Lots of good wines this month, no great ones, some that have been great, but weren't this time. Definitely in the Marshall Manning zone here.
2012 Colombera & Garella Lessona Pizzaguerra - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Lessona (11/30/2018)
Pale red color. Nose opens with an ferrous eathiness. Bright red fruits and herbs and lots of other woddsy complex notes emerge as it opens up over an hour or so. Colombera & Garella are making some really interesting wines. We love both this and the Bramaterra. (92 points)
2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (11/28/2018)
Showing quite well with room for growth. Crunchy red fruits, less deeply fruited cherry notes than I've experienced with other vintages. The Chevillon fleshiness plays well with the structure of the vintage. Entering a drinking window, should hold there for a while and improve for folks who like different characteristics. (92 points)
2007 Antoniolo Gattinara San Francesco - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (11/27/2018)
This was really good. I don't mind the modernity in the Antoniolo wines for some reason. I like that bit of polish. They also keep a good frame of acidity to stretch and lift the deep cherry fruit. Tangy, mineral finish. Doesn't feel as solar as 2007 Barolo. Drinking well now but should gain complexity with a few more years. (93 points)
2013 Davide Carlone Boca - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca (11/25/2018)
A new wine to our house stable of Alto Piemonte reds. Sappier and a bit fleshier than the more intense Piane wines. That mix of dark red fruit, blood (iron) and herbs that is becoming a calling card for these wines to me. While very, very good, these lack a little bit of the aromatic complexity of C&G and aren't quite as deep as the Piane. For all that, very, very good wine. (91 points)
2007 Le Piane Boca - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca (11/25/2018)
Not the best bottle of this, but maybe the food match wasn't great. Seemed tired compared to other bottles, although maybe it got too much air. Anyway, the corks on these bottles are soaked about half way up and I didn't get them on immediate release. The others have been substantially better, but I'd love to have a pristine bottle. (89 points)
2014 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (11/24/2018)
Quite dry and linear. I really liked it but Steph was less impressed, she found it on the innocuous side. I think it has the structure and stuffing to age well. These are a bit of a PITA for me to get and not cheap, so I'll have a think on it. Still, worth trying if you haven't had it. (91 points)
2008 Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (11/23/2018)
This is in the zone and was exactly like the previous bottle. (92 points)
2017 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/23/2018)
Crystalline, pure and aromatically complex. Not the most concentrated on the palate but this is a beautiful wine. I think Matthieu is really mastering this wine. It's the best white Chinon, for sure. (92 points)
2014 Georges Descombes Morgon Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (11/22/2018)
I like the 2014 Beaujolais vintage quite a bit. We had this after Breton Morgon out of magnum and it was an interesting contrast in styles. Descomes is darker with deeper fruit, more like Foillard. (92 points)
2014 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (11/22/2018)
Delicious villages Mersault. Fichet gets a real; tension in the wines that I really like. Good spice added to the fruit with mineral acidity. (91 points)
2014 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (11/22/2018)
So yummy, we drank two bottles. (91 points)
2009 Domaine Lionnet Cornas Terre Brûlée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (11/21/2018)
This was out of magnum. Took a minute to get going and it could, honestly, use about 5 more years. It was one of those wines, and this has happened to me several times with Allemand SS, that seems to be ion a muddle and then suddenly just pops out of the glass and becomes something entirely different. There is still a good bit of chewy tannin down there under the dark fruit and syrah earth. I've had several wines from Lionnet over the past few years and they've impressed me. Nice to have a reasonably priced source of Cornas with typicté. (92 points)
2016 Monteraponi Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (11/19/2018)
Just like the last one. Delicious. (91 points)
2014 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Bourgogne Cuvée Sylvie - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne (11/19/2018)
I didn't have high expectations of this since Esmonin wines usually take a while to show well. It looks like the vintage was kind to this wine. Midweight with sappy fruit and a bit of complexity. Should improve with a year or two, but it's nice to be able to drink it now. (90 points)
1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (11/17/2018)
Not the best showing for this wine, but definitely the nest Burgundy we had on the night. Really weightless and aromatically complex with all of the flavors laced over a taught structure of fine tannin and acid spine. I've had better bottles that hit the upper register of what syrah is capable of and while this was the best wine of the night, it wasn't the best of this wine. (94 points)
1998 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (11/17/2018)
Good, but not the experience I was hoping for. Paired with the 1998 Chave, this was distinctly less of a wine. Signature Allemand Reynards was there, but it was showing a bit rustic and muted. I guess I'll wait a few years or sell them for $500. (91 points)
1999 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (11/17/2018)
Really good and maybe I would have enjoyed it more by itself on another night. Like the Chave and Allemand, not the best bottle I've had of this. Paired with the Vaucrains it was easier and more enjoyable, but wasn't the kaleidoscopically complex wine it has been. The fruit was a bit stunted as well. (91 points)
2008 Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (11/13/2018)
This is hitting a nice stride and paying off on its early promise. The fruit shades towards the darker end of red with some kind of currant/black cherry thing wrapped in earth and with touches of leather and dark soil tones. Mid-weight with the structure starting to harmonize. I got worried about this wine for a minute so it is nice to see it come through. You can tuck into this if you want or wait for a couple more years for it to unwind further. (92 points)
2014 Hobo Wine Company Grenache Sceales Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (11/12/2018)
My favorite domestic grenache. Although that sounds like damning with faint praise, I really like this wine. Bright red fruit on the nose, garrigue type herbs, so it isn't a thing to do with region. It's a bit closed and on the medicinal side, but I like the structure of the wine. 3-5 more years before opening another bottle. (90 points)
2015 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (11/10/2018)
Baby killer! This was awesome. Svelte but with real density of fruit. Mugneret Chaignots never lets me down. Sure, it'll be better in a few years, but fuck waiting for everything. I'm going to start embracing the joys of youngish Burgundy. (93 points)
2014 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers Clos Saint-Marc - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru (11/9/2018)
This was great. Excellent purity and bracing minerality. Hints of flowers, yellow fruits, pears and only the deftest hint of oak. Needs a few more years, for sure. These wines have dramatically changed in style from when I used to buy them in the 90s. The whole range is good and this is as good a Chassagne as one is likely to try. (92 points)
2016 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett trocken - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (11/9/2018)
Laser face. (91 points)
2014 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (11/9/2018)
Fuck you Jean-Marie and your fucking root day. Super angry at me for opening. I get it. I mean, all the components are there in little micro-flashes, then gone. Don't touch for a while and hope history repeats. Generally, I find Fourrier wines more generous than this, but I don't recall young Combes aux Moines. (90 points)
2014 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (11/9/2018)
Bummer, grumpy bottle. Pleasant enough, but I expected more and have had better bottles. Fuck you root day. (90 points)
2015 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis Dessus La Carriere - France, Burgundy, Chablis (11/9/2018)
No change. Good wine. (90 points)
2016 Bruno Duchêne Collioure La Pascole - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Collioure (11/9/2018)
I think this needs more time. Never really popped the way other bottles have. All the components are there, they just don't want to come out. It was a night with a lot of that. Fucking root days. (90 points)
2010 Domaine de la Bongran (Thevenet) Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet - France, Burgundy, M“connais, Viré-Clessé (11/6/2018)
A great version of this wine. Maybe not as graceful as the 2008 among recent vintages, but really graceful and balanced (for a 14% chardonnay with a bit of botrytis, that is). This wine isn't for everyone, but it really delights me. Great with soft ripened cheese of all sorts. (93 points)
1994 Ch“teau Pradeaux Bandol La Rose Folle - France, Provence, Bandol (11/6/2018)
This could be mistaken for nothing else. Pradeaux makes an uncompromising style of wine that you either like or don't (Steph doesn't). Chewy tannin, leathery dark fruit. We did get that hint of Provencal lavender that I love and that note of tree bark that I associate with their mourvèdre. This is a 24 year old wine that seems positively infantile. I can only think of two occasions, bottles 1982 and 1985, when I've had a resolved Pradeaux. I did have bottles of 1991 and 2006 that showed pretty well young, mostly though, young Pradeaux is a mouthful of sand. I don't have another bottle, so who the hell knows when this will be at peak. It was still enjoyable, but intense and chewy. Did I mention the chewy tannin? (92 points)
2013 Kistler Chardonnay Durell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/6/2018)
We have some Kistler that Steph's dad sent us and are working our way through it. Not a particularly interesting wine. Certainly well made with high quality wood framing, but boring. Might have been better if it were all buttery and obnoxiously Californian instead of being so polite. (89 points)
2016 Monteraponi Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (11/5/2018)
In keeping with previous bottles, delicious sangiovese. I think the Radda terroir lifts the fruit which has the leatheryness of Felsina's Berardenga without the rusticity. Not the cheapest CC, but if you can get it under $30, solid value. (91 points)
2015 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/4/2018)
Nope. Really good stuffing but in no mood to play with me today. Left on the counter it was better the next day and didn't fall apart after several days just sitting out. Will be a good vintage of this wine in time. (91 points)
2016 Domaine Gramenon Côtes du Rhône Poignee de Raisins - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (11/4/2018)
I love it when a wine is exactly what I want it to be. Supple texture, generous fruit layered with the tastes of southern France. The kids are making killer wine at Gramenon. (91 points)
2013 Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Les Angles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (11/4/2018)
At first I was psyched, velvety, crunchy Volnay fruit popped right out. Then it slapped me in the face and closed right up. Yields in 2013 were tiny and you can feel the coiled density. At least 5 years and 10 is probably for the best. (90 points)
2016 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/1/2018)
From the basic Chinon blanc to this bottling, Matthieu seems to be mastering this grape. From a part of Croix Boissée where it was so full of limestone that the franc wouldn't grow. The 2016 is rich and dense but framed with stones. Sometimes this wine can be thrustingly mineral, but this is more rock walls around a yellow fruit stream with flowers and honeysuckle growing on the banks. I still haven't figured out the aging curve for these, but who cares, really? (92 points)
2012 Colombera & Garella Lessona Pizzaguerra - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Lessona (11/30/2018)
Pale red color. Nose opens with an ferrous eathiness. Bright red fruits and herbs and lots of other woddsy complex notes emerge as it opens up over an hour or so. Colombera & Garella are making some really interesting wines. We love both this and the Bramaterra. (92 points)
2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (11/28/2018)
Showing quite well with room for growth. Crunchy red fruits, less deeply fruited cherry notes than I've experienced with other vintages. The Chevillon fleshiness plays well with the structure of the vintage. Entering a drinking window, should hold there for a while and improve for folks who like different characteristics. (92 points)
2007 Antoniolo Gattinara San Francesco - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (11/27/2018)
This was really good. I don't mind the modernity in the Antoniolo wines for some reason. I like that bit of polish. They also keep a good frame of acidity to stretch and lift the deep cherry fruit. Tangy, mineral finish. Doesn't feel as solar as 2007 Barolo. Drinking well now but should gain complexity with a few more years. (93 points)
2013 Davide Carlone Boca - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca (11/25/2018)
A new wine to our house stable of Alto Piemonte reds. Sappier and a bit fleshier than the more intense Piane wines. That mix of dark red fruit, blood (iron) and herbs that is becoming a calling card for these wines to me. While very, very good, these lack a little bit of the aromatic complexity of C&G and aren't quite as deep as the Piane. For all that, very, very good wine. (91 points)
2007 Le Piane Boca - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca (11/25/2018)
Not the best bottle of this, but maybe the food match wasn't great. Seemed tired compared to other bottles, although maybe it got too much air. Anyway, the corks on these bottles are soaked about half way up and I didn't get them on immediate release. The others have been substantially better, but I'd love to have a pristine bottle. (89 points)
2014 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (11/24/2018)
Quite dry and linear. I really liked it but Steph was less impressed, she found it on the innocuous side. I think it has the structure and stuffing to age well. These are a bit of a PITA for me to get and not cheap, so I'll have a think on it. Still, worth trying if you haven't had it. (91 points)
2008 Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (11/23/2018)
This is in the zone and was exactly like the previous bottle. (92 points)
2017 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/23/2018)
Crystalline, pure and aromatically complex. Not the most concentrated on the palate but this is a beautiful wine. I think Matthieu is really mastering this wine. It's the best white Chinon, for sure. (92 points)
2014 Georges Descombes Morgon Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (11/22/2018)
I like the 2014 Beaujolais vintage quite a bit. We had this after Breton Morgon out of magnum and it was an interesting contrast in styles. Descomes is darker with deeper fruit, more like Foillard. (92 points)
2014 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (11/22/2018)
Delicious villages Mersault. Fichet gets a real; tension in the wines that I really like. Good spice added to the fruit with mineral acidity. (91 points)
2014 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (11/22/2018)
So yummy, we drank two bottles. (91 points)
2009 Domaine Lionnet Cornas Terre Brûlée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (11/21/2018)
This was out of magnum. Took a minute to get going and it could, honestly, use about 5 more years. It was one of those wines, and this has happened to me several times with Allemand SS, that seems to be ion a muddle and then suddenly just pops out of the glass and becomes something entirely different. There is still a good bit of chewy tannin down there under the dark fruit and syrah earth. I've had several wines from Lionnet over the past few years and they've impressed me. Nice to have a reasonably priced source of Cornas with typicté. (92 points)
2016 Monteraponi Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (11/19/2018)
Just like the last one. Delicious. (91 points)
2014 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Bourgogne Cuvée Sylvie - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne (11/19/2018)
I didn't have high expectations of this since Esmonin wines usually take a while to show well. It looks like the vintage was kind to this wine. Midweight with sappy fruit and a bit of complexity. Should improve with a year or two, but it's nice to be able to drink it now. (90 points)
1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (11/17/2018)
Not the best showing for this wine, but definitely the nest Burgundy we had on the night. Really weightless and aromatically complex with all of the flavors laced over a taught structure of fine tannin and acid spine. I've had better bottles that hit the upper register of what syrah is capable of and while this was the best wine of the night, it wasn't the best of this wine. (94 points)
1998 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (11/17/2018)
Good, but not the experience I was hoping for. Paired with the 1998 Chave, this was distinctly less of a wine. Signature Allemand Reynards was there, but it was showing a bit rustic and muted. I guess I'll wait a few years or sell them for $500. (91 points)
1999 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (11/17/2018)
Really good and maybe I would have enjoyed it more by itself on another night. Like the Chave and Allemand, not the best bottle I've had of this. Paired with the Vaucrains it was easier and more enjoyable, but wasn't the kaleidoscopically complex wine it has been. The fruit was a bit stunted as well. (91 points)
2008 Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (11/13/2018)
This is hitting a nice stride and paying off on its early promise. The fruit shades towards the darker end of red with some kind of currant/black cherry thing wrapped in earth and with touches of leather and dark soil tones. Mid-weight with the structure starting to harmonize. I got worried about this wine for a minute so it is nice to see it come through. You can tuck into this if you want or wait for a couple more years for it to unwind further. (92 points)
2014 Hobo Wine Company Grenache Sceales Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (11/12/2018)
My favorite domestic grenache. Although that sounds like damning with faint praise, I really like this wine. Bright red fruit on the nose, garrigue type herbs, so it isn't a thing to do with region. It's a bit closed and on the medicinal side, but I like the structure of the wine. 3-5 more years before opening another bottle. (90 points)
2015 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (11/10/2018)
Baby killer! This was awesome. Svelte but with real density of fruit. Mugneret Chaignots never lets me down. Sure, it'll be better in a few years, but fuck waiting for everything. I'm going to start embracing the joys of youngish Burgundy. (93 points)
2014 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers Clos Saint-Marc - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru (11/9/2018)
This was great. Excellent purity and bracing minerality. Hints of flowers, yellow fruits, pears and only the deftest hint of oak. Needs a few more years, for sure. These wines have dramatically changed in style from when I used to buy them in the 90s. The whole range is good and this is as good a Chassagne as one is likely to try. (92 points)
2016 Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett trocken - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (11/9/2018)
Laser face. (91 points)
2014 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (11/9/2018)
Fuck you Jean-Marie and your fucking root day. Super angry at me for opening. I get it. I mean, all the components are there in little micro-flashes, then gone. Don't touch for a while and hope history repeats. Generally, I find Fourrier wines more generous than this, but I don't recall young Combes aux Moines. (90 points)
2014 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (11/9/2018)
Bummer, grumpy bottle. Pleasant enough, but I expected more and have had better bottles. Fuck you root day. (90 points)
2015 Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis Dessus La Carriere - France, Burgundy, Chablis (11/9/2018)
No change. Good wine. (90 points)
2016 Bruno Duchêne Collioure La Pascole - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Collioure (11/9/2018)
I think this needs more time. Never really popped the way other bottles have. All the components are there, they just don't want to come out. It was a night with a lot of that. Fucking root days. (90 points)
2010 Domaine de la Bongran (Thevenet) Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet - France, Burgundy, M“connais, Viré-Clessé (11/6/2018)
A great version of this wine. Maybe not as graceful as the 2008 among recent vintages, but really graceful and balanced (for a 14% chardonnay with a bit of botrytis, that is). This wine isn't for everyone, but it really delights me. Great with soft ripened cheese of all sorts. (93 points)
1994 Ch“teau Pradeaux Bandol La Rose Folle - France, Provence, Bandol (11/6/2018)
This could be mistaken for nothing else. Pradeaux makes an uncompromising style of wine that you either like or don't (Steph doesn't). Chewy tannin, leathery dark fruit. We did get that hint of Provencal lavender that I love and that note of tree bark that I associate with their mourvèdre. This is a 24 year old wine that seems positively infantile. I can only think of two occasions, bottles 1982 and 1985, when I've had a resolved Pradeaux. I did have bottles of 1991 and 2006 that showed pretty well young, mostly though, young Pradeaux is a mouthful of sand. I don't have another bottle, so who the hell knows when this will be at peak. It was still enjoyable, but intense and chewy. Did I mention the chewy tannin? (92 points)
2013 Kistler Chardonnay Durell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/6/2018)
We have some Kistler that Steph's dad sent us and are working our way through it. Not a particularly interesting wine. Certainly well made with high quality wood framing, but boring. Might have been better if it were all buttery and obnoxiously Californian instead of being so polite. (89 points)
2016 Monteraponi Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (11/5/2018)
In keeping with previous bottles, delicious sangiovese. I think the Radda terroir lifts the fruit which has the leatheryness of Felsina's Berardenga without the rusticity. Not the cheapest CC, but if you can get it under $30, solid value. (91 points)
2015 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/4/2018)
Nope. Really good stuffing but in no mood to play with me today. Left on the counter it was better the next day and didn't fall apart after several days just sitting out. Will be a good vintage of this wine in time. (91 points)
2016 Domaine Gramenon Côtes du Rhône Poignee de Raisins - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (11/4/2018)
I love it when a wine is exactly what I want it to be. Supple texture, generous fruit layered with the tastes of southern France. The kids are making killer wine at Gramenon. (91 points)
2013 Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Les Angles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (11/4/2018)
At first I was psyched, velvety, crunchy Volnay fruit popped right out. Then it slapped me in the face and closed right up. Yields in 2013 were tiny and you can feel the coiled density. At least 5 years and 10 is probably for the best. (90 points)
2016 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/1/2018)
From the basic Chinon blanc to this bottling, Matthieu seems to be mastering this grape. From a part of Croix Boissée where it was so full of limestone that the franc wouldn't grow. The 2016 is rich and dense but framed with stones. Sometimes this wine can be thrustingly mineral, but this is more rock walls around a yellow fruit stream with flowers and honeysuckle growing on the banks. I still haven't figured out the aging curve for these, but who cares, really? (92 points)
