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Maison Loron & Fils Fleurie Les Saprolites 2015, Beaujolais, France

25 Saturday Feb 2017

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Disclaimer- I’m tasting this wine in the confines of an aircraft cabin, where tastes and smells are often distorted by the rarified air.  Nose of grape juice, cinnamon and a woody hint.  On the palate I’m getting plum and blueberries with a rather surprising dose of tannins that are gripping the gums in a delightful manner.  I say surprising because this style of wine from Beaujolais is made differently.  Usually macerated, it doesn’t get much contact with the skins hence the normal ‘freshness’ of the region that gives up the long term cellaring capabilities of the wine by reducing tannic structure.  In return, a generally lighter style of fruit forward wine is crafted for short to mid term cellaring.  This particular wine will run for 5-8 years more and pair beautifully with roast chicken, pizza or some carpaccio and olive starters.  89 points.  Really delicious and for about $18 per bottle it gets 3 stars from me.  Salut….
fleurie les saprolites

Chateau Pavie 2000, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France

21 Saturday Jan 2017

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This is my first 100 point wine and was brought by a good friend to celebrate his promotion and pay off a football bet!  At $450 per bottle it’s a pretty steep price to pay for perfection but you only live once.

Nearly black in the glass.  A stunning nose of leather, tobacco, blueberry, coconut.  Young is my first impression. Fresh fruit, bright tannins, good acidity… blueberry tart, leather and spice box with maybe some plum on the mid palate. I’m also getting graphite.  Did I mention the mouth coating tannins?  They go on forever. This wine is extracted, polished, deep and complex, but it’s also a baby.  It needs another 5 years minimum before it starts maturity but will last till 2040 at the least.  It currently shows primal fruit but will evolve in a massive way once secondary flavors develop.  I am lucky I got to taste it at this stage of its life cycle and hope to be so fortunate in the future to experience it at peak.  I can only imagine how great this wine will be.  We drank it with some cheese and crackers, that is about all you need.  I would think this wine is worthy of 98 or 99 points, but the man himself gave it 100 on several occasions, so who am I to argue!  Shall we say 5 stars?  Salut….

chateau pave 2000img_1485

Louis Latour Corton Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune, France 2007

25 Sunday Dec 2016

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Merry Christmas!  I have family over for the holidays and we opened this bottle for a Christmas Eve potluck dinner.  I know it is extravagant for this type of Cru Burgundy to be opened with a pasta casserole and spiral baked ham, but it works!

Very pale in the glass with some orange hues of bricking appearing- maybe pre-mature for a Burgundy wine, we shall see.  On the nose a revelation, this wine is young, fresh and full of fruit yet tertiary notes are starting to appear.  Cherry, strawberry and wildflowers dominate with barnyard and a touch of oak also appears.  On the initial attack I’m getting super smooth cherry notes with cinnamon and grille backing it up.    The meatiness is slight but present along with super sleek tannins that are perceptible yet unobtrusive- this wine glides.  The mid palate is a seamless transition from the front with the addition of some barnyard funk- my kinda Burgundy.  The finish is decent in length and gives off leather and some pale berry notes.  This is a very complex wine that is shockingly smooth and very pleasing.  I am hoping it will evolve into a behemoth old school Burgundy in the next few years.  92 points from me which coincides with WS.  Drink now, but sparingly until it fully matures.  4 stars for the $50 price point.  2019-2027 is a good window for maximum effect.  Salut….

louis latour corton grand cru

Clos La Coutale Cahors 2013

25 Wednesday May 2016

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I do love me some Cahors- the Black Wine of the French Southwest region made primarily from Malbec grapes.  This one was not as tannic and in-your-face as other Cahors I have tried.  A dark purple color in the glass with a nose of plum, blackberry and oaky vanilla. On the palate, very smooth intro to blueberry ganache, some purple plums and a certain spice that I can’t pinpoint. The tannins are integrated yet somewhat green. They show up on the back end with more force. The finish is decent with tannins hitting the gums and a purple fruit finish. I think this wine is at peak with another year or two before it’s too late. 87 points.  It retails for $12 and gets 3 stars from me.  Salut….

clos la coutale cahors

Chateau De By Medoc 2010

14 Saturday May 2016

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I just flew across the country on United Airlines.  I chose this half bottle over the smaller, more generic offerings they had for sale.  2010 Bordeaux was a great year! This entry level red was hard to critique in the plastic airline cup but it looks purply enough! The nose is somewhat subdued due to the vessel but if I get my schnozzola right in there I get faint hints of pomegranate, some black berries and a touch of the plastic. My initial taste is quite nice- perhaps a bit rustic. Blue fruits and some plum stone. There are some good tannins swirling around intertwined with blueberry cola. The wine is slightly one-dimensional but is pleasing. It drinks well with some nuts and would pair with olives, a charcuterie plate or even grilled skirt steak. It gets an 85 point rating from me. Here’s the twist…. It is $16 for a 375 ML split, which equates to the same price as buying two of the regular, small bottles on United. Same price but a better wine that needs a corkscrew! I’m not sure how much it retails in the shops so I will guess $15 and give it 2 stars.  Salut….

chateau de by

Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes 2006

14 Saturday May 2016

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I bought this bottle at a wine shop that was closing and sat on it (forgot about it) until recently.  Nice, rich looking see-through purple in the glass. A nose of cherry, cola and earth. On the initial taste I got blue berries, lingonberry and a swath of swirling acidity. After a few minutes of air time the wine opens up even more, with sharper concentration of fruit with some tannins mingling with the acidity. A mid palate of plum puree hits me now and the tannins are defined, which for Pinot is rare. This wine is 10 years young and has much life left in it, I reckon maturity will hit in 2020 at the earliest. An entry level Burgundy that I really enjoyed. 88 points. $17 or so make this 3 stars in my books.  Salut….

albert bichot bourgogne vielille vignes

Domaine Carrette Pouilly-Fuisse 2014

14 Saturday May 2016

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Very light yellow with a citrus infused nose of lemons and slate.  Fresh and zesty on the palate with lemon, green apple and flint. Very focused and clean. Moxie thought it was too tart but I am enjoying it’s minerality. The wine needs raw clams, steamed shrimp or some Alfredo. 90 points and for $17 it’s a 4 star wine to buy for the summer.  Salut….

domaine carrette pouilly fuise

Orin Swift D66 2011

18 Tuesday Nov 2014

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I have sampled Orin Swift’s The Prisoner and am familiar with their full on style.  Heady and high in alcohol with great extraction.  This wine is no different.  It all began with a rich dark purple hue in the glass.  Wild flowers, blackberries, earth and plum come across on the nose.  Violets and plums with layers of dark fruit compote and an earthy component attack the palate full bore.  I loved the very smooth mouthfeel that hides the whopping 15.2% alcohol.  Melded tannins and a balanced acidity contribute to the silkiness.  This wine is made from Grenache, Syrah and Carignan from the Catalan region.  Terroir of the French countryside is evident. Old world in fruit yet New world in extraction and style.  It finishes with a touch of cinnamon and blueberry pie. 2014-2020 would be my guess for a drinking window.  I give it 92 points and for $33 it deserves 5 stars.  Deeeelish.  Salut…..

orin swift d66

Jean Balmont Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

22 Monday Sep 2014

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It’s been a whirlwind 10 days, starting with a trip to Reno for the annual Air Races followed by a night in Truckee with friends before my flight over to Asia.  I returned home for one night before heading to Florida for a memorial service for one of my best friends.  I am sitting at the airport waiting to go home now and have a few minutes to review the amazing wines that we drank over the course of the last two weeks.  This particular wine was on the United flight to Reno, so it doesn’t really count as airplane wine is about as good as airplane food.

From the newly renamed Pays D’Oc classification of the southwest of France this is a charming little wine that does the job it’s supposed to do.  It started out with no nose- airplane air can do that to a wine, especially if it’s served in a plastic cup.  No worries, I wasn’t expecting one.  Slight flavors yet interesting with a  melange of blue fruits and some crunchy cherry. Tart acidity and mellow subdued tannins show up in the composition of this wine that has a finish of herbs and yellow plum.  I can imagine this wine as a workday country lunch jug wine- very serviceable and getting a respectable 83 points from me.  I believe it can be had for about $5-6 per bottle, I happened to pay the trumped up $7 per 187.5 ml on the plane.  It’s hard for me to justify a 3 star rating for an 83 point wine yet I feel compelled to do so based on it’s quality price ratio.  Salut….

jean balmont cabernet sauvignon