Producer: Dehours et Fils
The Dehours Champagne Brut Grande Reserve is the result of an assemblage of Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a great percentage of vin de rèserve, fermented according to Solera methods, embraced by Jerome in 1998.
Producer: Jacquesson
The NV Extra-Brut Cuvée No. 744 is soft, open-knit and caressing. The natural radiance of the vintage comes through in the wine's ample, creamy feel. Apricot, spice, dried flowers, hazelnut and lightly honeyed notes are all beautifully laced together.
Producer: Jacquesson
For the 2018 harvest in Aÿ, Dizy, Hautvillers (68%), Avize and Oiry (32%), the previous winter was exceptionally rainy, this was followed by a mild, stormy spring. The weather changed from June onwards, becoming fine and dry, resulting in a particularly early harvest: we started picking on 30 August and finished on 11 September. The vines were in perfect...
Producer: Jacquesson
NV Extra-Brut Cuvée No. 743 (2015 base) is soft, open-knit and caressing. The natural radiance of 2015 comes through in the wine's ample, creamy feel. Apricot, spice, dried flowers, hazelnut and lightly honeyed notes are all beautifully laced together.
Producer: Bouquin Dupont Fils
A wonderful champagne, 100% Chardonnay of Avize from vineyards more than 60 years old. A base of citrus fruit melted with the scent, and taste, of a custard where there are also two drops of lemon juice. Delicious and enjoyable.
Producer: Jacquesson
2017, the harvest from Ay, Dizy, Hautvillers (66%) Avize and Oiry (34%). Winter and Spring were exceptionally dry; the beginning of Spring was mild but, in April, destructive frosts ravaged the vineyards, especially in the Côte des Blancs. Temperatures then rose and the weather was good until July. The end of the growing season was hot but very wet. The...
Producer: Dehours et Fils
The Champagne Rosè Oeil de Pedrix is the result of an assemblage of Meunier and Chardonnay from old vineyards. Flowery Champagne Rosè Extra Brut, particularly fine and fresh with a very limited production.
Producer: Podere Poggio Scalette
The 2021 Il Carbonaione is a regal, elegant wine. Silky, beautifully perfumed and persistent, the 2021 is everything I want from Il Carbonaione. All the purity of Sangiovese caresses the senses in a wine that is both textually intense and also light on its feet. Dark red-toned fruit, rose petals, cinnamon, new leather and cedar are some of the many...
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Good deep, dark red. Sexy aromas of musky red raspberry, smoke, minerals and earth; cooler than the 2007. Suave on entry, then quite tight in the middle, with a fine grain to the brisk red fruit flavors. Very bright, perfumed wine with the energy of the vintage's best examples. Finishes with terrific lift.
Producer: Domaine Francois Raveneau
The 2016 Chablis Foret is very promising with a crisp line of acidity, gentle grip and a live-wire, spicy finish that matches the exotic style of the vintage.
Producer: Domaine Pierre Girardin
A Bourgogne Blanc from the lower part of Meursault and Volnay. Fermented in wooden casks, with an eight-month elevage in stainless steel. It’s a fresh, vivid and mineral wine – some reductive notes – with white peach and limited exotic-fruit aromas. Fine and energetic fruit with nice acidity to give the wine a lovely balance. A good start, and drinking...
Producer: Domaine Pierre Girardin
The Casse-Têtes (headache) vineyard got its name because of the winegrowers' difficulties in planting vines in hard, chalky and gravelly soils. However, as is often the case, wines planted in poor soils make great wines. The Meursault Casse-Tête is a direct and dense Meursault for lovers of firm, dense, white Burgundies.
Producer: Domaine Armand Rousseau
Domaine Armand Rousseau is considered as one of the grand old domaines of Burgundy, with 14 hectares of noble old vines. Chambertin-Clos de Beze bursts from the glass with an exciting melange of blackberries, cassis, graphite, violets and exotic spices.
Producer: Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
The 2006 Nuits St. Georges Aux Cras sticks out a bit in this lineup of mostly Vosne wines, even if Cras sits on the northern edge of Nuits. Firm, incisive tannins give the Cras its spine and sense of energy. Dark red cherry and hard candy notes abound in this beautiful, finely-sculpted Burgundy.
Producer: Domaine Jean Tardy et Fils
End of the coteaux of Nuits, the last vineyard before Vosne-Romanée. Picked later than others, The Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Argillats 1er Cru needs some coaxing from the glass, revealing blackberry and hints of blue fruit lending some “light” with time.
Producer: Arnaud Ente
The Bourgogne Chardonnay might well be the best regional white from Burgundy. Smoke, slate and ripe yellow stone fruit all meld together in this expansive, utterly impeccable wine.
Producer: Domaine Coche Dury
Sexy scents of orange oil and spicy oak, plus a floral touch that struck me as more Puligny than Meursault. Dense and silky but also precise and penetrating; more a wine of finesse and delicacy than size or power. Still, there's a fleshiness here and a singed orange note suggesting that some grapes were grilled by the sun. A wine of great individuality,...
Producer: Domaine Leroy
Darker ruby-red color. Brooding cassis and licorice nose, with a whiff of earth and a mineral pungency. Thicker, larger-scaled and sweeter than the Lavieres, but very unevolved. But this premier cru already shows lovely finesse. Has a solid underlying structure for aging.
Producer: Benoit Ente
Benoit Ente's Puligny-Montrachet is one of the more sensual wines in the lineup. Soft, enveloping and textured, this wine stands out for its considerable early appeal. Today, this is Ente's most accessible, and it is beautiful.
Producer: Domaine Jean Tardy et Fils
The 2019 tightly wound red fruit is delineated and fresh, and a little floral in style, revealing touches of wilted iris. The palate is medium-bodied and grainy in texture. A nicely structured and classically styled Gevrey with touches of dry tobacco toward the tertiary finish. Impressive length courtesy of vines over 65 years old.
Producer: Domaine Dujac
The 2019 Echezeaux shows scents of truffle, damp autumnal leaves and dark berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with more cohesion than the nose, modest weight, fresh and lightly peppered with a dab of white papper towards the finish.
Producer: Domaine Francois Raveneau
The 2010 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has the most expressive of Ravneau's three Grand Crus. With scents of dried honey, pressed flowers, almond and a little wild fannel. The palate is taut and crisp with fine acidity.
Producer: Domaine Francois Raveneau
Pale yellow-green. Slightly metallic aromas of lemon and white flowers. Penetrating acitdity and citric cut give outstanding power and thrust to the palate. Finishes with outstanding lenght and grip.
Producer: Domaine Leroy
Good medium red. Blacker, fresher aromas of dark cherry and minerals. Juicy, spicy and sweet on the plaate, with good grip and thrust to the dark fruit flavors.
Producer: Domaine de la Romanee Conti
The 2018 Grands Echézeaux may well be the most perplexing offering from the Domaine this year. Backward and reticent on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied and very fresh.
Good deep, dark red. Sexy aromas of musky red raspberry, smoke, minerals and earth; cooler than the 2007. Suave on entry, then quite tight in the middle, with a fine grain to the brisk red fruit flavors. Very bright, perfumed wine with the energy of the vintage's best examples. Finishes with terrific lift.
