Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and discussion

Steve and Nick,

First bottles of Giacosa I purchased (pretty sure anyway) so they are kind of special to me too. I hadn't sampled a Barolo in a long while and thought I'd speed the arrival of autumn a bit.

Cheers,
Doug

Jonathan,

Agree, great producer and a fine vintage - what a wonderful combination. Exercising patience will be difficult.

Kelly,

Great sorrow indeed. May you have the occasion and a safe pathway to drinking great bottles with great friends very soon!

Cheers,
Doug

Todd,

Good thoughts. I have two more bottles, which will sleep awhile (another 9 year interval might actually work out well).

Cheers,
Doug

Jayson,

If you have more than one, it’s worth a shot IMHO. Hope it shows well for you.

Jeremy,

I haven’t cracked that many 1996’s but this wine was firing on all cylinders!

Cheers,
Doug

1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (9/5/2020) Last taste over 9 years ago. Decanted for 3 hours. Scarlet rusty garnet color. Depth-defying nose of balsam, violets, rose petal, asphalt, and camphor. Sinuous layers of strawberry, Bing cherry, d...

2005 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Santenay 1er Cru Gravières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay 1er Cru (9/4/2020) Decanted for 45 minutes and followed for several hours. Darker ruby, almost opaque. Fresh nose of deep berry, pine forest, lifted violets, plum pits, and surprisingly fine-g...

Three-way tie:

1995 L'Evangile
1994 Monte Bello
2007 Lamarche La Grande Rue

Cheers,
Doug

William,

Enjoying the arc of the wine over 12 bottles would indeed be a beautiful thing.

Cheers,
Doug

Chiu, I had a taste of the 2006 about 7 years ago and enjoyed it very much. It should be entering its drinking window relatively soon, so congrats on having a case! Yes these wines were within the reach of mere mortals at that time. Kirk, I have a tiny amount of the 2005, and like you I plan on wait...

2007 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Grande Rue Grand Cru (8/29/2020) Translucent darker ruby hue. Dense but finely-wrought nose of red berry, delicately-chiseled alpine floral notes, cinnamon, faint earth, brier, and soy. Wonderfully silky, integrated ...

Joshua,

Coincidentally, I have a 750 ml and a 375 ml remaining, which will sleep for a while. I’m learning that if sampled now, a healthy decant will likely help.

Cheers,
Doug

Neal,

Really enjoyable showing for us. Better to be lucky than good! Makes me think that trying the 96 LLC might not be completely crazy.

Cheers,
Doug

Carlos,

It's certainly up there. May be time to consider some horizontals in the name of science.

Cheers,
Doug

Ramon and Mark,

This is indeed a great bottle. It continued to improve as the evening progressed, so I think it would have shown even better with a longer decant. Several recent TNs on CT mentioned 2-5 hours.

Cheers,
Doug

1996 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (8/28/2020) Decanted for 45 minutes and followed for 3 hours. Opaque garnet with scarlet edges. Nose of savory green elements mixed with fecund soil, lifted floral notes, cassis, pencil lead, and currant. Seemingly settled layers of black...

Lawrence,

Should be delicious, especially with that pairing! I hope the string of positive recent tasting notes continues.

Cheers,
Doug

Wes,

Great information and new to me regarding a particular wine. Twenty-six years from the vintage would seem to be long enough to tame such moodiness, and to your point, that seems to be the case per recent tasting notes.

Cheers,
Doug

Wes,

Interesting information. I do not know the vintage characteristics for this region that well, so appreciate the context.

Cheers,
Doug

Gavin,

It really is an American classic. Glad to have had two bottles of this, tasted 15 years apart!

Cheers,
Doug

Ed, Excellent. Hope the bottles show well on upcoming celebrations. Scott, This wine has had a mixed reception from critics and CT reviewers (though not lately) so I did not know what to expect. I was glad our experience was a good one - we really enjoyed it with grilled Spencer steaks. Hope your ne...

Happy Anniversary, Warren! I like the ratio of champagne to still wines.

Cheers,
Doug

1994 Ridge Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (8/22/2020) Decanted for 45 minutes. Dark opaque garnet. Steadily building nose of cassis, cedar, acacia, red currant, fennel, saline. Layers of deeply drenching black and red currant, vibrant ripe plum, blackberry, a...

Vince,

You honored him, and your own journey with him, in two short, amazing paragraphs. Peace to you.

Doug

Wonderful wine. Thanks for the note Brian.

Cheers,
Doug

Mel and Michael,

I sampled the 2006 a few months ago and enjoyed it very much. If you have a bunch, it might be worth the plunge. Good to know the 2010 is showing well.

Cheers,
Doug

David,

I confess that I haven't sampled the 09. Would also be interested in others' experiences.

Cheers,
Doug

William,

I appreciate your very informed comments, on this and in general. I had not expected the wine to be so open, and am glad to have selected one of the few 05's showing well at the moment. Will look for the 2015!

Cheers,
Doug

Sounds lovely, Jeremy.

Matthew,

Nice descriptors. He is indeed a master. Met M. Mugnier once at the domaine and he was very gracious. I have collected the Marechale and his Chambolle Fuees.

Cheers,
Doug

Jerry,

I agree. This wine is just getting started.

Cheers,
Doug

2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (8/14/2020) Decanted for 45 minutes. Opaque darker ruby. Nose of fulsome violets, spicy fine earth, saline, sharp cherry, iron particles. Layers of jeweled dark ...

We have the opposite situation. My wife likes everything but Riesling and Champagne. Well, I guess they'll age for a while.

Cheers,
Doug

Great to see the note. Welcome back!

Warren,

Just spent time on Lopez Island and then camping in Deception Pass. Pacific NW in the summer is epitomized by your post! Way to go.

Cheers,
Doug

Melvin and Mark,

Glad you have sourced some of her wines also. Always nice to discover a good producer with reasonable QPR. I was able to look up Ms Paquet's wines on the Jasper Morris and Jancis Robinson sites so I suspect there is more exposure on the other side of the pond.

Cheers,
Doug

2014 Agnès Paquet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru (8/9/2020) Pale white gold color. Gorgeous nose of high-pitched white flowers, schist, apple core, and scintillating sharp lemon-lime. Layers of tart granny apple, grapefruit, steely spine, a...

Champagne, Sancerre, or Kabinett.

Agree on Vacheron Chambrates!

Dale,

I have a solitary 2014 which I am giving some additional cellar time, as yet undefined. I am late to the party on this producer. Glad it showed so well!

Cheers,
Doug

Robert, glad you are "back". Keep recovering!

Cheers,
Doug

Buzz,

So glad you are on the mend. The time arc of your recovery provides a lot of hope for a very good prognosis. Keep us posted, as you are now a human data point (and a great TN writer)!

Very best wishes,
Doug

NV Pierre Gerbais Champagne Grains de Celles Extra Brut - France, Champagne (7/30/2020) Pale gold color. Nose of fresh citrus, pear, white flowers, stone. Clean, crisp layers of white peach, pear, celery, flint, and hints of caramel on the palate. Stony spine. Moderately long finish of pure white f...

Jay,

I like this producer very much also. I was kind of kicking myself for waiting so long to drink an example from a warmer year but it turned out to be a real gem. Have a bit of 1999 also.

Cheers,
Doug

Brian,

Cool to have had such an interesting vertical. The 97 is (sadly) the only vintage I have. The fruit has become integrated quite nicely if this sole showing is any indicator. I sampled this wine 13 years ago and found it very good but not great. Time has definitely helped.

Cheers,
Doug

Kris and Merrill,

I would agree, the descriptors balanced and graceful (with underlying power) capture the essence of this wine perfectly. One more bottle of this in the cellar. It will be interesting to see how much further the flight path goes.

Cheers,
Doug

1997 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/26/2020) Garnet with pale rim. Nose of cassis, currant, hyacinth, plum blossom, iodine. Cool, smooth red and black currant fruit exhibiting bell-like clarity cut with dark plum and rich earth on the palate. Refreshing acidity and burni...

Andrew, I have been impressed by the Chianti Classico bottlings I have purchased in the past and forgotten about. Many are showing beautifully with some age. I am now purchasing a bunch of 2016 CC, a good year. Others that randomly come to mind: Vacheron Sancerre blanc and rouge Lafouge Auxey-Duress...

Hi Jeremy,

My only bottle (thus far). I looked up the domaine and learned that Claude was befriended by Henri Jayer in the early 1980s and took many of Jayer's practices to heart. I've never sampled a Jayer wine, but there was lots of life and magical dirt in this bottle.

Cheers,
Doug

Hi Dan, Congrats on your first post. Although you referred in the post to Corton, another relative value in the Grand Cru category might be Clos des Lambrays. This wine does not reach the absolute heights of many others but its price point is modestly lower. I've enjoyed the 2001 and 2002. In NYC th...

Love the French at the end.

Search found 2654 matches