October 20, 2023 - Drinking extremely well right now but still feels youthful with slightly green tinges to balance the intense Chardonnay fruit. Fresh, crisp and yet deep. Beautiful
June 18, 2023 - Half Century Magnum Lunch (La Trompette) (London): From magnum maybe a 92+. Perhaps a little overwhelmed by the quality of the flight and perhaps having 4 in flight was a little too much as the Raveneau and Alvina Pernot at 1 and 2 really did take stage. This should have been the first.
Like green tinge to it compared to others and this perhaps appears on the palate. Oak is in a nice place now and a good bottle, not really moved from previous bottles
Less open and rich compared to the burgundies with it. Showing sharper acidity
Very good
June 17, 2023 - Magnum Mike's Half Century Blow Out (La Trompette): My handwritten notes on this comprised a single word - "standard". This is just as it should be - it's tasted the same from bottle and mag, and seems to just stay the same. A bit more tropical fruit, a bit more richness on the finish than the burgs.
June 16, 2023 - From magnum. Bit of matchstick reduction. Pure, minerally and refreshing but a tad sweet.
June 16, 2023 - Magnum Mike's Magnificent Half Century (La Trompette): Magnum. We had another mag of this a few months back, and although I've given this another '93' I think it was a hair behind that one, lacking its extreme sense of precision. The wine's still definitely in a good place though, the acidity and reduction being in excellent balance, especially with some air time. The lovely combination of toast and crisp lime also remained!
February 22, 2023 - Simon Beatty Memorial Dinner - Chablis Le Clos (Noizé): Served from magnum - poured first as the Champagne was held up underground. This was lovely, some lemon, lemon curd, precision and acidity. This was the wine that won the famous chardonnay shoot out and one could see why. Promising start.
February 21, 2023 - Simon Beatty Memorial Dinner - Les Clos table (Noize): Magnum, and decanted. I've had this wine twice before (in 2019 and 2022) and this showing was by far the best, not sharing the previous bottle's faults of being too tropical and too reductive, respectively. Balanced and sophisticated, the reduction adding some matchsticky interest, plenty of tempting lemon/lime fruit and a sense of focus and precision. Delicious wine!
February 21, 2023 - Simon Beatty's Memorial Dinner - Table 2 - Richebourg (Noizé, London): From magnum after 3 hours in a decanter. Lime juice and white currant puree here. So balanced, so long. Not a vintage of this wine I'd had before but it's cracking. See why this did so well in the blind new world vs Burg tasting a few years ago.
November 6, 2022 - Pale lemon colour.
High intensity aromas of almonds, brioche, hazelnut, toffee, nutmeg, cloves, lemon, pear, peach, canteloupe, wet stone, honey, cream.
Pronounced palate.
Medium (+) body, high acidity, long finish.
November 1, 2022 - Pale lemon.
Pronounced on the nose with ripe apple, pear, peach, pineapple, wet stone, toast, vanilla, cream, butterscotch, and almond. Developing.
Pronounced and dry on the palate with hazlenut. Medium plus acidity, medium alcohol, full body, long finish.
Can drink now but has potential for aging or further.
By far the best of the Kumeu River wines tasted in the same sitting, got close to an amazing Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru but not quite. Fantastic wine. Worth giving it some air to open up.