We did a mostly dry January. On the 18th with Noel we only had a couple glasses out of each bottle as the first two didn't go well with dinner.
2014 Savart Champagne Premier Cru Le Mont Benoit - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (1/30/2019)
Really good fruit and density with spices from the wood framing it nicely. I really like the feel and cut of this wine and it seems much gentler than its meager dosage would indicate. It's very young but I've never had it so wanted to go ahead and try one. Should be great in another 5 years or so when everything has come together a bit more. (92 points)
2009 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (1/30/2019)
Wow, I really love this wine. The interplay of ripe fruit, acid and minerals hits me right in my lizard brain. You can see some of the secondary characteristics of chenin starting to think about entering the fray. I really don't know what the trajectory of this wine is. I really love it now so will continue to drink it over the next couple of years and see what happens from there. I'm really glad that Matthieu insisted on drinking this a few months back as it forced me to take another look at a producer that I was underwhelmed with. It seems like the wines have subtly steered more towards my sweet spot although I need to try more than just this one wine to be sure. Really delicious and great with food. (94 points)
1999 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (1/30/2019)
Still has a bright ruby color. You can see the outlines of the last bottle from 8 years ago, that sense of deep fruit is still there, though it is transitioning into something else. Good mineral laced dark cherry and earth. The tannin poke out a little at the end, so maybe I should hold my last bottle several more years to let those fold back in by which point I expect for there to be more development towards the sous-bois and other mature characteristics that are just now starting to show. This is an obviously very good to excellent wine that is in a somewhat awkward spot for me. I would like it either more velvety with the fruit, or more velvety with maturity. (91 points)
2007 Ch“teau Rayas Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape (1/28/2019)
This is a huge vintage Pignan. It's interesting how different big years like this are from surrounding "smaller" years like 2004 and 2006. Intense fruit that is of the macerated sort and you definitely feel the spirits in the wine, with a bit of kirsch. It is still recognizably Rayas but with everything dialed up a notch and I'm not sure that's a great thing. It has more tannin than any Rayas I can remember. My concern is that the tannin may never subside enough to get this to a full equilibrium, they may always have a grittiness to them. This bottle was a relative bargain (less than current retail off a wine list) and I'm pretty sure I won't pay full freight for this but it was still a really enjoyable experience and the wine should be better in a few years. (91 points)
2015 Podere le Boncie (Giovanna Morganti) Le Trame Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (1/25/2019)
I don't have much experience with this producer, but my early ones formed impressions of inconsistent, potentially unstable and flawed wines, though with obviously good material. This bottle showed beautiful, deep fruit with savory mineral notes underneath. It wasn't explosive, rather deep, long and structured. It never really opened up over a couple hours, in fact it seemed to close in on itself. I'm grading it somewhat conservatively because of my lack of experience, but if things fall right, this will be exemplary sangiovese. There is no more left in my market and this was my only bottle. I'll definitely get some 2016 for the cellar. (90 points)
2007 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (1/19/2019)
Beautiful dark ruby color and a fantastic nose of dark cherry, some florals but also a lot of warm spice notes. Really beguiling on the nose. Good shape to the wine, but if I had one gripe it's that the finish didn't live up to the nose and palate. I found the tannins a bit coarse and rustic which stands in contrast to the nobility of the rest of the wine. I'm not sure that the rest of the wine will outlast the tannic structure so I would look to drink my bottles in the next 5-10 years with foods that can handle it. (93 points)
2007 Damien Laureau Savennières Le Bel Ouvrage - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (1/19/2019)
I think that this wine is either on the downslope or in a tweener phase. My bet would be on the former. The deep gold color gives a hint of the brassy chenin underneath. Some definite wooliness matched with some stones and roasted nuts. I think brassy is the perfect word for this and if you've had chenin with that profile, it'll feel just right. Drink up or hold until it gets truly old, I guess. (88 points)
2006 Eric Rodez Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (1/19/2019)
This wine seemed to really be in stride. Classic pinot noir dominated notes with some maturing biscuits on top. I really liked the shape and structure as it was still fresh and lively, but there was a sense of unclenching and broadening out. If I had any in the cellar, I'd start tucking into them but it should drink well for quite a while and really as long as you want depending on your taste for old Champagne. (93 points)
1998 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (1/19/2019)
So much for off vintages. This wine surprised me with its dark color and a whiff of oak on the nose. That quickly dissipated to allow the maturing fruit and subtle earth to pop up. Hints of some purple flowers and just a whiff of wood (not oak, but forest) and minerals. Definitely in a drinking state and nicely concentrated. This might get even better for those who want even more mature wines. I liked it where it was sitting and would happily drink more whenever offered. My guess is that this is in a drinking plateau where it will stay for a while. (93 points)
2013 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barbera d'Alba Pre-Phylloxera - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (1/18/2019)
I'm not really sure what to make of this wine as it is my first bottle and I may have had outsized expectations. It is really clenched with drying tannins. There seems to be a deep core of fruit, but it only peaks out here and there, it doesn't really want to unwind. I'm hopeful that time will help it reveal its true self. It was a little better the next day, but lacked the richness and depth that I was hoping for. We'll see, but this has the whiff of an expensive miss and I'm kind of regretting buying four bottles instead of one. (87 points)
2013 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Colline Novaresi Agamium - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi (1/18/2019)
I'm not really sure what's going on here. Very, very lean and light. I expected some of that given that it is Alpine nebbiolo, but this is almost taking it to an extreme. It also seems to lack structure for development. I bought a case foo this without trying it first with the idea that it would be an inexpensive weeknight option to keep me away from the Ghemme proper. That may have been a mistake. (80 points)
2015 Caves Coopératives de Donnas Donnas - Italy, Valle d'Aosta, Donnas (1/18/2019)
It took a few tries, but we finally found a bottle that was giving us more of what we wanted to match with dinner. This lacks the depth and verve of previous bottles, so I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Maybe it was a root day or something, but this was my first drinking evening in 18 days and we just couldn't get it right. Maybe I should have stayed on the wagon. I'm hopeful other bottles will show more like previous ones that tonight's bottle. (89 points)
2014 Savart Champagne Premier Cru Le Mont Benoit - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (1/30/2019)
Really good fruit and density with spices from the wood framing it nicely. I really like the feel and cut of this wine and it seems much gentler than its meager dosage would indicate. It's very young but I've never had it so wanted to go ahead and try one. Should be great in another 5 years or so when everything has come together a bit more. (92 points)
2009 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (1/30/2019)
Wow, I really love this wine. The interplay of ripe fruit, acid and minerals hits me right in my lizard brain. You can see some of the secondary characteristics of chenin starting to think about entering the fray. I really don't know what the trajectory of this wine is. I really love it now so will continue to drink it over the next couple of years and see what happens from there. I'm really glad that Matthieu insisted on drinking this a few months back as it forced me to take another look at a producer that I was underwhelmed with. It seems like the wines have subtly steered more towards my sweet spot although I need to try more than just this one wine to be sure. Really delicious and great with food. (94 points)
1999 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (1/30/2019)
Still has a bright ruby color. You can see the outlines of the last bottle from 8 years ago, that sense of deep fruit is still there, though it is transitioning into something else. Good mineral laced dark cherry and earth. The tannin poke out a little at the end, so maybe I should hold my last bottle several more years to let those fold back in by which point I expect for there to be more development towards the sous-bois and other mature characteristics that are just now starting to show. This is an obviously very good to excellent wine that is in a somewhat awkward spot for me. I would like it either more velvety with the fruit, or more velvety with maturity. (91 points)
2007 Ch“teau Rayas Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape (1/28/2019)
This is a huge vintage Pignan. It's interesting how different big years like this are from surrounding "smaller" years like 2004 and 2006. Intense fruit that is of the macerated sort and you definitely feel the spirits in the wine, with a bit of kirsch. It is still recognizably Rayas but with everything dialed up a notch and I'm not sure that's a great thing. It has more tannin than any Rayas I can remember. My concern is that the tannin may never subside enough to get this to a full equilibrium, they may always have a grittiness to them. This bottle was a relative bargain (less than current retail off a wine list) and I'm pretty sure I won't pay full freight for this but it was still a really enjoyable experience and the wine should be better in a few years. (91 points)
2015 Podere le Boncie (Giovanna Morganti) Le Trame Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (1/25/2019)
I don't have much experience with this producer, but my early ones formed impressions of inconsistent, potentially unstable and flawed wines, though with obviously good material. This bottle showed beautiful, deep fruit with savory mineral notes underneath. It wasn't explosive, rather deep, long and structured. It never really opened up over a couple hours, in fact it seemed to close in on itself. I'm grading it somewhat conservatively because of my lack of experience, but if things fall right, this will be exemplary sangiovese. There is no more left in my market and this was my only bottle. I'll definitely get some 2016 for the cellar. (90 points)
2007 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (1/19/2019)
Beautiful dark ruby color and a fantastic nose of dark cherry, some florals but also a lot of warm spice notes. Really beguiling on the nose. Good shape to the wine, but if I had one gripe it's that the finish didn't live up to the nose and palate. I found the tannins a bit coarse and rustic which stands in contrast to the nobility of the rest of the wine. I'm not sure that the rest of the wine will outlast the tannic structure so I would look to drink my bottles in the next 5-10 years with foods that can handle it. (93 points)
2007 Damien Laureau Savennières Le Bel Ouvrage - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (1/19/2019)
I think that this wine is either on the downslope or in a tweener phase. My bet would be on the former. The deep gold color gives a hint of the brassy chenin underneath. Some definite wooliness matched with some stones and roasted nuts. I think brassy is the perfect word for this and if you've had chenin with that profile, it'll feel just right. Drink up or hold until it gets truly old, I guess. (88 points)
2006 Eric Rodez Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (1/19/2019)
This wine seemed to really be in stride. Classic pinot noir dominated notes with some maturing biscuits on top. I really liked the shape and structure as it was still fresh and lively, but there was a sense of unclenching and broadening out. If I had any in the cellar, I'd start tucking into them but it should drink well for quite a while and really as long as you want depending on your taste for old Champagne. (93 points)
1998 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (1/19/2019)
So much for off vintages. This wine surprised me with its dark color and a whiff of oak on the nose. That quickly dissipated to allow the maturing fruit and subtle earth to pop up. Hints of some purple flowers and just a whiff of wood (not oak, but forest) and minerals. Definitely in a drinking state and nicely concentrated. This might get even better for those who want even more mature wines. I liked it where it was sitting and would happily drink more whenever offered. My guess is that this is in a drinking plateau where it will stay for a while. (93 points)
2013 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barbera d'Alba Pre-Phylloxera - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (1/18/2019)
I'm not really sure what to make of this wine as it is my first bottle and I may have had outsized expectations. It is really clenched with drying tannins. There seems to be a deep core of fruit, but it only peaks out here and there, it doesn't really want to unwind. I'm hopeful that time will help it reveal its true self. It was a little better the next day, but lacked the richness and depth that I was hoping for. We'll see, but this has the whiff of an expensive miss and I'm kind of regretting buying four bottles instead of one. (87 points)
2013 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Colline Novaresi Agamium - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi (1/18/2019)
I'm not really sure what's going on here. Very, very lean and light. I expected some of that given that it is Alpine nebbiolo, but this is almost taking it to an extreme. It also seems to lack structure for development. I bought a case foo this without trying it first with the idea that it would be an inexpensive weeknight option to keep me away from the Ghemme proper. That may have been a mistake. (80 points)
2015 Caves Coopératives de Donnas Donnas - Italy, Valle d'Aosta, Donnas (1/18/2019)
It took a few tries, but we finally found a bottle that was giving us more of what we wanted to match with dinner. This lacks the depth and verve of previous bottles, so I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Maybe it was a root day or something, but this was my first drinking evening in 18 days and we just couldn't get it right. Maybe I should have stayed on the wagon. I'm hopeful other bottles will show more like previous ones that tonight's bottle. (89 points)