4/16/2016 - MikeKlein wrote:

Unfortunately the cork spun in the bottle neck and the wine was oxidized. A shame as this is delicious when on form.

9/2/2013 - MikeKlein wrote:

Really all knees and elbows at this point. The primary fruit is receding but the wine is still structured and edgy. Also, the alcohol is notable. Agree with Burgundy Al - perhaps more CdP that burgundy?? Wait perhaps, but I'm not sure this is heading anywhere near the '99s - which I loved.

12/7/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

Deep gold color and pronounced baked apple, nutmeg and orange wine twang on the nose. Surprisingly fresh tasting though. Easy drink really with more apple pie and skin contact beer-like flavors. Really was a fairly generous skin contact wine without too many complications. Perhaps that is a nit, in that it doesn't offer much complication for the price. A one note wine but it's a very nice note.

12/2/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

Elegant, sleek and and like a beautiful woman without any makeup. The tannins are so refined and yet the real aromatic show hasn't quite begun yet. Such a pretty wine.

11/12/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

Fantastic nose with roses, porcini and sottobosco. Just enough on the palate to carry the wine but the nose is where its at. Delicious with pasta and a hair more density would make it even better. But that's a quibble. Fun stuff.

11/9/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

Perhaps no other wine is so simply delightful with pasta and tomatoes/garlic/anchovies. Always brings a smile to my face.

9/16/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

First of my 6 pack from the HAG purchase. Somewhat oaky and fairly tropical - typical of '06. Little in the way of minerality or other soil tones. At least it was fresh and without any signs of premox. Not flawed in any way, but not of any particular interest either.

4/10/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

Herbal to the point of distraction and certainly obscuring the terroir. Acids were high and the wine seems out of balance to a degree. Interesting perhaps but not really enjoyable. Nowhere near, e.g. Raffault '89 or '90. This has seen better days.

3/8/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

Fun wine. If you've had Olga Raffault's '89 or '90, then this will be familiar but perhaps a tad less mid-palate density on the Breton. Lovely, leafy, Loire cab franc... what's not to like?

2/20/2011 - MikeKlein wrote:

A real chianti, and all that implies. Sour cherry, earth, a little pepper and fennel with lifted acids and nice structure. No rush to drink. It is such a pleasure to taste a wine from Tuscany that isn't spoofed, lifted, tucked, oaked and otherwise botox'ed into anonymity.

9/3/2010 - MikeKlein wrote:

No premox here as this was an exceptional bottle. It had the pungent minerality that made me think more of Puligny than Chassagne. Beautiful, mineral attack with marked acidity and freshness. As the wine opened, my only nit is that it became a bit more compressed and the finish wasn't as long as it might have been. But overall, a beautiful bottle of Chassagne drinking close to peak. Also worth noting was the non-peroxide (and long!) cork was in great shape with little if any seepage up the sides.

3/28/2010 - MikeKlein wrote:

My first bottle from this notorious iconoclast and inconsistent producer. This is just a fantastic spring/summer rose. Loaded with watermelon, pink grapefruit and strawberries. It has that "pure fruit" profile that you get from the low/zero sulphur producers - along with the same risks, I'm sure! Bright acids and completely refreshing as well. Who knows what the next bottle will bring but this was great.

1/8/2010 - MikeKlein wrote:

Fabulous bottle purchased from Chambers St. Wines in New York. Barnyard city on opening but the bottle funk blew off with decanting. Superb acids and loads of fruit left on the palate. Rustic in the best sense. Went very well with smoked goat cheese raviolis in a veal reduction. What a classic. A real treat and a wine of character.

9/27/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Just superb and this has, if anything, deepened and improved since my last tasting last year. This is simply the best albarino out there.

8/2/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Fantastic lift and energy. The sweetness is very much balanced here and this isn't heavy at all. The botrytis is only a nuance right now and this wine should gain richness and elegance as it ages. Sauternes really doesn't get all that much better than this.

8/2/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

This is just a stunning wine. Such amazingly bright acidity and drive across the palate. So much energy and just a little of the Ramonet "mint".

6/28/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Drinkable but tired and too advanced. I would suspect heat damage but one bottle out of three drunk so far was fastastic. Is premox arriving in the Loire? I hope not.

6/14/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Still holding on very well and no sign of the POX yet. Drank too soon but better safe than sorry these days.

6/14/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

How can this wine possibly be thirty five years old?? The color is deep and saturated without a hint of bricking. When opened, that great classic mountain fruit cab nose pours from the bottle. All is deeply pitched now with brambles, sweet spices, currant and herbs. On the palate the tannins are still hanging in there but are sweet. Not a model of elegance but so satisfying if you love classic mountain fuit cabs. This must have been an absolute monster in its younger days and well stored bottles have years left in them. A 50 year wine - easy - and maybe more. Wow, they just don't make 'em like this anymore!

6/7/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Premoxed - badly.

6/4/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Drinking very well right now. Quite clean and correct but with good seashell minerality and growing depth and texture on the palate. Nice wine.

6/1/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Premoxed.

5/15/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Nice wine but tight as a tick right now. Either that or it lacked some depth on the midpalate. Not sure. Wait a bit on these to see if this opens up and gains some depth.

5/15/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Fantastic showing for this wine. Fresh and just tons of energy - not a hint of the pox. Smells of the sea and iodine, as it should. Drives across the palate like a truck with citrus, fennel and seashell minerality. No real barrel notes to speak of but it had the depth of a wine brought up in neutral-ish wood. Only one nit - maybe just a little too "correct" and clean. But that is just looking for something to complain about. Just a hair off the best from Raveneau and Dauvissat but Fevre has been more consistent for me than Dauvissat. Great wine.

5/1/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Probably the least interesting Beaucastel I've had in a long time. Tastes like a fairly modern grenache based CdP. Tasty but so simple. Hope this isn't a permanent style shift.

4/24/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Ths bottle was holding well but tailed off a bit on the finish. The mid palate is now lacking a little drive and the wine seems like it could tire in the near future. I agree with the previous post and drink sooner than later.

4/17/2009 - MikeKlein wrote:

Premox strikes again - this time in the Loire. Distinct sherry on the nose and the palate is tired and flabby with some baked apples and little else. Got these from a good retailer and the fill/cork looked good. I am so tired of good whites gone bad.

10/11/2008 - MikeKlein wrote:

Cherries macerated in alcohol. Dull and lifeless on the palate without any energy. This is what many (most) CdPs have become and I don't like it. Ripeness taken to the extreme and the wine is dead on bottling. I'm really blown away by the positive notes. Either these people haven't been drinking real wine for more than 5 years (since most CdPs started tasting like this) or they have lost their senses of smell and taste. A shame.

8/17/2008 - MikeKlein wrote:

Deep, almos lurid red. Strawberries and raspberries on the nose. Not the most refined champagne but delicious.

6/28/2008 - MikeKlein wrote:

I agree with LWI below but perhaps am not quite as critical. The wine shows a pronounced diesel character of a no longer young riesling but not yet fully mature. Plenty of botrytis on the nose too - enough to be a little distracting. And I agree the acids weren't quite there which left the wine a bit heavy. Maybe we caught this at an awkward time. Not bad by any stretch but didn't have the cut I had hoped for.

6/6/2008 - MikeKlein wrote:

Consistent with my last bottle, this one is heading downhill quickly. It is hot on the nose and palate and the fruit (over-ripe to begin with I'm sure) is fading. Somewhat loose and stewed on the palate.

4/19/2008 - MikeKlein wrote:

Showed remarkably well and much more open that the last bottle six months ago. What a nose - earth and iron/blood with a little pine. Fabulous drive in the mouth. Really superb.

4/19/2008 - MikeKlein wrote:

Unfortunately very sherried and devoid of fruit. All that remains is sharp acidity. Gone. Hope other bottles are better.

12/25/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Deep gold and, unfortunately, totally oxidized and sherried. Hopefully the other two are OK.

12/17/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

All three bottles over three years were similar. Made in a very old-world oxidized style. But too rustic for me and the sherry notes on the palate made this seem heavy and somewhat ponderous. Lacks elegance and finesse. Not for me.

7/22/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Very good and correct brunello done in a traditional style with no overt oakiness or other tricks.

7/12/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Delicious as usual. Kept getting deeper pitched over three hours. Lots of life left.

7/12/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Oxidized and undrinkable - as usual. If there's a white burg producer out there who has a worse problem with premox, I'd like to know who. This guy has turned more good grapes into vinegar than anyone. What a shame.

5/6/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Developing nicely but lacks a bit of density and finish. Will continue to hold remaining bottles.

3/26/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Deep gold and showing the beginnings of premature oxidation. Ugh.

1/25/2007 - MikeKlein wrote:

Got together last night with an friend from Orange County and one of my law partners for a nice dinner at Laurel in San Diego. Laurel was sold by Gary Parker two years ago to Tracy Borkum who also owns Chive and Kensington Grill in town. The food was pretty good but I prefered the place under the old management - especially since it was the only restaurant in town who got amazing cheeses from Murrays in New York! The wine program is OK but not what it was - all recent vintage stuff. So, we brought our own.

We started off with the '91 Mugneret Ruchottes that I brought. Unfortunately it was my only bottle but it showed really well. The aromatics were super (do the sisters ever really miss?) with plenty of bottle perfume and a little forest floor, meaty jus and a little gevrey earthiness. Mugneret sure seems to take any bit of rusticity out of Gevrey! The attack was very sweet and silky and my only nit is a little lack of density and a bit of dryness on the finish. Still, I think that's '91 for you.

10/22/2006 - MikeKlein wrote:

Still very young but opened well with decanting. Delicious pit fruits and lifted by bright acidity. Went very well with sauteed halibut.

8/2/2006 - MikeKlein wrote:

This continues to drink beautifully with adeqate decanting. Medium ruby turning a bit amber at the rim. Great drive in the mid palate with cherries and leafy cherries. Just very good, aged Tempranillo drinking at peak right now. Enjoy!

5/8/2006 - MikeKlein wrote:

Ripe berry fruit with little tempranillo typicity. Glossy overlay of toasty vanilla oak. This has structure and somewhat pronounced but refined tannins. Will do well if the oak integrates over time. It seems to have the fruit to support the elevage. Try again in three to five years.