Jay Kline

9.6

The 2022 “Sous Roche Dumay” pours a straw color with medium viscosity. On the nose, the wine is developing with remarkable notes of bright tropical and ripe orchard fruit, a lovely mix of yellow and white flowers and laden with chalky minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Be still, my beating heart…the acid! Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and delivers a serious dose of the minerals, keeping up with the two Raveneau enjoyed alongside. Brilliant. This was arguably the best of the three paired with the pôchouse bourguignon but really, all three worked well. Drink now through 2052. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 15 days ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of several hours. The 2008 Grand Cru VV pours a straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing, almost youthful and initially, extremely bright and vibrant; like a laser beam of acid and marzipan. After a couple of hours of air, this really became exceptional with tropical fruit, lemon, curd, brioche, and an enormous amount of minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry and acid is high as one would expect. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. A serious wine that needs time and, probably one of those champagnes that could use a decant. Better after 2028 and through 2043. Disgorged 2023. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1994 vintage. Nice fill with a slightly shrunken and fully saturated cork. Durand helped plenty in the opening assist. Not decanted and tasted after 1.25 hours open. Hadn’t tasted since the early 2000’s. Definitely dropped all the baby fat. Toffee, coffee and chocolate covered cherries in the nose. Light medium body (thought it would be a touch bigger). Still plenty of focus but slightly less grip than desired. Can it match biggie shizz like Montelena, Dunn, Diamond Creek, BV GDL Reserve, Mondavi Reserve, Araujo, Peter Michael Les Pavots, Mayacamas, etc? No. Is it really really nice? Absolutely. Can hold another 5-6 years at this juncture before boarding the downhill bell curve train. 11.8.24. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Apropos, the vines for “La Chapelle” are adjacent to the chapel perched at the very top of the Mont Brouilly where it is quite dry and the soil is very poor. The vineyard is also remarkably steep making manual harvest essential.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Fairly consistent throughout but I felt it was most enjoyable on Day 2 and 3. The 2022 “La Chapelle” pours a deep ruby/purple color; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful and fresh with beautiful notes of tart blackberries, red plum, wet stone, a combination of red and purple flowers, licorice, dried green herbs, some wood varnish. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and has a stiff spine of minerals. This is a cerebral wine compared to “Godefroy” (which is almost quaffable in comparison). Drinking well now to enjoy its freshness but will undoubtedly drink well through 2037+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

The Fossati MGA is bifurcated administratively with the commune of Barolo (to the south) and La Morra (to the north). Cesare Bussolo’s holdings are in the latter. In fact, his vines run like a thin ribbon right through the middle of one of Roberto Voerzio’s plots.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three hours. The 2020 pours a very pretty garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with soaring notes of ripe red fruit: Morello cherry, raspberry, strawberries, roses, curaçao, licorice, talcum powder, a touch of tar, some dried herbs, dry earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. This is a beautiful wine and I was really grateful to share one of my bottles with a good friend at Via Farina’s new location at Regency Landing. Drink now with patience and through 2060.

I would like to add that I have only become aware of Cesare Bussolo’s work over the last few years and believe it or not, it was his 2018 Fossati (from a tricky vintage no less) that caught my attention. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite producers in La Morra. He makes a very small amount of wine (relatively speaking) but I have really enjoyed the process of not only discovering Cesare’s wines (his Barbera’s are not to be overlooked!) but also sharing them with friends. Thanks @Lyle Fass for the assist! — a day ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. For what it’s worth, this was showing its best after some air and I’d probably recommend at least a 30min decant if opening at this stage. The 2018 Cuchet-Béliando pours a deep ruby/purple color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of mostly ripe and some tart black and red fruits: blackberries, raspberries, purple flowers, black pepper, grilled meat, dried green herbs, rocky earth and gentle spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose though the black pepper is even more prominent here. The finish is long and tremendously satisfying. Another absolute beauty from Cuchet-Béliando. Drink now with patience and through 2048. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.2

The Godefroy lieu-dit sits below the Brouilly hill, to the east. The vines here are very old; some over a century!

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Fairly consistent throughout. The 2022 “Godefroy” pours a deep ruby/purple color; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with perfumed notes of ripe strawberries, Rainier cherry, red plum, forest floor, and red flowers. There’s also a slight funky note, a sort of mushroom thing that I really liked. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+; almost chewy. Compared to the “La Chapelle” from earlier in the week, Godefroy is rounder; a bit more fun, flirty and funky whereas “La Chapelle” is darker fruited, more chiseled; stony and sexy. Drinking well now and through 2037+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

This was one of those rare nights where I had zero obligations…so I decided it might be fun to grab one of the relative newcomers to my cellar and head down to Mertz, sit at the bar, and share with the staff. Upon arrival, I was met immediately by the incomparable Matt Brown who asked if I would like to sit next to Dan Morgan. “Morgan Ranch Dan Morgan? Uhhh…yuh!” I duly handed my bottle to Matt and he kindly introduced me to Dan. After exchanging some pleasantries, I sat down and suggested we open the Brisset and see what it’s about. Dan was game so we proceeded to enjoy the evening, covering a range of topics from travel to the state of our education system and much more. It should go without saying that we each enjoyed a couple of steaks from his ranch too. I mean, obviously.

Initially, we popped and poured a single glass. It was beautiful, particularly on the nose, but seemed a touch reticent on the palate so we elected to splash decant. We enjoyed this bottle over the course of several hours where it really started to thrill after getting a nice bit of air. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a deep but transparent core; medium viscosity, with very light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous, even unctuous, notes of ripe red (and some black) fruits: strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, Bing cherry, red flowers, licorice, warm spices, and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Wow…such a youthful beauty…and it’s already giving me some sugar. The quality is obvious, almost startling. Drink now with patience but better after 2032 and through 2052+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass

P.S. I should provide the Morgan Ranch backstory. Located in Burwell, Nebraska, the Morgan Family were one of the very first producers of Japanese Wagyu cattle outside of Japan; Dan brought the first herd from Japan back in 1993. They are, to my knowledge, the only Wagyu producer that exports back into Japan. — 5 days ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of dinner. The 2021 Ungsberg Spätburgunder pours a stunning, pale ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with the most extraordinary display of forest strawberries, red flowers and alpine herbs that burst from the glass like a fresh katabatic wind. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. This finish is long. This was the second bottle of four that I purchased. The first was flawed. This, was brilliant. The hype is real. Drink now through 2036. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over three days. Consistent throughout, though the nose opens a bit more after Day 2. The 2020 “Les Beaumonts” pours a deep ruby (strikingly dark) with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with very light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of tart blackberries, licorice, peeled carrots, forest floor and soft baking 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 super zippy; tart even. Alcohol is a little elevated but this has an overwhelming impression of freshness. Drink now with patience and through 2035. Thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist! — 8 months ago