Reviews

Dom Pérignon Champagne P2

A bit more resolved than last year, this bottle is a lovely combination of chiseled precision and a deliberate unfolding of fruit. The limestone and prickly pear offer frame and focus, while the…

Henri Boillot Les Pucelles

Though this is rich and a little heady at first pass, it quickly kicks in with the acid and mild reduction, making for a swirling of both deep and racy elements. At once broad and meaty, and then…

Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos

Revisiting another bottle from the same lot after having it last year (though I don't know what disgorgement it actually is due to yet another failure to launch with the NFC chip not working on the…

Leclerc Briant Champagne Grand Cru Grand Blanc Brut Zéro Blanc de Blancs

Continues to impress, with succulent lemon, olive oil, and yuzu flavors that are beautifully counterbalanced by racier limestone, barrel spice, and chalk notes. Drinking well now.

Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge

Distinctive and full of layer upon layer of lemon bar, lemon curd, vanillin oak, peach, yellow pear flesh, and marshmallow. Ripe and a bit sweet, but maintains an airy and ethereal composure…

Kongsgaard Chardonnay

Sweet and ripe notes on lemon curd, powdered sugar, coconut shavings, corn milk, pineapple, and unripe mango. There is certainly a topical element here, but it's not so exotic that it loses traction…

Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut

From Magnum. Ripe, mature, and a bit sweet, this has enough energy and freshness to push out the grilled lemon, poached pear, Rainier cherry, caramel, red apple, and copper notes, but I imagine the…

François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

This is in a beautiful spot, with lime and Meyer lemon notes circling around meringue, yuzu, limestone, wet chalk, almond paste, and ripe yellow pear. There is a succulence here that is especially…

Gaspard Brochet Champagne 333.e

Quite the unique animal, initially drinking more like a Rose than a Champagne blend, the 333e has a wild, slightly succulent side that is a little curveball at first, but settles into a delivery of…

Ceritas Chardonnay Peter Martin Ray

Gentle and basic flavors of lemon and yellow pear. There is a crème note that adds a slightly lactic texture. Medium to medium-minus intensity; balanced but simple. Missing some tension and energy at…

Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc

A touch of reduction calls for some significant swirling and air to coax fresh lemon juice, crunchy yellow pear, white melon, and white travertine notes from the glass. Direct and a little strict,…

Bartolo Mascarello Langhe Nebbiolo

Red cherry, muddled strawberry, rhubarb, dried cranberry, earth, and dried pink roses. Medium intensity, but with firm focus. A bit rustic and a touch superficial overall, but ultimately clean with…

E. Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Cannubi

Sweet and ripe red raspberry, with bright red cherry and potpourri spice punching along the delivery. Some bits of orange peel and cranberry offer focus.

Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc

Lemon and lime, with hints of petrol and damp rock. Fresh and sound, but with the wet mineral element coating the fruit, with an oyster shell finish.

Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé

There is an alluring orange rind note that emerges only after a bit of air and a slight rise in temperature, complimented by grapefruit, apricot, and strawberry water. A bit lithe and diluted on the…

Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast

Slight wet newspaper on the nose here. Bitter and astringent on the finish. Not my bottle, so I can't attest to how provenance was compromised on this. No bueno.

Caroline Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers

Mild reduction touches off an entry that subtly, almost gently unfolds with flinty notes of green and yellow citrus, unripe pear, green and yellow apple, and hints of wood. There is a pretty push of…

Domaine Bernard-Bonin Meursault Les Tillets

Although this was a bit of a funky monkey at first pass, I found myself becoming more and more drawn to this wine as time passed. There is an old-school presence here, with candied lemon, grilled…

Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard

Well this bottle was all sorts of delicious, "beating" out a number of the otherwise beautiful white Burgundies in the lineup. This vintage of Lauren is all class, and carries a seductive display of…

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles

Similar to the Paul Pernot Batard, this Leflaive displays notable energy and spine, with an exacting and chiseled frame houses tense, youthful fruit and mineral elements that excite the palate and…

Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet

At first, there is a shyness to the initial entry, with a cooler, more measured cadence and expansion of flavor. White fruit and mineral elements slowly transform into vibrating yellow citrus,…

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

A bit of reduction kicks off an intense display of lemon curd, ripe yellow pear, yuzu, white travertine, fresh lemon juice, and a kiss of vanillin wood. Thankfully, this shy in the exotic department,…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne VV/R22

My previous notes on this wine apply, with a richer and slightly sweeter profile than RDJ VV's of the past. With 2022 being a seemingly stellar vintage for Champagne, I am surprised how gourmand this…

Philipponnat Champagne Les Cintres

This is a seductive sample, with a creeping cadence that slowly unfolds flavors of poached pear, red apple flesh, cherry water, olive oil, grilled apricot and lemon, and olive oil.

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 171eme

Strong yeast and rye notes dominate the entry on this particular bottle. With time and air, limestone, unripe pineapple rind, crunchy pear, and ginger emerge. The deeper notes of honey, grilled…