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IlkkaL

This was surprisingly serious for an entry level Sancerre. The label states a somewhat high 13,5 % ABV but this is not apparent in the wine, at least in any negative way. A little bit was left for day 2 and the wine had not lost one step. If I were to consume any more than a couple of bottles of San...

IlkkaL

Having a single bottle of 2008 Poyferré sleeping in the cellar I wonder whether that vintage represents the current or the old style of this château. Hard to say for sure based on the CT notes that more than anything underline the wine's apparently notable tannins. Current. One could debate when th...

IlkkaL

Having a single bottle of 2008 Poyferré sleeping in the cellar I wonder whether that vintage represents the current or the old style of this château. Hard to say for sure based on the CT notes that more than anything underline the wine's apparently notable tannins.

IlkkaL

I wonder what is of more importance to a winery when it comes to owning a piece of a legendary vineyard: A) being seen as a more respectable operation due producing a Grand Cru or B) whatever profit might come from those few hundred/thousand bottles it gives. Obviously I am not talking about the sta...

IlkkaL

scamhi wrote: ↑
July 17th, 2019, 9:17 am
Ilkka,
nice notes, it might be easier to read of you bold the name of the wine

Done!

IlkkaL

I just returned from an awesome three week road trip in France and might at some point post something on the Travel Forum but since that may either take a lot of time or never actually happen I thought I would write shortly about the wines tasted/enjoyed during the trip, somewhat in the style of Jim...

IlkkaL

Just had the 2016 in a restaurant. Obviously crazy young but this was the sommelier's rec when asked which of their PYCMs would deliver the most pleasure right now and boy it did. No alcohol nor fatness there but instead very bright, electric and chiselled.

IlkkaL

I bought a few bottles of a new vigneron's 2017 VdF Syrah which was sold as something that will be Cornas in future vintages. It drinks very much like what you describe here but was priced at 16.50 € a bottle which seems somewhat reasonable, although of course one can get really serious and structur...

IlkkaL

There were a lot of his wines on Le Soufflot’s list when I was there a few days ago but they were not any cheaper than PYCM’s so I opted for the latter.

IlkkaL

Saw the 2014 Bourgueil Clos Nouveau today in a shop in Bordeaux and wondered: ”Now where have I seen this before?” A quick WB search and another look at this thread made a purchase seem like a no-brainer.

IlkkaL

Funny. We started our French road trip a week ago from Deauville, now in Bordeaux and so far everywhere it has been 23C/73F and cloudy. Not quite what we were expecting but no complaints really as we did not come here for the sunshine in the first place.

IlkkaL

The 2015 Beaujolais from Metras is a beauty and punches way above its designation. FWIW I am not otherwise a fan of the vintage.

IlkkaL

Yikes. It’s the first day of a lengthy road trip in France for me and I am not looking forward to the 40C+ temperatures in the south. Right now 20C in Deauville so no heatwave in sight here.

IlkkaL

http://i.ibb.co/x78hyqF/broses.jpg Some time around a year ago having just bought a bottle of the L'Anglore Tavel I got this idea of putting together a tasting of rosé wines that go against the on-going trend of pale color and timid, inoffensive taste. It took a whole year to come into fruition but...

IlkkaL

Doug Lee wrote: ↑
June 16th, 2019, 6:46 am
Ilkka,

My first experience with this producer. Very nice stuff! Will be trying his Sainte Anne and Les Barres at some point also.

Cheers,
Doug

Oh yeah, one of the most consistently awesome producers out there. All are very nice, Les Barres is great and Les Orizeaux is great+

IlkkaL

Ever since I really got into wine Franck Bonville's Champagnes have always been out there and yet I had never tried one until now. Blanc de blancs was my favorite style of Champagne early on - I suppose it still is - and the reason for this were the likes of Pierre Peters's Cuvée de Réserve, Agrapar...

IlkkaL

One of my favorite rosé NVs, very classy stuff.

IlkkaL

In the midst of this age of "Burgundy is dead at retail", "there is no value in Burgundy" and "Burgundy is a minefield" I continue with a really high success rate in this genre of entry level Bourgognes from respected domaines. This seemed riper fruited than the other 2015 white Burgundies at the sa...

IlkkaL

Welcome to the world of Beaujolais! The good ones reward cellaring in a way that few other wines do, partly because they change relatively quickly, as you're finding. Good stuff to cellar if you have a few producers you like. Thanks Greg! [cheers.gif] I don't know how much new vintages I will be lo...

IlkkaL

Well my surprise of the year so far is here without a doubt. I guess I was yet to have my "aged" Beaujolais epiphany (surely there are some who do not consider 9 years aged) so likely it was only a matter of time. Nevertheless this was nothing short of a complete wine on day 2 and just a great pleas...

IlkkaL

$50 on release or now? In France the young releases are priced 50 € a bottle. Now. Two retailers selling it for $44 and $49 on WS. Wow, now that is a seriously good deal! FWIW I don't personally agree with the claim that there is no value in Burgundy but then again I mostly do my shopping in the sm...

IlkkaL

$50 on release or now? In France the young releases are priced 50 € a bottle.

IlkkaL

Markus S wrote: ↑
June 3rd, 2019, 12:10 pm
So is this a unique grape, or a combination of gruner veltliner/sylvaner?
Never hear of it before (and surprised Keller would work with something less than riesling)

Apparently he also works with Pinot Gris as I have mysterious bottle called Grauburgunder -S- in my cellar.

IlkkaL

2015 Weingut Rings Kallstadter Steinacker Riesling trocken - Germany, Pfalz (2.6.2019) Day one: tight as a drum, not really accessible. 24 hours later: a different story. Yellow colored in the glass and very much yellow fruited on the nose with notes of apple, dandelion and lees/yeast. Bright, arti...

IlkkaL

Yup, that’s La Dernière Goutte alright. Mirrors my experience 100%, although I did clean a healthy amount of those Rhônes too.

IlkkaL

It really depends on the vintage and cuvée. At 13 years, I think most '06 Bandol rouge (not the special cuvées) from most producers are in a great spot where vintages like '99, '01, '95 still need a long time. Though not a blockbuster year, '08s are showing well for the standard cuvées and I have b...

IlkkaL

For those saying this is a perfect time to visit, isn’t it harvest time in many regions? Won’t small wineries be swamped and not seeing visitors? Note, I have never visited a wine region in September, so I thought I would ask. On several occasions when I've tried to arrange a visit for late August ...

IlkkaL

For those saying this is a perfect time to visit, isn’t it harvest time in many regions? Won’t small wineries be swamped and not seeing visitors? Note, I have never visited a wine region in September, so I thought I would ask. On several occasions when I've tried to arrange a visit for late August ...

IlkkaL

Hard to go wrong in terms of weather. Obviously winery visits may be hard to arrange if the harvest is on the way, though.

IlkkaL

I really like Sainte-Anne quite a bit but naturally it is also a stylistic thing. On the other hand I have also really, really enjoyed some other northern Chardonnays from the likes of Henri Giraud, Pouillon etc. Damn, I am really developing a craving for bubbles here!

IlkkaL

Thanks for the TN, Joe. I would be surprised if you had actually found anything less than a solid wine given the shop's track record. Then again this price point is not the treasure trove for grower Champagne it once was, especially when we are talking about a small retailer outside of the Champagne...

IlkkaL

I'm a fan of Bandol but I'm struggling a bit with deciding what to drink and when when it comes to the red wines of the appellation. Obviously there are lots of stylistic differences between the producers and as such hard and fast rules might not be possible but I would love to hear the forumites' t...

IlkkaL

I would also be interested to learn about good restaurants in Annecy, however I am looking for more casual places with ideally focus on wine. It seems like there are quite a bit of tourist trap-ish places in this town. Not an expert, as I am the OP seeking advice, but I have my eye on La Cave in An...

IlkkaL

I would also be interested to learn about good restaurants in Annecy, however I am looking for more casual places with ideally focus on wine. It seems like there are quite a bit of tourist trap-ish places in this town.

IlkkaL

Yes, he runs a well known shop in Tain and if he has time and thinks you know what you are talking about, will just talk for hours about Rhone wines and pour lots of samples. I bought my 1999 Jamet from him. and in my experience his wines show very well when tasted next to top names in the region. ...

IlkkaL

I rather liked his Châteauneuf-du-Pape lieu dit Pignan and I am generally not a big C9dP guy. Also tasted a Côte-Rôtie of his but it had already been open for a few days and showed quite a strong oxidized note. I'm not very surprised that there are not a lot of notes to be found as I have understood...

IlkkaL

It's actually on Saturday that you should visit La Dernière Goutte as that's when they have free casual wine tasting with visiting winemakers. You just might end up chatting with someone like Jean Gonon or André Ostertag while tasting their wines.

IlkkaL

I like their 2014 Mâcon-Chardonnay Clos de la Crochette a lot as well, great value for money.

IlkkaL

Claus Jeppesen wrote: ↑
May 4th, 2019, 1:35 am
Do not forget the Extrait
Buy the 2008 whili you can

I saw your note, will definitely seek this one out as well. Thanks for the tip!

IlkkaL

There are some mags of Argile that are languishing on the shelf at Envoyer. You're tempting me to go buy one. I do like the Vouette wines, too.Looks like the Crayeres showed well for you, Ilkka. I just bought a bunch of the 2014s in the last 60 days, as the wines appeal to me across the range. Than...

IlkkaL

Great post! I've never had the Blanc d'Argile but the Fidele is bursting with character; you'll like it I suspect. Thanks! A friend was just raving about the recent release of Fidèle indeed, really looking forward to having it. Argile takes forever to come around Is that so? I found this release qu...

IlkkaL

IlkkaL

Can't help but stopped by to say that I love the shop. Was pretty sad to hear about the recent threat that forces them (or their online business rather) to change their name.

IlkkaL

In 2012 we started a tradition between six friends of getting together to drink a healthy amount of quality Champagne with sushi and (mostly) French cheeses. Everyone fell in love with the concept immediately and it became an annual event for us although a couple of times we've done it twice in a ca...

IlkkaL

bob parsons alberta wrote: ↑
April 28th, 2019, 2:23 am
Good TN sir, Savoie should get more attention.

Thanks, agreed! I think it will, it just needs the right people to start championing the wines.

IlkkaL

Frank Murray III wrote: ↑
April 28th, 2019, 9:20 am
Ikka, please share your notes after Tuesday. You often drink in the same style of Champagne I enjoy so I appreciate your notes.

Oh, you know I will. It's six rather intriguing wines that I have not tried before, should be a good one.

IlkkaL

Great notes, thanks. Really happy to hear such praise for the Marguet as I will be opening it alongside 5 other Champagnes on Tuesday.

IlkkaL

http://www.potdetain.com/
The kind of wine list one could not imagine in their wildest dreams. Easily worth the detour. Cheap Coche, Raveneau etc.

IlkkaL

Too many good options I suppose. I assume you have read my fairly recent report here on a few days spent in Paris and Lyon in last December so I don't wish to repeat myself other than say that if it is "wine friendly" you are looking for then you should really consider Le Petit Sommelier.

IlkkaL

Hands up, who here likes proper Syrah from the Northern Rhône? Le Crêt Louison is a single vineyard wine from the northern parts of the Saint-Joseph appellation. For some bureaucratic reason it does not belong to the appellation but by all means it is a true Saint-Joseph of really high quality in al...

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