ALEX VS BENOIT MOREAU TASTING - (22/9/2026)
Very educational side-by-side tasting of Alex vs Benoît Moreau. With some knowledge of the styles it wasn’t difficult to pick them apart blind. Very different expressions but equally enjoyable to me. Overall I preferred Alex for being consistently solid and reliable, especially the BB (still one of my favourite value plays) and the village, but Benoît reached the highest peak with the stunning '22 Champs-Gain which was the clear WOTN to me.
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2020 Stéphane Févre Champagne Composition - France, Champagne
Brought as an extra after sharing some with colleagues. Disgorged 10 Jan 2023, zero dosage. Very pretty, delicate red fruit with excellent acidity for the vintage. First time trying this producer and very impressed. (92 pts.) -
NV Romain Henin Champagne Meunier Tu Dors - France, Champagne
Disgorged 8 Dec 2026. Initially tropical and a little stodgy but opened up with air, this producer usually needs a lot of time in the glass to show well. (90 pts.) -
2022 Alex Moreau Chardonnay Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Rounder and very good weight and balance for its level with sufficiently fresh citrus fruit. One of my favourite BBs for its relative value. (92 pts.) -
2022 Benoit Moreau Chardonnay Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Same citrus fruit as the Alex Moreau, but leaner and cleaner at the expense of flavour. Did open up nicely with air with a mineral spine, good depth for its level. (91 pts.) -
2023 Benoit Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
Similar to the '22 BB, clearly made in a tight and taut style but the warmer vintage showed here to make this broader but not more expressive. (90 pts.) -
2023 Alex Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
Quite different from my experience a couple of weeks ago. Again similar to the '22 BB but a step up in terms of concentration, preferred this to the Benoit from the same vintage for the more classic style. (91 pts.) -
2022 Benoit Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Wow this was seriously impressive. Beautiful balance between sweetness and salinity, well-judged oak spice that juxtaposed well with the taut style. Superb length for a 1er, clear WOTN for me even when blind. (94 pts.) -
2022 Alex Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Initially slightly alcoholic with confectioned, tropical fruit but settled down beautifully with air into a much more balanced, restrained wine despite its waxy texture. (92 pts.) -
2022 Benoit Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
Slightly candied at first but with good lift. Plenty of energy and acidity to keep the dark red fruit fresh. (92 pts.) -
2022 Alex Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet
More old-school than the Benoit Moreau alongside with darker fruit and firmer tannins, but of equal quality. Less obvious new oak and more classic, became more expressive with air. (92 pts.) -
2022 Benoit Moreau Volnay 1er Cru Santenots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Light, airy but with some earthy notes. Still very primary and rather muted on this showing but stem use kept this fresh. (91 pts.) -
2022 L’Arlésienne Morgon Cuvée Corcelette - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
Some carbonic character with a touch of brett. Good concentration with juicy fruit underneath, very good quality that wasn’t out of place with the Burgundies. (91 pts.)
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION - (26/9/2026)
An early birthday celebration with a group of wine friends, decided to open all the wines and put my friends to the test with a blind guessing game.
Cult growers
To be honest it was difficult to select a pair for this flight but went for two producers that many in the group liked.
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NV Gaspard Brochet Champagne Extra Brut Le Coq Tome I - France, Champagne
Base 2022. 56% Pinot Noir, 22% Meunier, 22% Chardonnay. Disgorged 25 Nov 2024, 3g/l dosage. More acidic and linear at first compared to the Bouchard alongside with some red fruit. Still youthful and taut but did become more expressive with air. Interestingly quite a number guessed this as the Bouchard. (92 pts.) -
2019 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne VV/R19 - France, Champagne
Similar to previous impressions, a very open-knit and generous edition of the VV. Some development in the form of oxidative notes (in a positive way) so would say this is at peak. Quite a number guessed Bouchard correctly but could see why some went for Prevost. (92 pts.)
Seminal white producers
Wanted to do two top white producers head-to-head, the Keller was relatively easier to guess but the Dauvissat stumped the majority.
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2021 Weingut Keller Oberer Hubacker Riesling Monopol - Germany, Rheinhessen
Decided to open this as I realised this plot is the most open and approachable young from the Keller tasting earlier in the year. High acidity but with a hint of sweetness, developed some floral notes with air. Interestingly some guessed this as Alsace. Not the most complex or incisive Keller but very pleasurable. (93 pts.) -
2015 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Yellow wax top. A little more reduced than my last bottle, some spice on the nose and a rounder profile from the warm vintage so guesses were all over the place for this with only a couple of friends getting Chablis. Quite broad and loose for a Dauvissat but also felt like it needed more time. (91 pts.)
North vs South
Most managed to guess the Benetiere as a northern Rhone but a few thought the Bonneau was southern hemisphere Syrah instead of a southern Rhone.
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2013 Marie et Pierre Bénetière Côte-Rôtie Cordeloux - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Much more open than the bottle four years ago. Unmistakably northern Rhone markers on both nose and palate with peppery and briney olive notes. Both vibrant and elegant but definitely had a rougher edge to its tannins compared to the Bonneau alongside. Cooler vintage gave this a firm acidic spine. Most managed to guess Rhone for this even though some went for southern Rhone. (93 pts.) -
2013 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Marie Beurrier - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Clearly cut from the same cloth as the '04 Celestins last week but obviously younger and made in a more approachable manner. Some iron notes on the nose that was slightly distracting, but the palate was the real star here. Pure and fresh dark cherry fruit with some liquorice and Provencal herbs, tannins were very refined and gave a sensual, silky texture. Love such textbook CdP producers in cooler vintages. (93 pts.)
Burgundies
Interestingly most thought these were the same village but not same producer (other than one friend who nailed H-N but got the order of the vintages wrong).
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2015 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Textbook H-N with lift and elegant, pretty red fruit so was surprised only one friend managed to nail the maker. Charming and more immediate than the Vosne alongside, but less depth. The majority managed to guess the village correctly. (92 pts.) -
2015 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Vosne-Romanée - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
Initially more tannic and alcoholic than the Chambolle alongside but became more balanced and gained complexity with air. Was surprised that not many guessed Vosne for this. Both H-Ns showed very well and punched above their classification (most guessed 1er), but only one friend managed to identify them both as the same producer. The warmer vintage was managed very well as most guessed less solar years like '13, '16 and '17 for both. (92 pts.)
Bordeaux
Revealed that one was a first wine and one was a second wine from top producers in off-vintages of '92 and '93. About half got the respective levels right, and the Latour was easier to guess compared to the LMHB.
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1992 Château Latour Les Forts de Latour - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Initially thought this was corked but when poured into the glass the cork taint disappeared.Slight hint of pyrazines, dark red fruit on the palate that showed no signs of fading. Perhaps lacking a little stuffing for the firm tannin but still very impressive power for a weaker year which was true to the producer style. (92 pts.) -
1993 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Wow this was a typical old-school Bordeaux that I absolutely love. Some cassis and pencil lead made most think Pauillac, but some smoke notes led someone to Graves correctly (though he guessed Haut-Brion). Wonderfully proportioned without any signs of fading, very refined tannins and a dreamy, silky texture for a Bordeaux. Fantastic effort for a weaker year, clear WOTN for me and a few others. (94 pts.)
The other wines at dinner
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2014 Bollinger Champagne Vieilles Vignes Françaises - France, Champagne
Requested for this as the birthday present wine to share. Initially slightly sweet and rather one-dimensional but more complexity and concentration emerged with air. The last glass was superb. Some similarities to Krug in terms of raw power, but at this price would probably just buy Krug. (94 pts.) -
1985 Château Talbot - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Opened this as a backup to the '92 Les Forts de Latour which I thought was corked. More autumnal and resolved with some barnyard funk, but with a similarly elegant texture to the La Mission Haut-Brion. Enjoyable but slightly lacked the extra gear of the more pedigreed wines that came before. (92 pts.) -
2019 Bell Hill Chardonnay - New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury
Shared by friends off Ki-sho’s list. Some reduction and more open than the 2020 a few months ago, but still not especially memorable. Ripe yet tensile citrus fruit, and showed similarly to the Dauvissat which also felt like it needed more time. (90 pts.) -
2015 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Pure and crystalline citrus and peach notes. Remarkably light for the prädikat and vintage, with the signature weightless elegance that makes this producer so dangerously easy to drink and one of my absolute favourites. (94 pts.)
Second round at Nicolas
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2018 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Ripe, broad fruit (perhaps a function of both plot and vintage) but somehow still austere at the same time. Some spice and sweetness developed but not the most convincing Raveneau at this time. (91 pts.) -
2018 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Sarsaparilla notes on the nose with a rich, blackforest quality to the fruit on the palate, but without being too over the top. Reminded me of the '21s that I tasted in Tokyo in '23 which showed how well the sisters managed the warm vintage (and how much more approachable '21s are compared to '18s). One of the most elegant '18s that I’ve tasted. (93 pts.) -
2019 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne HL/R19 - France, Champagne
Clearly a step up in terms of intensity and depth compared to the VV of the same vintage that I opened at dinner. Ripe, rich fruit that wasn’t too heady because of the persistence and depth to the saline backbone. Beautifully balanced and would say this is at peak now too. (94 pts.)
A Season of Vibes & Swag?