Didn’t Lisa say recently in a post that Bob Parker had counseled her not to use too many flavor descriptors?
2019 Dominus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Dominus was harvested from September 29 to October 10. It was aged in 40% new oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose slowly unfurls to unveil beguiling floral notes of candied violets and rose oil over a core of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and plum preserves, giving way to notions of licorice, Indian spices, iron ore, and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with taut, muscular black fruit layers, intertwined with gorgeous floral and exotic spice accents, and framed by firm, finely grained tannins with seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. Tightly coiled with so much latent energy waiting to explode, this is a spectacular expression of the vintage and Napanook vineyard. Still tightly coiled, give it a good 6-7 years in the cellar before broaching, and allow it a few hours in a decanter if consumed before 2032. 3500 cases made, to be released in May 2022. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, 100 points
A lot of the words in that note are so generic as to be useless. Exotic spice is one that drives me nuts. Exotic compared to what? From where? I live in New England, where, for some people, black pepper is an exotic spice!
I don’t pick on John Gilman much. I have a lot of respect for him and his notes, but a couple of things here made me chuckle.
The 2021 Chambolle Premier Cru is really, really strong this year chez Drouhin. This wine just screams Chambolle out of the glass, delivering scents of cherries, red plums, a touch of beetroot, sweet stem tones, a lovely base of chalky soil, pigeon and a deft framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and supremely elegant, with a lovely core of velvety red fruit, great soil inflection and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex and very refined finish. Great juice. (Drink between 2032-2085)
“The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is an outrageously beautiful wine and also one of the wines of the year. A soaring, exotic bouquet makes a strong opening statement. Pliant and creamy, with mind-blowing textural finesse, the 2021 dazzles from start to finish. Hard candy, mint, lavender, Kirsch and spice linger on the close. The 2021 possesses mind-blowing purity and exceptional finesse.” - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 99 points
Well, if there were different levels of purity, so that it made sense to say something was more pure than something else, mind-blowing purity would be a whole lot of purity, I guess. But, since purity is an absolute: a thing is either pure or it is not, obviously mind-blowing purity makes no sense. The problem is treating purity as if there could be more or less of it.
This is incorrect. We know for sure that it is possible for something to be 99.44% pure.
A substance with that level of purity floats. Therefore, we can be confident that the Togni with its mindblowing purity also floats, and is not a witch.
This, of course, means that Ivory is .56 per cent impure–or .56 per cent of a soap bar consists of impurities–and it is, hence, impure. I am unclear what floating has to do with it, but I don’t know if oil, water and lye are all lighter than water, and whether all other ingredients one might add to soap are heavier than water. Of course, floating was the test of whether one was a witch. So maybe pure soap is witch craft.
A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Haut-Bailly is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a bit of swirling to coax out notions of black cherry compote, blackcurrant pastilles, and blackberry preserves, giving way to fragrant wafts of violets, dark chocolate, cardamom, and sassafras, with a touch of Indian spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is an exercise in poise, delivering tightly wrapped black fruit, exotic spice and floral layers, with a super-plush texture and seamless acidity, finishing very long with loads of mineral sparks and tons of energy. – The Wine Independent, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
I thought cardamom was an Indian spice; maybe she means turmeric. Dunno.
To be fair to LPB though, this note did give me a good notion of what this wine is like — still backward, fairly ripe, fairly big.
“Lovely perfumes of flowers, fresh plums and red berries with some stones. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins that blend into the wine. Finely pixelated. Just a hint of bitterness at the end."
A favorite of mine that has been prompted discussion here four or five times, dating back to 2019. See, e.g., posts 541 et seq., 756 et seq., 1185 et seq., and 1750 et seq.
This is a comparatively minor offense, but can we also talk about “notions” and “wafts”? So precious, it feels very special when a notion of something wafts my way.
This is the only instance I can find in my database of “explosive” and “verticality” combined.
The 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colonia is fascinating to taste next to the Rancia, as the two parcels are adjacent. Rich and substantial in the glass, Colonia is textured and ample, qualities that become increasingly apparent over time. Rugged, rocky terrain seems to amplify power, explosive verticality and acidity. (Drink between 2026-2043) – Vinous, Antonio Galloni
How does that compare to wines that “play in three dimensions”? Pure verticality seems kind of one-dimensional.
Pure speculation but I wouldn’t be surprised if the explosive verticality transcend through any possible dimensions, as long as it’s vertical. surely 4-5 dimensions, with the addition of possibly blowing your mind, making it hard to know how many dimensions it plays in.
[+ head-scratching emoji]
