Reviews

David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru L'Astre Blanc de Noirs Pas Dosé

100% Pinot Noir 1er cru from Trépail, the L'Astre shows stylistic similarities to it brawnier brother L'Aphrodisiaque, though L'Astre's barrel spice is a little less overtly pronounced and leading,…

David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru L'Astre Blanc de Noirs Pas Dosé

100% Pinot Noir 1er cru from Trépail, the L'Astre shows stylistic similarities to it brawnier brother L'Aphrodisiaque, though L'Astre's barrel spice is a little less overtly pronounced and leading,…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Cote de Bechalin

Red apple, golden raisin, olive oil, grilled lemon, ginger, dried apricot, and limestone notes present as caressing and smooth on the palate. Medium intensity and even a bit soft on the finish. This…

Elise Dechannes Pinot Noir Champagne

Fresh and clean, with cherry water and rye notes making for a sterile and linear profile. The equilibrium is sound, but there is little expansion or depth to be had. Too far of a swing to the…

Marcassin Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard

A compelling nose, with spice and crunchy red and black cherry, cinnamon, salami, and red currant notes dominating. Earth and spice notes slowly come into form, making for a full mouthfeel and…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Millésimé Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules

From Magnum. Disgorged April 2020.

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne VV/R22

Rich and ripe, with even a bit of sweetness on the back end. Flavors of mirabelle plum, kirsch, white cherry, fig, red apple flesh, smoke, and ginger present as full and enveloping. A gastronomic…

Domaine Trapet Gevrey-Chambertin Ostrea

Dark berries, red-on-black fruit, dark spices, hints of loam. A little chewy in texture (which I like), giving it an extra tick of breadth; also clean and pure on entry. Can be drunk now but has the…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Mailly

Somewhat surprisingly, this is my least favorite vintage of Mailly. I thought the 2013 and 2016 were especially good, with the 2017 trailing a distant third. The 2017 actually tops this 2018, at…

Déhu Père & Fils Champagne Cuvée De L'Orme

This has quite the bite to it, with a prickly entry that starts and finishes with a bitter barb. The tip of the needle dulls with air and time in the glass, but it never fully backs off from being a…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Mailly

This bottle was solid and sound. Poached pear, grilled lemon, limestone, Mirabelle plum, orange rind, red apple flesh, and olive oil notes work in unison with more lifted elements of chalk, white…

Julien Prélat Champagne Rosé Chantemerle Gourmandise Rosé

Fruity and simple. Red raspberry and watermelon executed in a relatively flat delivery. There is some tension, but the depth of flavor is not only superficial, but too sterile, struggling to find…

Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes

This bottle exhibited aged traits that signal a wine that ultimately seems to be past its prime. Air helped stretch its legs a bit, but it was fairly short-lived. Over the course of a few hours, it…

Le Gallais Champagne Cuvée des Cèdres Brut Nature

Linear and simple, but a fresh and clean entry that is well balanced and delineated in its lemon, white fruit, apple pulp, and white stone flavors. Not so sterile that it's instantly forgettable, but…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Mailly

Pours a beautiful golden hue, with the slightest salmon tinge around the edges. Bubbles are especially delicate and fine, almost fragile in their appearance.

Jerome Blin Champagne Extra Brut Le Champs de L'Epinette

It's a little confusing, since the front of the label states this is Pinot Noir Extra Brut, but the back of the label states "cepage: meunier et chardonnay." The internet "confirms" Pinot Noir, but…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Mailly

This is essentially a Pinot version of Bereche's Cramant Grand Cru, with a near identical composure and delivery of flavor. A bit more golden apple, honey, and poached pear here, with a seamless…

Ultramarine Blanc de Noirs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast

This is probably the freshest Ultramarine BdN I've had, especially given the bottle variation and duds I've experienced over recent years. White raspberry water, yellow and red pear flesh and skin,…

Domaine Taupenot-Merme Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Rouge

Still chugging along nicely. Decent depth and breadth, with a darker berry profile than I remember. In a good window now, with previous linearity seemingly resolved; quite approachable and appealing…

Domaine Launay-Horiot Pommard 1er Cru Les Chaponnières

I haven't had this in four years, and though I find this bottle well resolved and in a balanced drinking window, albeit with a bit of air, I do think it to be less exciting than when I had it back in…

Ultramarine Sparkling Rosé Hirsch Vineyard

As detailed in my previous note, this is fairly linear and chiseled. Better with food. .And eons better than the 2018 Hirsch Rose. Stick with this 2019, but perhaps best to hold for a year or two to…

Ultramarine Sparkling Rosé Hirsch Vineyard

Still.weird. Plastic aftertaste. Bitter finish. Funky in not a good way. The 2019 is way better. This 2018 is.. Not.

Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny

Tight and linear upon first pass, with a higher-riding and superficial (tannic) red fruit and mineral presentation that signals eye-rubbing sleepiness and a stern, "What do you actually want from me…

Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge

Continue to hold on these. The first half of consumption was tight and linear, with puckering unripe strawberry and cedar notes dominating. The finish was incredibly tight and strict. After a few…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

This bottle was less giving in the fruit department and, instead, spun up and hyper chiseled in its initial delivery. It quickly relaxes its grip (a bit) to unveil white and unripe yellow stone…