Château Saint Nicolas

Nicolas Joly

Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Savennières Chenin Blanc 2010

A buddy brought out this bottle of 2010 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant to help toast a great achievement this past weekend. One can probably imagine my excitement as I’m a massive fan of these wines by Nicolas Joly. However, I feel compelled to admit that these wines are not for everyone. They vary wildly from one vintage to the next and there can often be quite a bit of bottle variation to boot. None of this has swayed me from my position; that these are amongst the most exciting, singular expressions of a place that I have ever experienced.

Popped and poured. The 2010 pours a deep golden color with medium+ viscosity and no signs of particles or gas. On the nose, the wine is redolent of white tree flowers, desiccated apples and apricots with orange marmalade, honey, lanolin, marzipan and light clove. On the palate, the wine is dry with borderline high acid that is somewhat masked by the equally high alcohol (15%). Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and remarkably rich with wooly, unctuous texture. The high alcohol only becomes apparent as the finish lingers but there is so many other more fascinating things for me than to get distracted by it. Is it oxidative or not? That’s an argument that other people can have. I’m content to simply appreciate these wines for what they are. You can drink these now but knowing how these react favorably to air, it’s probably best to open it well in advance and probably even better to decant. Otherwise, I would expect sound, well-stored examples to live through 2040.
— 17 days ago

Ira, Ceccherini and 9 others liked this
Jay Kline

Jay Kline Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Lyle Fass I can only imagine. @Ely Cohn shared his experience with me which was, in its own way, surreal.
Ely Cohn

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lol 🤣

Château Barde-Haut

Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

Consistent with my last btl showing rich red & black fruit with sweet, savory spice, graphite & tobacco notes — 8 days ago

Tom, Shay and 11 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

Wow! This is still a broad shouldered , yet elegant, wine with smoke and dark berry led. Still has a long life left. — 15 days ago

Jan, Andrew and 2 others liked this

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

En Remilly Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Chardonnay 2014

Vintage 2014 | jasmin in smell, expressive. Minerals, flint. Juicy. When you take a sip, you are longing for the next one. A high sip-want-next factor. Awesome balance. — 11 hours ago

Juan, Daron and 12 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Shay A
9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty.
— 5 days ago

Pinotman, Tom and 18 others liked this

Pierre Gonon

Saint-Joseph Syrah 2014

Jesus o augusto jason mazf lalo o diego jeff — 4 days ago

Jan, Jay and 4 others liked this

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2023

So elegant Montrose. It builds up an epic journey in the aftertaste. Rich and opulent as usual but with a fine touch of incredible level.
Softer extraction resulted on a fruitier, more sapid and rounder wine than usual. It feels it’s going to be approachable in its youth.
— 2 days ago

Peter liked this

Domaine Dujac

Morey Saint Denis Pinot Noir 2018

Splash decanted directly prior to service, the 2018 Morey Saint Denis pours a deep ruby with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose the wine is youthful with powerful notes of ripe and tart red fruits: red cherries, red brambles, red flowers, some herbs and a healthy dollop of warm 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 luxurious. A fairly flashy wine and, to my palate, the oak is showing prominently right now. Not out of balance, but close. The alcohol is up there…but it is pretty well disguised. Not wimpy, that’s for sure. While this is certainly full of energy and character right now, I think this wine would enjoy some time in the cellar to show even better. Drink from 2028 through 2043. — 4 days ago

Michiel, Ron and 13 others liked this

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave

Saint-Joseph Syrah 2020

It’s always a resounding ‘YES’ for JL Chave!!

That includes this luscious and concentrated Syrah from Saint-Joseph AOC in the Northern Rhône of France.

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave is a benchmark and icon of the Rhône Valley – a family-run operation since 1481 – with an entire range of deliciousness through the Domaine Jean-Louis Chave and JL Chave Selection portfolios.

This wine is deep ruby, trending on purple. It has pronounced aromas and flavors of boysenberry, blueberry, black cherry, cassis, pomegranate, also violet, bacon, sanguine, saddle leather, pipe tobacco, clove, cigar, damp earth, and black peppercorn. Alcohol is high (14.5% ABV) with medium (+) fine-grained and well-integrated tannins, medium (+) acidity, a medium (+) body, and a long, elegant finish.

It has a rustic and savory character with robust dark fruit notes; it’s layered, complex, structured, and age-worthy, benefitting from decanting. Still, it’s tasting wonderfully now.

Cheers to JL Chave and treasures of the Rhône!!
— 20 days ago

Deked1
with Deked1
Deked1, Shay and 21 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

Wonderful nose! On the palate… it’s elegant, light, fresh and sinewy, — 2 days ago

Martijn, Peter and 3 others liked this