I’ll be happy to accept an invite, John. Just starting the thread, would love to have you weigh in around December.
Chuck—OK, maybe I did get a bit effusive but…if you have the chance to taste the wine…I really don’t say things like that every day. Of course, absent science fiction becoming reality, we won’t have the chance to find out.
I’ll play fair and reproduce the full TN, from back in August.
"2010 Ramonet Montrachet
Well, this sure wasn’t me, and I had no idea this was coming. John’s never had one of these (and I certainly haven’t either) and this is what he wanted. We ended up explaining to Stefan that this, and the red wines, were signature reasons and examples of why patience over the course of a night is needed. I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to try this.
This, everyone, is a heck of a wine. At first, the bouquet really snaps at you with decided minerality, fresh squeezed lemon galore, some sea air even and possibly a dash of sage. And the first taste has laser-like precision that puts to shame all but perhaps Raveneau Chablis. But the marvel is that this is just Act One. Slowly, over 30-minute intervals, matchstick and toffee-covered ginger begin to poke their head out of the glass for a look-see. Slowly, over 30-minute intervals, the palate begins to expand until, at about the 2.5 hour mark, there is the purest expression of fresh pineapple with coconut milk, all bordered by nut paste and continued bracing acidity and minerality. The last tastes, with some pear and butterscotch being added, and possibly some star anise on the nose, provide the picture, only, of the skyscraper this wine will be. It is still being built, but this is the first dry white wine that I’ve tasted where I believe perfection is attainable. It also will, if it doesn’t suffer the premox curse, be a wine that, literally, will be able to last 100 years. Undeveloped as it is, this is a strong, strong candidate for WOTY and if you pressed me for a score, 97+ wouldn’t be out of line. It is the stuff wet dreams are made of."