My friends Matt and Michael had a rare evening off a few weeks ago and we got together at my place to hang out, have some roast chickens and drink some wine.
2006 Fourrier Gevrey VV
I decanted this for about an hour and a half. I liked it more than my buddies who were at dinner. I think this was a classic example of where Fourrier is right now. You camn see the kinship between these and Pacalet, but where Pacalet’s wines are strident in their definition of what they are trying to be, Fourrier’s wines seem to acknowledge that there are other ways of thinking about wine, while subtly making the case for this way of thinking. Aromatically pure, yet completely impossible to pin down. A moving target that when you try to grab it, it flows between your fingers. Ready to go now and may develop more with age, but I don’t think anyone has quite figured out yet what the aging curve is going to be for Fourrier’s wines.
2000 Château Haut-Bages Libéral Pauillac
This was a big surprise. I have sort of laid off of Bordeaux over the last decade, but this wine was very good. It still had some nice primary fruit of the blue and black sort, but there was also a nascent trickle of woodsmoke, tobacco, and herbs framed by really fine grained tannin. At the right price, I’m a definite buyer of this.
2007 Billard Saint Aubin 1er Cru Les Castets
This was definitely young, but snappy and full of verve. It was slightly better a few days later from the re-corked bottle. Well balanced with the sort of snappy, crunchy fruit that has a sort of cloud of herbs and flowers around it. A promising wine from a producer that I don’t know much about but I will try more wines from in future.
2005 Orin Swift The Prisoner
This was terrible and truly undrinkable. I really don’t know how folks can put up with such a pruney, soupy mess. Really bloody awful, someone should be ashamed.
Showing posts with label Bordeaux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bordeaux. Show all posts
Friday, December 11, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The gods smiled
This was one of those nights where everything showed fantastically. In fact, for the reds each was the best bottle of said wine that I've ever had; although, it has been a good while since I've had the 82 Pichon-Lalande.
2007 Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée
This isn’t showing nearly as well as the 2006 at the moment. It was a much leaner vintage and the wine is more elegant and pretty and soft spoken. Still there are plenty of flowers and chalky fruit. It’ll be interesting to see where this is at in 6 months or so.
1996 Edmond Cornu Corton-Bressandes
My best bottle yet of this and easily the best showing I've had from 1996 red Burgundy thus far. Still retaining some fruit notes, but happily moving on to secondary sous bois with a heady nose that adds spice to the mix. This was really beautiful and delicious. I could have drunk the whole bottle myself. This is why we cellar wines.
1993 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello
This was amazing. The best California cabernet I've had this year. The nose was a stunning mix of that Montebello smokey oak (with hints of American-ness), dark earth and minerals and impeccably fresh red and blue pitted fruits. Still has enough tanning to frame the wine nicely and enough acid to provide lift. For me, this is in a perfect place. It will surely last and maybe even improve depending on your preferences, but since I like to catch wines when they still have some fruit and tanning but have added secondary bottle complexity, this was great for me. I’d be a buyer of well stored bottles, even at close to $100. This really is “first growth” quality. However, I should note that the alcohol is 12.9%, so it must not be phenologically ripe. Dumbasses.
1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse Pauillac
This was to be the star of the dinner, the Important wine. Loyal readers know how I feel about Important wines, but we were so deep in conversation about this, that and the other that we forgot to genuflect and ended up enjoying it for it’s luxuriant mouthfeel and combination of earth, herbs, tobacco and dried fruit swirling around the dark fruit compote that was still at the core. This bottle was fully resolved and ripe yet still elegant (not ripe in a cal cult way). The cork was soaked so I’m not sure if it has been pristinely kept before my friend got it, but I would say if you own this, there is no harm in drinking it now.
2007 Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée
This isn’t showing nearly as well as the 2006 at the moment. It was a much leaner vintage and the wine is more elegant and pretty and soft spoken. Still there are plenty of flowers and chalky fruit. It’ll be interesting to see where this is at in 6 months or so.
1996 Edmond Cornu Corton-Bressandes
My best bottle yet of this and easily the best showing I've had from 1996 red Burgundy thus far. Still retaining some fruit notes, but happily moving on to secondary sous bois with a heady nose that adds spice to the mix. This was really beautiful and delicious. I could have drunk the whole bottle myself. This is why we cellar wines.
1993 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello
This was amazing. The best California cabernet I've had this year. The nose was a stunning mix of that Montebello smokey oak (with hints of American-ness), dark earth and minerals and impeccably fresh red and blue pitted fruits. Still has enough tanning to frame the wine nicely and enough acid to provide lift. For me, this is in a perfect place. It will surely last and maybe even improve depending on your preferences, but since I like to catch wines when they still have some fruit and tanning but have added secondary bottle complexity, this was great for me. I’d be a buyer of well stored bottles, even at close to $100. This really is “first growth” quality. However, I should note that the alcohol is 12.9%, so it must not be phenologically ripe. Dumbasses.
1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse Pauillac
This was to be the star of the dinner, the Important wine. Loyal readers know how I feel about Important wines, but we were so deep in conversation about this, that and the other that we forgot to genuflect and ended up enjoying it for it’s luxuriant mouthfeel and combination of earth, herbs, tobacco and dried fruit swirling around the dark fruit compote that was still at the core. This bottle was fully resolved and ripe yet still elegant (not ripe in a cal cult way). The cork was soaked so I’m not sure if it has been pristinely kept before my friend got it, but I would say if you own this, there is no harm in drinking it now.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Well done Wells
Haven’t seen Andre in a while since he’s been out working his ass off in the marketplace (would you want to be in the wine business right now?). Tough times out there. Got together over at his place for some grilled steaks. Andre does them over the fireplace in his house where he was burning some hickory. It’s a pretty cool setup.
2006 Copain Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Monument Tree
I was really curious to try the “new” Copain wines. $54 full boat at a local retailer. Pricey, but what isn’t these days? 13.0% alcohol listed on the label. Admirably restrained, bright, and focused. I certainly don’t get anything that reeks of under-ripeness. In fact, everything seems to fit together in a nice package. There is a bit of spice, from wood I’m assuming, but it could be the site. The fruit is on the red and pitted side of the spectrum. All things considered a nice wine. I’m not sure about the cost, but I would drink this again if not necessarily buy it in quantity. The kind of thing you could probably find on a decent restaurant list that doesn’t have any Burgundy worth drinking or sufficiently aged to drink. Good for Wells Guthrie for fighting the power. You can make perfectly balanced wine at 13% just by good vineyard work and picking early. Brown seeds my fucking ass.
2003 Château Bourgneuf Pomerol
A minor property and I was a bit worried it would be a mess given my experience with other 2003 Bordeaux (even those that are usually on the restrained side like Chevalier). This was a pleasant wine with modest intentions. The predominant theme was of earthy, almost mushroomy notes surrounding plumy merlot. Well structured and enjoyable. Will probably be better in a few years, but interesting enough now in its idiom.
2006 Copain Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Monument Tree
I was really curious to try the “new” Copain wines. $54 full boat at a local retailer. Pricey, but what isn’t these days? 13.0% alcohol listed on the label. Admirably restrained, bright, and focused. I certainly don’t get anything that reeks of under-ripeness. In fact, everything seems to fit together in a nice package. There is a bit of spice, from wood I’m assuming, but it could be the site. The fruit is on the red and pitted side of the spectrum. All things considered a nice wine. I’m not sure about the cost, but I would drink this again if not necessarily buy it in quantity. The kind of thing you could probably find on a decent restaurant list that doesn’t have any Burgundy worth drinking or sufficiently aged to drink. Good for Wells Guthrie for fighting the power. You can make perfectly balanced wine at 13% just by good vineyard work and picking early. Brown seeds my fucking ass.
2003 Château Bourgneuf Pomerol
A minor property and I was a bit worried it would be a mess given my experience with other 2003 Bordeaux (even those that are usually on the restrained side like Chevalier). This was a pleasant wine with modest intentions. The predominant theme was of earthy, almost mushroomy notes surrounding plumy merlot. Well structured and enjoyable. Will probably be better in a few years, but interesting enough now in its idiom.
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