Fontaine-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2011
Ripe d’Anjou pear gliding under aromas of lemon zest, white flowers and smoke. Notably, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet is the smallest of the Montrachet Grand Crus, and is known for producing white Burgundies endowed with chalk and saline. This 2011 Fontaine-Gagnard is a superb example. Not only is it expansive and slightly glycerol-laden on the palate, this decadent […]
Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol Rosé 2014
The perfect companion to a classic summer dish—Salade Niçoise. The Terrebrune Bandol Rosé is one of the more winsome, elegant rosés I’ve tasted this year. Primarly composed of Mourvèdre grown in blue Trias limestone soils, it is the minerality that really shines, along with breezy notes of alpine strawberries, raspberries, white peach and Rainier cherries. […]
Château Beau-Séjour Bécot Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion 2000
Ruby-hued and breathtakingly fresh, with a deep perfume of black cherry and cassis, forest notes, cedar, graphite, violets and an unexpected top note of smoke and coal dust. In the mouth, the 2000 Beau-Sejour Becot is silk over sinew, with penetrating black fruit neatly framed by polished tannins and moderate acidity. There are decadent notes […]
Château Margaux Grand Vin Premier Grand Cru Classé 1990
Tasted with awe and much contemplation, the 1990 Margaux was one of the crowning jewels at my last tasting in Carmel, a parting gift opened the evening before my move to Portland. Garnet-robed with no bricking, this bottle was delightfully fresh and vibrant with pronounced aromas of forest floor, leather, earth, plums, black cherries, sandalwood, […]
Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde 1998
The epitome of old-school Côte-Rôtie, the 1998 Rostaing offers up an ever-evolving kaleidoscope of aromas: smokey bacon fat and animal notes at first, followed by sweet violets and steeped blackberries. It’s quite lean on the palate, with ultra-fine, well integrated tannins—a mark of maturity—underpinned by high acidity and gamey-green notes of dill and green peppercorn, […]
Domaine Olga Raffault ‘Les Picasses’ Chinon 1989
‘Les Picasses’ lies along a riverbank on a fairly steep slope that is primarily alluvial clay overlaying chalk and limestone. The vines are over 50 years old and the site is known to produce wines with fabulous purity and minerality. As such, the Olga Raffault ‘Les Picasses’ Chinon 1989 has had time to mellow, and […]
Saint Aix Coteaux d’ Aix-En-Provence Rosé 2013
I cut my teeth on Provence rosé drinking Saint Aix, and it’s still just as lovely today. Bone dry and refreshing on the palate, with alluring notes of juicy white peach and melon, apricot, and a pinch of turbinado sugar. True to form, it has that sort of wonderful texture that is laden in wet […]
Château Ausone Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé 2000
Where to begin? Château Ausone 2000 recalls some of my top red Burgundies—wines of this caliber have an otherworldly quality, that can only be described as an ethereal, gossamer, and transcendent. Complex, ever-evolving layers of black currants, ripe blueberries, gravelly earth, iron, olives, sweet tobacco, violets, camphor, and even a touch of dried honey. It’s […]
Robert Groffier Père & Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2002
The Robert Groffier Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2002 is an endless ribbon of garnet-hued silk. Black cherries, dried rose petals, rich humic soil, and wild mushrooms waft from the glass. Sensual, viscous and more generously styled as compared to the Bouchard Clos de Bèze tasted earlier this week. High toned red fruit—pomegranate and rose […]
Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2002
Marly limestone enriched by traces of iron is the primary soil type in Clos de Bèze vineyard parcels, and this vineyard has under cultivation for a very long time, since the 7th century. The 2002 Bouchard Père & Fils Chambertin Clos de Bèze is rustic and austere, though charmingly so, with barnyard, wet hay, game, […]