I saw Mark Flesher’s 2011 O’Shaunessy review the other day and was reminded about how much I love their wines. They are hard to find out here in Florida, so when you see them on the wine list, grab them! They had both a 2015 and 2016 vintage, so we decided to do a comparison. The 2016 is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 5% Merlot, 3% St. Macaire, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Even with decanting the 2016 for over an hour, it still was too tight. Drinkable, but compared to the 2015, it is still not ready. It will be very good in time. — 6 years ago
Elegant Cubillo from the 07 vintage. Plenty of spicy/oak notes on both nose and palate. More finesse than other LDH bottles I’ve had, but no complaints here. One of my favorite producers in the world. Enjoyed alongside a curiousity, The Groderdeck Whipperjenny which is a spaced out jazz funk effort led by David Matthews who was also James Brown’s arranger and band leader at the time. Great stuff all around here. — 6 years ago
A clean and precise nose of grapefruit, dough and a whiff of yeast. Palate displays close to neutral oak, honey, grapefruit and citrus notes, complimented by white flowers and granite. Cuts through the fat of the truffle-infused burrata perfectly. This has inserted itself as our house bubbly. — 6 years ago
100% Chenin Blanc. The nose is pure and fresh Chenin: the lanolin calling card is there, with loads of fresh green apple and pear, meyer lemon and its citrus florals, and a clear transfusion of minerality. The palate was med/med+ in body with med+ down the line for acidity, flavor density, and length. The minerality really comes through on the mid-palate and finish as this and the acidity are the core of this wine’s energy that light up the fruit and florals on gorgeous display.
A remarkable effort for the first vintage of this new vigneron. Drink now or hold 5-8 years. It could go more so I am being conservative since there is no track record. #CHENINCHENINCHENIN
This was tasted the other day in a Loire Chenin lineup of some of the greats from Chidaine, Huet, Belliviere and Baumard.
About the Wine & Winemaker
In the cellar, Olivier's goal is to reduce the number of filters between the fruit and the wine. Once the Chenin is pressed on an old vertical press, fermentations start spontaneously on wild yeasts and in fiberglass tanks. Once the fermentation is ready, the must is transferred to neutral barrels by gravity and left untouched for 12 months until racking and bottling.
After visiting several vineyards, Olivier was able to take up parcels ideally located on the hill of Montbenault, on the edge of the plot of Richard Leroy. It is also Richard who testifies to the colossal work that Olivier Lejeune undertook to give back life to vineyards that were almost fallow. 1 year of pick, manual weeding, pulling ... but the result is there.
“Poiesis” comes from the same Greek root as the word “poesy”. Poesy is the the art or composition of poetry while Poiesis is the activity through which a person brings something into being that did not exist before. These concepts are at the heart of Clos des Plantes. — 6 years ago
We had this with Oxtail dinner at Rattray’s in Mala Mala last night.
Not my usual detailed notes. This is ripe & lush like the Nederburg but with more complexity.
The palate showed ripe and slightly candied fruits of; dark currants, blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries and a hint of blue fruits. Nice softly layered baking spices, dark chocolate, mocha, rich, dark soils, some dry top, well done granitic minerals and fresh red and dark florals. The acidity round & beautiful. The finish, ripe, lush, well balanced & polished. Good QPR here.
Photos of, today’s Mala Mala sunrise, baby calf elephant along with the nearly 40 in the herd and a total of over 100 Elephants seen today, playful male dominance of the Giraffe’s intertwining and smacking necks/mid section and the grand prize, male spotted Leopard. An amazing finish to our last day. — 6 years ago
Brendan Baker
Ripe peach and nectarine, med + body, med - acidity, fairly high alcohol. This is a bigger, richer rosé than I typically prefer, but still excellent — 6 years ago