Day 1: As soon as this hits the palate, it is instantly tight and linear, with a white mineral profile that comes off as all suds and chalk. Skeletal and angular. The fruit expression is extremely…
This 2021 base is a bit more anemic and boney than the 2020 base I had recently. Crunchy strawberry and chalk dominate. The 2020 also had 4.5 g/L dosage (compared to 4 here). The 2021 is best with…
Honey and apple cider on the nose. On the palate, the torched orange peel and baked red apple notes are strong with this bottle. Honey and oxidative flavors encompass the profile, injecting a more…
2021 base. This new release shows much more comparative crystalline structure to its 2020 and 2019 siblings. There are the signature oxidative and wood elements, but with streaks of limestone and…
Pours a beautiful golden/bronze color. Initially tight in delivery, with a linear shot of Mirabelle plum, ginger, and chalk. Bitter on the finish, with a bite that signals the need for more time in…
An exquisite and pristine bottle, with a solid marriage of breadth and focus. The nose offers honey and green/white melon, while the palate is gifted with yellow and green pear, yellow apple, white…
White melon, crunchy unripe white pear, and chalk, with a whisper of a peach note that adds interest. Finishes with the dominant white fruit elements. Very dry on the back end. As a standalone, it's…
Grapefruit, orange spray, crunchy watermelon, unripe strawberry, and red cherry. Finishes taut, with a white melon rind note that ratchets up the linearity of the delivery. A more exacting execution…
Stellar bottle. Best 171 I've had so far. Incredibly crystalline and exacting, and yet also gorgeously gourmand in volume and flavor. Limestone, prickly pear, chalk, lime pith, and white melon rind…
This was indeed a beautiful showing, but a more subtle and somewhat quieter delivery of flavor from this particular sample. Similar to my bottle back in January (from the same lot), if perhaps…
This performed exceptionally well, with wonderful lift and precision, while also maintaining notable volume and depth. Strawberry, watermelon, cranberry, and travertine notes. Dialed-in on the…
Similar to my tasting note last year, this bottle was slightly funky in the nose but the palate was clean and vibrant, with strawberry, chalk, orange rind and spray, and white melon rind. A bit less…
Lemon and yeast make for a spritely delivery, with quince, crisp yellow and white pear, yellow apple skin, limestone, and white travertine notes making up the core profile. This is already a very…
2020 base. Similar to the 2019 base, this 2020 exhibits bruised apple, wood, pluot, chamomile, apricot, fig, and lemon pith flavors in medium fashion. Perhaps a little more shy than the 2019, here I…
Honey and brioche notes dominate here, with yellow pear skin, wet granite, and olive oil flavors rounding out the profile. Finishes smooth and suave. Missing some of that limestone and prickly pear…
Significantly better than the previous bottle, which is kinda unfortunate since it yet again shows the crazy bottle variation with Blin. This bottle was sans the feral funk that the previous bottle…
Poached pear, grilled lemon, and butterscotch. This bottle seemed more advanced than what it should be, with some oxidized notes I don't normally associate with a young Cristal, even in an otherwise…
This has done well to resolve some of its angularity and brashness over the last year since my last bottle. Signature Leclapart barrel spice is complimented by energetic flavors of pear, lemon,…
As before, green and yellow pear, yeast, lemon and lime juice and pith, limestone, and white and green melon notes dominate. Finishes flinty and yeasty, with the compelling green notes repeating (not…
Red apple, apricot, honey, and pear notes are complimented by limestone and ginger flavors. The balance is notable, as is the bead of sophistication overlayed by a welcomed kiss of bark and funk from…
There is a compounding richness here that balances volume with lift and freshness, maintaining a steady equilibrium that provides perfect weight with drive. The hallmark chestnut and peach notes are…
Baked apples and spices lead the charge, with honey, limestone, grilled lemon, ginger, quince, and Rainier cherry filling in the profile. In a lovely spot now, with solid freshness and focus. Never…
Ginger root, poached pear, apple pie crust, pecan, honey, and granite make for a gourmand experience, but one with sound cut and lift. The attack isn't sweet, which adds to the experience of focus…
Yellow apple, yellow citrus, and yellow pear fruit dominate, with hints of oxidized and baked notes. Rounded and a bit one-note, this hits with "yellow fruit" (slightly poached) plopping on the…
