in the process of becoming secondary aromas and flavors. Good now. Hopefully better as it gets into maturity.

Drink Next: 2011.

7/22/2006 - RickG wrote:

Had this initially as the starter wine to a tasting of 2004 Rhone whites. This little number more than held its own. I'm not a Viognier fan... it too often goes overly floral and blowsy or phenolic with lanolin notes. Well, there's none of that here. Flavors of apricot and pear are sharpened by notes of allspice and white pepper. Drunk at cellar temp, this belies its $8 price tag - I'd be fine if this had cost twice that. There's some acid on the palate to brighten things, but not so much as to be unbalanced. And, it has survived very nicely over three nights in the fridge. Highly recommended... A grrat summer white that would be worht holding and drinking for a year or so. I'm a bit curious to see what it would do at age five...

7/8/2006 - RickG wrote:

The Usual Suspects taste 2004 Condrieu: Apricot and lychee fruit. Big, waxy phenolic note on the palate along with the fruit. Viscous, but not as much as te Doriane of Gangloff. Again, a hint of bitterness, something that all 3 Guigals showed this evening.