The 2018 100 point Rivers Marie Platt. Paired with smoked turkey. Damn fine juice
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Spatchcock Turkey! Thatâs a pro move right there. 
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1998 Chateau Barde-Haut
From WineBid, ostensibly good provenance. The fills are good and the corks on both opened bottles have been excellent.
On the nose the wine is fairly tertiary showing mostly cigar humidor (tobacco & cedar), tomato stem, leather couch, and dirt. On the palate a touch more fruit but this is mostly about the savory mature character. The wine is fairly full bodied and coats the palate; the acidity is probably medium-minus and the tannin is mostly unobtrusive, what grip there is left is of moderate texture (i.e., does not stand out for plush fineness or rustic grain in either direction). The flavors largely follow the nose with the addition of some dark fruit and a nice salty + umami undercurrent in the soy sauce vein. Surprising power, depth and persistence.
Very nice, probably on the declining phase of its development so drink up, but absolutely satisfying to drink a savory mature right bank wine on a cold winterâs night.
This estate has pretty strong terroir for a minor St Em but, as I understand it, had languished a bit with underinvestment and the like through the 80s and 90s. In 2000, it was taken over by new ownership who invested a lot in the winemaking facilities and in the vineyards (great) but brought on Michel Rolland and set out to make wines very much of the era. The first vintage under new ownership, the 2001 - usually a pretty good Right Bank vintage - is a frustrating wine insofar as it shows really beautiful fruit and nonfruit flavors but the wine is bound up in moisture sucking wooly tannins, one of those wines where you need a sidecar of water because each sip makes you thirsty.
This 1998 on the other hand is sort of a happy medium - the excellent Right Bank vintage obviated the need for more advanced vit and cellar work and let the vineyardâs strong raw material shine through, all without the overbearing winemaking that would follow soon thereafter.
3 Likes
2020 Taaibosch Crescendo.
The colour is a medium garnet red, with evidence of maturity at the rim.
The nose was cherry and plum, with tobacco and herbs.
The acidity was a bit prominent at first, and it made the wine disjointed. It didnât take long for this to come together and flesh out. Very enjoyable, and happy to have them, but the 2018 was more striking, and I am clinging onto my 2019s and 21s forawhile. Edit, after a couple of hours graphite and cedar tones emerged. I will decant the next bottle. 92 at first, 93 on the final glass ****.
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2015 Peay Pomarium Pinot. Outstanding. Weâve had a few 8-12 year old Peays recently and they are all in peak form and just absolutely delicious.
2 x 2020 Fevre Chablis - both Premier Cru
Montmains (half bottle) - this is just in a lovely spot. It has richness, natural brightness and length to burn. Still young but the ripe acids make it a really good drink.
Vaillons (750) - so different to the Montmains. Leaner, finer, sea spray, citrics and bracing acidity. Picked early I would say. Still looks painfully young. Needs time.
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If a mag of foillard is not welcome at the party, go to another party. 
or find new friends!
A mag of foillard not welcomed? Speaking of friends a recent note of yours Warren prompted me to buy more 08 Rare that I did need! Is it possible I can block your posts? 
No, if it leads you to buy 2008 Rare, I will duplicate all of my posts.
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My 3 year old asking to smell my glass.
Dadda that smells like pineapples.
Kid has better nose than me already 
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Glad to hear it was great. I gifted mine to Brian T
2013 Vietti âLazzaritoâ Barolo. It got a few hours of air in a decanter and was then consumed over another two hours. All three of us agreed with a recent CellarTracker note that referred to it as âmonolithic and tannicâ. Seems thereâs quite a lot of wood here. itâs not very enjoyable at the moment. I would hold any other bottles for at least 5+ years and hope for the best.
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As I used to say: â2022 is going to be one of the great vintages for white Burgundy.â I admit I may have ridden that horse a bit too hard. This one, though, is a lovely blessing from the vintage.
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Enjoying a spa and mud treatment week in Dax, SW France, I bought a couple of CB 2016s to try from a local supermarket. More fool me!
ChĂąteau Les Grands ChĂȘnes - MĂ©doc - 2016
I donât know what induced me to buy this. Well, I do, Iâm just looking for excuses. This sort of wine is not for me, but every so often, I get one even so, because the occasional shot of coffee and oak isnât normally that unpleasant and it contrasts nicely with my usual fare. Well, sure enough, plenty of coffee and oak aromas, plus some sweet blackberry and something pruney. In the mouth, the oak hits hard at first, then a thick, viscous mouthful of bitter, syrupy dark fruits. I opened a Lanessan but came back to this later on - no change - it really had no saving graces at all. By the second evening, the prunes had taken over completely. Yuk.
ChĂąteau Lanessan - Haut-MĂ©doc 2016
Quite reticent aromas of blackcurrant and black cherry, then a thick, chewy mouthful of blackberry and dark cherry, just saved by some crisp blackcurrant on the finish. Chunky, lacking in charm, even a bit rustic. I think it may improve with time, but disappointing for a Lanessan. It could have been a bad bottle or just a closed patch. I might buy one more to try in ten years from now.
So a welcome reminder that even in an excellent vintage like 2016, there are always disappointing wines.
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