Reviews

Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Roc Solare

Like a Krug Cuvee at half the price.

Savart Champagne Premier Cru Bulle de Rosé Extra Brut

A wild and funky nose at first pass (initially concerning, but blows off with some swirling in the glass - not flawed). The palate carries some hints of sauvage, but is otherwise clean and correct.…

Georges Laval Champagne Premier Cru Brut Les Hautes Chèvres​

An exceptionally chiseled and precise version of Meunier, the 2015 Hautes Chèvres is a masterfully honed expression of the varietal. It presents as young and direct, but relaxes some with time and…

Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

Solid showing, with a nice package of acidity and fruit flavor. Lemon and lime juice, honeydew melon, yellow and green pear, limestone, and a healthy zing of salinity to make for a complete showing…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

This bottle is creamier than the previous bottle, with vanilla-laced lemon and iodine flavors adding interest. The acid and nerve are solid, but overall this vintage is certainly less intense and…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Extra Brut Les Couarres

Another go with this. As before, medium intensity overall, with fuller and rounder notes of grilled lemon, yuzu, olive oil, ripe yellow pear flesh, poached pear, and limestone. Drinks fine on the…

Champagne Suenen Champagne Grand Cru C + C Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

As before, this was "fine." Lacking a bit in the depth and profundity departments, but it carries a nice bead and drops solidly mid-palate with some lemony succulence, travertine, and honeydew…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Hors Serie

Cut and paste much of my note from December 2024, this bottle from the same batch continues on the upswing, with spicy pear, grilled lemon, orange rind, lime, limestone, cardamom, coriander, olive…

François Raveneau Petit Chablis

From magnum. Lemon drop, crème, vanilla, and some yellow pear flesh. Overall, a relatively tame and one-note delivery. Lacks nerve and tension. The finish is smooth and caressing, but sans requisite…

Groebe Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs

Petrol, lime, burnt lemon, lamp oil, nectarine (yellow/orange flesh), poached pear, pineapple rind, and olive oil. The seductive-yet-lively lime note repeats on the finish. Pleasantly waxy and a bit…

R. López de Heredia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia

On the nose, strong sherry, petrol, and fortified whiffs of burnt caramel and torched orange rind. On the palate, the profile is utterly dry (almost arid), sucking the inside of the cheeks with a…

Champagne Suenen Champagne Grand Cru "La Cocluette" Extra Brut

Ripe grilled lemon, roasted nut, lemon curd, red apple flesh, yuzu, saline, yellow pear, limestone, and olive oil. There is a well placed intensity on the front end (almost more Pinot-esque in its…

Jacques Selosse Initial

A smoking jacket and leather chair showing this go around; from the same lot/disgorgement as the previous bottle I had back in February, this Initial shows similarly, but for stronger orange and oak…

Leclerc Briant Champagne Grand Cru Château d'Avize, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Zéro

This bottle shows better than the last time I had the 2013 Avize six months ago. It is still a little rough around the edges at first (angular with the acidity at the forefront), but it balances out…

Domaine des Malandes Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume Vieilles Vignes

Drink these now. They are fresh and sound, but they were much more exciting and vibrant a few years ago.

Domaine des Malandes Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir

This went back and forth from being agreeable and nicely placed on the palate, with its lemon, pear, and liquid chalk elements, to then being a bit boring. For $50, it's fine and all, but even with…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent

I found this much more interesting three years ago. The intensity has down shifted a bit, though the profile hasn't changed. Lemon, quince, and travertine. There was a little heat on the finish…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles

This has held up beautifully considering it's over a decade old. Iodine, lemon, quince, yellow pear, travertine, and saline notes all blend together in a medium+ delivery of succulent-meets-fresh…

Dalla Valle Maya

A solid performance, though a bit outshone by the 2003 Scarecrow next to it, the 2006 Maya offers soft dark berry fruit and forest floor elements that caress the palate and flow through the delivery…

Château Cheval Blanc

Funky, tired, and fairly flat. There were grumblings about possible questionable storage here, which I unfortunately think to be the case. Cheval is one of my favorite Right Bank houses, but I think…

Château Montrose

Interestingly, I found this 1989 Montrose to be much more awake and fresher than a funky 1990 Montrose I had a while back. Mulch, forest floor, and tobacco leaf are beautifully counterbalanced by…

Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series

I was more in the camp that felt this had a confectionary note that I couldn't get past. The oak and tropical notes weighed down the delivery for me, making it gummy and sluggish. It's a succulent…

Marcassin Chardonnay Alexander Mountain Upper Barn Alexander Valley

Though I have admittedly been hesitant with Marcassin with what I consider to be a stylistic old school black Chardonnay-type profile of that house that I have sometimes struggled to be drawn to, I…

Ceritas Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard

I used to really enjoy Ceritas Heintz, but was never taken enough by it to keep following it over time. That said, I will fully admit to feeling quite privileged to be able to catch up with this…

Hubert Lamy Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots Vieilles Vignes

There is a lot of promise here, but it is locked up pretty tight at the moment. Primary and mineral-driven, with a classically youthful Puligny profile, the Tremblots is a difficult wine to assess at…