St. Laurent
Château Pavie
Saint-Èmilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 1998
Drinking well, full bodied showing sweet dark fruits, savory spices, crushed rock, mocha & tobacco — 6 days ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1995
Opened around 8pm the evening prior, double decanted and left in room temperature until service on Friday evening. In total, this was opened 24hours before service. The 1995 pours a beautiful garnet with transparent core; medium viscosity with moderate stating of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with surprisingly boozy dark fruit. Brambles, cassis, bell pepper, licorice, spearmint and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long with great acidity. Overall, remarkably youthful. While it’s certainly ready to go, it will likely continue some positive evolution over the next couple of decades. Drink now with a long decant through 2045. — a month ago
Château Lafon-Rochet
Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016
2016 vintage. Last tasted 6.15.24. Still too fleshy for me. Prob need to decant (or open and put back in the reefer for a day or two) for 3 hours to draw out the tannins that, theoretically, should be there. Enjoying the 2006, 2018 and 2019 vintages a bit more currently. **UPDATE**Came across an opened (2/3rd left from last night's party) bottle and retested. Tannins out and looking for nightlife. Upgraded to 9.3 (7.21.24.) 7.20.24. — 6 days ago
Domaine de L'Arlot
Clos des Forêts St. Georges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2021
Clos des Forêts is a monopole of Domaine de l’Arlot in the commune of Premeaux-Prissey. It’s located south of Les Saint Georges with Les Didiers directly in between and planted exclusively to Pinot Noir.
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2021 “Clos des Forêts” pours a bright ruby with a transparent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with tart forest strawberries, tart brambles, cranberries, orange rind, charming old-world notes of horse blanket, mushrooms, sous bois, and soft warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and deliciously savory. I realize the 2021 vintage isn’t for everyone but I find the wines to be charming and this was a lovely example. Drink now through 2036. — 9 days ago
Pierre Gonon
Saint-Joseph Syrah 2016
94-95
My first Gonon StJo…unfortunately, I loved it. Wish these were easier to find at good prices!
At 8yrs, this was so perfumed out of the glass. At 90% whole cluster, it shows typical green/stemmy aromatics but it’s not the dominant note, trending toward green peppercorns, violets/potpurri, olive, and black cherries. Mineral notes, pepper, mix of red and black fruits, mocha, and so much verve on the palate, absolutely buzzing both days. This wine is floral and herbal but with so much power and balanced fruit…kind of a wild-ness to it that I loved. What a beautiful expression of Syrah. Killer.
Day two showed the whole cluster aromatics fade a bit, but it also showed the palate bulk up. So good. — 7 hours ago
Jay Kline
Opened and decanted at least an hour before service; enjoyed over the course of several hours where it held service the entire time. The 2014 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with fabulous notes of cassis, tobacco, purple flowers (a beautiful potpourri actually), iron rich earth, and delightful baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and lovely. As a vintage, 2014 is sneaky good and this Figeac is showing so well on this early window. Drink now with patience and through 2054. — 7 days ago