2007 Domaine Pommier CHABLIS 1er CRU COTES DE LECHET (Northern Burgundy, France)

This was one of the most uncompromisingly, desicatingly bone dry Chabliseses I've ever had.  But I liked it.

Stunning color:  luminous and crystal clear medium dark gold, with a nice greenish glint.  The nose changed substantially over three nights (closed each night with a Vacu-Vin closure), which indicates to me that it can age and improve a few more years at least.  Closed and showing a sharply talc-y/minerally initially, by the third night it offered up really nice toasty, talc/chalk scents over intense pear and ripe apple fruit.  Bracingly bone dry, with medium light body and great, mouthwatering acids.  Intense sea shell/minerally-tinged green apple and lime fruit, along with light clear chicken broth, in the mouth.  Razor sharp, pure, stony/lemony finish.  A challenging wine to drink, but fascinating if you like the more austere versions of the Chablis style of Chardonnay.  B+.  Imported by Robert Kacher, I got this for around $26 at Spec's on Smith several months ago.

2009 Domaine Seguinot-Bordet CHABLIS "Vieilles Vignes" (Northern Burgundy, France)

A young, intense, tight, mineral-infused Chardonnay.  I would lay this down for at least another year or two, maybe more.

Medium light, very bright gold color.  Intensely saline/chalky/minerally nose whose fruit profile features intense green apples and crisp, slightly underripe peach scents.  Lean, intense, chalk and stone-laced flavors attack the palate, with some slightly bitter green apple skin and straw flavors.  Needs time to settle down, but should get even better.  The intense acidity and good length bode well for ageing.  B++.  Imported by J&R Selections.  Was $21 at Spec's on Weslayan.

A whole bunch of good wines

Mom and Dad came for another visit, and for much of their visit I didn't have time to blog in real time or take detailed wine notes, but we did open up a lot of good stuff. Pretty much special occasion , not everyday quaffers, but what the hey. Here are my quick impressions of them:

2005 Daniel Dampt CHABLIS PREMIER CRU "Cotes de Lechet" -- A wine I reviewed last year, it was holding nicely, with lots of steely, earthy, austere and penetrating (unoaked) Chardonnay fruit. Was about $29 from Flickinger's Wines (on-line) in Chicago.





1989 Chateau Meyney (St. Estephe, Bordeaux) -- Despite non-optimal storage for the last 10 years, this wine has held together nicely. Loads of cedary-peanuty aged Bordeaux scents, with soft, earthy plummy fruit in the mouth.

















2006 Wine Guerrilla "Coffaro Vineyards Old Vine" ZINFANDEL (Dry Creek Valley) -- This Zin was really, really good. Big, spicy, ripe (almost jammy but not quite) nose. Rich and fat in the mouth, but with great balancing acidity keeping it from being ponderous. Spec's has some of this limited production gem for around $32.

2004 Casa Emma CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA -- This was a deep, brooding Chianti, with big earthy, gravelly, gingerbready notes augmenting seriously concentrated macerated cherry fruit. Long, austere finish with some well-hidden tannin. Come back and see this guy in 3-5 years and it will be amazing. About $40 at Spec's.

2005 Turkey Flat Vineyards MOURVEDRE (Barossa Valley, Australia) -- This had loads of deep, ripe blackberry fruit, with a distinctly saline minerality. Mouthfilling and deep. Was about $20 on sale at Kroger's (Yes, Kroger's!) on Westpark near Buffalo Speedway.

2006 Cristom "Eola-Amity Hills PINOT NOIR "Marjorie's Vineyard (Willamette Valley, Oregon) -- Another superb P.N. from this producer. Earthy, spicy sappy cherry nose. Mouthfilling yet exceedingly elegant, with a soft finish that lasted and lasted and lasted . . . . Wow. Was about $40 at Spec's on Smith.

2006 d'Arenberg "The Noble" RIESLING (McLaren Vale, Australia) -- This botrytised late harvest Riesling was a total surprise. Who would have expected an Aussie Riesling to compare with a German Beerenauslese? Not me. But this one did, and at a (relative) bargain price of $18 (Spec's on Smith). Honeyed apricots and peaches, very sweet, intense, flavors, yet with very good acidity for balance. Not as complex as the best German versions, but a bargain in comparison!

Wines from Grandma and Nonno’s visit -- Part 6 (short-form notes)

Grandma and Nonno returned to Massachusetts today, so this is the last entry for wines from their visit. I'm going to need something to rehabilitate my liver after this visit, so many good and excellent wines did we drink. (I'm also going to need to return to my more frugal, usual fare!)

2005 Chateau de Saint Cosme GIGONDAS (Rhone, France) -- This was a ripe, youthful, and highly structured Rhone wine. Had lots of minerality and was quite tight initially, but opened to show a concentrated core of ripe cassis and raspberry extract. Pretty tannic throughout. If you have a cool cellar, keep this one another 3 years and then enjoy.

2004 Verget CHABLIS 1er CRU FOURCHAUME “Vieilles Vignes de Vaulorens” (Burgundy, France) -- this was excellent and drinking beautifully now. Ripe and complex, yet with bracing, well-integrated acidity. Featured a nose of toasty chicken broth, dry pear extract, lemons, and crushed stones. Very good concentration and length.

2006 Alto Moncayo “Veraton” (Campo de Borja, Spain) -- This was a new-styled and very concentrated Grenache. I loved the soft texture, the concentration, and the ripeness, but it was just a tad too oaky for me. The 2004 I previously reviewed was better (similar but less oaky), but this was excellent in its own way.

2005 Hubertushof LEIWENER KLOSTERGARTEN RIESLING EISWEIN (Mosel, Germany) -- A youthful but outstanding icewine, with great minerality, wonderfully ripe peachy fruit, and mouthwatering acidity. Very enjoyable now, this fragrant jailbait of a dessert wine could easily last and improve over the next 10 years or so in a cool dark cellar.

2004 Verget CHABLIS 1er CRU "MONT DE MILIEU" (Burgundy, France)

Another terrific 2004 premier cru Chablis from Verget. This had crisp fruit, minerality, vibrancy, and length. Delicious. There's very little that ranks with a great Chablis in the white wine world.

Eye: Almost luminescent, light brassy gold with a slight lime glint.

Nose: Intense scents of lemon-lime fruit and slightly smoky, limestoney minerals.

Mouth: Soft yet focused and intense. Flavors change from moment-to-moment: crisp Chardonnay grapes with a squeeze of lemon and lime juice, intense and slightly salty, bright powdered stone flavors, and ultimately ending with a bone dry yet caramelly note. Longgggg finish.

Score: 92.

Cellar or drink? Like most classic Chablis, this could keep, and possibly even improve, in a cool cellar for a few more years.

Price/store: $44 at Spec's on Smith, and worth it.

(Sorry -- picture of 2002 vintage)

2004 Verget Chablis "Cuvee de la Butte" (Burgundy, France)

(Truncated notes from memory.)


I had this unusually earthy Chablis (I'll skip any pun relating to the name of this cuvee) last night at the house of some good friends, but couldn't actually put my finger in the most prominent component of its nose and flavors until I woke up this morning: chicken broth!


Despite this uncommon aspect, it was still pleasurable and well-made. Underneath the broth were classic scents of lemony minerals and dry straw. It was medium-full bodied, and in the longish finish there was a nice purity to the lemon-limey fruit and the chalky minerals that emerged.

I got this for about $21 at Spec's on Smith, but it looked to be the last bottle on the shelf. I think I would have scored this somewhere in the 84-86 range, had I been scoring.

(Picture of 2006 -- couldn't find one of the 2004).

2004 William Fevre CHABLIS GRAND CRU BOUGROS "Cote Bouguerots" (Burgundy, France)

A great example of the barrel fermented school of Chablis winemaking.

Eye: Very light gold color.

Nose: This wines needed substantial airing before its nose opened up, but when it finally did, there were scents of smoke, ripe pears, and stony earth.

Mouth: Crisp, minerally, yet with a subtly earthy butteriness, this wine also featured pear and lemon oil fruit. It had a soft, rich texture as well, with a long, long finish.

Score: 91+

Drink or cellar? This wine felt much weightier in the mouth than its flavors would have seemed to indicate, which is a sign that lots of additional development will occur. Together with the inherent ability of great, barrel fermented Chablis to age, I'd say this one could easily improve for another 5 or more years in a cool cellar. If you drink it now, be sure to decant it (yes, I know it's a white. Decant it anyway!)


Price/store: Got this for $59 from Flickingerwines.com.

2005 Daniel Dampt CHABLIS PREMIER CRU - COTES DE LECHET (Burgundy, France_

This was a very nice example of the "nothing but steel" school of Chablis winemaking.

Eye: Light, bright gold with greenish glints.

Nose: Remarkably precise nose of lemon-lime and a hint of white peach fruit, with sea shell/minerally scents in the background.

Mouth: Soft-textured, with a light mouthfeel and yet with intense flavors: apples, lime zest, sea shells, steely minerals, and rock dust. Long, vibrant finish with perfectly integrated, crisp acidity.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? Chablis with this combination of intensity and yet crispness tend to age better than other Chardonnays. My own experience is that the "pure steel" ones, like this one, don't quite live and improve as long as the ones that have some combination of barrel fermentation of ageing, but still, this one will easily stay fresh, and maybe improve for another 3 to 4 years in a cool cellar.

Price/store: I got this for $29.90 at Flickingerwines.com.

2004 Verget CHABLIS 1er CRU VAILLONS “Vieilles Vignes de Minots” (Burgundy, France) (unscored notes from memory)

I had this SUPERB Chablis at OLA (the South Beach restaurant discussed below) restaurant.





This seemed to be a very old-school, barrel-fermented style of Chablis, with lots of toasty gun-flint, minerally, and lemony-peach scents on the nose. The flavors were incredibly precise and the mouthfeel light, yet with excellent concentration of lemon-lime and chalky/minerally flavors. (Sorry, picture is for the 2006).

I'm usually only a cautious fan of Verget's white burgundies, as I associate Verget with a style that emphasizes minerally/terroir over fruit, but this was dead-on amazing. I think I wouild have scored this one over 90 if I had been scoring at the time.

2002 Jean & Sebastien Dauvissat CHABLIS PREMIER CRU "Lechet" (France)

This was a very minerally, almost austere, but character-filled Chablis.

Very minerally, earthy nose, with lemony fruit opening up after a half hour or so. Very long, lean, bright finish.

Had this at my brother's house in West Hartford, CT. He got it for $38 at West Side Wines on Raymond Road in West Hartford.

2002 Domaine Billaud-Simon CHABLIS PREMIER CRU MONT DE MILIEU "Vieilles Vignes" (Burgundy, France)

(Unscored notes from memory). This was a primo example of the 2002 vintage in Chablis: bright, focused, minerally, stony, lemony flavors, with a weightless texture and tremendous length. Tremendous. Got this one from Flickinger Wines in Chicago.

A Has-Been and a Star

I brought a coupla French whites the other day to a dinner at the home of my good friends, the Finleys. The food was phenomenal (as usual), but the wines I brought were a mixed bag. Here are my short "from memory" notes:

The Has-Been: 2002 Verget CHABLIS "Terroirs de Chablis" (France) -- I thought this one would be peaking, but I had the wrong tense: it is on the decline. Light and minerally, to be sure, but with noticeable maderization (oxidation) on the nose and palate.

The Star: Château La Bidière MUSCADET DE SEVRE ET MAINE Sur Lie "Vieilles Vignes (Loire, France) -- this was a beautiful, textbook Muscadet. Fragrant, with fresh, minerally and lemon-lime scents. Intense, lively, balanced, refreshing, and pure tasting, with nice concentration and length. Bone dry. Spec's has this for about $12, making it a good value.

Wines from the New Orleans trip

My wife Liz and I just returned from a 2-day trip to New Orleans. It was the first time either of us had visited N'Awlins. Since I didn't bring my laptop, I'm going to blog from memory, so these notes will be a little less detailed than usual. And no scores, either.

2003 Domaine William Fevre Chablis -- Had this at The Gumbo Shop with a cup of gumbo and a bowl of jambalaya for lunch the first day. I remember it being a good example of the Chablis style of Chardonnay: steely, apply, straw-like elements on the nose; crisp minerals, apples, and a hint of peach in the mouth. Nice finish.

2002 Qupé Santa Barbara County 75% Marsanne, 25% Roussanne -- This one we drank with dinner the first night. Intense, brooding nose, with floral and minerally notes. Intense and full-bodied on the palate; not a show-off, but very deep. Had a flavor component that reminded me of dry essence of pears. A good choice with the intense food we had at Bacco, which is a phenomenal Italian restaurant.

2003 Talley Arroyo Vista Vineyard San Luis Obispo County Chardonnay -- A very Meursault-like Chardonnay. Toasty minerals on the nose, with great depth, balance, and length. I'm normally not a great fan of California chardonnay, but this was excellent. No sweet butterscotchy cheap oak; no watery overcropped finish. Had this one with excellent braised rabbit (Liz and her friend Flo had seafood, hence I went with a white) at Mr. B's Bistro.