Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
clarets
Ch. Talbot 2016
The old Talbots and Gruaud-Larose wines up through the 1980s include a long list of some of the deepest, most personality-filled wines of the era and a whole lot of us have been waiting very, very patiently to see them do it again. 2016 is a pretty good opportunity to get started. I dunno if this pulls it off, but it is definitely the best Talbot in awhile. Classic old-style austere Bordeaux aromas right from the pop of the cork - with a structure you can almost smell, as much grape skin as grape flesh - but plenty of vibrant ripe fruits in the mix as well. It has the fruit freshness the '14 was lacking but a similarly refreshing tannic bite. With airtime the texture turns tender and the purity and energy of the fruit get cranked up several more notches and at that point it becomes hard to put down.
Ch. Gruaud-Larose 2016
Huh. Much preferred the Talbot. Soft scents of cedar, metal shavings, and gravel. The fruit starts out in restrained blueberry tones but by the end of the bottle has shifted to a lighter profile with apple-skin flavors that are a little odd in the context of a wine just released. There's a leafy, sage-like streak running through it from beginning to end as well as a steady hiss of tannin that's old-style enough to feel woolly but friendly enough you could at least say it's a soft merino wool. I don't think that alone accounts for the fruit being hollower than it feels like it ought to be in context of the vintage, though. (This also brings to mind a 2014 vintage personality, except not one of the better 2014s.) After the Talbot seemed so promising, I was hoping to see some of the same here, but the Talbot while being at least as structured as this had more vivid fruit and more stuffing - this one is really going to have to pull a few rabbits out of its hat if it's going to turn into what this chateau is capable of, because it definitely doesn't seem as if the materials in front of me are enough to do it.
Dom. de Chevalier 2016
Toasty campfire scents followed by bold and massively structured fruit - again, there's as much grape-skin as grape-flesh flesh here, both equally intense. The style difference vis-a-vis the 2015 is dramatic, as the black-cherry fruit here is both denser a few octaves deeper than the bright juicy fruit of the 2015, and the structure in particular makes this a muscular heavyweight relative to a mouthfeel in the '15 that I found almost Burgundian. Still, with some food you can discern an elegant, polished figure behind that structure. I don't quite understand some of the fretting that this has gone modern - sure, the fruit has some primary freshness and gloss but young Bordeaux needn't be entirely fruitless, and it obviously hasn't come at the expense of the signature Pessac personality. One modern element I do salute is the Diam cork - cellar with confidence.
Ch. Beau-Sejour Becot 2016
Can't really decide which I prefer between this and the 2015, but they're very different, and this one was also much more of a moving target, a very dynamic wine that did a lot of shape-shifting over a few hours. It opens with a gush of neon-bright red fruit, cranberry-like and it might almost have had some of the thirst-quenching properties of Beaujolais if the tannin weren't so heavy and muscular. Eventually some blacker fruit elements emerge to deepen the tone although not to the point of being as dark as the 2015 was. And later still those thick tannins tame themselves and give it a texture you could almost call satiny. Even so, it's a heavier, broader-shouldered wine in comparison to the '15 and it's just packed to the gills with stuffing - ought to be a long ager.
Ch. Haut-Brion 1986
Not the best bottle of this I've ever had, not sure whether that's on account of storage history or just being off its peak, but I've had worse bottles too. This has a pretty red-fruited profile, some bricked cherry, plums, and dried rose petal, along with whiffs of mesquite smoke. Structure is basically resolved so it's gentle in texture, no more than medium-weight.
burgundies
Pierre Olivier 1959 Clos de Vougeot, Dom. Thomas Freres
If you were lucky enough to dip into the old Burgundies at Bern's 5-10 years ago, you will recognize this combo of names, which accounted for some of the most glorious, terroir-screaming Burgundies on the list - very occasionally you'll see them pop up at auction (and go largely unnoticed), but it's rare, rarer still to find one in as good a shape as a Bern's bottle. But this still had a bright ruby hue through the glass and a fill barely 2 cm from the cork and the first taste left no room for doubt that this bottle had been stored as well as any. It was still full of sweet fruit heavy on kirsch-like flavors, reflecting either the overt ripeness of the famous "solar vintage" or a more direct infusion of kirschy grenache as was not uncommon in this period (although not, so far as I have ever been able to tell, from this producer) - and a darker, almost tarry element on the back end. Age has given it a gloss and a dense, grippy mouthfeel but it is still more about the fruit than anything.
Dom. de la Romanee-Conti 2002 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet
I was skeptical of some of the recent CellarTracker notes indicating this might be ready to go, since the last time I had it it was a clenched fist of dark matter, but it is indeed in a good spot and has mellowed and shed its tannins much quicker than I would have figured possible. The aromas segue from green stems on opening to the classic Vosne cinnamon spice with more air. The fruit, which used to be so dark with an element of sur-maturite bordering on figgy, has mellowed into pale crimson tones with a gentle concentration - more watercolor than oil. After an hour or so in the decanter to smooth out some of the spiky stemminess the texture turns to pure silk. But while this is in a beautiful spot it's still not a mature wine - so satisfying to drink but probably needs a decade to peak.
Vincent Girardin 2001 Romanee-St.-Vivant
My first bottle of this, almost exactly 10 years ago, was oaky for awhile, and then got really pretty; this one is the opposite, starting out really pretty, and then getting too oaky. It opens with the textbook Vosne cinnamon spice aromatics and a silky texture, but barrel toast and roast coffee take over midway through, also drying out the palate a bit which just doesn't seem to have enough fruit material to absorb it all without turning dull and downcast, as many 2001s are when you go further down the hierarchy, but at this level one expects better.
Dom. Bachelet 2008 Cotes-de-Nuits-Villages
Color was promising but this was hollow with a not-very-appetizing streak of dried leaves.
disorderly
Jerome Lenoir 2004 Chinon
Opened right after the Bachelet in hopes of something more engaging, unfortunately this was also kind of hollow and also had a not-very-appetizing streak of dried leaves, plus a bit of poop.
Edmunds St. John 2016 El Jaleo
Second bottle of three, a year and a half after the first. The first started out Rhone-like before the Spanish side asserted itself; this one comes across much heavier on the garnacha and sweeter and denser than the last one. But I'm still calling it garnacha instead of grenache to reflect the fact that it was good and drinkable.
Daniel Bouland 2009 Morgon Delys
I was kind of afraid to see what's going on here because the Corcelette totally fell apart in the cellar, but this is in fantastic shape and delivering on every bit of the promise it showed on release. The fruit hasn't aged much but most of that dry, rugged tannin it showed on day one has been absorbed, leaving a dense, succulent wine that really shows off that old-vine sève with plenty of youthful energy (more energy than it had in its own youth, in fact, when it was all tied up in that tannin). One of the very best 2009s I've had in the last few years.
Enderle & Moll 2017 Spatburgunder Rose
Terribly flawed, like, really not in commercially acceptable condition. Sub-60 points if you're scoring. Darker, duller flavors than you ever want to see in a rose, and tastes like it's been left out on the counter until it was starting to turn to vinegar. Notes consistent with prior bottle from a few months ago.
domestic
Evening Land 2008 La Source Pinot Noir
This is mostly older, own-rooted portion of Seven Springs somewhat coterminous with what St. Innocent bottled as the Anden Vineyard for a couple years. Evening Land didn't make many friends in the neighborhood when they muscled in but they made some great wine, this one under the consultancy of Dominique Lafon. It has held up extremely well (better than the 2008 Scott Paul I posted on last month) and may have even denser, darker, and more vivid fruit now than it did on release, but within a more refined, streamlined figure. Still shows young and so nicely composed I had been thinking I might have to ditch these (the 2007 is over the hill), but I'm going to hold as this has all the ingredients to be really interesting in another 5 or 10.
Arcadian 2007 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir
Not a lightweight by any means but so drinkable it was practically inhaled by a small group so I don't have any notes.
bubbles
Pierre Peters 2002 Les Chetillons
Surprised. I did not care for this at all. Thick yellow fruit that almost feels gloppy by Champagne standards but hasn't developed much else to compensate for the loss of youthful pizzazz.
Tarlant La Vigne d'Antan [N.V., but the 2006 disgorgement of the 1998/99 vintage blend]
A highly variable wine, I've had at least a dozen times and it's ranged from dull and boring, to bright but boring, to positively glorious, for reasons I have never been able to figure out. This was not *quite* the best bottle of this I've ever had, but close, which is very nice considering a recent streak of duds. Bright pineapply fruit that hardly seems to have aged a day since release freshened up with classic Champagne chalkiness, with a figure that's both lean and fully fleshed out so it's feminine instead of bony. Own-rooted chardonnay.
Ch. Talbot 2016
The old Talbots and Gruaud-Larose wines up through the 1980s include a long list of some of the deepest, most personality-filled wines of the era and a whole lot of us have been waiting very, very patiently to see them do it again. 2016 is a pretty good opportunity to get started. I dunno if this pulls it off, but it is definitely the best Talbot in awhile. Classic old-style austere Bordeaux aromas right from the pop of the cork - with a structure you can almost smell, as much grape skin as grape flesh - but plenty of vibrant ripe fruits in the mix as well. It has the fruit freshness the '14 was lacking but a similarly refreshing tannic bite. With airtime the texture turns tender and the purity and energy of the fruit get cranked up several more notches and at that point it becomes hard to put down.
Ch. Gruaud-Larose 2016
Huh. Much preferred the Talbot. Soft scents of cedar, metal shavings, and gravel. The fruit starts out in restrained blueberry tones but by the end of the bottle has shifted to a lighter profile with apple-skin flavors that are a little odd in the context of a wine just released. There's a leafy, sage-like streak running through it from beginning to end as well as a steady hiss of tannin that's old-style enough to feel woolly but friendly enough you could at least say it's a soft merino wool. I don't think that alone accounts for the fruit being hollower than it feels like it ought to be in context of the vintage, though. (This also brings to mind a 2014 vintage personality, except not one of the better 2014s.) After the Talbot seemed so promising, I was hoping to see some of the same here, but the Talbot while being at least as structured as this had more vivid fruit and more stuffing - this one is really going to have to pull a few rabbits out of its hat if it's going to turn into what this chateau is capable of, because it definitely doesn't seem as if the materials in front of me are enough to do it.
Dom. de Chevalier 2016
Toasty campfire scents followed by bold and massively structured fruit - again, there's as much grape-skin as grape-flesh flesh here, both equally intense. The style difference vis-a-vis the 2015 is dramatic, as the black-cherry fruit here is both denser a few octaves deeper than the bright juicy fruit of the 2015, and the structure in particular makes this a muscular heavyweight relative to a mouthfeel in the '15 that I found almost Burgundian. Still, with some food you can discern an elegant, polished figure behind that structure. I don't quite understand some of the fretting that this has gone modern - sure, the fruit has some primary freshness and gloss but young Bordeaux needn't be entirely fruitless, and it obviously hasn't come at the expense of the signature Pessac personality. One modern element I do salute is the Diam cork - cellar with confidence.
Ch. Beau-Sejour Becot 2016
Can't really decide which I prefer between this and the 2015, but they're very different, and this one was also much more of a moving target, a very dynamic wine that did a lot of shape-shifting over a few hours. It opens with a gush of neon-bright red fruit, cranberry-like and it might almost have had some of the thirst-quenching properties of Beaujolais if the tannin weren't so heavy and muscular. Eventually some blacker fruit elements emerge to deepen the tone although not to the point of being as dark as the 2015 was. And later still those thick tannins tame themselves and give it a texture you could almost call satiny. Even so, it's a heavier, broader-shouldered wine in comparison to the '15 and it's just packed to the gills with stuffing - ought to be a long ager.
Ch. Haut-Brion 1986
Not the best bottle of this I've ever had, not sure whether that's on account of storage history or just being off its peak, but I've had worse bottles too. This has a pretty red-fruited profile, some bricked cherry, plums, and dried rose petal, along with whiffs of mesquite smoke. Structure is basically resolved so it's gentle in texture, no more than medium-weight.
burgundies
Pierre Olivier 1959 Clos de Vougeot, Dom. Thomas Freres
If you were lucky enough to dip into the old Burgundies at Bern's 5-10 years ago, you will recognize this combo of names, which accounted for some of the most glorious, terroir-screaming Burgundies on the list - very occasionally you'll see them pop up at auction (and go largely unnoticed), but it's rare, rarer still to find one in as good a shape as a Bern's bottle. But this still had a bright ruby hue through the glass and a fill barely 2 cm from the cork and the first taste left no room for doubt that this bottle had been stored as well as any. It was still full of sweet fruit heavy on kirsch-like flavors, reflecting either the overt ripeness of the famous "solar vintage" or a more direct infusion of kirschy grenache as was not uncommon in this period (although not, so far as I have ever been able to tell, from this producer) - and a darker, almost tarry element on the back end. Age has given it a gloss and a dense, grippy mouthfeel but it is still more about the fruit than anything.
Dom. de la Romanee-Conti 2002 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet
I was skeptical of some of the recent CellarTracker notes indicating this might be ready to go, since the last time I had it it was a clenched fist of dark matter, but it is indeed in a good spot and has mellowed and shed its tannins much quicker than I would have figured possible. The aromas segue from green stems on opening to the classic Vosne cinnamon spice with more air. The fruit, which used to be so dark with an element of sur-maturite bordering on figgy, has mellowed into pale crimson tones with a gentle concentration - more watercolor than oil. After an hour or so in the decanter to smooth out some of the spiky stemminess the texture turns to pure silk. But while this is in a beautiful spot it's still not a mature wine - so satisfying to drink but probably needs a decade to peak.
Vincent Girardin 2001 Romanee-St.-Vivant
My first bottle of this, almost exactly 10 years ago, was oaky for awhile, and then got really pretty; this one is the opposite, starting out really pretty, and then getting too oaky. It opens with the textbook Vosne cinnamon spice aromatics and a silky texture, but barrel toast and roast coffee take over midway through, also drying out the palate a bit which just doesn't seem to have enough fruit material to absorb it all without turning dull and downcast, as many 2001s are when you go further down the hierarchy, but at this level one expects better.
Dom. Bachelet 2008 Cotes-de-Nuits-Villages
Color was promising but this was hollow with a not-very-appetizing streak of dried leaves.
disorderly
Jerome Lenoir 2004 Chinon
Opened right after the Bachelet in hopes of something more engaging, unfortunately this was also kind of hollow and also had a not-very-appetizing streak of dried leaves, plus a bit of poop.
Edmunds St. John 2016 El Jaleo
Second bottle of three, a year and a half after the first. The first started out Rhone-like before the Spanish side asserted itself; this one comes across much heavier on the garnacha and sweeter and denser than the last one. But I'm still calling it garnacha instead of grenache to reflect the fact that it was good and drinkable.
Daniel Bouland 2009 Morgon Delys
I was kind of afraid to see what's going on here because the Corcelette totally fell apart in the cellar, but this is in fantastic shape and delivering on every bit of the promise it showed on release. The fruit hasn't aged much but most of that dry, rugged tannin it showed on day one has been absorbed, leaving a dense, succulent wine that really shows off that old-vine sève with plenty of youthful energy (more energy than it had in its own youth, in fact, when it was all tied up in that tannin). One of the very best 2009s I've had in the last few years.
Enderle & Moll 2017 Spatburgunder Rose
Terribly flawed, like, really not in commercially acceptable condition. Sub-60 points if you're scoring. Darker, duller flavors than you ever want to see in a rose, and tastes like it's been left out on the counter until it was starting to turn to vinegar. Notes consistent with prior bottle from a few months ago.
domestic
Evening Land 2008 La Source Pinot Noir
This is mostly older, own-rooted portion of Seven Springs somewhat coterminous with what St. Innocent bottled as the Anden Vineyard for a couple years. Evening Land didn't make many friends in the neighborhood when they muscled in but they made some great wine, this one under the consultancy of Dominique Lafon. It has held up extremely well (better than the 2008 Scott Paul I posted on last month) and may have even denser, darker, and more vivid fruit now than it did on release, but within a more refined, streamlined figure. Still shows young and so nicely composed I had been thinking I might have to ditch these (the 2007 is over the hill), but I'm going to hold as this has all the ingredients to be really interesting in another 5 or 10.
Arcadian 2007 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir
Not a lightweight by any means but so drinkable it was practically inhaled by a small group so I don't have any notes.
bubbles
Pierre Peters 2002 Les Chetillons
Surprised. I did not care for this at all. Thick yellow fruit that almost feels gloppy by Champagne standards but hasn't developed much else to compensate for the loss of youthful pizzazz.
Tarlant La Vigne d'Antan [N.V., but the 2006 disgorgement of the 1998/99 vintage blend]
A highly variable wine, I've had at least a dozen times and it's ranged from dull and boring, to bright but boring, to positively glorious, for reasons I have never been able to figure out. This was not *quite* the best bottle of this I've ever had, but close, which is very nice considering a recent streak of duds. Bright pineapply fruit that hardly seems to have aged a day since release freshened up with classic Champagne chalkiness, with a figure that's both lean and fully fleshed out so it's feminine instead of bony. Own-rooted chardonnay.