David T 
Billecart-Salmon
Brut Rosé Champagne Blend
Happy Friday!
Been having a lot of Blanc Brut lately. Sooo good to get back to one of our favorite N/V Rosé Champagne’s.
Numerous, numerous notes stand.
Tonight; Blood orange, pink grapefruit covered in an ice cream creamsicle, volcanic, powdery chalkiness, sea fossils, pink roses, excellent acidity and balance, elegance and polish for days.
Photos of; amazing sunset shot of one of Billecart’s Grand Cru vineyards, two shots inside the House of Billecart and the grounds of Billecart. — 7 days ago
Hendricks Wines
Gold Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
A good follow up to the 2008 Forts de Latour.
Great bottle that shows beauty of the 2012 Napa Valley vintage managed by the right hands.
Charles Hendricks is maybe one of the most under the radar producers in the Napa Valley and certainly shouldn’t.
This wine is $125 in futures. I can think of other Napa Cabernets that cost much more that are not nearly as good.
Charles does not make this bottling every year...only when he has the right quality of fruit.
His wines always drink well young and will improve with the right bottle evolution depending on varietal and vintage.
This 12 is a gorgeous, sexy wine immediately upon entry. Beautiful round, supple tannins. Perfectly ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, plum and blueberries. Black licorice, sweet tarriness, Asian & Indian spices, just the right amount of barrel selection/toast that bring out soft baking spices of; cinnamon, nutmeg, clove & vanillin, soft earthiness of; dry crushed rocks, loamy soils, limestone & volcanics. Suede leather, some fresh tobacco & shades of graphite with fresh; dark, red, blue & purple florals. The acidity is round and near perfect. The finish is; elegant, well knitted & balanced in fruit in earth, polished and excellent wire to wire settling onto mid dark spice on the long set.
Photos of; the Hope & Grace tasting room in downtown Yountville (Charles makes H&G as well), Charles doing the heavy lifting of winemaking and my favorite Pollock like painting that used to be behind their tasting bar and now hangs in Charles house. — 20 days ago
Bollinger
Special Cuvée Brut Champagne Blend
Our friends deck coming along nicely. The kitchen bar & lighting is in.
Tastes really good tonight. Showing more of the right kind of oxidative notes I enjoy.
Golden & green apple, braised pear, overripe pineapple, lemon, lime juice, nougat, some apple cider, vanillin, yeast, bread dough & crust, sea fossils, grey volcanics, limestone, white spice, gentle, powdery chalkiness, micro oxygenation, excellent with spring flowers, yellow flowers & withering white lilies. Excellent acidity. The finish is rush, smartly balanced, elegant and persistent. — 6 days ago
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay 2018
Stupid at under $40. Buy all you can.
Green & Golden apple, banana, lemon & lime candy, cream, super soft chalkiness, vanillin, fruit blossoms, spring flowers, jasmine caramel notes, honeysuckle to understated honey, with yellow florals, spring flowers with mixed greens. If you are an acid head (like me) it’s perfect. Excellent long finish that is well balanced, elegant, polished and sings persistently for minutes ending in mid white spice.
Photos of; one of their Grand Cru vineyards, likely 40-50 year plus rootstock, Pierre-Yves Colin and library cellar. — 20 days ago
Pierre Boisson
Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay 2015
I’ll let my previous notes of weeks ago stand.
However, if you like white burgundy & can find some of their 2015-17, you owe it to yourself to order some of Pierre Boisson Bourgogne Blanc at $37.99.
Drinks like a well made Meursault and makes many elite Ca Chardonnays pale in comparison.
It has purity of fruit & minerality...not crushed in new oak and ABV burn.
You can spend $75 to $200 for elite Ca Chardonnay, I’ll take this over those any day. — 7 days ago
Château Latour
Les Forts de Latour Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2008
If I am having an Allen Brothers Ribcap, I am also opening a good bottle of Bordeaux.
The 08 Bordeaux vintage goes down in the record books as good not great. This is not nearly as good as the 2000 I had a few years back...one of the few 10’s I’ve scored since starting to write notes. However, it does drink better earlier than 2000.
Ten years in bottle was just the right amount of time to check in on this 08. It will continue to improve over the next 5-7 years and hold another 8-10 years with proper storage.
With the first sip, it was elegant, refined and showing it is Latour’s close relative. My next thought was how good it will be with the Ribcap. Good on its own but, even better with steak.
It shows classic Bordeaux style. Just ripe fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, plum, dark cherries, hints of blue & purple fruit. The tannins nicely round and velvety. The structure, tension, length & balance are just starting to hit their groove. Black licorice, black tea, stones, dry loamy topsoil, dark rich earth, less pencil shaving, soft leather, understated baking spices with withering; dark, red and blue florals. The acidity was nicely executed. The finish is; stunning, elegant and very well balanced with excellent persistence.
Photos of; Chateau Latour, iconic building that since in the middle of their Estate vines, barrel room and wide shot of their estate.
Side note. Having visited Latour three times, it has always been the most clean & pristine winemaking facilities I’ve seen in my many world wine region travels. You could eat off the floor. For me, they are the “King of Kings” in Cabernet. — 20 days ago
David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
I am likely one of the few people who would sing this wines praise on it own at this stage. With the Ribcap, everyone would hail its pleasure and pairing. So good. Great time for a first look at the 2006...even better things ahead in 5 plus years. — 6 days ago