La Closerie Extra Brut Pinot Meunier

Consistent with my last notes, though the fruits felt a little more baked here. Perhaps it was the occasion, but I was not particularly fond of it this time round. Essentially the flaws outweighed the intrigue.

Super umami nose, reminiscent of the tomato seasoning you might find on chips. Savoury, saline, and electric on the palate, with fruits taking the back seat. Once more, the Pandan-like mousiness prevailed in the finish, despite how different this bottle appeared from the previous one. A crowd favourite on this evening. Still pleasurable despite its flaws for me, but give me the vintage’s Les Beguines over this any day!

I was excited to try Jerome Prevost’s cuvée “&” for the first time (notably, the LC19’s the second iteration of this cuvée), but this bottle fell short of expectations. It just didn’t have the intensity one would expect of Jerome’s wines. Maybe it needed more air, but the touch of mousiness was a compelling enough reason to drink fast. Across dinner, it never really offended, with the mousiness only appearing as a Pandan-like note as one swallows, and the more animale nature arising from one’s breath after. However, it did seem to cut short the verticality of the wine, which I liked - lean, high acid, with a distinct chalkiness. Other flavours of interest include pears, nectarine, cream, touch of clove, and quite a bit of nuttiness. Flavours were there for me and it was good with dinner, but it was just missing the typical Les Beguines magic. On to the next bottle - hopefully better.