October 17, 2021 - From magnum with G on Exmoor, slightly heightened colour and not as fresh as I would like, oiliness of 05 and nutty notes noticed also in Marc Colin's 05 Batard, but no doubting quality, little upside, drink up. Just F+ (18).
April 15, 2021 - Asian Spice (Chicago, IL): Showing mature on the nose with plenty of butterscotch intermixed with rich orchard fruit. The palate is rich, fat and concentrated. Very Batard in nature. More fresh than the nose, but not a lively wine by any means. Fully mature, if a bit past prime.
April 15, 2021 - Asian Spice Night, Brûlées Edition (State Street Manor - Chicago IL): More advanced than many previous bottles, this was particularly aromatically mature. Nose of butterscotch and candied apple, flavors are so much brighter with very good depth and also slightly more fresh. Good+ textures.
January 26, 2021 - From magnum, sealed by wax. Decanted for 1 hour then consumed over the next 2 hours. Killer flinty, lemony nose. Has the Coche matchstick thing going on, backed by creamy lemons. The palate is middle weight, and sports loads of lemony, citrus and mineral elements without weight. Effortless caressing of the palate, a wine to savor and sip. Long finish but not much acidic bite. Outstanding
March 7, 2020 - La Paulée de NY Gala Dinner (Pier 60 - NYC): Side by side with 07. Surprisingly, I preferred the 05 for now as it was shower intense yet seamless power. Great smoky orchard fruit and mineral flavors.
March 7, 2020 - La Paulée de New York Gala Dinner (Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers - New York NY): Small glass from 3L, brief note. Intensely floral and very rich/ ripe stone and orchard fruit. A very fresh 2005. Maybe slightly too opulent and extravagant.
February 26, 2020 - From 750ml, i blinded my very knowledgeable Burgundy friends and they zeroed in on the vintage and appellation, but all thought Ramonet which I found interesting. Golden/amber color indicates development, orchard and citrus fruit, it’s clearly warmer vintage but nicely balancing power/elegance, with refreshing acidity and a touch of minerals. Definitely advancing in age but not incorrectly, I’d just say drink these sooner than later. 93-94
November 29, 2019 - From magnum, served blind I thought this was a Meursault - didn't have the persistence and volume previously experienced from this wine. Lovely aromatics, some cinnamon and petrol, but not the matchstick one often gets from PYCM. In the final analysis, I think this bottle was just moving along rather slowly (extra cold storage), or there may be substantial variation in 05 PYCM Batard (though generally very good to excellent, just different in character).
May 10, 2019 - Still showing a lot of oak. A very good wine, but lacking a bit of expected finesse.
October 26, 2018 - Grands Echezeaux: This was a day of trickery, with my California ringer and now being served two bottles of the same wine side by side. The wines were so different, not one person at the table identified them as being the same. One was prematurely oxidized, and the other balanced with superb minerality. My notes:
1. Very dark color, another person calls oxidation to me it's drinkable with fruit. I'm guessing this is a Leflaive that's starting to turn, a high breed wine that's not showing as well as it could.
2. Smoky/flinty nose with lemony palate, huge minerality on the finish. Guessing Coche Meursault or PYCM Meursault.
So there it is. Stump the chumps indeed! Too bad this wine suffers from so many prematurely oxidized bottles, because the good bottles are still young.