Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.
Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — a month ago
Vinoso. Bello. Finissimo e maturo. Fresco e piacevolmente acido — a month ago
2016 inviting nose, soft tannins and good finish. — a month ago
Love these wines. 2016 is a beautiful rendition, rich, spicy, and mineral, layered with oak framed vibrant fruit, sweet spices, violets and game, with a seductive, velvety and expansive palate with fine grained tannins. Drinking beautifully now but with a long life ahead. More Vosne than NSG which is just the way I like it. Last sips were the best. — 5 months ago
This rating is just my taste. Not a reflection of the quality of the wine. I generally don’t care for the St Emilion region. The wine is just too austere for me. It’s 22% cab franc. It had a slight puckering dried out character without balance to me. Definitely can tell it’s a well made wine. Perhaps with a strong food pairing this would be a better experience for me but it was a wine I didn’t enjoy drinking. — a month ago
This should cellar longer. Maybe another 5 yrs before I try again. Decanted over 3 hrs. Tight in first hour. It needs a lot air now. Many layers and complex fruit. It lingers. Meaty after taste. Dark fruit. Earthy. I liked it very much and look forward to the next one. — a month ago
It’s always a resounding ‘YES’ for JL Chave!!
That includes this luscious and concentrated Syrah from Saint-Joseph AOC in the Northern Rhône of France.
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave is a benchmark and icon of the Rhône Valley – a family-run operation since 1481 – with an entire range of deliciousness through the Domaine Jean-Louis Chave and JL Chave Selection portfolios.
This wine is deep ruby, trending on purple. It has pronounced aromas and flavors of boysenberry, blueberry, black cherry, cassis, pomegranate, also violet, bacon, sanguine, saddle leather, pipe tobacco, clove, cigar, damp earth, and black peppercorn. Alcohol is high (14.5% ABV) with medium (+) fine-grained and well-integrated tannins, medium (+) acidity, a medium (+) body, and a long, elegant finish.
It has a rustic and savory character with robust dark fruit notes; it’s layered, complex, structured, and age-worthy, benefitting from decanting. Still, it’s tasting wonderfully now.
Cheers to JL Chave and treasures of the Rhône!! — 2 months ago
Smoky violets. Savory with a whiff of grapefruit. Whole cluster. Thoughtful. — 6 months ago
Solid 2023 rose. A little pricey ($17.99). — 9 days ago
Splash decanted directly prior to service, the 2018 Morey Saint Denis pours a deep ruby with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose the wine is youthful with powerful notes of ripe and tart red fruits: red cherries, red brambles, red flowers, some herbs and a healthy dollop of warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and luxurious. A fairly flashy wine and, to my palate, the oak is showing prominently right now. Not out of balance, but close. The alcohol is up there…but it is pretty well disguised. Not wimpy, that’s for sure. While this is certainly full of energy and character right now, I think this wine would enjoy some time in the cellar to show even better. Drink from 2028 through 2043. — a month ago
Beautiful. A bit of everything. Freshness, depth, fruit and minerality. Long and pleasant finish.
94 + — a month ago
Pure and précise. Time will reward. — a month ago
En primeur — a month ago
Smooth. Not tannic. Even better after being opened several days. Blackberry. — 2 months ago
rounded fresh fruits, deeply tannic still. aniseed, pepper, like a cured sausage taste. light oak on the nose and on palate. clove. slightly mineralic, granite and graphite, fresh olive, orange rind. — 2 months ago
Earthy and funky. Big and bold — 4 months ago
Ron Siegel
A wine I have purchased every year since the 05 vintage. This vintage is more open, approachable that had rich dark cherry, berry fruit, savory spice, underbrush, mineral & violet. — 5 days ago