A few recent holiday wines – did not take detailed notes so this is just the broad overview
2009 Giscours – smooth, creamy, full-bodied, well-balanced, very much open for business. The high level of Merlot in the blend is very in evidence in how velvety and easy drinking this wine is. Not sure I’ve ever had a major Bordeaux 6 years from vintage date that evidenced so few tannins. This is a rich wine but not out of balance. Layered, elegant nose and luxurious cassis on drinking, without any alcoholic bite. However, the lack of tannic backbone raises some questions about long-term aging. I have had a number of 2009 Bdx that have shut down, but this wine may never shut down.
2009 Geantet-Pansiot Chambolle Musigny 1er Les Feusselottes – chalk one up for the ‘2009 Burgundies are out of balance’ school. This wine is notably dark in color and notably dark-fruited (black cherry with plum overtones) on the palate. Very rich fruit right out of the bottle, but with time in air the alcohol came out more and more and a touch of that cherry cough syrup feeling emerged on the finish. I find that very off-putting. You could feel the alcohol on your body too – wouldn’t be surprised if this is 14.5%. This is a very rich wine so may age but just feels unbalanced and not that pleasant right now, especially after it has decanted for a bit.
2005 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard – Rich and sweet; people often describe Heitz Martha’s as showing eucalyptus but with this richness I read that green note as more like balsam fir verging on mint chocolate at times. With time in glass a rich brown/sugar molasses element came out as a strong undertone. Definitely a little more toward the Napa cocktail wine than the food match/savory side of things, particularly given the rep as a more classic and restrained Napa. But overall still a pretty well balanced wine within its style; didn’t have alcohol poking out or any syrupy/cloying quality at all, and kept enough varietal Cab characteristics to have some crunch to it. You’ll like this if you’re into Napa but don’t look to it for a classic left bank Bordeaux/European/mineral style.
1998 Jadot Chambertin Clos De Beze – been a while since I drank this and didn’t take detailed notes, so no real details, but a positive report/thumbs up. This is in that good part of its aging curve where it combines a vein of lively and juicy red fruit with a good range of spicy/herbal qualities. Good complexity, transformed in interesting ways as we sat with it. Won’t change your life but was a satisfying and rewarding grand cru Burgundy experience.