Breaky Bottom
Château Lafite Rothschild
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986
1986 vintage, Above average fill. Excellent cork with bottom quarter fully saturated. Decanted with respectable sed. Dark cherry skins color. Tasted after 15 mins. Light-medium body. Nose the usual aged/faintly cigar box intro. Flavors melded together nicely but ever so slightly tart. Delicate, long finish. Thinking the tartness would buff out after 45 minutes open but no chance to prove that theorem. 6.1.24. — 6 months ago
Domaine Servin
Les Preuses Chablis Grand Cru Chardonnay 2017
The 2017 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru has a wonderful, focused nose: lean, mineral-driven, very flinty and very Chablis. The palate is taut and fresh, with sharp acidity, and very citric and powerful, with immense weight and penetration toward the finish. Very persistent, very sophisticated; this is what great Chablis is all about. But the bottom line is that it is very uncompromising. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting in Savigny-lès-Beaune. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2021)
— 3 years ago
Ruinart
Brut Rosé Champagne
Château Potensac
Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 1990
It’s a night of first year consecutive decades, 90 & 80. Enjoyed in reverse order
From the same technical team as Leoville Las Cases.
Another great Clyde Beffa direct purchase from the Chateau or Negociant.
Still ripe older Bordeaux fruits with smoothed out lead pencil. Blackberries, black raspberries that lean into pudding, black plum, darkest, cooked cherries, raspberries edges, baked rhubarb and hues of poached strawberries. There is nothing that bites back. Dark chocolate, smooth mocha, caramel, soften baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, old tobacco w/ ash, used leather, dry top soil, limestone powder, black licorice to anise, dry river stone, fresh & withering dark, red flowers, amazing, rainfall acidity and a well; balance, structured, knitted and smartly polished finish that lasts 90 seconds.
Steak slow cooked in the oven at graduating low heats and then seared at 1300 degrees, 30, 30, 30 & 30. .
“The Truth is Inside” is an expression about the very bottom of a bottle of wine. Tannin soaked & it never lies. Typically the best part of the bottle. 93 that lands 94 in truth. I always leave two-three inches of wine in bottle just because it is always slightly better than the rest of the bottle. It is more concentrated. — 3 months ago
Château Marquis de Terme
Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2009
A stained cork from bottom to top gave me pause. Phew! All good. Dusty notes dominate early on with stewed plumbs and Aussie scrub (underbrush) not far behind. Let’s see where we are in an hour. Sixty minutes on firmly delivers with a weighty 65% Cab Sauv with, dare I say it, a slight nod to Napa. Chewy tannins with continuous dust rounds it all out. I like this wine. As to down the road…I think we’ve arrived au point. — 2 years ago
Raul Pérez
Vico Bierzo Mencía
When winemakers devote themselves to the mastery of one grape, every bottling from top to bottom tends to be exceptional.
Such is the case with Raul Perez and his consistent ability to make Mencia bloom.
Vico is aromatically rich and complex. Cedar, new leather, blackberry, black currant, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee.
— 3 years ago
Lagier Meredith
Mount Veeder Syrah 2016
This Lagier Meredith Syrah (2016) is stunning!!
It presents red, black, and blue fruit characteristics, such as fresh mulberry, redcurrant, strawberry preserves (like fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt), black cherry, cassis, ripe blueberry, next to black tea, anise, fennel, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla, cacao, crushed white and black pepper, and earthy, potting soil notes.
On the palate it’s dry, smooth, and balanced with a lingering finish. Alcohol (14.5% ABV) and tannins are notable and well-integrated.
This wine hails from higher elevation sites of Mount Veeder in Napa Valley and is delicious! — 5 months ago
Pétrus
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 1967
Completely alive!
Quite deep still , medium garnet core , medium narrow garnet rim . Rounded smoked plum , undergrowth , touch floral . Plump and round in the mouth , mix of red and dark fruits , quite elegant and medium bodied , pretty good length . Still a touch of noticeable but very fine tannins, though very much integrated into the wine. Elegant and well balanced acidity . Based on this magnum , the wine is fully mature but with a lot of life left. Not the most complex or large scale Petrus by any means , however it has great texture and elegance , harmonious powder fine tannins , just a joy drink now and over the next 10 years perhaps. This was opened and then decanted just before service , followed over 2 and a half hours and was still going strong at the end. Magnum had a level of bottom neck . Drank at Noizé, London . — 2 years ago
Domaine Rémi Jobard
Sous La Velle Meursault Chardonnay 2019
More complex fruit profile than the Bourgogne Blanc. Seems less mineral but really takes off after 24 hours. The bottom end fills out and the classic nutty component appears alongside more tropical fruit. — 3 years ago
Julia Indik
Very easy to drink. Light with cherries, pomegranates, apricots. Minimal acidity but which increases through a short finish. — a month ago