TN: Alves de Sousa Abandonado 13, Marc Colin Fontenotte 15

A white to start with and then another Tomás recommendation:

2015 Marc Colin et Fils Saint-Aubin La Fontenotte - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin (9/19/2021)
I’ve had some over-evolved bottles of this in prior vintages but this was clean as a whistle. It shows aromas of citrus, pear, hay and a hint of spices. There was also a mineral twang to the nose. The palate is nicely balanced, letting you think it might be a little flat but then hitting you with just enough acidity and salinity to keep everything in check. Judicious use of wood. Lovely. If this doesn’t oxidize, I would love to try it again in 5 years as a little more age could really add a nice dimension to this.

2013 Alves de Sousa Douro Abandonado - Portugal, Douro (9/19/2021)
Love the story behind this vineyard. When first opened, this was too cold and even though it screamed for air, it was already showing its colors (black and red berries with a mineral streak). 2 hours slow-ox didn’t have it evolve much so I decanted for another 2 hours. At that point it had opened up but clearly this needs more time to mature. Nice nose of ripe plums, blackberries and strawberries, almost jammy. But there are also some dried herbs and rocks (slate?) adding complexity to the nose. The palate starts juicy with all those berries but remains fresh with plenty of acidity. It’s dense and chewy with medium tanins and noble bitterness on the finish. This feels too young but you keep going back for another glass since the whole package shows enough fruit and freshness. This would be nice to revisit in 10+ years. Not cheap so I’m on the fence about buying 3 more to cellar… Glad to have tried it.

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