2019 Lorena & Damien Laurent Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Maipo Valley. Glowing ruby-violet, bright presence. Violets and rose petals pretty up the nose unexpectedly at first, then fresh leather, hint of ginger, thick black fruits, tends to turn duller the more you sniff. Medium-bodied, tannic enough to throw off its balance. Relies too much on the plum to currant fruit as a result. Nice enough array of spiced orange peel, leather, mint, gravelly earth, hint of grassiness. Unvarnished, honest and competent, that’s it. (Composite Cork)
2017 Aurélien Pinheiro Saint-Joseph Cuvée Les Machons. Saturated, warm glow from the purple core through the magenta rims, really hums in the glass. The nose is floral with a bright saline touch, all but completely ruled by the overripe blueberry, boysenberry, black cherry fruit scents, just plopped out of the womb. Medium-bodied, on the soft side but has highly credible acidity which brings pleasing salivation. Lightly cooked bacon, green olives momentarily blossom forth, incipient grapefruit. But here too the goopy fruit bests all comers. Could see it developing better inner mouth aromatics once the baby fat is gone. Pleasing enough now but nothing special.
2018 Domaine des Billards Saint-Amour. Basic purple core with dark scarlet red rims, fills the glass completely. Sour nose with whiplash snap to it, cranberry to red cherry fruit, mineral dust and parched brown dirt, lemon zest adds final punctuation. Close to full-bodied as texturally the acidity and tannin give it serious clout. Here it actually is sour with a frame of white grapefruit and lemon and a skeleton of that cranberry, raspberry, red cherry fruit. Spicy, tries to turn floral but it’s just not in its present makeup. Bound up in its structure but if you like them rough and tumble, there’s good flesh on the bones.
2001 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois. Spotless, not much purple left in the core, the crimson red spreads the furthest, outer rim of metallic orange. The nose is unsteady at first, muddy earth and merde evolve into anise, chocolate, Asian spices, witch hazel and fennel, the cherry, red currant, dark berry scents have lost their grip. Medium-bodied, you sense it has lost weight but the sheer volume of the original material allows it yet to coat the palate with plum, cherry, blackberry fruit. Residual tannin does dry out the finish, suspect the underripe phenolics have come home to roost. Chocolate, honey, vanilla, grill smoke, the oak echoes throughout. In the final analysis it’s not the flavors (or lack thereof) which annoy, it’s the haphazardly dry and tacky texture which distracts. FWIW, this bottling from the 1998 to 2001 vintages was probably my first “wow” CdP experience. Maybe even “ay carumba” (cf. BL). Unspecified percentages of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah.
2015 Domaine de Fa Fleurie Roche Guillon. Dark with a purple core, red magenta rims as if a saturated glow was considered, somewhat blockish in appearance. Stinky fart nose at first which demands aeration, then lavender, licorice, there’s a dryness which makes it feel lean in the nostrils, neutral mix of dark and red berry scents, arguably grounds for the opinion that the nose betrays a transitional state. Medium-bodied, casts its net widely and you feel it tiptoe around from cheek to cheek. Energetic acidity does not diminish the violet, lilac to orange zest lift. Still, makes its bones on the chewy minerality and earthiness, pretty yet backward at once. The raspberry, strawberry fruit releases most through the finish. Don’t be misled by the vintage, no pushover.
NV Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Nature Pur Meunier. Nice initial fizz, not much surface coating left, fine maelstrom of bubbles consistently renew. Pale yellow straw color. Lean nose of chalk, mineral dust, lemon peel and pear, red apple, apricot fruit, clean without giving up power as a result. Light-bodied, extremely dry and crisp, you start licking your lips to create moisture after the first sip. Lemon and lime citrus predominate, more stony than metallic. Passion fruit, pineapple, green apple to apricot fruit, erect bearing. Takes on a redder fruit profile after warming. Close to a “take no prisoners style” in terms of dryness and focus without displaying malice. (50% 2014, 50% 2015 base years; disgorged 19/12/2018)
NV Patrick Bottex Vin du Bugey Cerdon La Cueille Méthode Ancestrale Sparkling Rosé. Bright ruby to magenta in color, swirls with a storm of hyperactive bubbles. Polished, dulcet nose of green apple, raspberry, strawberry to cranberry fruit, moderate minerality, stoniness, as well as a stiffening grassy burst, at some moments a honeyed profile shows. Medium-bodied, firm with a tightly coiled effervescence. Dry with solid acidity, stays on an even keel start to finish. Chalky, lemony, quite energizing effect on the palate. Conversely, the sweetness of the strawberry, raspberry, apple fruit explodes through the attack then becomes compact through the finish. For a wine of its unguarded ebullience it remains pleasingly tactful. 90% Gamay Noir, 10% Poulsard.
2015 Kruger-Rumpf Riesling Nahe Münsterer Rheinberg Kabinett AP #29. Pale green-white straw, however, sits solidly in the glass, faint glow. Strong India rubber component to the nose, soft saline before vanilla custard, rose petals and peach, melon, and apple fruit scents appear, comes across as a bit taciturn, not a lot to say. Full-bodied, quite the citrus bomb in the mouth, exploding with tangerine, lime to pink grapefruit flavors. Super tangy, rattling acidity, some hardness to the edges. Whipped cream and flowers, similarly to the nose, the rubber aspect diminished here. More tropical array of pineapple, kiwi, star fruit and nectarine. Dry, compact finish. Bristles with energy. (Screwcap)
2000 Produttori del Barbaresco Asili Riserva. There’s some purple left in the core, otherwise its a sequence of fades among sunset red, rust orange and then yellow at the outermost rims. Fully matured nose laden with tobacco leaf, cedar, incense, needs time to achieve full pungency, roasted cherry to raspberry fruit, what fruit is left is concentrated more than juicy, nostril cleansing presence. Medium-bodied and clearly appears to have lost weight as well as thrust. Thus, the acidity and then tannin come more to the fore than might be desired, semi-astringent finish too. More and floral and citrusy here than the nose, still it’s the cedar, black tea leaf, camphor which rules. Licorice, orange peel, the cherry, mixed berry fruit not shot but on the way. Just hard to get past the astringent tightening of the palate and throat.
2016 Sesti Rosso di Montalcino. Washed out rose red to brick red, clear and light. More leather and earth to the nose at first, lots of bass and not much treble, sour cherry scents, glimpses of fennel or anise, feels scrubbed fresh. In the mouth it’s medium-bodied and coats the palate well, no lack of tannin and acidity, structure will never be its problem. Bright cherry, blackberry fruit, sour and lasts fully into the finish. Overall, more savory than sweet with garden herb to leather, earth nuances. Licorice, orange peel, gets muted and the finish does get truncated by the tannin. Throwback style. Drinking like it’s not ready yet, still would not want to push it out more than 4-5 years hence.
2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Rabaja’ Riserva. The core is all brick red and what’s not is black, the rims fade successively through red to orange to yellow. There’s muddy earth, underbrush and old leather notes to the nose but also plenty of sandalwood incense, orange peel and candied cherry fruit scents, over time more licorice develops, not a blockbuster nose but steady. Medium-bodied, the tannin mostly resolved but still has bite and brings pucker to the finish. Graphite, charcoal, cedar notes, anise, pressed flowers, here there’s more expansive raspberry, cherry fruit which suggests strawberry. For my palate this is fully matured and waiting further on the tannin to soften will risk too much fruit loss.
2018 Vincent Wine Company Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. Broad ruby-magenta rims circling a mild violet core. You get more darker blueberry, blackberry fruit to the nose than red berries, dry stone to sandy earth, clean overall and its fullness helps to compensate for the lack of grip. Medium-bodied, too dry and tannic for the primary material. Strawberry notes brighten the blueberry, cherry base, moderate fruitiness. Sour citrus elevates the mid-palate. While it does open some over time it remains sort of uneven and arguably still finding its footing.