I’d love your thoughts on that 15 Clos de la Hutte. I bought some, buried it and never opened that vintage!
It was excellent. Minerally at first, then after 10 minutes was pure honeysuckle. Good acidity, great balance, concentrated but not heavy. Not the most complex but a great example of its type.
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FWIW, he’s supposedly changing the vinification for the rose due to similar views.
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We’re at the beach in Finistère for a few days, spending time with a great friend.
First night was pizza and:
Carlo Revello & Figli Barolo 2019
I bought a case each of the 2018 and 2019 (as well as a couple of crus in 2018). This is a totally decent Barolo that drinks well young. Good fruit and expected florals. The oak is sticking out a little but I kind of like it in this wine. I can’t recommend it because I know a lot of better examples but I’m fond of it for some reason (or no reason). I like it.
Benoit Viot Le Chemin des Rêves Pic Saint-Loup l’Optimiste 2023
Brought by the friend. I also like this. No dried herbs or guarrigue at all, this is all fruit (black and red berries) and spices. Super easy to drink.
We did lunch at a Crêperie today.Quick intro to my “galette” condition: my wife’s grandmother made amazing galettes de blé noir. They were lacy, ultra-thin, crispy and ladden with salted butter. I liked them. I like no others. Today’s galettes were actually pretty good. Happy surprise.
Tonight was the serious stuff.
Various fare from les Halles de Concarneau and a nearby fish shop: salmon rillettes, tuna rillettes, octopus salad, langoustines, bigorneaux, stuffed clams and fresh bread to start.
Arnaud Beaufort Blanc de Blancs Brut
Brought by the friend. Unknown producer to me. Typical BdB nose. Good balance of citrus and pastry on the palate, fresh acidity but some sweetness on the finish. I couldn’t find the dosage but this sweet finish is not really to my taste.
Louis Michel Grenouilles 2022
I opened this to get back to joy. My favorite LM Grand Cru and 2022 is on point. Amazing nose with all kinds of ocean notes (and we were at the beach earlier in the day!). Palate is a wonderful caress with rich citrus fruit followed by sufficient acidity and a very long citrus and saline finish. Just beautiful. Who said contemporary Chablis is going to hell?
Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the main which was 6 pound Hake en papillote with black butter and boiled potatoes. Insanely good.
The friend wanted red with the Hake and she insisted on the bottle I brought for tomorrow’s grilled chicken.
Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes 2021
I had a bottle of it in 2023, liked it but noted that this wasn’t the most “gourmand” nor structured vintage of Les Sept Vignes. Well, a few years have been good to this. It’s fleshed out and displays plenty of red berries, some spices, bright acidity and some coarse tanins. Good and still some upside in cellaring. 2021 might be good to cellar after all.
We finished the evening smoking Marlboros and drinking Menthe-Pastille on ice… I feel young again 
!
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Second annual wine night with friends, and this year’s theme was 2019 Howell Mountain Cabs. Friends provided the champagne for an opener.
Champagne was “paired” with sweet & spicy pecans - terrific apple skin, almond, and brioche notes.
Double decanted all the cabs and they opened wonderfully over 4-8 hours. Started with a tasting pour of each for everyone, and ended with a revisit free-for-all along with filet mignon and potatoes au gratin for dinner.
Weirdly (for us), the Cade developed more tannic mouth feel over time, while everything else smoothed out. My wine of the night was Dunn, incredible complexity and flavors. Wife’s favorite was O’Shaughnessy, excellent balance on all aspects.
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Last day at the beach. Cold, rainy and windy day in Bretagne. Should we stay in? Hellz no! We go to the beach. Came back drenched and shivering but that’s part of the “fun”.
We stuck the kids in a hot shower while we prepared Sunday noon apéro: left over tuna rillettes, homemade rillette with leftover hake from last night’s meal, left over bigorneaux and amazing local blé noir, blue poppy, lin, sesame and sunflower seeds crackers.
Philippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chaumées Clos St-Abdon 2020
This is unapologetically good: ripe, round, oak notes, just enough acidity and good length with just a hint of minerality on the finish. Hedonistic pleasure and this should be long lived. My Somm buddy would have called this “high-end oak” I know what he means so I accept it
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I continued with this on the roast chicken, roast jambonneau and roast potatoes. Very nice pairing. The ladies finished the remaining reds (Thivin 7 Vignes and Pic St-Loup).
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If you can’t get cold on a Breton beach, where can you go to feel uncomfortable?
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2022 Domaine Dujardin Monthelie 1er Cru Les Champs Fuillot
Raspberries, black cherries, and violets on a background of graphite minerality and touch of meat providing some savoriness. There is a touch of sweetness from some oak on the nose as well, which becomes less obtrusive with time in the glass. On the palate this is clean but not too polished. There is a hidden concentration and nice persistence of fresh red and black fruits on the palate, with underlying mineral tones as well as non-fruit notes of roasted herbs, cigar box, and a little oak. The structure from the mouthcoating powdery tannins in conjunction with juicy acidity give this wine a nice perception of vibrancy with depth. It has a certain “yum” factor and charm to it that I just love and makes me go back for sip after sip.
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Tonight - Lytton Springs with italian sauage and red sauce. 2019s high acid and bright fruit turned out to be a good pairing. Even more giving after an hour of air
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Peay Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2016
Quite good. Cherry fruit, still fresh in the middle with earth and black tea. A little plum skin or red table grape on the finish. Still some tannic grip. I see no reason to rush to drink this up.
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Concluding birthday line-up over the week-end with Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis 2015
Elegant and finely matured, with a layered bouquet of sous-bois, truffle, and dried red fruit. Silky tannins and earthy complexity mark this as a textbook Morey with a touch of Dujac finesse.
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Thanks Yas. Great note and always a favourite.
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• 2018 Bernhard Huber Malterdinger Weissburgunder
I think this was a first for me (first Weissburgunder):
From CT review:
Very pronounced smell and taste of toasted sesame seed, along with lemon, dried flower stalks and petrichor. Very different. Hard to believe this is Pinot blanc and chard. Really interesting.
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19 a bit hot and monolithic. 18 was well balanced, same ABV but hidden better between acidity and tannin. 18 far superior IMHO.
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Laurent Tribut Côte de Lèchet
From magnum. 5 hour decant went a long way. Sea breeze salt and tidal pool on the nose. Rippin acid, so much chalk and a long mineral finish. Wow this is delicious. Stands up there with Dauvissat and Rav. Crazy how classic this tastes given the vintage - bravo.
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Nice. Big fan of Tribut and agree can increasingly compete in top 5. You may have inspired a decision for tonight as well. Cheers.
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If only they had more holdings! Please report back 
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I’m no expert, but I think 20 is supposed to be great for Chablis. I assume you mean “crazy that it tastes so good this young”?
In any case, I’m a fan of 20!
I see a lot of feet in the background of your photo. Which of them said “Is that a magnum of 2020 Chablis or are you just glad to see me?”
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Agreed - I’m a massive fan of 2020 Chablis. I’ve seen some talk about an unpleasant grass/hay note, but I have not noticed it in Fevre, Dauvissat, Tribut or Raveneau (maybe I’m just not sensitive to it). What I have noticed is consistently rippin acid and lots of chalk and oyster shell minerality.
As for all the feet in the background - I attended a large BYOB tasting at a local shop, so I had to bring a mag 
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