Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
J.J. Prum 2002 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese
Rocking bottle right from the get-go. To judge from the pale color alone you'd figure this was a new release. But it's moving nicely along its curve and has now reached the point where it tastes functionally dry despite carrying what must surely be an ample amount of RS. The fruit is all racy green apples. End result is textbook Mosel riesling with a rapier-like cut. I didn't notice until after getting this note down that I have an almost identical note on it from five years ago, so I'm guessing this is going to coast along like this for a long while.
Brick House 2008 Boulder Block Pinot Noir
Whole-cluster pinot from own-rooted vines planted in 1990. This was a bona fide holy-crap bottle. It was good ten years ago but I was completely unprepared for the league it's playing in now; in fact, I was mildly afraid that the somewhat disjointed personality it had on release would turn even more disjointed. Instead it's about as harmonious as pinot noir can be. There's an aromatic burst of ripe fruit from the pop of the cork but within a minute or two it's tamed itself into a mellow, brick-complexioned, semi-mature burgundian profile. The first sip brings that on with a texture that's pure butter and silk. Some snappy whole cluster signatures emerge after a couple of hours but I was surprised not to see them sooner and bolder. It had a strong green element on release that seems to have been mostly digested. But the leftovers the next day turn strongly evocative of forestal characteristics halfway between Old World sous bois and PNW pines.
Huet 2009 Le Haut-Lieu Sec
Epic performance, more impressive than I would have figured it had any right to be at just 11 years old. It's got a commanding presence right from the first sip - massive in scale and packed with personality. On the entry it has a chalky, gauzy texture so palpable it feels tannic, then on the back end it solidifies further into a crystal crunch. It's dripping with bright neon-yellow fruit so concentrated it feels like it ought to pour out like a slow treacle but it feels only barely sweet. Over the next couple days it slims down a bit without losing any character. You usually have to wait longer to get a Huet this profound.
honorable mention
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerome Galeyrand 2018 Les Retraits
My first 2018 Burgundy! From ~90-year-old vines in Comblanchien. Heavy CO2 that rates about a 7 or an 8 on the scale of 1 = still wine and 10 = wine stains on my ceiling. You gotta shake it out. Then it's just about the purest, most lip-smacking essence of pinot fruit it's possible to imagine. As vibrantly fresh as if you're knee-deep in the stomping vat but developed enough to have that saucy old-vine sève. I just wish the price hadn't doubled over the last 3 years.
Rocking bottle right from the get-go. To judge from the pale color alone you'd figure this was a new release. But it's moving nicely along its curve and has now reached the point where it tastes functionally dry despite carrying what must surely be an ample amount of RS. The fruit is all racy green apples. End result is textbook Mosel riesling with a rapier-like cut. I didn't notice until after getting this note down that I have an almost identical note on it from five years ago, so I'm guessing this is going to coast along like this for a long while.
Brick House 2008 Boulder Block Pinot Noir
Whole-cluster pinot from own-rooted vines planted in 1990. This was a bona fide holy-crap bottle. It was good ten years ago but I was completely unprepared for the league it's playing in now; in fact, I was mildly afraid that the somewhat disjointed personality it had on release would turn even more disjointed. Instead it's about as harmonious as pinot noir can be. There's an aromatic burst of ripe fruit from the pop of the cork but within a minute or two it's tamed itself into a mellow, brick-complexioned, semi-mature burgundian profile. The first sip brings that on with a texture that's pure butter and silk. Some snappy whole cluster signatures emerge after a couple of hours but I was surprised not to see them sooner and bolder. It had a strong green element on release that seems to have been mostly digested. But the leftovers the next day turn strongly evocative of forestal characteristics halfway between Old World sous bois and PNW pines.
Huet 2009 Le Haut-Lieu Sec
Epic performance, more impressive than I would have figured it had any right to be at just 11 years old. It's got a commanding presence right from the first sip - massive in scale and packed with personality. On the entry it has a chalky, gauzy texture so palpable it feels tannic, then on the back end it solidifies further into a crystal crunch. It's dripping with bright neon-yellow fruit so concentrated it feels like it ought to pour out like a slow treacle but it feels only barely sweet. Over the next couple days it slims down a bit without losing any character. You usually have to wait longer to get a Huet this profound.
honorable mention
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerome Galeyrand 2018 Les Retraits
My first 2018 Burgundy! From ~90-year-old vines in Comblanchien. Heavy CO2 that rates about a 7 or an 8 on the scale of 1 = still wine and 10 = wine stains on my ceiling. You gotta shake it out. Then it's just about the purest, most lip-smacking essence of pinot fruit it's possible to imagine. As vibrantly fresh as if you're knee-deep in the stomping vat but developed enough to have that saucy old-vine sève. I just wish the price hadn't doubled over the last 3 years.