Jay Kline

9.2

Petit & Bajan have been one of those “growers” to watch for a few years now. A literal marriage of Chardonnay (Richard Petit) and Pinot Noir (Véronique Bajan) with some mentoring from the one and only Ansleme Selosse makes for a pretty compelling story. As it turns out, the wines are pretty darned good! Popped and poured. The “Nuit Blanche” is a BdB showcase of Petit’s family holdings in Avize with some fruits coming from Cramant and Oger as well. The wine pours a light straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, mix of lemon curd, white peach, limes, pear, almonds and brioche with chalky minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with really good acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long with distinctive chalky minerals. This was very nice and I look foreword to tracking their wines. Bottled on July 2, 2015. Disgorged November 2021. — 2 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.0

Savory impression, bready, smoky,
Nice as a new year’s starter.
Older, 2012, 2015,2016, holdings. — 3 years ago

Martinez

9.3

Blend from the family’s holdings in the Geisberg and Osterberg grand crus in Ribeauvillé. Pale gold color. Complex bouquet with aromas of yellow apple, candied citrus, crushed stone, beeswax and a hint of hazelnut. Full-bodied, rich, quite concentrated. Lemon flavors. Long, complex finish — 3 years ago

Martinez

9.0

Riesling from less than one hectare on a hillside overlooking the village of Riquewihr, Andrée Trapet’s hometown. Like all their holdings in the Côte de Nuits, all plots here are farmed biodynamically. Fermented in tank, aged for 10 months in neutral oak barrels and concrete eggs. Elegant, precise nose with citrus, floral and stony notes. Dry, pure, quite refined. Nice tension, subtle minerality — 3 years ago

Brent Clayton

9.2

From the Count's holdings, this did not disappoint. Extremely ripe and youthful. Evolved a bit over the night but this is certainly a ripe, concentrated style of wine. — 5 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.5

Sadly the last commercial vintage from the “pope of Arbois.” (I guess “Puff Daddy” was already taken). Excited to try some of the newer releases from Domaine du Pelican who acquired a lot of Puffeney’s holdings. As for this wine, it’s exceptionally beautiful and I’m just going to enjoy it rather than pick it apart. Elegant, vivacious, soulful, just really captivating and only gaining in intensity with time in the glass. — 6 years ago

Paul Hackett

9.0

2016 the perfect blend. Absolutely gorgeous! — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

The “V.S. Caterina” is a single vineyard located in the southern most portion of the Lazzarito MGA, in Serralunga d’Alba. This is considered a monopole of sorts since Guido Porro is the sole producer from this vineyard. Geographically speaking, the holdings are ideal with great southwestern exposure, located close to the village of Lazzarito and right next to Vietti’s holdings.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over a period that lasted a couple of hours. The 2015 pours a bright, reflective ruby color with some hits of garnet towards the rim and a transparent core. Medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and no signs of sediment. On the nose, ripe cherries, strawberries, loads of roses, dried green herbs, and gravely earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. Superb balance. I didn’t buy many 2015’s from Barolo or Barbaresco because I didn’t really like them on release and they didn’t seem to have structure to carry the day. And while the latter may yet be true for extended aging, the 2015’s have been strutting their stuff over the last year, showing off all their solar glory. Drink now and over the next 7 years with ease. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

This bottle of 2010 Roberto Voerzio “Brunate” was generously provided by a friend who wanted to share this with me after service along with a few others from Tasting Group. Opened, splash decanted and consumed over three hours; served side-by-side with the 2010 Pecchenino “Le Coste”. The Voerzio “Brunate” was a relative hermit. Even after three hours in the decanter, it remained a bit of a wallflower while the Pecchenino was a whirling dervish on the dance floor. The classic structure of 2010 and the austerity of “Brunate” made for an impenetrable fortress, keeping the fruit under lock and key…and behind a moat and a drawbridge and stone walls with soldiers and trebuchets for that matter. Despite all of that, one does get the sense there is a deep core of high quality fruit recessed underneath the surface. It’s dark and mysterious…and simply hard to access at this moment in time. For what it’s worth, Voerzio’s holdings in “Brunate” come from the western portion of the MGA, on the La Morra side, right next to Oddero’s holdings. Frankly, this is going to need a long, long time in the cellar before it shows really well. If i had any in my cellar, I wouldn’t touch again until 2030. — 3 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

8.9

2018 vintage. At the time owned by the Bouteiller family ( Château Lanessan), but recently all the Bouteiller holdings were bought by Australian giant Treasury. Easy-drinking, charming Haut-Médoc. Terrific value too ( 9.99 euro with a 2,50 euro promotional discount in a supermarket!). — 3 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.6

6th of 6 RSVs at this dinner. 3rd of 3 Arnoux RSVs. This was smoking good and it was clear the 2 2001s were the red wines of the night. Strong similarities between the 3 Arnoux wines and the Cathiard. The Cathiard holdings are adjacent to those of Arnoux. Intense core of focused sappy red fruits. Plenty of tannins and acidity that makes you salivate. — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.3

WNH white burgundy theme.

The domaine's holdings in Forets is made up of two parcels, totaling just under 2 hectares. The older parcel is of 60 year old vines and is right next to Vincent Dauvissat's holdings. The second is made up of younger vines (25 years old) and is next door to Raveneau's parcel of Forets.

Chablis is hit or miss for me, but this was a total hit. What made this special for me was the weight in the mid palate. Obviously youthful, but from a great vintage. Aromatically, it showed honeysuckle, citrus, and grilled lemon rind. At pop, the mid palate was hollow but it gained a lot of weight after two hours. Golden delicious apples, limestone, more citrus and a touch of honey. The entry shows good acidity but the star of the show is the mid palate. As expected, temperature made a big difference here...slightly above cellar temp seemed best as a touch more fruits showed up (added pear). Paired wonderfully with truffle marcona almonds. — 5 years ago

Jeff Hasmann

9.0

Love me some Lirac! From The Brechet family’s (owners of Vaudieu in Chateauneuf) holdings in Lirac comes this super concentrated, fruit forward wine. Ripe black fruit, pepper, and licorice. Beautiful ripe fruit attacks the mid-palate leading to a silky, opulent finish. Not complex, but really enjoyable - tremendous value. 2016 vintage on Aug 2, 2019 — 6 years ago

Matt

9.5

This is gorgeous tonight. Continue to find that Mas de Boislauzon is consistently one of the best value CNDP around, true to place and terroir driven on all fronts, from traditional cuvée to their prestige offerings. I think the hearty amount of Mourvedre and plenty of holdings in sandy dominated soils of the N/NE part of the appellation make for a remarkably dense, balanced and textural wine. I feel like some 07’s have hit their mark in the last couple years and this is in a sweet spot to me. Nose is meaty, lifted with smoke, hot stones, porcini, truffle, espresso bean, plum marmalade, lavender pastille. Palate is more kirsch, compote, cinnamon, licorice whip, candied bacon, woodsmoke, and stones again. Structurally theres a great interplay of moderate but present acid and granular tannin. Perfect foil for a bacon and mushroom cheeseburger 🤤 — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Brought from my cellar and opened just before dinner at Casa Bovina where it was decanted with the expectation that it would be paired with our “Della Terre” course of duck and our “Bistecca” course of Certified Piedmontese rib cap. In the glass, the 2005 Luigi Baudana, “Baudana” pours a gorgeous, almost youthful garnet with a transparent core. On the nose, oooof…be still my beating heart! Cherries, strawberries, and blackberries with tar, truffles, roses and earth. I could just sit and sniff this for hours; my God it is absolutely divine! On the palate, the wine is bone dry and the tannins are well integrated now; acid at medium+. The finish is long and silky. What a gorgeous, elegant example of the 2005 vintage that comes across as Burgundian as any I’ve had from Serralunga d’Alba. This is drinking well now and will continue to do so well past 2030 but unless you have a bunch of this in your cellar, why wait?

It should be noted that Luigi was still responsible for the winemaking back in 2005. Just a few years later, the Vajra family took over and they continue to carry on the tradition and spirit of this small, traditional producer as Luigi and Fiorina have since retired and have no heir. The Baudana’s holdings lie on opposite ends of the Baudana MGA. Production remains minuscule; maybe 300 cases a year. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Selected off the list at Boiler Room. Giacomo Fenocchio’s holdings in the Bussia MGA reside within the sub zones of Bussia Sottana (of which they enjoy some of the best parcels) and that of Munie. Opened about 30 minutes before service; no decant and no formal notes. The 2014 “Bussia” from G. Fenocchio starts off a little shy, but it gains weight and significant aromatic character with time in the glass. Bright cherries, slightly on the more tart side with tar over roses. The body seems a little demure early on but it eventually fleshes out and becomes almost chewy! The structure I want and expect from Barolo is there too with lovely acid and stiff tannins. The finish is long and savory. Last sip was the best. This was quite a lovely example of 2014 and a fine accompaniment to bone-in pork chops and Morgan Ranch beef cheeks. Drink now with some patience and over the next ten or so years. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Tonight, this bottle of 2010 Fenocchio Barolo “Villero” gave a masterclass on the character and virtues of the Villero MGA. I have always felt that massive patience would be required for the 2010 vintage since the wines are so structured. However, the Villero fruit, as it so often does, showed through with aplomb. The most prized parcels are located in the upper portions of the vineyard and this is where Giacomo Fenocchio’s holdings reside.

Opened and simply allowed to breathe for about an hour before dinner. In the glass, the wine pours a luminous ruby color with a transparent core. No staining of the tears. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, the wine is expressive with notes of dark cherries, sandalwood, anise, fresh red roses and tar. On the palate, the wine is bone dry and the structure, in typical 2010 fashion, remains monumental…even at 12 years of age. In fact, the tannin seemed to build as the hours went by. That being said, the fruit was still abundant and full of class: cherries, forest strawberries, dry earth, spiced meat and minerals. Juicy and textured at the same time and the finish was hedonistic. While this is already drinking so well, this will have a long life. Drink now with patience and through 2040. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Dense and a rich Ruby colour. A closed latent nose not giving much at this young age. Also relatively closed on the medium to full bodied palate. Far too young - has not entered its drinking window of 2024 to 2034 according to Julia Harding MW. Masculine and powerful - a lot hiding in reserve with this wine. 94 points for now but probably 97 points in 10 years. Clos de Vougeot is 60 Hectares making it easily the largest Grand Cru but to be fair some of the lower holdings down near the road are not of GC quality. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

While Gimonnet has maintained Grand Cru holdings for decades, they have historically blended GC with 1er Cru, feeling better balance was achieved that way. I’ve never been one to argue that approach because the results have always been delicious, at least to my palate. However, Gimonnet broke tradition about ten or so years ago when they started bottling this single GC expression from Oger where they have about 1ha of Chardonnay. This bottle, disgorged in 2017, is like a laser beam of lemon, grapefruit and minerals and a perfect choice for a lazy weekend lunch with our hot ham and cheese croissants. Pound for pound, and in terms of availability (at least in my market) I’ve got to say that Pierre Gimonnet is one of the best growers out there. — 6 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.1

As usual, this is the one dry Hexamer wine to perpetuate the tradition of Prädikat, and that is done solely to satisfy the Norwegian importer who takes all of it. (All to one country, yes; but this has become a high-volume cuvée by estate standards.) The fruit comes from the Eisendell as well as from a site known as Grosser Stein for the huge stone that marked the boundary between the holdings of the Rheingrafen (counts) and those of the Disibodenberg monastery. Picked nearly a month earlier than was the highly-impressive 2016, this weighs-in at 11.9% alcohol, and that shows in an attractive sense of levity and spring vis-à-vis Hexamer’s other dry Rieslings of this vintage. Fresh lime, apple, piquant aromas as well as a juicy, crisp-edged and pip-tinged presence on the glossy palate serve for penetrating. Subtly bitter but cooling and stimulating notes of melon rind compound the sense of crunch and piquancy while lovely, bittersweet inner-mouth perfume adds allure. The combination of vivacity and refreshment with floral and mineral intrigue renders the buoyant, bell-clear, seriously-sustained finish next-sip compelling. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 7 years ago