perusing the wine list of the restaurang im going to tonight...

they have a very limited wine list but for some reason they carry a bottle of 99 Clos des Goisses Philipponnat for what to me looks very very cheap (well not really but i thought it would be far more expensive)... anyone know how it is? dont wanna spend a bunch of money if theres something im missing, like a bad vintage or something?

follow up question: looked around google for a bit, some ppl seem to recommend decanting clos des goisses this young. opinions on that? i dont think this place even has a full time sommelier at this time so id rather ask ppl in the know...

also, do restaurants in general offer different sized flutes? seems like ordering it with a wider flute would be an OK compromise if u dont quite have the balls to decant, or u dont trust the wait staff to do it properly...

I'm currently drinking a 2002 Marc Colin et Fils Puligny-Montrachet "Les Enseignères". I bought it at auction and despite being a named vineyard, it isn't Premier Cru, something I only discovered after I bought it. I had a 2002 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er (from a different producer) with a friend just recently and it was past it, so I didn't hold out a lot of hope for this wine to have held on very well. That's why I cracked it at home by myself. However it's an excellent wine, right at its peak I would wager. Plenty of that cashew nut nose I love in white burgundy and the palate is pure glorious fruit with plenty of acid to balance things out. It's not up there with the best white burgs I've had - it would need more complexity for that - but it's an excellent wine nontheless and a good example of how the "1er Cru" label isn't the be all and end all. Will have to down the whole bottle I'm afraid.

that's not good to hear at all that 02 is looking to be a premox vintage too in white burgundy. Its been starting to rear its head for some producers. I'm glad that the Marc Colin was fine as they have had some problems with premox

normally 02 would be a very young vintage for white burgs, but in the premox era, these wines need to be drunk up before they go bad. Here is a site that is a goldmine for premox problems:

http://oxidised-burgs.wikispaces.com/


I've contributed to it and others have contributed a whole lot to it. A great site to use as a reference before buying any older white burg that you aren't cellaring

I had a bottle of Clos des Goisses 1988 last year at Christmas (the notes are in this thread). It definitely needed decanting, and I would guess that this one as well.

holy **** rly?

Thought I might mention that I realised the other wine was Marc Colin as well, it was the Marc Colin et Fils 2002 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain. I have another bottle so we'll see whether that's also oxidised.

Edit: Just noticed that there's one guy that has reviewed it twice on CellarTracker, once with a glowing report about how great it was and the other simply reading "Premoxed".

premox really sucks. It has ruined a whole lot of white burgs and its a real joy to drink a mature white burg.

What sucks even more is that we won't know if it's been solved or not for a good 5 or so more years. You can't really expect the 03s to show all too well as they should have a shorter lifespan to begin with because of the vintage, so we'll have to see about the 04s, 05s, and 07s over the next decade or so




in happier news, I'm gonna be going to a 07 CdP tasting tonight, so hopefully I'll be able to get somewhat of a handle on what is supposed to be a monster vintage(at least according to parker). I've had a couple of high end ones so far and I haven't really been blown away, but I've enjoyed a few base cuvees and have liked a lot of CdRs. Tonight will mostly be focusing on the high-end cuvees, so we'll see if they are to my liking or not

last thursday I was at a 07 CdP tasting. For those not familiar with the vintage, Herr Parker declared that it was the greatest vintage in one region in his 30 years of writing about wine. We had a good selection of higher end cuvees that recieved some very big scores from Parker

so, here are my notes on the wines:

WINEFLOCK- 2007 CDPS - Bob's house, Northbrook IL (12/3/2009)

I got a chance to go to this due to a last minute cancellation. All wines were blind for us, though bob knew what was being brought so that there wouldn't be any duplicates. This presented a great chance for us to get a good feel for the much-hyped vintage
starting bubbly

• N.V. Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve - France, Champagne
  nose: real crisp and lively nose of green apples, bread, bits of baking spices, white fruits and some tart citrus tones. Real good depth that just sings out of the glass
  
  taste: excellent medium+ acidity and tasty tones of white fruits, green apples, bread, and tart citrus tones. Very smooth feel that seems to glide across the palate
  
  overall: this was a 96 disgorgement. Was shocking at how youthful it was. The color and acidity were just perfectly in place and pristine, this was a real lovely champagne that was extremely delicious (92 pts.)

The main event
there was one "ringer" thrown in here. One very noticeable quality in the wines is a cleaner approach in the fruit then would be traditionally expected from CdPs, could this be due to the vintage or cleaner barrels and cellar conditions?

• 2007 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: nice and tasty nose that is more towards the red spectrum with tones of red fruits, red cherries, a good amount of herbs, mesquite, and a touch of licorice. Very good depth and has a tasty side to it that is really good
  
  taste: real good and suave medium feel with real good length and good tannins. Well balanced tones of black and red licorice, mesquite, red fruits, red cherries, and a good dose of herbs. The tannins are good, but it isn't extremely tannic by any means
  
  overall: Group 9, my 4. This is obviously this is very young right now. The feel is really good already and more time would really add to that. The depth is good, but it should develop even further with more age. There is real good promise on this, but it certainly does need to develop. Doesn't come off as a long distance runner, this should be real good in another 3-4 years and seems like it has the ability to go about 15-18 fairly well (93 pts.)
• 2007 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: real good and attractive nose that has a seductive side to it with tones of black fruits, black cherries, hoison sauce, a touch of underbrush, and a good helping of dark berry tones. Excellent depth with a real sense to it
  
  taste: excellent supporting tannins right now that make themselves know, but aren't overbearing. Extremely smooth and polished medium feel with tasty tones of black fruits, black cherries, hoison sauce, and bits of brambly tones
  
  overall: group no7 my no3. This is very tasty right now, and certainly needs some time to fully show itself off. This is just a flat out mega steal at around $35 a bottle. This certainly has the tannin to last a good while and should be rather enjoyable over the course of its life too (93 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: extremely dark and very extracted nose that borders on over ripe with tones of black cherries, herbs, black licorice, black fruits, some hot stones and a good amount of oak. There is good complexity, but this is a bit much for me right now
  
  taste: Big, bold, and very extracted with rich medium/full tones of black cherries, melted black licorice, black fruits, and a good dose of oak. Extremely big on the palate and doesn't have big tannins to it either
  
  overall: group no8 my no9. This seemed to have a real big amount of syrah in the blend, and it came off as more aussie type syrah as it was over ripe in a way. Extremely bold and rich, this certainly needs time, but its hard to tell where this will go with time and its not too flattering of a wine right now to begin with (88 pts.)
• 2007 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Quet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: now we're talking, this is beautifully deep with a nose that makes you seem to think that you are walking through a field of all sorts of fresh and wild herbs. A cornucopia of herbal notes of ginger root, juniper, thyme, sage, and all sorts of other herbal tones that are hard to pin down. Great depth with additional tones of hoison sauce, dark red fruits, dark red cherries, licorice, and some bits of beefy tones
  
  taste: extremely polished and smooth medium feel with real good tannins to show off the youth of the wine. Amazing depth on the palate with all sorts of tones of juniper, thyme, sage, dark red fruits, licorice, and dark red cherries
  
  overall: group no5, my no1. This was a polarizing wine. For three of us this was our number 1 wine by a good margin on the night, others weren't as enamored with it. For me, this was just firing on as many cylinders as a young CdP can fire on, and it was just chock full of class and depth that made it a real treat to smell and taste. The nose was kicking butt and taking names as it was a real sensual experience, and this is an extremely special wine that will only get better, unfortunately there is very little of it to go around (96 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Etienne Gonnet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: excellent depth with well balanced tones of hot stones, black fruits, red fruits, red cherries, berries, and some bits of herbs. There is a real good and creamy quality to the nose that is rather attractive
  
  taste: Real good medium feel with sneaky tannins and tasty tones of black licorice, red cherries, black and red fruits, and a good amount of ripe berry tones. Excellent depth with some real good polish on the feel to boot
  
  overall: group no4, my no6. This was real nice, and extremely young. Should add more depth and have the flavors pronounce themselves more with sideways time. Obviously primary, but there is a real tastiness to the wine that makes it really enjoyable (92 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: real good depth with delicious tones of red cherries, red currants, all sorts of red licorice tones, and some real good herbal tones. The nose doesn't seem to be giving off everything that it wants to give as it is a bit tight at the moment
  
  taste: excellent medium feel with good supporting tannins and tones of red fruits, black licorice, red licorice, herbs, and red cherries, Excellent depth and is showing off a bit more on the palate with a real smooth feel. The tannins bite a bit on the back end, but they aren't overbearing
  
  overall: group no1, my no7. Here again I was pretty off from how the rest of the group voted. I certainly liked the wine a lot and it has a real attractive quality to it presently. The depth is real good and the tannins are well in place right now, needs a bit to fully come together (91 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: very tight nose that takes some serious coaxing to reveal tones of herbs, dark red cherries, bits of garrigue, dark red fruits and a good dose of red licorice. The nose just doesn't seem to fully budge too much
  
  taste: rather brutish on the palate right now with some chewy tannins and tones of black and red licorice, meaty tones, herbs, dark red cherries, and some bits of garrigue. The tannins are pretty big right now, but what is underneath is real good
  
  overall: group no6, my no8. This just didn't really come out and play tonight and needs a significant amount of downtime before it should be opened. This one does come off as a long distance runner and a good amount of patience is going to be required, but this should reward those that are patient in a big way (91 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine La Bouissiere Gigondas - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas
  nose: very pepper nose filled with white pepper, tellicherry peppercorns, herbs, dark red cherries, black fruits, dark berries, and a touch of garrigue. Very different from the other wines that were in the tasting
  
  taste: delicious medium feel with good tannins and tones of white pepper, tellicherry peppercorns, melted licorice, black fruits, and dark red cherries. Good tannins support the wine with real good depth on the palate
  
  overall: group no2, my no5. This was really good, and it stuck out in the tasting as the lone non-CdP in the bunch. Has a slightly more rustic quality to it, but has a real intriguing side to it that is well worth digging into as it ages. Was fairly open right now and should improve a bit with age (93 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: real deep and beefy nose filled with roast beef tones, dark red cherries, all sorts of wild herbs, black fruits, dark berries, and some bits of hoison sauce. Real seductive with a lot of charm like a cool 50s hollywood blonde
  
  taste: real rich medium/full feel with excellent tannins and balance. Wonderful tones of hoison sauce, roast beef, wild herbs, and black fruits all balance out very well together. While this was full bodied and had a richness to it, it was far from as extracted as the boisrenard
  
  overall: group no3, my no2. A real pleasure. This has a lot of potential and will need time to work itself out and smooth down the rough edges. Great depth on both the nose and palate, this really had it going on, and is another great buy at its price. (94 pts.)

ending sticky
well, actually there were two as Bob also supplied a 92 BA that was really good, but I couldn't find the producer in CT and the label was an overload of info

• 1983 Château Suduiraut - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  nose: excellent and mature nose of beeswax, apricots, nectarines, and tasty tones of warm honey. Real good depth and has a real succulent quality to it
  
  taste: very delicious medium feel with good medium acidity and loads of beeswax, nectarines, and honey tones. Real great botrytis flavors that balance out very well together with real good depth
  
  overall: This had a real nice medium golden color. Was very fresh out of the bottle and has a lot of life left, but is mature and really ready to go right now. Well balanced with excellent aromatics and feel on the palate, this was very enjoyable and a great way to cap the evening (92 pts.)

There was a lot of quality in the wines. They are extremely young, so that always has to be taken into account. I personally wouldn't call it the greatest vintage ever, but from this cross section, it certainly fits in the top vintage run with 98, 01, and 05.
Posted from CellarTracker

Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir "La Bauge Au-dessus" 2002

Nose is very pungent of dark cherry, plums, and brown sugar. Definitely some smoke, herbs, slightly barnyardy, but not much. Right when opened, I thought it was pretty young: lots of tannin, surprising amount of fruit. But, after a couple hours, the fruit on the palate lost a lot of punch and it started tasting slightly chalky. The finish seemed to shrink pretty fast as well.

But, this sounds to harsh: the wine was very enjoyable, as most of ABC's wines are. Maybe a little too mature, but still a great bottle, especially for a monday evening. Jim Clendenen's style is a welcome/enjoyable change from the over the top, ridiculousness that you see out of California pinot/wine in general.

something to look out for from ABC for the 09 vintage is a ton more wines from quality vineyards. With a lot of wineries scaling back and going under there were a lot of grapes on the vines and Jim Clendenen snapped a whole lot up for great prices, and he plans on offering a lot of pinot for around 20 a btl

Just picked up some single vineyard Chardonnays from Stephane Tissot of the Jura. I've yet to try them but have heard nothing but great things.

Any experience with them, or Jura in general?

Just got an email from a winery I am a member of, sooo taking them up on the case deal and cellaring a few bottles.

Please Join us Friday Night, December 11, 2009 5:00-7:30 P.M. to sample our new release of 2007 Insiders Syrah and 2006 Port, Coastview in this Winters Insiders Club. We are staying open late as a convenience to you so that you may pick up your wines for your enjoyement. Your Wines are ready for pick up. VIP Members who haven't picked up your wine, please stop by this Friday and sample your wine 2007 Tina Marie.

For December only Savannah Chanelle is offering you great savings on full cases of our 2006 Pinot Noir, Russian River $180.00 ($15.00 per bottle) and our 2007 Syrah, Coastview. $120.00 ($10.00 per bottle). Holiday gift items are 25%.

Just wanted to see what anyone was planning on drinking for christmas, hanukkah, and new years. Please post any notes of wines that anyone drinks, they don't have to be elaborate as something is always better then nothing

Right now, for christmas eve, I'm planning on a 83 Beychevelle with some filet mignon. Don't know what I'll be having for new year's yet

I've got some 1996 Pichon-Baron that will probably be opened.

looking forward to hearing about it. My friends and I have been thinking of a PB vs PLL vert from 88-now so that we'd cover the axa years for Baron


here's what I had last night with some filet mignon:

• 1983 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (12/24/2009)
  nose: mature and regal nose of cedar, tobacco, black currants, dark cherries, some spice box tones, and some bits of violets. Great depth and layering, this is just sumptuous and is almost etheral on the nose. Textbook and beautiful aged bordeaux with that st julien elegance that comes through with age
  
  taste: pretty medium feel with resolved tannins. Beautiful and elegant on the palate with great depth and layering that comes with age and well balanced tones of tobacco, cedar box, dark red cherries, cranberries, spice box, violets, and some currants
  
  overall: this paired very well with a filet. A magnificent and well aged bordeaux that is kicking on all cylinders. This can certainly age further, but one would not be embarassed opening this at all. Resolved, this feels like its at a great plateau that should be good for another 10 or so years in a good cellar. A wonderful st julien that shows off the elegance of the region and has a real classy sense to it (93 pts.)
  
• N.V. Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Cuvée No. 733 - France, Champagne (12/24/2009)
  nose: crisp and lively nose of pears, green and red delicious apples, minerals, some white fruits, and some bits of crushed rocks and peach blossoms. Excellent depth and expressive with a more precise and focused style to it
  
  taste: delicious medium feel with really good medium+ acidity that comes off more as crisp then searing. Well styled and focused tones of green apples, pears, bits of white florals, honeydew melons, and mineral tones
  
  overall: a great bubbly. Well defined with real good depth and expression on both the nose and palate. This can age a bit, but is just so delicious and succulent right now that one would not be ashamed to drink it (92 pts.)
  
• 2000 Château Sansonnet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (12/24/2009)
  nose: real good nose of sweet cassis, black currant jam, graphite, cedar box, spice tones, along with sour berries, and rich dark red cherries. Has a sweetness to it on the nose
  
  taste: excellent medium feel with good supporting tannins and rich tones of black cherries, sour berries, cassis, cedar box and some bits of herbs
  
  overall: this was a pop n pour. It showed very well under the circumstances and the tannins weren't as big as would be expected. This should really be in it's zone in another 5 years, and comes off as being able to hold it for a while (90 pts.)
  

Posted from CellarTracker



the sansonnet was a late add and pop because I was already kinda drunk and wanted to keep on drinking

I have 6 bottles Macle Cotes de Jura. It is really really strange... extremely oxidized and very sherry like. The first bottle I was convinced was corked... but people have told me it is just the wine. It came highly recommended... so I'll give it another shot. I also have had Ganevat Pinot from Jura and thought it was great. Very funky.

It sounds like you have Vin Jaune, a oxidized, nutty, sherry like wine made in the region.

96 Harlan was singing last week...

I see Jay Miller has been given the boot from reviewing Australian wines for Wine Advocate. In his place we have a female Master of Wine who appears to really know her Oz wine. Very pleased with this development as I think Jay Miller is hopeless. Hopefully we'll see a decreased emphasis on overextracted SA shiraz and a shift of the spotlight onto more deserving regions and wines.

I think any minimizing of miller in any way, shape, or form is a great thing. Now just get him out of oregon, washington, and spain

Ahhhh....well said.


A few wines over the New Year's my gf and I took down
-2004 volver
-2006 lewelling cab (had to try one from my order)
-2003 lafaurie-peyraguey (my first of three bottles)

Aldo Contero Barolo 1994 (This is the Bussia Soprana bottling, but he didn't put it on the label until later vintages).

Showing obvious maturity in its crimson tinged edges, this is still very enjoyable (especially with the Lamb that my girlfriend made). Bright cherry, leather, and chalk fill the nose. The palate is medium bodied, quite delicate and balanced. A little sweet. The finish is a little short though.

Very enjoyable, but would have been better a couple of years ago.

I'm a bigtime newb when it comes to wine and have not tasted it many times at all and when I do it's mostly cheap I guess. Mostly I just try it if I am at a restaurant like The Keg, or Boston Pizza if someone orders it..usually red wine and I don't like it at all. Is it most likely that I'm just not a wine person or just that the wine I drink sucks? Tried one called Merlot (guess there is different kinds of this) and that tasted horrible too.

If I knew this thread existed I would have been contributing here for a while. I've been collecting wine for a few years now, and try to drink something nice at least once a week or so. Will be posting my tasting notes from now on. I'll start with a 1993 Chateau Musar I drank with braised lamb shanks last night.

Popped and poured, drank over the course of about 2 hours. Big, gorgeous nose of lots of red fruit, fig, cherry, strawberry, prune, leather, forest, and a bit of barnyardy/meaty funk. The nose definitely developed over the course of the night, and in time revealed some herbal/spice notes. Palate initially started off mostly red fruits with some nice earth notes, but after about a half hr in the glass some more subtle herbal/spice notes emerged. This was one of the best wines I've had in quite some time, and the best of the 3 Musar's I have tried (98, 97). Drinks like a really nice aged Bordeaux. For those unfamiliar with Musar, it is the only wine I know of that comes from Lebanon, and I highly recommend finding some since it is offers good value imo.

94 pts