Leaps & Bounds
Drappier
Zéro Dosage Brut Nature Champagne Pinot Noir
Beautiful copper-hued color and a huge, vibrant aroma that leaps out of the glass. Toasty, green apple, fresh pear, even a little stone fruit; full-bodied but good acid to back it all up. Really a beautiful bottle of Champagne! — 3 years ago
Domaine Georges Roumier
Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2001
The 2001 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is consistent with the bottle tasted in 2018. It leaps from the glass with red fruit, orange blossom and Earl Grey, sprightly though not intense. It is imbued with Christophe Roumier's unerring sense of transparency. The palate is precise and focused, sculpted with the finest chisel in the box, long and tender with exuberant Pinoté on the finish. Just delicious. Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2023) — 2 years ago
Philippe Gonet
Signature Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Chardonnay
Underripe pineapple nose shows lemon zest, steely lime, ethereal jasmine, cool grapefruit, green pear, pea purée. Zesty lemon leaps from the glass and races along the palate, finishes lime and key lime, with a mineral oscillation. Chalky and refreshing simultaneously. Very satisfying dance of exotic starfruit and yellow pear tomato. Ginger and grapefruit build to a crescendo on an refreshingly buoyed, boisterous conclusion.
#phillipegonet #champagnephillipegonet #champagne #bubbles #alesmesnilsuroger #mesnil #mesnilsuroger #brut #blancdeblancs #champagnephillipegonetsignature — 3 years ago
Kanonkop Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
A wine that more than lives up to its reputation, this estate Cabernet from Kanonkop in South Africa is a tremendous flag-bearer for the quality of Bordeaux blends (or, as in this case, single varietals) in the Cape - and particularly in that iconic region Stellenbosch.
An exuberant nose that leaps from the glass and features cassis, fig, cinnamon, some garam masala and cigar box, with more than a gentle tug of graphite. A touch of tomato vine completes what is a very harmonious aroma - and quite an austere one at that. It was ten minutes before I took a sip.
The palate is even more giving, after a two hour decant, with incredibly concentrated flavours of red cherry, blackcurrant and plum, and a lovely undercurrent of dark chocolate and vanilla. This is seriously accomplished stuff, with more than enough backbone to age, and a very long finish. I would love to try this in ten years - even five - but only bought the one bottle so that’s a pipe dream. If this was the Médoc, you’d be thrilled. Truly, an astonishingly good wine.
96+ — 3 years ago
Jérome Coessens
Largillier Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne Pinot Noir 2015
Talk about a singular expression of Pinot Noir. A pale gold coloring with effusive creaminess and a nice stream of very small bubbles. The aromas are a bit muted upon opening with just a bit of apple goodness to start the show. But let it sit for a while in a larger bowl and you’ll be rewarded. Warm cinnamon and crusty bread. Roasted nuts and blackberries all day long. There’s some fresh cherry and plenty salinity to boot.
Single vintage, single varietal, single vineyard. The hallmark of Jerome Coessens. 100% Pinot Noir from the lieu-dit of Largillier. The fruit hails from the plots that he has dubbed Fruit and Flower and that’s amazingly accurate. The amount of yellow fruit and floral notes are just ethereal in nature. The acidity borders on “racy” but instead settles on “zippy” which is just fine.
The attack is one that is quite pointed and full of finesse. It’s a very generous champagne that grows by leaps and bounds over time in the glass. An abundance of red and yellow fruits along with black pepper and dried herbs. Very fruity on the long finish with an added kick of spice. Singular and gorgeous. — 2 years ago
Da Capo
Majoli Ruche 2018
Every once in a while I get a craving for a Ruche, so I’m lucky I had this one in the cellar, because they’re hard to find. This is really nice in a relatively lighter style. Nose leaps out of the glass with crunchy, pungent dark berry, a purple floral note, and bit of pink grapefruit rind. There a unique rock dust note too. Fluid in texture and lighter in style, the cleansing grapefruit rind notes predominate on the palate. A nice lightly bitter note on the clingy finish. — 3 years ago
Mathilde et Yves Gangloff
Condrieu Viognier 2005
A deep golden straw color leaps from the glass with heady aromas of apricots, white peaches, dried pineapple, lilacs, vanilla, clove and a touch of flint. Densely packed, round and seamless on the palate the wine is stuffed with an array of stone and tropical fruits crossed with a racy acidity and an über long finish! — 3 years ago
Scott Cowan
Pinot Noir? From Sancerre?!? Mais, c’est vrai. In the glass: very pretty reds, light at tops, pink-red near sides of the bowl, darkening to a velvety rich dark rouge-noir center bottom of the glass… “La Vie en Rose” nearly leaps out pf the glass. On the nose: fresh paper and new spring acacia leaves. A pack of Marlborough’s still wrapped in plastic wants to announce itself at the end of a deep sniff. Ahhh, there it is—the spring cherries of a light pinot dance forth over the lips… en point…and plier mid-palate to let roll in lush cherry juice—just a little tart-sweet and delightfully bright… Edith Piaf coloratura leads to French Oak-inflected vanilla on a pillow-soft finish…oh!
A lingering finish at that—extra points, thank you! — 10 months ago