2022 Sauzet Hautes Cotes de Beaune Blanc Jardin du Calvair: Beautiful nose of floral and citrus. On the palate, there’s white fruit with a subtle hint of oak (15% new), and more importantly, racy, refreshing acidity. This is a really nice wine, especially at this price point.
2022 Bachelet-Monnot Chassagne-Montrachet: Hint of lime zest on the nose with a fresh and lively palate of citrus and minerals. While there’s a bit of density and richness to the palate, there’s mouth-watering acidity, good cut, minerality, and freshness. The oak is well-integrated (25% new), which I often don’t find to be the case with young village-level white Burgundies.
2022 Sauzet Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Sous le Puits: From purchased fruit. A little more textured from the oak with a hint of vanilla on the palate (33% new). However, it has very tart, pointed acidity that prevents the palate from feeling ponderous and heavy.
2022 Latour-Giraud Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres: Broader, more textured, with a heavier oak presence (25% new) than the Sauzets and Bachelet-Monnot. However, while a bit ripe and lush, veering towards yellow fruit, it is still fresh and lively with good acidity that keeps the wine light on its feet.
2022 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Richemont: Rich, ripe, yellow fruit on the palate. Very textured and buttery. On the palate, you can feel the oak tannins coating the throat. This needs a lot more time to integrate the oak (35% new oak).
2022 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne: Big, bold, ripe and yellow-fruited. However, the oak here is less noticeable than with the Richemont (despite being 50% new oak) and the oak tannins don’t feel as grippy or aggressive. An interesting wine that needs many more years to integrate fully.
2019 Raveneau Petit Chablis: This tastes like a very well made Bourgogne Blanc from an excellent producer based in Puligny. Good depth and breadth on the palate, perhaps coated with a thin layer of vanilla, but not particularly crisp or saline in any way. Someone commented that you could really taste the producer signature in the wine, and I would agree. If you are looking for Raveneau, you will definitely find it here. If you are looking for Chablis, however...
2011 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru La Forest: This seemed pretty advanced. You could pick up some stoniness and good acidity underneath the blanket of sherried nuttiness, but I have a sense that this was suffering from early-stage premox. Still drinkable.
2014 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas: This had a kinship with a Northern Rhone Syrah: some sunny California red fruit married with hints of brininess, smoke, and earthy minerality. Structurally, it is an elegant wine with a lively acidic spine and firm tannins. I imagine this would benefit from more time in the cellar.
2014 Highlawn Syrah Halcon Vineyards: A much more New World expression of Syrah than the “Halcon Halcon.” The fruit was bright, redder, and much more forward. However, it is still elegant and light-footed on the palate. This was tasty, though I definitely preferred the “Halcon Halcon.” Some more earthiness and smoky, briny, meaty Syrah character would have been welcomed.
NV Georges Laval Garennes Demi-Sec: There is quite a bit of breadth on the palate, with the residual sugar adding a noticeable sense of weight. The fruit feels almost tropical. Despite being a Champagne, the mousse didn’t really register with me because of the lush texture of the wine. I think this is a very interesting wine, but not sure whether I would have enjoyed a full glass of this.
1989 Albert Boxler Tokay Pinot Gris Brand Selection de Grains Noble: Incredibly fresh and bright while simultaneously being complex and tertiary. Very rich and deep, but the sweetness, while very present, is not cloying and is deftly balanced with the acidity. A really great, mature dessert wine.
1989 Ridge California Cabernet Bradford Mountain: I enjoyed this. This tasted fairly understated with black fruit and a hint of graphite and cured tobacco and smoke. Not overly concentrated or powerful, it was more importantly refreshing, elegant, and tasty.
1981 La Conseillante: Expressively floral on the nose. On the palate, very bright and powerful (especially compared to the ‘89 Ridge Bradford Mountain), with pronounced tobacco and leather atop an undercurrent of dark fruit. Refreshing acidity with fully-resolved tannins. Another extremely satisfying 80s Bordeaux.
2022 Comando G Rozas de Puerto Real: Pretty red fruit with a hint of dried herbs and stoniness. Very pure, delicate, and transparent on the palate. Racy, electric acidity. I would say, glou-glou, but it feels a little too serious to call it say. Highly drinkable though.
2014 Comando G El Tamboril: Another pure, crisp, mineral-forward wine with great acidity and liveliness. Like drinking liquid rocks with a squirt of lemon chased with salt. Super.
NV Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Platine: Lime zest and granny smith apple on the nose. The palate has green fruit, mouth-watering acidity, and a firm mineral spine. This feels linear and focused; despite being 67% Pinot Noir, it lacks the fleshiness of the Pinot and instead has the chalkiness and litheness of a Chardonnay-heavy Champagne. Finish has good length. Excellent wine for the price.
2023 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Summer Salters Rosé Shake Ridge Ranch: A little tight on opening, but with air, the aromas of wild strawberries and watermelon become more expressive on the nose. Delicate weight on the palate, with pretty red fruit, a subtle note of herbs and spice, and a thirst-quenching, refreshing acidic spine the lingers on throughout the finish. The L'Anglore Tavel affinity is especially noteworthy here. Second time I've had this in recent months, and it's the perfect summer glou-glou wine. Natural wine done right.
2022 Bachelet-Monnot Chassagne-Montrachet: Hint of lime zest on the nose with a fresh and lively palate of citrus and minerals. While there’s a bit of density and richness to the palate, there’s mouth-watering acidity, good cut, minerality, and freshness. The oak is well-integrated (25% new), which I often don’t find to be the case with young village-level white Burgundies.
2022 Sauzet Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Sous le Puits: From purchased fruit. A little more textured from the oak with a hint of vanilla on the palate (33% new). However, it has very tart, pointed acidity that prevents the palate from feeling ponderous and heavy.
2022 Latour-Giraud Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres: Broader, more textured, with a heavier oak presence (25% new) than the Sauzets and Bachelet-Monnot. However, while a bit ripe and lush, veering towards yellow fruit, it is still fresh and lively with good acidity that keeps the wine light on its feet.
2022 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Richemont: Rich, ripe, yellow fruit on the palate. Very textured and buttery. On the palate, you can feel the oak tannins coating the throat. This needs a lot more time to integrate the oak (35% new oak).
2022 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne: Big, bold, ripe and yellow-fruited. However, the oak here is less noticeable than with the Richemont (despite being 50% new oak) and the oak tannins don’t feel as grippy or aggressive. An interesting wine that needs many more years to integrate fully.
2019 Raveneau Petit Chablis: This tastes like a very well made Bourgogne Blanc from an excellent producer based in Puligny. Good depth and breadth on the palate, perhaps coated with a thin layer of vanilla, but not particularly crisp or saline in any way. Someone commented that you could really taste the producer signature in the wine, and I would agree. If you are looking for Raveneau, you will definitely find it here. If you are looking for Chablis, however...
2011 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru La Forest: This seemed pretty advanced. You could pick up some stoniness and good acidity underneath the blanket of sherried nuttiness, but I have a sense that this was suffering from early-stage premox. Still drinkable.
2014 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas: This had a kinship with a Northern Rhone Syrah: some sunny California red fruit married with hints of brininess, smoke, and earthy minerality. Structurally, it is an elegant wine with a lively acidic spine and firm tannins. I imagine this would benefit from more time in the cellar.
2014 Highlawn Syrah Halcon Vineyards: A much more New World expression of Syrah than the “Halcon Halcon.” The fruit was bright, redder, and much more forward. However, it is still elegant and light-footed on the palate. This was tasty, though I definitely preferred the “Halcon Halcon.” Some more earthiness and smoky, briny, meaty Syrah character would have been welcomed.
NV Georges Laval Garennes Demi-Sec: There is quite a bit of breadth on the palate, with the residual sugar adding a noticeable sense of weight. The fruit feels almost tropical. Despite being a Champagne, the mousse didn’t really register with me because of the lush texture of the wine. I think this is a very interesting wine, but not sure whether I would have enjoyed a full glass of this.
1989 Albert Boxler Tokay Pinot Gris Brand Selection de Grains Noble: Incredibly fresh and bright while simultaneously being complex and tertiary. Very rich and deep, but the sweetness, while very present, is not cloying and is deftly balanced with the acidity. A really great, mature dessert wine.
1989 Ridge California Cabernet Bradford Mountain: I enjoyed this. This tasted fairly understated with black fruit and a hint of graphite and cured tobacco and smoke. Not overly concentrated or powerful, it was more importantly refreshing, elegant, and tasty.
1981 La Conseillante: Expressively floral on the nose. On the palate, very bright and powerful (especially compared to the ‘89 Ridge Bradford Mountain), with pronounced tobacco and leather atop an undercurrent of dark fruit. Refreshing acidity with fully-resolved tannins. Another extremely satisfying 80s Bordeaux.
2022 Comando G Rozas de Puerto Real: Pretty red fruit with a hint of dried herbs and stoniness. Very pure, delicate, and transparent on the palate. Racy, electric acidity. I would say, glou-glou, but it feels a little too serious to call it say. Highly drinkable though.
2014 Comando G El Tamboril: Another pure, crisp, mineral-forward wine with great acidity and liveliness. Like drinking liquid rocks with a squirt of lemon chased with salt. Super.
NV Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Platine: Lime zest and granny smith apple on the nose. The palate has green fruit, mouth-watering acidity, and a firm mineral spine. This feels linear and focused; despite being 67% Pinot Noir, it lacks the fleshiness of the Pinot and instead has the chalkiness and litheness of a Chardonnay-heavy Champagne. Finish has good length. Excellent wine for the price.
2023 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Summer Salters Rosé Shake Ridge Ranch: A little tight on opening, but with air, the aromas of wild strawberries and watermelon become more expressive on the nose. Delicate weight on the palate, with pretty red fruit, a subtle note of herbs and spice, and a thirst-quenching, refreshing acidic spine the lingers on throughout the finish. The L'Anglore Tavel affinity is especially noteworthy here. Second time I've had this in recent months, and it's the perfect summer glou-glou wine. Natural wine done right.
