Bureau Véritas
Zenaida Cellars
Wallflower Willow Creek District Paso Robles Grenache Blanc 2019
The winery produces just 1 white each vintage in small quantity. This 100% Grenache Blanc is the best one I’ve tasted yet.
Peach, pineapple, mandarin orange, white flower, chrysanthemum, hint of white pepper on the nose. On the palate it is plush yet very crisp, with a chalky mineral undertone. Semi dry. A bit heat on the finish, but even that went well with curry chicken.
Interesting fact: Grenache Blanc was not recognized as a varietal by the U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms until 2002.
— 4 years ago
Taylor's
Scion Pre-Phylloxera Port
From pre-phylloxera vines, Taylor's bought a small lot of only three barrels from the 1863 vintage that had been quietly resting in a cellar for well over a century—the producer had the foresight to reserve them when phylloxera swept through the region. An important wine because, as Taylor's staff pointed out, ungrafted vines no longer exist in the Douro. An incredible experience, and one that I felt lucky to have since the winery has fewer than 12 bottles remaining.
There is an incredible, concentrated sweetness on the nose; coffee, vanilla, maple syrup, and dried tobacco leaf. In the mouth, lacquered elegance, a long toffee-hued ribbon slowly unfurling, like removing a sheet from an ancient mahogany bureau, there is dust and warm wood and leather, layered against dates, dried orange skins and burnt sugar. Spiciness and minerality emerge on the finish, filtered sunlight through ancient glass and sea salt captured by time and slow evaporation. — 9 years ago
Château Lafite Rothschild
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2003
The 2003 Lafite-Rothschild has an attractive perfumed bouquet with touches of camphor infusing the blackberry and bilberry fruit. There is a mahogany bureau hint. The palate is medium-bodied with a spicy opening. The sharp acidity slightly jars against the sweet candied black fruit, with blood orange and white pepper toward the mocha-tinged finish. It's missing a bit of sustain on the aftertaste, hence my more parsimonious score. It does cohere in the glass, so decanting will help. Tasted at the Académie du Vin dinner from ex-château magnum. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2023)
— a year ago
Damien Bureau
Saperlipopet Vin Pétillant de France Chenin Blanc 2018
With tapas — 3 years ago
Bruno Paillard
Réserve Privée Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Another standout producer from last week's tasting in Chicago held by the Champagne Bureau, Bruno Paillard is a new discovery for me, and I find myself wondering how it is I've never tasted it before. Stated on their website, "putting together a wine is very like for a painter carefully choosing the origin of colours" as a trained fine artist and former winemaker, I could not agree more. The Première Cuvée boasts classical lines and multi-faceted beauty, one first notices the extremely fine mousse, followed by razor-sharp minerality, oyster shells and persistent bubbles give way to layers of brioche, citrus, orchard fruit, and more nuanced aromas of raspberries and Queen Anne's cherries As for this author, Bruno Paillard is instantly a new favorite. Sample — 9 years ago
Clos Fourtet
Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
The 2019 Clos Fourtet has a stubborn and backward bouquet with sultry black fruit, quite tertiary in style, antique bureau and woodbines. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent blackberry and blueberry fruit, maybe just a little cloying compared to its peers despite the velvety and caressing finish. One for those who like modern Saint-Émilion but it needs serious cellaring time. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2023) — 2 years ago
Château Léoville Poyferré
Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2004
The 2004 Léoville-Poyferré has a light and airy bouquet with blackberry, antique bureau, forest floor and light fungal aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannins, a little austere but balanced, though I notice some attenuation and bitterness towards the finish. So-so for this estate. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 2 years ago
Delectable Wine
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The 1966 Giscours is a wine I have drunk twice or three times before, though never from magnum. This was a golden age for the estate. It has a classic nose for a 1966 Left Bank: black fruit, freshly rolled tobacco, antique bureau and maybe just a hint of curry leaf. Still fresh and unashamedly conservative in style, the palate is beautifully balanced with fine weight and density. It has lost its florality, perhaps now a little more delicate than I recall, yet tremendous in terms of length with veins of blue fruit toward the finish. Utterly divine. Tasted at 67 Pall Mall for The Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide dinner. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— a year ago