Impressions 5-8-21

Florida Jim

Florida Jim

Florida Jim
Wine impressions 5-8-21

2017 Louis Michel, Sechets - more about the structure than fruit right now, good concentration and plenty of structure; bodes well for the future.

2020 Scribe, Sylvaner - bright, crisp, medium bodied and ready now. Good.

2011 Peter Michael, Chardonnay Belle Cote - way too oaky for me. Those who do not mind oak, loved it.

2009 Schrader, Cabernet Sauvignon RBS - To Kalon Vineyard fruit; balanced, creamy, rich and pretty good but it’s Cab. which is just not my thing.

2012 Saxum, Broken Stones - I don’t like Saxum wines on release but after 9-10 years they seem to level up. This was big but complex, meaty and earthy at the same time, and delicious. But the 15.6% abv damn near killed me the next day.
A second bottle opened at dinner several nights later was not near as impressive.

2018 Barbacan, Rosso di Valtellina - there is great wine and then there is the wine you most enjoy drinking. This is the latter; svelte, fresh fruit flavors, lovely nuance and spot on Nebbiolo in every way - no waiting. I’ll be delighted to drink your ‘great’ wine but this is what I will buy.

2014 Louis Michel, Chablis Vaudesir - best guess, at least 2-3 years from peak; excellent now but still carries that slight lactic note of the unevolved.

2017 Sandlands, Mataro - grumpy at first but opened quickly; leaning toward Bandol and far removed from the Dirty & Rowdy style. Not lost in the shuffle by any means but I often like a bit more clear-cut character. However, truly excellent with steak frites.

2012 Louis Michel, Chablis Grenoiulles - of a piece, fully developed, complete and beautifully shaped wine; got better as the evening progressed. Better than my description - memorable!

2017 Chalone Vineyard, Pinot Noir - not many CA pinots make me want to buy CA Pinot - this does. Finesse, structure, intensity, a certain lilt; really good - really!

2018 Rochioli, Pinot Noir River Block - distinctly Rochioli; rich, round and the flavors are saturated. No other Pinot producer I know gets the same concentration that this one does. Lacking the nuance of the Chalone but a big-beautiful-mouthful of wine.

2011 Vincent, Pinot Noir Bjornson Vineyard - in what is often considered a difficult vintage, this is the exception. Opened alongside cheese soufflé; so subtle, complex and light on its feet it felt like the wine was dancing. The pairing was greater than the sum of its parts; the overall experience, sublime. Great wine, in every sense of the word. Bravo!

Best, jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim: Impressions 5-8-21 not many CA pinots make me want to buy CA Pinot
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Jim, I fully agree with you. Even so, in the unlikely event you haven't already, try some of Jeff Emery's wines (he took over after Ken Burnap) with Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. And they age VERY well.

. . . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
So far Bjornson is my favorite vineyard from Vincent.
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I’m more a Ribbon Ridge guy - I seldom get the structure out of the Eola Hills that I do from RR.
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

originally posted by Florida Jim: Impressions 5-8-21 not many CA pinots make me want to buy CA Pinot
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Jim, I fully agree with you. Even so, in the unlikely event you haven't already, try some of Jeff Emery's wines (he took over after Ken Burnap) with Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. And they age VERY well.

. . . . . . Pete
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Had quite a few and other pinots from the SC Mountains in general - few have gotten me to buy.
Most of my Pinot dollars go to Oregon (Burgundy being out of my price range).
Best, jim
 
i'm surprised how young you drink your louis michel chablis--unless you have large quantities and want to see where they are starting from.

as an all-stainless producer, i find his wines to require even more time to blossom than most--and for me, not waiting for the magic to happen is to miss the point of buying chablis in the first place.

for louis michel chablis, i find 7 years minimum for 1er cru, and 10+ years for grand cru.

on another note--my favourite chablis's are almost always 1er cru, not grand cru.
 
Robert,
I am not so purposeful as to “see where they are starting from.”
I love Chablis, especially Michel, and sometimes, nothing else will do.
And my point in buying them is that I like to drink them, often.
Best, jim
 
jim--i agree with you on louis michel. i have more michel in my basement than any other chablis producer. the price to quality ratio is about as good as it gets in chablis--although i am happy to say that servin seems to be also in that league.
 
originally posted by robert ames:
on another note--my favourite chablis's are almost always 1er cru, not grand cru.
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I was just reading about this the other day: The GC designations are all in one strip just outside the town, all face S or SW, and all produce a wine rather richer than what people normally think of as Chablis. The 1C vineyards, scattered here and there, produce a more typique wine more often.

Nice article on the GuildSomm site: click
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by robert ames:
on another note--my favourite chablis's are almost always 1er cru, not grand cru.
Click to expand...
I was just reading about this the other day: The GC designations are all in one strip just outside the town, all face S or SW, and all produce a wine rather richer than what people normally think of as Chablis. The 1C vineyards, scattered here and there, produce a more typique wine more often.
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true, but montee de tonnerre, mont de milieu, and fourchaume consistently produce often the greatest 1er crus of a given vintage, and they are extensions of the same south facing slope and closest to the grands cru.
 
I went a little long in Michel's 2018 Butteaux VV, which is a personal favorite. Especially interesting to read Jim's notes on Michel's Sechets, Grenouilles and (elsewhere) Vaillons, which are crus I seldom hear about from this vigneron.

I tried to land some Michel Vaulorent earlier this year - also a rara avis - but, sadly, bid too late.

MdT, baby GC, yes, and what I have bought most of from Michel.

Picq would be my other reliable Chablis source, though I'm very interested in trying Duplessis's wines again.
 
originally posted by robert ames:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by robert ames:
on another note--my favourite chablis's are almost always 1er cru, not grand cru.
Click to expand...
I was just reading about this the other day: The GC designations are all in one strip just outside the town, all face S or SW, and all produce a wine rather richer than what people normally think of as Chablis. The 1C vineyards, scattered here and there, produce a more typique wine more often.
Click to expand...

true, but montee de tonnerre, mont de milieu, and fourchaume consistently produce often the greatest 1er crus of a given vintage, and they are extensions of the same south facing slope and closest to the grands cru.
Click to expand...
And I like Forêts, which is part of Montmains, which is on the other side of the river entirely.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by robert ames:
on another note--my favourite chablis's are almost always 1er cru, not grand cru.
Click to expand...
I was just reading about this the other day: The GC designations are all in one strip just outside the town, all face S or SW, and all produce a wine rather richer than what people normally think of as Chablis. The 1C vineyards, scattered here and there, produce a more typique wine more often.

Nice article on the GuildSomm site: click
Click to expand...

If I could only buy one Chablis cru going forward, it would probably be Sechet. Not generally perceived as one of the more elite premier crus, but it often has a delicacy and precision that are core to what I like in Chablis. With that delicacy more often comes oyster shell and mineral drive, as opposed to fruit.
 
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
If I could only buy one Chablis cru going forward, it would probably be Sechet. Not generally perceived as one of the more elite premier crus, but it often has a delicacy and precision that are core to what I like in Chablis. With that delicacy more often comes oyster shell and mineral drive, as opposed to fruit.
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dude, you've got the wrong tv channel on - we are in the middle of global warming, so clearly it has to be Les Lys :-)
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
If I could only buy one Chablis cru going forward, it would probably be Sechet. Not generally perceived as one of the more elite premier crus, but it often has a delicacy and precision that are core to what I like in Chablis. With that delicacy more often comes oyster shell and mineral drive, as opposed to fruit.
Click to expand...

dude, you've got the wrong tv channel on - we are in the middle of global warming, so clearly it has to be Les Lys :-)
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I can't profess to know Chablis well enough to grasp which vineyards are likely to be least impacted. Maybe I should just pick a vineyard in the Aube or elsewhere.
 
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