Red from Sancerre. Will wonders never cease? What’s impressive about this effort is how the mild and sunny weather of Loire did not over cook this wine. The flavors are strong, but restrained. It tastes like a lot of work went into getting an excellent balance of cherry, pencil shavings and lively acidity. Serving it a little chilled enhances the experience. — 5 months ago
Opened and poured into a ship decanter for two hours before being returned to the bottle another couple of hours prior to dinner at Le Bouillon. A golden color that seem lighter on the rim. On the nose, this is eminently rustic with stone fruits, wild flower honey, echinacea and butterscotch. On the palate, not nearly as oxidative as the nose would suggest. In fact, this is remarkably fresh with bright apricot and nondescript tropical fruits. Medium-plus acid. The finish is long and somewhat saline. A wine of brilliant texture. A stunning pairing with marinated octopus and was delightful with the other courses of our meal as well. A small portion was left for further evaluation the following day. I am happy to report that it held up very well indeed. The late Serge Hochar once said that his white wines seem to gain freshness with age. The 2005 vintage shows there is likely truth to his assessment. Well cellared examples should drink well for at least another decade. I, for one, look forward to checking in on these for many years to come. — 4 years ago
It’s 10 years since Serge. Hochar’s death whilst swimming in Acapulco on NYE 2014 and I think it’s appropriate to celebrate his legacy that is the modern Chateau Musar.
I first tasted Lebanese wines in London circa 1986 when I used to go to a couple of Lebanese restaurants in Shepherds Market near Mayfair in London
Al Hamra is still in business
I’ve been to Beirut several times and always stock up at the airport duty free
So a toast to a departed icon of the wine world
Since my last 2011 4.5 years ago (see note) this has aged wonderfully and I’ve up my rating several points
Another few years and it will be further improved
Optimal decant time was around 3.5 to 4 hours
Ethereal stuff — 14 days ago
Delicious sauce blanc. Juicy, citrus notes. Drinkable. No bite. Round — 3 years ago
Full bodied white, a Valais specialty with taste of Linden. Perfect pairing to the rich Chinese Dishes @ China Garden, Zermatt. Tomorrow lockdown of Restaurants starts here too 😩 — 4 years ago
Smooth right out of the bottle. Limestone, blackberries, and prunes. With a little spice at the end. — 4 months ago
Really good rose — 7 months ago
Made a butternut squash/burrata/kale/sage/pumpkin seed/fig pizza last night and combined the leftover slice to a pie of Motorino’s I got from Saltwater’s (my coffeeshop) neighbor in the East Village. I’ve been going to Motorino’s since 2012 and it’s one of my favorite Neapolitan pies in the city.
Sharp as a sporty, citrus cologne of vetiver, pine, and sage. Lemon peel and grapefruit mist. Really love this unusually fresh and zippy bouquet.
It’s got the freshness of a Chablis and the citrus and melon notes of Sauvignon Blanc. Love the high tone acidity here — it just works. It doesn’t try to belabor itself with subtlety, just announcing straight up, this is who I am. Grapefruit, melon, lemon rind, sage, and even some of the juicy unctuous qualities that ripe blackberries can have.
Solid. — 5 years ago
Turd Ferguson
I can’t really taste anything anymore but I think this is pretty solid 🤷🏻♂️ — 18 days ago