2017 Antoine Sanzay Saumur Champigny - Upon first taste, with no decant, I thought I had it pegged as all primary cassis fruit and loads of graphite and ink. About 40 mins in, I noticed the graphite transformed into a more floral note. Eventually this floral note of elderflower became the top note, even dominating the cassis. I did a quick double decant for the second glass. This showed that there’s loads of sediment in the bottle (I think it might still be macerating). That said, it’s completely clean; no brett, lactobacillus, oak, nor green pyrazines could be detected at all. It now has a top note of elderflower, a middle note of graphite and a base note of cassis and spearmint. Some velvety tannins on the finish. Short to medium finish. More sweet and floral than earthy and savory where I prefer the latter.
2015 Qupé Chardonnay Block Eleven Bien Nacido - A study on malolatic fermentation. Too sweet and fruity for most applications but paired well with green Thai pineapple curry
2016 Comando G La Bruja de Rozas - Still not my cup of tea in that I think they want to make pinot noir instead of grenache–but paired okay with mole and chicken tamales. If I really try I can get some menthol, cinnamon, and pepper with generic red fruit. There are more tannins in this than the first bottle I opened–but they are completely gone on day two. It’s too thin and light for what I like from this area and grape. It would be much more interesting with some stem inclusion and a bit riper. I just can’t help to think this wine is boring and more aging will make it more boring. It’s like they were trying to make a Burgundy but missed the herbal notes and tobacco that I want from a wine like this. I tend to be AFWE–but this is just boring.
2016 Emmanuel Darnaud St. Joseph Dardouille - Love this producer. One of the more pepper filled syrahs out there.
2014 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Saint Véran–boring but paired well with lobster and morels, taking a backseat.
2016 K.H. Schneider Sobernheim Riesling Roter Tonschiefer trocken Germany - Wonderful stuff! Paired with scallops and artichokes.
2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Gibson Ranch - Found this to be bland, over oaked, and too fruit forward. If I were a blind taster, I’d say this was a cheap cab, a bit over extracted, and with way too much new oak.
NV Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Cuvée Prestige Blanc de Blancs - Good QPR. Paired with lobster ravioli.
2013 Roagna Langhe Rosso - This was still a tannic monster with not much pleasure yet. This should be used to to teach nebbiolo typicality. Tar, roses, hairy tannins, with just a little red fruit.
2016 Franck Balthazar Côtes du Rhône France - Not made to age but perfect for a week night wine. Soft tannin with some noticeable stem inclusion. Great QPR
2014 K.H. Schneider Sobernheimer Domberg Riesling trocken - Wonderful nose full on honeysuckle and jasmine maybe the slightest lime peel. About the same on the palate with some lanolin. Nice long finish. Not sure how it will age. Not a ton of fruit to start with:
https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/mid-month-tasting-notes-corona-edition-april-2020/160085/9
1994 Weingut Hermann Ludes Klüsserather Bruderschaft Riesling Auslese - One of the best wines of the year. Ecstatic that I still have 8 more bottles of this! Just a perfect wine. I must have pleased the pagan gods on this Easter!
1999 Francois Gay Chorey-les-Beaune - Started with lots of earthy notes, leaves and chanterelle. Within an hour that transformed more into soy and worcestershire. Not much or any fruit left. Drink up. Paired with Easter lamb
2014 Once & Future Wine Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard - Someone on cellartracker said this was in it’s prime drinking window and was drinking beautifully so I opened a bottle; they lied. Nose of blue berries, varnish, and orange rind. Not much going on yet. Still firm tannin and lots of acid. Still a baby and hopefully bit shut down. Short acidic finish.
1998 Château Raymond-Lafon - Lovely stuff! Can’t believe they were almost giving this away.
2008 Jacques Defrance Champagne Brut Millésimé - A lot of green apple on the nose but somehow not tart at all. Just a bit of oxidative notes. Base notes is mostly figs. Just lovely. I think this is right in its prime.
2006 Betz Family Clos de Betz - Dark color and more opaque than transparent but thinner than I remember. Primary notes are more floral, like honeysuckle, than fruit. Still some stewed cherries poking through. Just a bit of vanilla secondary but it’s very well integrated and not cloying. Starting to really develop some tertiary notes of saddle leather and every few swirls, I get an acrid pyrazine note that I can’t put my finger on (what you cut off of dry aged beef and bell peppers)? Tannins are almost resolved but just noticeable. A very good wine but doesn’t have the depth nor finish of the greats. I don’t see it getting better with more aging and would worry the fruit would further fade and the meat notes would become more prominent.
2013 Keller Estate Syrah Rotie - This wasn’t Cote Rotie. One dimensional with mostly dark primary fruit and too much oak. Not much depth.
1997 Tenuta Friggiali Brunello di Montalcino Donna Olga - Nose of saddle leather, red bramble fruit, a bit of baking spices. Nice acid and a lingering finish.
2018 Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly Cuvée La Chapelle - Great acid and more on the pinot side than grenache. Whole bunch stems were nice. Built to age.
https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/twa-william-kelley-on-several-2018-beaujolais-bouland-metras-foillard/159585/1
2015 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir La Grive Bleue - Seems to be shut down or flawed. Some dark fruit and chocolate on the nose. Clipped taste with no finish
2014 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - What a nose of peaches, apple cider, lemon curd. Bright acid with some lime and mineral (like feldspar) on the attack and a finish that lasts forever.
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