3/3/24, 4:47 PM - A great wine in a great year. The only Percalo I have had was in an off vintage —- and it was still fantastic. Lucky you !
3/3/24, 4:45 PM - Thank you!
1/24/24, 4:44 AM - Hi DQ! This was very primary but it was also quite open. So I guess it depends on what you want — if you don’t like that crushed berry sweetness of young wines, I’d leave this alone. It has pretty good acidity and medium (and to me soft) tannins, so I don’t think this would require a very long cellar time. The sweet edge and the relative softness made me think of the “gateway drug “ comment. This is a LOT better than those sorts of wines but this has just enough tip of the tongue sweetness to entice people who like those sorts of cabs. It is excellent in its own right and could send some folks on a whole new journey in wine.
1/27/24, 6:28 PM - Please let me know how it works out!
1/20/24, 6:47 AM - I have had this a few times and it had never been less than off-the-charts beautiful. If you ever get the chance have it side by side with the 1975 — another outstanding year, although 76 is better IMO, because the orange color of the 75 has to be seen to be believed.
1/20/24, 6:42 AM - Love these vertical notes on the Grezeaux. This is an absolutely stellar producer making wines available for a song.
1/20/24, 6:34 AM - Thank you!
1/9/24, 3:09 AM - Thanks for your comment. I can completely see why you wrote your note the way you did as well.
1/1/24, 7:47 PM - Thanks for the comment! Yes, this seemed (to me) to be a more monumental wine than the 2019. Not completely fair in that the 2021 was out of magnum. Nevertheless I’d probably sit on the 2021s for a while.
10/8/23, 5:36 AM - Fixed it. Fat finger. Thanks for catching it !
10/29/23, 7:44 PM - You’re welcome! You made me look up “mutsu choji “ and I learned a little bit about kamon. Thank you!
10/28/23, 8:24 PM - I think time in the cellar would allow the two wines to delineate themselves and show the different terroirs. I would leave them alone for several years.
10/28/23, 8:39 AM - It was a great event, and I have more notes to post. Since I couldn’t write notes down some fantastic wines are going to get some short shrift in terms of descriptions. There were also two “secret” A&B cuvées — one was a Dr Crane vineyard, I believe 2019 — which was fantastic. The white label, I agree with you : not a “basic” wine at all, just a different idea and different blend.
10/28/23, 1:41 PM - We got to taste that as well - and it is fantastic. Still as tight as you would imagine but in a few years this will be magic.
9/20/23, 5:39 PM - Well Ok! 1 bottle left. I’ll keep it and be very happy to be proven wrong….
9/18/23, 7:27 PM - You’ve encouraged me to try mine !
8/3/23, 6:52 AM - Thanks for your thoughtful comment ! I recall your note but had to go look up @Rieslingfan’s note. That sounded like the lyrics to Al Stewart’s song “Year of the Cat”
7/27/23, 4:14 AM - Thanks for your comment ! I’ll do just that the next time!
6/27/23, 6:29 PM - Thanks!
5/14/23, 9:57 AM - Thanks for your comment!
4/30/23, 7:43 PM - Really detailed and helpful note. Thank you!
3/31/23, 8:22 AM - Entirely possible. Especially given your experience. The bottle I had was very unlike other Mueller PNs I have had - all of which I enjoyed greatly!Thanks for the comment!
3/17/23, 3:31 PM - Your TN is spot on. I’ve not been a fan of the more basic Trimbachs and I can’t afford a regular Clos Ste Hune habit but the GCs I have had have been excellent.
2/12/23, 8:45 PM - Really surprised that the Branaire was open for business. I have not had it but I have had 1989, 2009, 2015, and 2018. Up to the 2009 the Branaires I had were all accessible young - and a favorite of mine- though often not for long keeping. I guess even the 2015 was a little like that but I noticed a transition to a more massive style that is far less user-friendly when young. Certainly the 2018 was like that. So given the nature of the 2016 vintage and the direction the chateau seems (to me) to be taking, I’m very surprised it was that accessible.
2/12/23, 8:38 PM - I had a case of this over the course of 2 years from 2015-17. A LOT of bottle variation and even the best bottles were just unyielding wooden ships of the line. I usually like Calon but this edition single-handedly turned me off the 1995 Bdx vintage in its entirety. I don’t think a 5 hr decant at this point would have done much.
2/3/23, 1:03 PM - You are quite correct. I tried it with a ragu and it just shrank. It was much better on its own.
1/18/23, 4:27 PM - Right you are: $42 / btl. I can never remember the prices I pay for wines and got 3 for $42 and drew the wrong conclusion. Well, at that price it’s an ok value but not super. Going to revise my expectations rating accordingly. Thanks for your comment !
1/19/23, 7:45 AM - Same here. I have a couple more. Not sure it will help but it certainly won’t hurt! Cheers!
11/11/22, 6:23 PM - Hi drmarc! No I haven’t even seen that much less tried it. You’ve piqued my interest. Have to seek them out now!
11/4/22, 6:15 AM - Likewise! Thanks for your observations about Seavey especially. Great evening of Fairchild tasting!
10/26/22, 10:49 AM - I haven’t had Testamatta but I have had the Casamatta and found it a competently made but straightforward and “crowd pleaser” wine. Now of course Testamatta is in a whole different league; however, your note tells me that the Testamatta is likely just a supercharged and fancier version of Casamatta - good but not all that interesting. …. And no, for me “crowd pleaser” is not a snobby perjorative. Plenty of wines are easily understood but also have personality and complexity for days. When a wine is engineered to be a crowd pleaser and not much else - well, that is a different story. Some people may just really like the style. I don’t really care for that style and the style dominates everything else in his wines based on my totally unfair limited sample.
9/25/22, 8:24 AM - Fwiw I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. It has a lot of fruit because it is still so young. To me it doesn’t taste like a CA pinot at all - maybe you could convince me blind that it was one of the fresher Oregon Pinots but a little time in the glass will in my view indicate Burg. I also think the potential is there for something great with a little cellar time. Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed TN!
9/24/22, 10:43 AM - I recall having a Kathryn Hall 2012 cab and also fiumd that on the edge of cloying fwiw
9/13/22, 8:22 PM - I agree that Branaire is undervalued. But I think they have been making differently styled wines since maybe 2016(?). The old Branaire was always (to me) an early charmer in overall good vintages - and did not make very old bones. I can remember the outstanding 1989 that was available for a song back in the day. But the 1989 really didn’t improve with (or require) substantial cellar time. The 2009 was a similar success. Since 2016 they seem to be much bigger wines , to my taste more impressive, but also much more forbidding young. They might be even more undervalued in more recent vintages!
9/14/22, 10:27 AM - Mark1npt - yes, I would agree with everything you said …. But taste the 2018 juggernaut and see if it isn’t a very different beast. I first noticed a more forceful style in the 2015 and I don’t think it’s a matter of youth: the 2009 and the 1989 were very supple right out of the gate. Now for me, the new style is I think overall more impressive, but it means I now have to find another wine of Branaire quality to fill in the spot of young drinking left bank wine. I know I know, GLWT.
9/14/22, 11:31 AM - Lol - Like you, I like them at all ages if they will like me back! I wouldn’t try, say, a Lafleur young. And sometimes I’ll open a lesser growth or a second wine early For Science. I always had Branaire in particular pegged as a good one young. Although I have not had Branaire 2016 I am willing to bet that you would find it a bit of a beast and better left asleep for 15 years. Now the few 2018 second wines I have had while young are approachable now. However, the vintage seems to have a pile of tannic reserves that make me really hesitate to open and grand vin early. There is the usual fretting about too much alcohol in the 18s, they’ll blow up, etc. I don’t think so. As for early drinking, I would rather try that with the 19s than the 18s although I bet the 19s will also last and last. And luckily with the Covid economy 30% discount I backed up the truck in the first round of the 2019 EP mkt and I don’t think I am going to be sorry about that. Makes up for all the overpriced 2019 burg I had to buy because vintage of the ages (as always), mission from god, yadda.
8/14/22, 12:54 PM - Three days just in decanter, room temp. Thanks for asking!
7/19/22, 7:10 PM - Thanks for this TN. I have a .375 of this and was going to give up on it. Now I will definitely try it!
6/24/22, 9:56 AM - Great TN. Gives me a very good idea of what this is like. Thank you!
6/19/22, 5:47 PM - I find Janasse has a very definitive style that I also don’t really care for.
6/4/22, 6:20 PM - Sadly I have to sort of agree with you: “over the hill “ is a bit provocative but “fully mature and showing a little tiredness “ is not unfair. In would not say old bones are really showing buuut….is it too muddy , too quick to fade after opening ? That’s a fair critique at this price level.
5/26/22, 11:07 AM - Could you offer any guidance as to how much air / decanting is best right now?
5/11/22, 11:54 AM - I had the 2017 and happened to love that vintage too! Agree that it is a top notch rose !
5/10/22, 4:21 PM - As do I . Very glad to see your TN on this.
5/7/22, 4:11 AM - Yep, the 2012 C d Gillis just rocks!
5/7/22, 4:01 AM - I have more limited experience with Janasse wines than you but I sadly have to agree with your overall conclusion about the house style. It’s one I don’t care for. Add to that my general disappointment (relative to high expectations ) for 2007 Rhône and…your note doesn’t surprise me. Thanks for confirming what I already sort of suspected to be the case.
5/6/22, 8:47 PM - Put me in the camp of 2012 sucked … until I had 2012 Conseillante, which rocked my world. At the risk of radical over generalization and with too small a sample size to be so bold, my experience has been a decided preference for right bank 2012 over left bank. My 2 cents, discounted for inflation …
5/7/22, 3:46 AM - Thanks for the suggestions !
5/6/22, 8:43 PM - I tried the 2012 Parde de H-B and it tasted like a mini-me version of your note fwiw. I found it correct but not that exciting.
5/6/22, 8:41 PM - I haven’t had the 2015 - this was my first ever La Tour Martillac - but I think your note is spot on. I figured the density to be a result of the vintage. You made me look for the 2015!
4/14/22, 2:05 PM - Thanks ! Wish I had ever had a chance to taste a ‘48!
1/5/22, 4:20 PM - You’re welcome! I still owe you one for clarifying that Jeff Leve had rated this out of bottle. It really is a pretty decent bottle at the price. I don’t think this edition will really ever compete with a big GCC St Emilion. But is it good value? Is it worthy as a satisfying wine and a cut above the ordinary - I think it is! But let’s not get carried away
3/3/22, 6:51 PM - Very true Seijaro! I think it will take a little longer than 2025 myself, so you’ll just have to keeping kicking for longer 😀
2/26/22, 7:56 PM - Hi sdh- came across this TN tonight. Have to disagree with you regarding Ch Margaux longevity. I can understand that reaction based on 1961 - 61 Margaux in my experience is weaker than most of its peers. But 53 (which I have also had) stood up quite well. And 1928, which I had in the Mid 1990s and around 2018, was amazingly youthful in the first case and far from dead in the second. My experience with 1982 has been variable, but well provenanced bottles have the potential to last another decade before declining. I will agree with you that 1982 is not going to get better though. FWIW 1983 is not at maturity yet IMO. I bet the great years of the 21st century will last a long long time. Thank you for your thoughtful notes!
2/23/22, 9:40 AM - Thank you for the stemware advice!
2/12/22, 6:42 PM - Pnp.
2/10/22, 4:16 PM - Hi Stern Owl - I have some of the 2015. In your opinion, should I be cellaring that for a while?
2/11/22, 10:20 AM - Thanks for the advice!
2/8/22, 6:48 PM - For me a VERY long decant is currently in order. Yes you’ll lose some of the fabulous bacon and intense fruit of pnp but to me you’ll be well compensated with a very harmonious and very N Rhône like wine. And DQ’s observation about the tannins I could not agree with more. I have more and I for one intend to cellar these for a very long time. The longer you air it the more it distinguishes itself. Also, I sometimes take the copy from the winemaker as marketing guff but the recommendation here to stand this up for a full week prior to opening is probably not nearly as geeky as it seems. The tannins really compel this since they are very fine and you want them to precipitate out. My bottle had very little sediment which was an uh-oh for me. My own experience might be conservative by that error alone. My 2 cents
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