Somm David T 
Domaine Ponsot
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2022
This is like wine candy and not in the way I normally refer to wine candy. In this case, fruity but a bit too sweet. This tastes like a higher brix pick than I prefer w/ my red burgundy. The sweetness does fade some after it long sets.
Black cherries, strawberries, raspberries with some blue fruit. Eucalyptus, a pungent herbaceous quality, dry top soil, dry limestone powder, fresh & used tobacco, dry leather, dry twig, pronounced barrel shavings, soft baking spices- strong clove, understated cinnamon, nutmeg & vanillin, some grilled meats, pepper, mid berry cola, dry river stone, nice red, dark, blue florals with violets, excellent acidity and a well knitted structure-tension, needs more time to be well balanced but elegant & polished long finish that lasts minutes and long sets on dry earth minerals & spice.
Maybe, better with a good long cellaring? — 8 days ago
Jean-Claude Ramonet
"Les Vergers" Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Chardonnay 2022
Another beautiful 22. From the very first sip, you know you have something special in your glass. Live a first sip.
Viscous, lightly waxy & elegant. The entry glides over the palate. The fruits perfectly ripe. Meyer lemons, green apple, pineapple, kiwi, grapefruit, lime pulp, whipped cream, excellent saline notes, sea fossils, crumbed limestone, caramel, butterscotch candy notes, understated honeysuckle, mint hues, perfect white spice tones, yellow & white flowers, perfect acidity, very well balanced, toned softly, refined elegance with an amazing long finish that land on spice & minerality. — 8 days ago
Hubert Lamy
En Remilly Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Chardonnay 2022
I have enjoyed this producers vineyard over many vintage and this might be the best.
The 22 vintage is stunning and as good as it is, 23 might be better based on a somewhat limited exposure at this point.
The entry is glorious…such balance and wire to wire it doesn’t change much.
Green apple, perfect lemon & lime pulp into subtle candy, grapefruit, white stone fruit, kiwi, tropical melons, pineapple, cream reduction, saline, perfect sea fossils, fine powdery taut chalkiness, crisp volcanics, white spice, grey volcanic minerals, limestone marl, mix of fresh & dry stubble herbs, honeysuckle, light caramel, warm lightly done toast, yellow florals, spring flowers with greens, grand waterfall acidity, beautiful structure-tension, incredible balance with an elegant finish that lasts two-minutes and long sets on volcanic minerals and spice.
Decanted 1 hour.
When I first started buying this bottling, it was $50-$60, now $150. Might be my last bought. My white spend has a more limited range than my red. Don’t think I’m alone.
A property Sofia & I have visited in 2015. — a day ago
Domaine Joseph Roty
Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2022
Thicker body and slightly and just slightly overly ripe, floral fruits of; blackberries, black cherries, raspberries and blueberries. Red cola, licorice, moist, creamy, gray clay, dry twig, eucalyptus, soft dark spice, pretty good wood use here, dry, pronounced leather, dry tobacco, dry top soil, pronounced limestone minerals, dry herbs, potpourri, red, dark, blue florals with violets, a little high in the acidity, well balanced, elegant, nicely toned & elegant finish that last nearly 90 seconds and lands on spice, minerals and florals. — 8 days ago
Alvina Pernot
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Chardonnay 2023
You would know you’re drinking a good vintage Grand Cru blind. It’s stunning.
Just crazy beautiful. It’s so good, it’s hard to find flaws. Something you want to drink all the time but at nearly $450 a bottle, that’s for the wealthy.
Perfect viscosity and mouthfeel. Meyer lemons, green apple, lime pulp, pineapple juice, soft white citrus blend, hints of white stone fruits, kiwi, tropical melons, gentle white spice, chalky powder, wet limestone powder, gentle volcanics, sea spray, light sea fossils, spring & yellow flowers, grand acidity, refined, glorious, perfect two minute finish that lands gently on everything above.
Best white burgundy I’ve had in some time. — 8 days ago
Dana Estates
Vaso Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
I bought this at K&L recently for $79 to judge their 3rd wine vs the younger Dana & Onda I have. This is made from de-selected fruit from their 3 primary single vineyards.
If you love lush/plush, ripe. bold Napa Cabernets, you will love the 2014 Vaso today. It’s still early but drinking nicely tonight. It took a 3 hr decant. Prior, it was missing a bit of a mid-palate. Not now!
The nose is beautiful. Dark currants-cassis, sandalwood, dry twig, dryish tobacco, mid intensity baking spices, dark chocolate, sweet tarriness, black licorice, dark to mid berry cola, steeped black tea, caramel/mocha, dry crushed rocks, candied to withering flowers framed in soft violets & lavender.
The palate is rich, lush, bold & striking. Dark currants-cassis, wild, ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, black cherries, both plums-black dominate to pudding, a buffet of mixed purple fruits, some baked strawberries w/ haunting raspberries. Bold, dark spices, caramel, mocha, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & a touch of vanilla, anise to black licorice, a mix of fresh & herbs, light cedar to sandalwood, dry tobacco with some ash, graphite, dry river stone, limestone marl, dry crush rocks, dry top soil, dark, withering to candied; dark, red flowers with violets, grand acidity, layered finish that is well balanced-structured, still well tensioned, elegant & smartly polished finish that goes on and on. Delicious, especially the longer it sat in the decanter. 3 hours total.
I bought 13 & 15 Vaso for the same price before finishing my comments.
This has 15-20 yrs of good drinking ahead.
@SimplyRedVirtualLiveHamburg — 8 days ago
Jones Family Vineyard
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
I have posted a number of older vintage Jones Family Cabernets. Many 20 yrs and older. Three to four 97’s…none better than this one. I give few wines a score above 96. This is different. It is so close to perfect. Some might give it a 100. I struggle to give a wine a perfect 100. I have only done it 4 times in an estimated 25k wines tasted or bottles I’ve enjoyed. One was a port made before 1886 and tasted in Oporto at Taylor Fladgate’s tasting room in 2015, it was their Scion. Only sold there and at the time 5k at bottle. You end up there purchase the Scion taste regardless of the current cost. They put on a tasting show for you. I am half tempted here to give out a 100 but will refrain.
I am not sure what to add to that but will attempt to do so.
The nose is a beautiful, perfectly evolved Napa Cabernet. Nothing overpowers any of its singular components. I think the word I am looking for is harmony. Lush, plush, ruby dark currants/cassis. The best, mid, subtle/gentle/soft, dark spice box I certainly can remember, lush blackberries, both plums, dark, not quite liqueur cherries, a mix of subtle purple fruits, poached to baked strawberries, some light hints of raspberries, dark sweet tarriness, melted dark chocolate, anise to black licorice, steep fruit tea leaning into black tea, sweet/soft leather, moist tobacco, sandalwood, dark, rich forest floor, sweet graphite, hints of dry twig, a flutter note of eucalyptus, dry, withering & slightly candied florals that are; dark, red & blue & framed in light lavender with more pronounced liquid violets.
The palate wire to wire is even & stupidly, gloriously, grand. It mirrors the nose very closely. Lush, plush, ruby dark currants/cassis. The best mid, subtle/gentle/soft, dark spice box w/ some light palate heat, best I certainly can remember, lush blackberries, both plums, dark, kirsch not quite liqueur cherries, a mix of subtle purple fruits, poached to baked strawberries, some light hints of raspberries, dark sweet tarriness, melted dark chocolate, anise to black licorice, steep fruit tea leaning into black tea, beautifully layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanillin, caramel, sweet/soft leather, moist tobacco w/ a hint is ash, sandalwood, dark, rich forest floor, dry, crushed rock powder, dry top soil, crushed limestone powder, sweet graphite, hints of dry twig, a fluttering note of eucalyptus, dry, withering & slightly candied florals that are; dark, red & blue framed in light lavender with more pronounced liquid violets, perfect, rainfall acidity, extremely well balanced, even & subtle tension-structure that stands up on the long set, refined elegance with a finish that goes on and on and eventually lands on spice & beautiful, refined earthiness.
What a bottle! 98 that leans into 99. I paid somewhere between $80-$90 on the secondary market for this bottle. — 3 days ago
Domaine de L'Arlot
Clos des Forêts St. Georges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2023
I am a fan of their work. This wine is so weightless, soft & gentle, it might float on water.
I met Toby Bekker in Australia who I thought his Grenache and Syrah wines were made in a Burgundian style. I asked him about his time in Burgundy and if that influenced his wines. He said, there he learned what not to take from grapes/wine. This is a shinning example of what he was taking about.
The fruits are perfectly ripe, floral & extracted. Cherries, strawberries, pomegranate, rhubarb tones, plums, haunting raspberries, light & softly layered baking spices- clove cinnamon, nutmeg & vanillin, understated red cola & licorice, excellent oak use-barrel powder, hints of dry herbs, understated dry twig, hints of grilled meats, notes of dry tobacco w/ ash, soft used leather, red flowers, red & pink flowers, excellent acidity and a well balanced, softly waking tension with grace and elegance on the two-minutes that lands gently on spice & earth.
Beautiful! — 8 days ago
Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot
Les Referts Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Chardonnay 2023
It’s viscous and waxy. Sour lemons, green apple, lime pulp w/ zest, apricots, kiwi, pineapple that leans into syrup, honeysuckle, butterscotch, saline, white spice, charging, bitty chalkiness, limestone marl, grey volcanics, yellow lilies, white flowers w/ greens, excellent acidity, nicely balanced, well toned, perfect elegance and polished finish that last minutes and long sets on spice and minerality. — 8 days ago
Somm David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
So Williams Selyem Pinots should be treated is the same fashion as good burgundy, with age. It will always be somewhat sweeter than red burgundy but nonetheless very good.
This shows w/ an array of mid berry fruits accompanied by some darker fruits. Strawberries, cherries, pomegranate, cranberries, raspberries, hint of rhubarb, blackberries and haunting blueberries. Mid berry cola, red licorice, fruit tea, eucalyptus, pine tar notes, pine tree bark, dark, rich soils/earth, dry herbs, mid, dark spice, dry crushed rocks, dry limestone powder, black pepper notes, dry river stone, dry fall leaves, bright florals that are; red, blue, purple with a mix of red & pink roses, late spring waterfall acidity with extreme balance, tension, structure with elegance & smart polish for days and long sets on tree bark/sap & spice.
Still ascending. — a day ago