Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1994 vintage. Nice fill with a slightly shrunken and fully saturated cork. Durand helped plenty in the opening assist. Not decanted and tasted after 1.25 hours open. Hadn’t tasted since the early 2000’s. Definitely dropped all the baby fat. Toffee, coffee and chocolate covered cherries in the nose. Light medium body (thought it would be a touch bigger). Still plenty of focus but slightly less grip than desired. Can it match biggie shizz like Montelena, Dunn, Diamond Creek, BV GDL Reserve, Mondavi Reserve, Araujo, Peter Michael Les Pavots, Mayacamas, etc? No. Is it really really nice? Absolutely. Can hold another 5-6 years at this juncture before boarding the downhill bell curve train. 11.8.24. — 15 days ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over three days. Consistent throughout, though the nose opens a bit more after Day 2. The 2020 “Les Beaumonts” pours a deep ruby (strikingly dark) with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with very light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of tart blackberries, licorice, peeled carrots, forest floor and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and super zippy; tart even. Alcohol is a little elevated but this has an overwhelming impression of freshness. Drink now with patience and through 2035. Thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist! — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured, enjoyed over several days. Consistent throughout. The 2013 “Serracapelli” pours deep garnet with transparent core, medium+ viscosity no staining of the tears. Some sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with soaring aromatics; explosive notes of Rainier cherry, roses, pomegranate, Grape Nuts, star anise, talcum powder, old wood, new leather, alpine herbs. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and grippy with almost waxy texture. Fresh, balanced, and super compelling. Lovely stuff. Drink now and through 2033 easy. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of several hours. The 2019 pours a deeper garnet (than the Barbaresco) but otherwise the same with a transparent core, medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, more power here too. A tar bomb early which settles in and takes a seat behind a basket full of black cherries, macerated blackberries, roses, orange rind, menthol, fresh sage and some dried basil and old wood. On the palate, bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Such a lovely body and don’t even get me started on the texture. I’m smitten. Drink now with patience through 2049. Thanks @Lyle Fass for the assist! — 7 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

The Godefroy lieu-dit sits below the Brouilly hill, to the east. The vines here are very old; some over a century!

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Fairly consistent throughout. The 2022 “Godefroy” pours a deep ruby/purple color; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with perfumed notes of ripe strawberries, Rainier cherry, red plum, forest floor, and red flowers. There’s also a slight funky note, a sort of mushroom thing that I really liked. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+; almost chewy. Compared to the “La Chapelle” from earlier in the week, Godefroy is rounder; a bit more fun, flirty and funky whereas “La Chapelle” is darker fruited, more chiseled; stony and sexy. Drinking well now and through 2037+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2019 pours a very pretty garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of raspberries, cranberries, pomegranate, rose pastilles, alpine herbs, cedar chest, and crushed rock. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose thought the palate seems to be a little more reserved. The finish is medium. This is an authentic and elegant expression of Carema; a place already known for elegance. Drink now through 2034. Thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist! — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.6

The 2016 “Don Fiorino” Riserva is a very special bottling from Produttori. So special in fact, that I can only recall them making a similar Riserva on two other occasions in their history: 1990 and 2008. When the vintage is strong, Produttori will bottle single-cru Riservas from 9 specific MGA’s within the cooperative. However, in 2016 the vintage was deemed to be so remarkable that they made a Riserva blend. Included in this blend are the 9 typical MGA’s along with grapes from some other, important MGA’s that are never bottled on their own (I believe Cottà and Faset are two of them). To commemorate the occasion, the wine was named after the priest, Don Fiorino Marengo who founded the Produttori in 1958. This is a wine fitting to such a legacy. Imagine the 2016 Produttori classico cranked up to 11. That’s about what we’ve got.

Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2016 “Don Fiorino” pours a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the palate, the wine is developing with powerful notes of tart and ripe dark fruits: black cherry, pomegranate molasses, red flowers, talcum powder, sage and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with low-key high tannin and zippy, medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is remarkably long and juicy. So juicy in fact that it seems to mask the tannins but they are definitely there. The density is unreal. I expect this wine to live forever. Drink now with patience to appreciate its precocious youth (and because the 2016 vintage is so damned giving) but I expect this to be even better after 2031 and then remarkable through 2066. Thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist. — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Apropos, the vines for “La Chapelle” are adjacent to the chapel perched at the very top of the Mont Brouilly where it is quite dry and the soil is very poor. The vineyard is also remarkably steep making manual harvest essential.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Fairly consistent throughout but I felt it was most enjoyable on Day 2 and 3. The 2022 “La Chapelle” pours a deep ruby/purple color; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful and fresh with beautiful notes of tart blackberries, red plum, wet stone, a combination of red and purple flowers, licorice, dried green herbs, some wood varnish. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and has a stiff spine of minerals. This is a cerebral wine compared to “Godefroy” (which is almost quaffable in comparison). Drinking well now to enjoy its freshness but will undoubtedly drink well through 2037+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course three days. The aromatics were most impressive on Day 1 but the palate found better balance on Day 3. Regardless, an impressive showing throughout. The 2018 “Oléa”, which I understand to be what’s basically a barrel-select of Patrick’s standard Côte-Rôtie, pours a deep ruby/purple color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with fascinating notes of brambles, lavender, blueberry pie, tarragon, grilled lamb, blood, and granitic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long with a lovely, silky texture. Drink now with patience and through 2038. Thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist! — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed as a preamble to my birthday dinner. The “La Pucelle” pours a straw color with medium viscosity and a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of yellow apple, Bosc pear, raspberry, white peach, brioche some chanterelle mushrooms and a mix of chalky and limestone minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with high acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is forever. Zippy. Divine. A “wow” Champagne that seems to straddle the freshness of the reductive approach and the complexity of the oxidative approach.

Always 100% Pinot Noir, this release of “La Pucelle” is a deft blend of the 2014 and 2012 vintages; 32/68 respectively. Disgorged 2015. Though this is NV, expect a long life. My only regret is drinking this so quickly because this has a bigger story to tell. But I was sharing with 9 other people and holy smokes, it’s already the belle of the ball. Thank you @Lyle Fass for the assist! — 6 months ago