NV Fleury Pere & Fils Champagne Blanc de Noirs Brut - France, Champagne (9/3/2021)
Gosh darn it… I forgot to write down the disgorgement. Somewhere in 2020 though. RS at 5.5g/l if I remember correctly so right on the edge of Extra-Brut. Nice, ripe, balanced but on the toasty side. Decent complexity as the flavors are layered (fruit, toasted bread, spices) and the finish is slightly mineral. It can make a nice apéritif but it’s also food friendly. I would buy again.
2018 Badenhorst Family Wines Chenin Blanc Klip Kop Steen - South Africa (9/3/2021)
What a beautiful wine. I drank the 2018 Piet Bok Se Bos Steen last year and was expecting something similar. This is much more expressive and enticing. Powerful aromas of wild flowers, yellow apple, quince and spices. Wonderful nose. The first sip brings back all of these flavors within a structured, plentiful (“gourmand”), complex but also precise and chiseled palate. There is beautiful acidity and salinity that brings everything together and stays on the long finish. I love it.
2018 Luís Seabra Vinhos Alvarinho Granito Cru - Portugal, Minho, Vinho Verde (9/4/2021)
Caveat: I drank this while the roof my mouth was badly burned by a scalding hot Vietnamese nem and the rest of my senses were diminished by a previous night of excess.
Upon opening, this is timid and a little tight. Nose of lemon, rainfall, rocks and a touch of sea breeze. An extremely mineral nose. The palate seems light and linear. It displays the same citrus, rocks and salinity with some floral undertones. This wine is defined by acidity and shows decent length. It’s enjoyable, fresh and “pure”. But contrary to most tasting notes I’ve seen, I didn’t find a lot of volume in this wine and it didn’t really wow me. It might be my poor condition. I kept half the bottle and I’ll revisit tomorrow.
It is 100% sustainably grown Alvarinho from vines planted in 1989. Tended in granite soil at 50-150 m (164-492 ft) elevation in Monçao e Melgaço in Vinho Verde, the birthplace of Alvarinho/Albarino. What makes this wine unique? Rather than single vineyard, this is a single soil Alvarinho, intended as a clear expression of terroir and place. Sustainably farmed vines, and vinified using only spontaneous fermentation and indigenous yeasts. This way he removes all potential variability other than the soil type as an expression of terroir.