Frank Murray III
Member #7,180 signed up 7/24/2005
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NV Henriet-Bazin Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Gaston & Louise
4/21/2024 - Frank Murray III wrote:
First go with with this producer. I grabbed a few of their cuvees on the Caveau offer, these just arrived a few weeks ago. This is the 50/50 Chard/Pinot Noir blend, using a few plots of Pinot Noir from Verzenay, and the Chard coming from Villers-Marmery. According to the back label (which in error shows this only as Chardonnay), the wine is 2018 base (about 70%) and a perpetual of 30% going back to the origins of the winery in 1968. Since it sees three years on the lees, I would guess at this being disgorged late 2022 or early 2023. No dosage. I had thought this might have seen wood, as it had a smoky topnote on the aromatic, yet their website says enamel tank. So, think of that light smoke, then citrus blossom and some stone fruit. There is some structure to this wine, mainly in a wet rock sensation. Peach, lemongrass, sour yellow apple, tangy lime and blueberry. Kind of a fascinating bottle of wine, showing off a # of different directions. And this went still pretty quickly on each of the refresh pours I did, so perhaps this is made with a little less pressure? Finishes with the sour apple, blueberry and wet stone note.
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2017 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
4/20/2024 - Frank Murray III wrote:
I've had a bunch of these since release, the most recent though two years ago when we did a pretty large Kutch tasting here at the house. Listed abv is 12.5%. Pulled and opened this last night, I had a glass or so. The wine shifted 3-4 times over the time I was working on that glass (and a small refresh, too). At first opened, it was kinda dumb and flat. Hmm, is this stuff aging that fast? With air, it gained complexity. The wine changed back and forth, at one moment I was thinking elegant and medium weight and then 45 mins later, juicy, with blue and red fruit and some herbal signature from the whole cluster. Tonight, I'm doing another glass (I pumped out the air last night from the bottle....been years since I used one of those!). The whole cluster (I would think this saw 50%, maybe 75%, can't recall for sure) seasons the aroma, with cracked spice and metal shaving notes. The stems also shade the palate of the wine, just giving it a complementary herbal character. The palate tonight is plummy, juicy, round with some blueberry skin, cherry and yeah and still a little of the cedary note like the 2022's bottle. My take on the wine is that it's ready to drink, offering both plump fruit, yet moderate red fruited acid and just enough stem seasoning.
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2016 Marie Courtin Champagne Presence
4/18/2024 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Blind Champagne Tasting (Basanti in San Juan Capistrano, CA (South OC)): September 2021 disgorgement. 70% Chard and 30% Pinot Blanc with no dose, and I think sans soufre, too. I've had a few bottles of this vintage previously so I have some experience with it but last night's initial showing puzzled me. The nose was this odd mix of something herbal, what the group called juniper berry, and what I called white pepper and processed meat, like a salami. After some puzzled looks and some laughs, I found some pineapple that aligns to my past notes. Improved with air but still retained the gamy note that was part of the initial aroma. Another wine I would like to have retasted tonight. I have been buying Presence since it was first made in 2015, and have a vertical of all the vintages, many I have really liked, but last night's was a little weird, maybe off? Dunno know.
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