Tag Archives: france

Vieux Chateau des Combes 2015, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France

05 Thursday Dec 2019

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Dark and brooding in the glass.  The nose offers up sweet blackberries, vanilla bean and tea.  On the palate that blackberry component is straight up in your face.  Lithe tannins are the second wave and then I get a wood note, well integrated.  The mid palate continues that dark berry theme alongside more astringent tea.  There’s a plum jam component that I get on the back end that adds to the equation, as well as some long toothed tannins that keep on delivering that mouth puckering goodness.  This wine is young but approachable if you like it this way.  You could cellar till 2022, or go for it now.  Drink till 2030.  90 points and for the $22 I paid- 5 stars.  Salut….

Baron Philippe de Rothschild Mouton Cadet 2016, Bordeaux, France

22 Friday Nov 2019

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It’s been a while since I drank some of this old perennial favorite.  This vintage shows dark purple in the glass.  On the nose- charcoal, blackberry and fig.  The palate is very pleasant and easy drinking.  There are blackberry notes, tar, wintergreen and crunchy tannins.  They dry the gums immediately but not excessively.  The mid palate is much the same, black fruits abound.  The tannins really go the distance and lead me to the finish of blackberry pie meets a slate.  There is quite a bit of minerality alongside the tannic thrust.  The wine is well balanced and well made.  There’s a reason I drank a crapload of it in the early days, it offers good value for money.  Drink till 2025 with a nice NY Strip and creamed spinach.  I’m going 88 points and 5 stars for $9. Salut….

Chateau de Landiras 2014, Graves, France

15 Friday Nov 2019

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Very dark bluish purple in the glass with very fine legs, indicative of the 12.5% alcohol.  On the nose it is purple fruit, blackberry, damson and cinnamon.  The palate is surprisingly fresh, I was expecting a more traditional attack.  This one pops with plums, black cherry and lithe tannins.  The mid palate gives me cola, black cherry and some strawberry jam.  Strange, I know.  The finale is really a nice, smooth, fruity affair with really well tamed tannins holding the blackberry and cola flavors on for a good 30 seconds.  There is a trace of acidic bite, but it is appropriate and balances the nice tannins.  This is a tasty, decent wine that gets 91 points from me.  I would drink right away until 2024 with lighter meat dishes, perhaps beer-can chicken or even roast duck breast.  Strangely enough the Decanter score of 95 was opposite to the mid 80’s score given by others.  I think this is a steal at $20 and it gets 5 stars from me.  Salut….

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2001, Pauillac, France retasted

18 Friday Oct 2019

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The third tasting of this amazing wine over several years.  Bright purple, but with quite a lot of sediment- the nose is classic Pauillac.  Cassis, leather, tobacco and hazelnuts.  The palate is rich, refined, smooth and very balanced.  The primary fruits have given way to tertiary notes of blackberry reduction, that musky leather, dry tobacco and damson torte.  There’s a touch of oak, by way of a vanilla note that I’m enjoying.  The nuttiness I caught on the nose reappears on the mid palate where I do get some plums alongside the cassis.  The tannins gradually build up and really peak on the finish- with black tea, cassis and cinnamon.  Delicious and still young.  This is a 94 point wine that just keeps getting better.  Drink till 2029.  Getting pricy at $175 now but tasty as hell and worthy of 5 stars.  Salut….

Domaine Jean-Michel Guillon & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvee Pere Galland 2012, Cote de Nuits, France

08 Sunday Sep 2019

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We just had a delightful dinner at our favorite restaurant, L’Auberge Chez Francois located in the D.C suburbs.  They have a great wine list but this evening was a very special occasion so I took a bottle of the amazing 2000 Lynch Bages to start off with.  It was spectacular and did not last long.  We needed more vino and my friend wanted a Pinot.  I figured we should order something a little more stout, Gevrey being the obvious choice in a French restaurant.

 

 

 

See-through medium intensity purple.  On the nose sage brush, cherry, oregano.  On the palate it’s very smooth with cherries, cedar, asparagus and lithe tannins.  Medium intensity acidity gives the wine a cutting edge without sourness.  The mid palate shows raspberries alongside the cherry- very tasty and full bodied.  The finish is all sour cherry with acidity, medium tannins and a touch of wood. 91 points and 4 stars for this $50 Burgundy.  Drink till 2035.  Salut….

Guy Mousset & Fils Cotes du Rhone Rose Domaine Guy Mousset 2018, Rhone, France

02 Monday Sep 2019

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This rose’ is quite dark, almost orange in the glass.  On the nose I get Lychee, rose water and strawberry.  The palate is crisp, with red berries, strawberry and honey.  There is a vibrant acidity which is in check that gives the wine a freshness.  The honey component carries through the mid palate where I get more red berries.  The finish is decent with a lingering tartness alongside that strawberry component.  Overall a very charming and easy drinking summer rose’ that begs for burgers, some salami and olives or just by itself poolside.  88 points and 3 stars for this $12 Grenache from France.  Drink till 2020.  Salut….

Chateau Grand Tayac 2015, Margaux, France

27 Tuesday Aug 2019

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Really dark purple, very striking.  On the nose I get blackcurrant, nutmeg and tobacco.  The palate has some nice black fruits and an astringency that is a touch heavy.  It’s not tannic, perhaps from green stems left in contact with the juice for too long.  It takes a turn for the better on the mid palate- more Ribena and a touch of oak.  The finish is quite dry with the appearance of some nice tannins alongside a mineral tone that melds nicely with the currants.  Overall a decent wine that is slightly out of kilter at the beginning with the astringency but it comes around.  89 points= 3 stars for this $25 wine.  Drink till 2025 with hearty stews, or a lamb chop and mint.  Salut….

Domaine Lucien Lardy Fleurie Les Roches Vieilles Vignes, Beaujolais, France

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

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Many moons ago Moxie and I went to Paris on one of several trips to that great city.  Drinking wine  in the cafe’s I noticed that sometimes they would serve a red wine slightly chilled.  Turns out, that’s how they enjoy their Beaujolais wines, which are made in a slightly different method and use the Gamay grape.  Many are designed to be drunk young, as in weeks old, while there are several Cru wines that have some aging capacity.  I bought a few bottles of this Fleurie to savor in the heat of the summer after they had a slight chill.

This one is quite dark purple and just barely see-through.  It gives off typical Gamay notes of black currants alongside oak, charcoal and violets.  On the palate I get definitive black currants and cedar shavings.  There is a surprising level of tannin alongside some black tea notes.  There is a nice level of acidity to balance and the wine leaves me wanting more.  The mid palate is really quite dry, bolstering the blackberry flavors and giving me a peak of Ribena as we go to the finish.  The wine has a long dry streak at the end but it does it with finesse and plenty of black fruits.  The pros were all over the scoring table with this one, ranging from 86-91.  I think it drinks nicely now and will cellar till 2024.  90 points and 4 stars for this $18 wine.  Pair with roasted birds, potato and leek rosti or with some soft, ripe Brie.  Salut….

Domaine Jean Fery & Fils Les Vergelesses 2010, Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru, France

26 Friday Jul 2019

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The second tasting of the Les Vergelesses.  See-through reddish-purple with some hints of bricking.  On the nose I get fresh cherries, blackberry extract and nutmeg.  On the palate it is light, refreshing and young.  There is a red cherry component alongside strawberry coulis and pomegranate- which is adding some zesty acidity.  The mid palate is somewhat one dimensional with just strawberry and juicy acidity.  The back end finds those darker fruits again with black cherry dominating.  There’s a cedar note in there alongside some fruitcake.  This wine is still way too young and primal.  I foresee some great evolution in the next ten years, which is quite a stretch for a nine year old.  If you like refreshing, young Pinot- five in.  I’m holding my other bottle for a few years, looking for more secondary Burgundian flavors to emerge.  92 points and 4 stars for this $40 effort.  Salut….

Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2012, Pauillac, France

18 Thursday Jul 2019

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Nearly black and opaque in the glass.  On the nose I get gorgeous blackberries and fruitcake with a touch of mint.  On the palate it is fresh, young, fruity and chock full of black fruits, cedar, scrumptious tannins and a slight hint of cassis.  Tobacco and leather are evident on the mid palate which totally excites me and hints at long term evolution in line with traditional Bordeaux.  The tannic structure is amazing, very lithe at the beginning with a steady rise to a crescendo of black tea dryness.  92 points and 4 stars for this $50 Fifth Growth.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….