Reviews

Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Virondot

Limey and zingy, this is an electric C-M that impresses with green prickly pear margarita (not sweet), Squirt, limestone, lemon and lime juice and zest, and a striking minerality that complements the…

Domaine de Montille Corton-Charlemagne

At Grand'Vigne restaurant, Les Sources de Caudalie (Smith Haute Lafitte).

Domaine Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet

Lemon confit, lemon juice, wet travertine, unripe yellow pear, and hints of cardamom kick off the medium-bodied delivery of super pure fruit. The clarity is most notable here, with just enough…

Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

Lacks some vibrancy and focus, but still delivers enough flavor to make for a food friendly wine, this Valmur is night and day compared to the 2019 Droin Clos served next to it. The finish fell apart…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

Consistent as the day is long, these later model Droins (especially the awesome 2019s) continue to steal the show for me. These are full bodied Chardonnays that have a sense of finesse and utter…

Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre

Oxidative and past its prime, but not completely over the hill, this Lafon offers deep lemon, butterscotch, and nutty flavors. A fun wine to analyze and geek out on. Best search the corners of your…

Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet

A stubborn monkey here, with a strict and linear delivery. The bead of lemon juice and pith is not astringent nor off-putting, but it is certainly sitting square in its own lane with little interest…

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet

For an appellation wine, this is punching near 1er Cru level given its notable intensity. This is super fresh and lively. Perhaps the DIAM closure has kept the evolution here at a minimum, which…

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot

Top notch showing. Great lift and energy here, with minerality I would've pegged for a Puligny over a C-M, this PYCM is a well crafted and spritely array of citrus juice and white stone flavors. This…

Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère

Notable breadth and power, this is a broad shouldered ripe lemon and vanilla (thankfully not sweet) animal. For as beefy as this is, there is poise and focus. It is super yummy and hard to spit…

Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot

Juvenile and linear, begrudgingly opening up with strict lemon juice and yellow stone fruit notes. This has power, but stays in second gear for most of its stubborn evolution in the glass. All this…

Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot

In a good spot now, and perhaps for my palate, slightly on the other side of the slope in terms of freshness and spunk. However, this has a presence and sense of complex depth that holds interest.…

Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Avizoise Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

A very friendly and surprisingly open bottle of bubbles, with superb balance and texture, this is an Agrapart that impresses for its Norwich Terrier "happier-to-know-ya kind of attitude." Nothing out…

Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Keefer Ranch Sonoma Coast

Lemon, citrus rind, white stone fruit, Asian pear, and sea spray. Perfectly balanced and less sweet than many Ultramarines I've experienced historically, there is nice cut here on the back end that…

Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère

I've written a decent amount on this wine, so as a matter of a check-in here, I'll reaffirm that this is still a fairly brawny wine and will likely always be a less finessed example of P-M, instead…

Domaine Thomas Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embrazées

At Le Tertre in St. Emilion. Lemon and lime, with mineral elements weaving through the profile, this possesses nice verve, but a little less spunk than I would have imagined. Typical C-M shoulders on…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles

This immediately presents with more classical elegance than previous vintages. Of young Droin in general, the wood can oftentimes be center stage at first and take a decent tick of time to shed. So…

Domaine des Malandes Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

Solid wine. Fresh and lively lemon juice and citrus zest notes. Some travertine peeks through, but this is just starting its journey. Though certainly accessible now, it needs at least a handful of…

Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons

So far, the least compelling vintage of this Cuvee. Primary and young of course, with mostly chalky structure and high riding unripe white and yellow citrus and stone fruit flavors. A little green as…

Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère

True to form, this Mouchere follows suit with its past siblings in a broad and shouldery display of lemon and yellow and white stone fruit flavors unabashedly pouring on to the palate. Notable focus…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 1er Cru Montmains

Less disjointed than the pervious bottle a couple of years ago, the 2018 Montmains is a luscious lemon curd kind of experience. Simple but not without its affable and alluringly succulent qualities,…

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon

In contrast with a 2015 Ramonet C-M appellation served beside it, the Leflaive was beaming with fresh and primary citrus juice and zest notes, pushing out a fair bit of reduction initially, but…

Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet

Quite advanced and a bit oxidative, which is possibly reflective and a manifestation of the warm vintage, but not without requisite freshness. There is just enough acidity to hold the deeply pitched…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

This was a peachy creamsicle otterpop kind of experience, with some sweet, ripe stone fruit and vanillin cream enveloping the yellow citrus elements in such a way that it masks the other mineral and…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot

Well isn't this just a happy little ray of sunshine popping out lemon/limey-ness and spring flowers all up and down its fun flavor profile. This is delivering on all fronts really so early on in its…