Magnifique! — 4 months ago
Such an exceptional marsanne. Complex, rounded, and a hint of salinity. — 22 days ago
Popped in poured, consumed over a several hour period. The 2016 Clape Côtes du Rhône pours a deep purple color with a nearly opaque core with medium+ viscosity with significant staining of tears. There are slight signs of sediment. No signs of gas. On the nose, the wine is initially pretty funky. It has that nearly poopy diaper sort of thing going, but it’s so typical in reductive Syrah. This blows off within minutes and reveals a tremendous amount of dark bramble fruit, black plum, blueberry, deli case, olive brine, lavender, dried herbs, and baking spices. There is a bit of the animal that’s sticking around too. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and includes quite a bit of black pepper. A lovely wine and it’s almost unfair to have it labeled as CdR. This is drinking so well right now but could very well impress through 2030+…but why wait? — 3 months ago
From Findlay Market wine store. Reasonable, drinkable Loire Valley white. — 5 months ago
More mature than LBT. Fruit is muddling together, more stewed black and blue fruit, leather and white pepper, dried shitake, dried mint, cowshit, medicinal, loads of savory hung meat. Beautiful profile on the palate. Generous mid-palate, very suave tannins, but very much has its rustic edge still. Very coalesced at the moment and going strong. — 2 months ago
Just rock-solid Châteauneuf, this is exemplary and for me personally my exact sweet-spot in terms of the varied styles from this region. The nose takes a little coaxing, but has a great yin / yang profile of pure, fresh blue fruit, liquorice, violets, and garrigue, versus seared meat, iron and loamy earth. This all puts it square in the middle of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ schools, broadly speaking, and it’s a wine that has the best of both worlds as a result.
The palate is huge, an iron fist in a glove of velvet and so much more, but in no way imbalanced or over-extracted - not overtly alcoholic, at a modest 14%. It spreads out in waves across the palate, ripples which are felt long after the finish. This is clearly a baby now, but it drinks well and will see its 20th birthday in damn fine fettle. Excited to have a case in the cellar.
Decanting not required nor recommended. — 4 months ago
Andrew Liguori
Bangs. Deep and luscious with blueberry, strawberry, and fig melded together. Nice example of well balanced, imperceptible high alcohol. Fine grain tannins and medium plus body. Drinking phenomenally right now after a 3 year slumber in the cellar. — 7 days ago