Thursday 5 December 2013

Max Bordeaux. Enomatic Heaven.

I've just returned from Bordeaux. I might write a small piece on a few of my experiences there a bit later. For now, I'll share my clearest memory. The joy of the Enomatic machines of wine shop by the name of Max Bordeaux.
You know the drill, get a card from the staff and put some money onto it. Stick the card into the little slot slot on the front of the machine and pour yourself a tasting sample. For those not acquainted, here's the company's website.
I only had a limited time to sample, so I just shot a few snaps and jotted down a few impressions.

Cos D'Esturnel 2002


Early maturity, grippy and long.
Truffles and cloves over licqour cassis.

Dripping with class and not overly concentrated.



Chateau Brahans Haut Brion 2005

Dense and showing maturity at the rim. Truffles and some beef consommé on the nose. Spicy and still plenty of years left. The best wine I've drunk so far.


Chateau Canon la Gaffeliere 2008


Sweetened but not jammy. A little animal on the nose. Classic right bank.

A coolness and and mineral component offsetting the fruit. A gent.

Cos D'Estournel Blanc 2009


Very dense green citrus and herbal candy. Almost comedically concentrated. Resinous body and very round. Poor cost performance (?).


Chateau Le Sartre 2010


More stone and acid on the nose. Excellent. Crystalline and focused. Still a little young, but intense green citrus and refined use of oak. No bitterness in the green flavour and wonderful balance for food or apperitif.



As you can see, not exhaustive notes. Great wines to glug back in a very short space of time! If you're in Bordeaux I heartily recommend Max. They're right down town so you'd be a fool to miss out.

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Tales of the unexpected

After another warm autumn afternoon of barbecue and chat on the roof of Wine Bar Libero. Then the unexpected happened. One of the guests suggested that we top the day off with something a little more special than the sturdy, worthy wines that were designed to compete with Shohei's trademark tandoori chicken. I heartily agreed, as one is want to do after drinking a bottle of wine by 5:30pm. I'm certainly glad I did.


First the Pauillac. Very pleasantly surprised here. I was expecting a competent 2005 left banker, but got something a lot better balanced and delicious.
My expectations weren't sky high as I'd got this at a pretty hefty discount, but upon decanting it became clear just from the rich, dark fruit nose and faint hints of dried vanilla pods that this was a surprise package. The
sweet dutch tobacco once it had opened up with the air raised my expectations further. 
Beautiful balance, plenty of left bank character, very well judged oak and just the right amount of tannin for my tastes. The structure really let the fruit component of the palate sing. Just a smidge of residual sugar to add to the overall air of opulence. Evolved well in the glass to the extent that it made me hungry for more meat. That really was an achievement after such carnivorous day.
If I had a criticism it would be a slight lack of intensity and length.
Remember, this was a sale item!

I was a little hazy by the time I came to thinking of what to write about the Puligny-Montrachet. Undoubtedly delicious, the main thing that stayed with me was the style. Arrestingly modern. The Etienne Sauzet was, miracle upon miracles, another wine with wonderful balance. Old world minerality, new world citrus, globally appealing levels of sweetness from the 25% new oak used to mature this wine. This seemed to me to be half-way between the Domaines Raveneau Chablis and Kongsgaard's The Judge Chardonnay we'd all enjoyed at the anniversary party at the same establishment a few months before. "I must get this again." I thought to myself.
Then I got the hiccups. 
Not entirely unexpected.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Crozes-Hermitajolais

When is a syrah not a syrah? When it tastes a little like a Cru Beaujolais. I had this preconception bending drop in the quirky surrounds of Kyoto's premier oddball wine bar, Pinot Taro

Rene Jean Dard Francois Ribo Les Rouges Batie Croze Hermitage certainly surprises. Even if you knew that this was from the Rhone it would be difficult to pick this as a monovarietal syrah. Don't ask me about the colour (Pinot Taro is purposefully Stygian in it's lighting gloom), but the nose on this suggested a very different spice profile to that which might be expected. Bright, but not in any way Christmassy or peppery. The best I could come up with at the time was a resinous, seed like quality with hints of caraway. It's the floral component that really drives the nose. Wafts of peony that one might expect in a glass of Julienas or Chiroubles that are also heady with some noticeable alcohol.
The palate is dominated by dark fruit, but this still leads us to the unexpected. Not the bramble and pepper driven hit of syrah, but the volatility of a young Cru Beaujolais and somewhat like a fruit sauce to be served with game containing a good balance of acid and dried characteristics. Not overly long and not answering a question that anyone's asking, this wine engages on its own terms. Drink at the right price.

Monday 16 September 2013

Vino o Muerte!

Here's a thought. What if something just fell from the sky and hit you on the head. Will there be a fracture? A concussion? At least a nasty bump? This latest sunbeam from the sunny skies of Uruguay certainly came out of the blue but I must say that I feel better for it's impact. Viña Progreso Bodega Experimental Open Barrel Tannat. The name is a little difficult to say after a few glasses of the stuff but you'll be glad you said them to your local wine shop owner.



First impressions into the glass were a rich, purpled core fading to a deep lilac rim. All good so far. Smoke on the Water. What an aroma. It's still deeply purple in a way that Prince could identify with. Like a monovarietal Petit Verdot on some serious steroids. And testosterone. Plenty of berries and stone fruit give it a truly regal air. Very up front but distinctive.

After tasting quite a lot nice wine this year (not a lot compared to the pros, but a lot for me) it was nice to get something really different. Not just a novelty either. There's craft at work behind the fruit and the tannin. The open barrel part. I'll quote from the website.



Or I can take a screen cap. The oak is noticeable but is well judged and suits this wine. It isn't noticeably sweetened buy the effects of the barrel. I'm sure the edges of this deeply stone fruited, floral flavour will meld together well and this 2011 vintage should be drinking very well by 2015. It was delicious and I want to drink some more soon.
It might be a long wait though. Bottles like this don't just fall into your lap.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Libero Wine blowout, Part 3!

Last time I left you I mentioned how I'd done a sterling job of buggering up my 1978 Lopez de Heredia Rioja. Oh well, at least I brought a back-up. Surely  a 2003 Chateau Kirwan should liven things up? Regular readers will know of my unhealthy obsession with Margaux and I was pumped for this one. Nothing but structure. The nose. A Hell's angel that had taken up carpentry. The palate. Cru Bourgeoise. head-bangingly bad value for money or another bottle that wasn't in pristine condition? I don't know for sure but I suspect the latter.
After that, things got more interesting.



To quote Austen Powers. "Yeah baby, yeah."
Sadly, like most of these kind of wines (those who's reputation simply can't be avoided), this disappointed somewhat. In the words of Director Jesse, "It was yummy." and it was.
All structure, no adornment. This wine was a solidly built Victorian army officer of a wine.
This wine hasn't stayed with me through the weeks since this party in the way the Chardonnays have. I simply can't fully enjoy a wine that doesn't have much fruit in the flavour profile. Poor me? Not a bit of it. It's an awesome privilege to be drinking wine like this. Just be careful how you spend your money.
Red of the night was the 2010 Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz. Fruit and terroir, structure and excitement. This wine is still in a young and dynamic phase with the flavours of bramble fruit and red berries alternating as the wine slowly breathed in the decanter. Earthy and spiced in a typically Barossa way, (not in a McLaren vale way) this wine powered through the competition with grace and power. It only showed a little heat early on and it's something that I'd recommend to those that have access to it. Get full value by not drinking it for another five years.
A night that will live long in the memory, now excuse me while I find some decent Chablis. 


Thursday 27 June 2013

A deal with the Devil

Value Bordeaux. Not two words you see together very often. I got a deal on this. A 2005 classified growth for under ¥5000 is a deal with the Devil. Surely a this kind of wine from this kind of year should command more of a premium? It was with trepidation that I uncorked it, expecting disappointment. Heat damaged in some way, or somewhat sea sick from the long journey to Japan? Of course the first glass was a little closed. The second, drunk the day after, gave me hope. Oh hope. The cruelest of all mistresses.


In this case my hope was not misplaced! Masculine and brooding, this is a Daniel Craig of a wine. The nose has that unmistakable Bordeaux perfume. Cassis and leather. Hint of violets. Wet forest.
Powerful in the mouth, but lacking somewhat in complexity. An almost perfect balance of dark fruit and wood characteristics but none of the floral, vegetal or red fruit character you'd  expect in it's more expensive brethren. Length, medium. I cheated the Devil. Perhaps I should take up the fiddle...

Sunday 16 June 2013

Wine bar Libero: Second anniversary blowout. Part two!

Back to the amazing wine night at Wine Bar Libero, Kyoto! This time I'll go on about the Reds. For your lack of scrolling convenience, I'll repost last week's picture.


I'll begin with the 2005 Romanee St Vivant. Fantastic stuff. Much darker and denser looking than a typical Burgundy. The slight increase in viscosity being apparent on the side of the glass when tipped. The nose was huge and focused with tons of red fruit and a considerable floral character of crushed violets and dried rose petals. Pink and purple pot pourri. Not too sweet. Some fatty characteristics as well. The flavours were not yet resolved. Unsurprisingly, this will need a full 20 years to reach it's peak. Rich and distinctively scarlet in it's fruits, this wine showed none of the vices of over extraction. 


Long on the palate and balanced, despite its youth. I have no doubt in my mind that there'll still be significant fruit left come 2033. Hold your horses!

Next up, one of the wines I brought. I was very excited about the 1978 Lopez de Heredia Gran Reserva Vina Tondonia. I'm sad to say that I completely buggered it up. The night before the party I wanted to open it just to remove the sediment. I was worried about drunk hands mashing the 35 year old cork the day of the event. Just a quick bottle/decanter/bottle/vacuum job then... Wrong! after half an hour prodding and probing with a leaf opener the cork had retreated 3mm into the neck of the bottle. Surely I couldn't use a traditional cork screw? This called for drastic action. Push through and decant.

I tried in vain to mash the cork out of the empty bottle or in some way coax it back into a removable position. After another half hour I gave up and re-purposed an old Chilean wine bottle. By that time this old wine had too much air and was well past it's prime. Who'da thunk it? A 35 year old cork that's like a bullet! That was a blow out, but I also brought a back-up. More on that next time.


 


Tuesday 11 June 2013

Wine bar Libero: Second anniversary blowout. Part one.

Sometimes an extravagant event comes around that one really can't miss. Such an event was the second birthday of my good friend Shohei Juge's wonderful Kyoto wine bar, Libero. The guests had been pouring over the offerings from local wine stores for weeks in advance in order to impress the other guests with interesting bottles. There were certainly some expensive stuff on display and here I give a few impressions.

The sparkling on the left is Michel Gonet's 1998 Blanc de Blanc Millesime. I hadn't heard anything about this wine before it's arrival in front of me last saturday. A rich toffee colour, the mousse subsided quickly as it was placed in my hand. A quick cheers and this was half dispatched in double quick time. The second gulp, once the first spring of effervescence had subsided, revealed a little cork taint that simply couldn't be covered up by the nutty, peely, rindy richness of the palate. A shame. This wine had length. And damp cardboard.

Yellow wax cap? Domaines Raveneau's Chablis 1er Cru Montee Tonnerre 2006. Excellent and my white of the night. Everything you could want from a Chablis plus length! To be honest it's been a while since I've had Chablis I usually source my white burgundy from other places. This rolled back the years with simple, sweetly singing green fruit with hints of steel and flint. There's not much more you can say about the palate of this wine. There's also not a lot more that needs to be said. A restrained nose? Well that would be nit-picking.


The other end of the spectrum now with a huge, limey, oaky blockbuster. Kongsgaard's The Judge Chardonnay. This is one chardonnay that actually looks a little green in the glass. Chartreuse? Let's hope not! If you like lime cordial you'll love this! The power of this wine cannot be underestimated and the length is impressive as well. Looking for secondary flavours proved to be an uphill struggle as wave upon wave of citrus coated my mouth. Changing tack seemed to be an appropriate course of action for tasting this. Simply reveling in the weight and resinous texture of this titan proved to be enjoyable enough for me to have a thoroughly good time. Blowed if I can remember the vintage...



I hope to be back soon with part two, the reds!

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Sometimes the point is just to enjoy it. Better not miss the point...

Last week I had the pleasure to enjoy something I haven't had for a while (no chortling at the back, please). There are some things that I just can't get excited about anymore. All that anticipation just for something plain and generic. It's gladdened my heart that there are still some cheap thrills out there awaiting those brave enough to experiment (Don't make me put you in detention).  What's the point of veering away from standard Chards and Sauvs?

A mono-varietal Roussanne is a rare bird around here. For those unfamiliar (for those who are totally uninitiated, Tablas Creek has a good primer article here) with this enigmatic grape, pinning down what makes a good example can be a difficult process. Capable of fleshy, fruity aroma bombs and austere, mineral driven understatements alike, fans of this grape can often be divided. One person's meat, etc etc.



Yangarra Estate Vinyard 2012 Roussanne is a wine I've been looking forward to for some time. When an example turned up as a sample, I was round to my importer friend's apartment like a shot to have a couple of glasses. Straight out of the bottle it's nose is promising. Typical honeyed green fruit, both tree and stone, greet the drinker. Icterine and crystalline on the eye. The palate has a balance of fruit, acid and mineral that mirrors the nose and convinces harmoniously. Secondary notes include hints of walnut and button mushroom. For such a reasonably priced bottle the flavour seems to go on for a lot longer than one might expect.  Cellaring for a year or two would, I'm persuaded, yield exciting results. Within the structure of this wine the acid's mineral character I'd expect this wine to slowly evolve from a very flexible light food wine complementing salad and vegetarian food into a very genteel standalone drinker.
Any negatives? Well, could it be said this bottle needs a little more intensity? It could, but that would be missing the point.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

The Sampler!

For the uninitiated, The Sampler is a great place to find new and interesting wine. Branches are in South Kensington and Islington in good old London town. I swung by the South Ken shop when I was back in England a couple of weeks ago.
The key advantage to shopping here is that many wines are available for tasting in Enomatic machines! This means you can have a perfectly served sample size of a wide variety of wines. Simply hand over some cash, get a card, get a glass, pop your card in one of the machines and taste away!
I had an hour and a half in here and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Here are my impressions of some of their offering!

2010 Domaine Maroslavac-Leger. Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes. Fine crisp acidity, not as much fruit as advertised. Obviously lovingly produced with wonderfully balanced oak and a touch of creaminess. Great value.



2011 Domaine du Chêne condrieu Restrained fruit with English pear and musk melon underplayed with smokeyness! Pricey.

1998 Viña Tondinia Rioja Blanco. Like a very herbal white Bordeaux. White flowers and some orchard fruit. Acid well balanced and great length but I'd hoped for more for this money

2012 Monsters, Monsters Attack! (Yes, that's its name) Rich, primary Riesling. Candied pineapple and sweet shop on the nose.

1976 Ch Leoville Barton. Obvious pedigree on the nose. Still very fresh and I'd never put this at 35 years old. Hint of sour. Christmas spice Length long! Is this wine holding up better than me? I don't think so. If I paid 90 quid for this I'd feel a bit on the robbed side, the highway robbed side. I suppose there's always a premium on Bordeaux.



2001 Viña Tondinia Very sophisticated red fruit but could certainly put up a fight with richer foods. Dust. Massive length. Restrained and in no need of having to try hard. Just needs to resolve the acid a bit more to be a real stunner. Drink from 2016

2010 Domaine de Chêne Anaïs Saint Joseph Fantastic. Syrah fruit and cloves! Wallop!


2010 Juan Gil Jumilla Monastrell. Double whammy! This is a blast of fruit extraction. A chocolate bramble flamethrower of a wine. BBQ plonk on plenty on steroids and not without savory character to retain the drinkers' interest. Oak spice aplenty.

Bizkaiko Txakolina Gorrondona tinto. Hondorrabi Beltza grape (no, me neither...). Tastes like Blaufrankisch. Acetony.

2010 puy de dôme Pinot Noir. Concentrated and new worldly, this also has a dried meat character to it. Wonderfully cheap!

I hope you get the chance to go to one of their branches soon!

First in the season out of the blocks and running.


Wednesday 10 April 2013

Mixed bag shootout. Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of the pizza run down. How on earth we managed to have a pizza night without any Italian wines is beyond me, but we did. Why shoehorn in wines that you don't think belong? Which is better do a Hawaiian pizza? Barolo or Chianti? Syrup from the canned pineapple? It wasn't really authentic Italian food so I didn't bother with authentic wine.




 
Our only nod to the Italianate was the Coppola (well, Italian American) 2009 Black Label Claret (left). My previous experience with Coppola wines was a deeply disappointing Green label Claret a couple of years ago. That one reminded me of promotional cardboard cutouts of movie stars that are used in cinemas.
Lots of sheen, big smile and very recognizable but absolutely no depth. The Black label was a much better wine. A stronger core of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit and a broader palate than the Green label. Distinctive Bordeaux blend nose and a decent length. This one could definitely be improved with either a stronger hit of acid or more longer maceration time to impart deeper tannins. Certainly a bit of extra mid palate flavour wouldn't go amiss. Preferably both. A nice squeeze of good quality Petite Verdot please.
The shortcomings didn't dull my guests enthusiasm for this wine, it was gone in the blink of an eye. Overall a pleasant experience but not really my style.
 
If you know me in person, skip this next section. Those people would know of the enthusiasm I have for 2003 Les Fiefs De Lagrange (center). First lets get this over with. Price. This is cheeeeeep! I don't know what your going to pay wherever you live, but in Kyoto the lovely chap/esses at Liquor Mountain are banging it out at about ¥2000 a bottle for loyalty card holders. Buy this shit up, stat. Refined, and as luscious as a lot of decent 2003 Bordeauxs are. The length and nose are surprisingly polished for a wine in this price range. Red fruit predominates, with bright Victoria plum and some bramble fruit both on the nose and palate. Sweet Redcurrant focuses the flavour and I felt that this bottle would be much better suited to beef than half-baked (metaphorically speaking) pizza.
There are also typical Bordeaux savory notes as well and they're welcome, but secondary.
Buy and drink now before I do. Other vintages are readily available and nearly as good.
 
Finally, a bit of a wild card. 2009 Llebre Tempranillo (right). It's very difficult to pick apart this wine. Obviously Tempranillo and lusciously fruity, this is an easy drinking table wine that all liked. This is a wine that would think nothing of being discovered in your bedroom wearing only a smile. Identifying precisely what the components of the nose and the palate is tricky. Drinking this is like being hit in the face by a cherry, with a strawberry. The fruit isn't incredibly intense so don't expect a California fruit bomb. If you must insist on red wine with cheese, this might be a good choice.


Shoot-out Winner? Let's just say Chateau Lagrange did very well indeed. 

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Mixed bag shootout. Part 1

Saturday saw a pretty big party at my place. Pizza dough lovingly slaved over by myself and the culinarily gifted Ryan Buttigieg was baked into all sorts of weird and wonderful forms. The addition of some cool wines was a big surprise. There were a few old faithfuls and a couple of wildcards thrown in.
 Left to right

Les Arums De Lagrange 2009
The first wine the was opened was the always fruity and muscular White from Chateau Lagrange. Packed with Semillon Sauvignon Blanc flavour and subtle oak this wine was a real crowd pleaser. "It tastes like tuck shop sweets!" Exclaimed one guest, and I'm sure I agree. The degree of pear, goosebery crumble and candied lemon peel in this wine blows away the casual drinker and intrigues the more experienced. A good balance of ever so off dry structure and surprising length makes this one to seek out. A fantastic one-night-stand of a white Bordeaux.

Chateau DuPlessis 1988
25 yer old Moulis-es-Medoc? Don't mind if I do. Of course this wine was over the hill. A modest Cru Bourgeois when vinified, this wine had all the hallmarks of it's age, A litttle brown around the rim, hints of glycerine on the nose and all the fleshy stone fruit of the Merlot in the blend turned to prune. Not a weighty wine, even by Moulis standards, this lacked length to boot and couldn't really be considered good quality. I did, however, get it at a good price and it was enjoyed by everyone.

Le Blanc Du Chateau Prieure-Lichine 2010
A few of us chipped in some money for this interesting little white from Margaux. Upon opening, this wine disappointed against the more obvious charms of the Lagrange, but once it had opened up a bit things soon improved. There's a wonderful density in the flavour profile. Not only the expected citrus, grass and pear of a regular white Bordeaux blend, but also an interesting vegetal component of artichoke and mallow. Old fashioned sweet of the kind that are hawked at tourist attractions for atrocious prices or fancy salads at gastro-pubs can exhibit the rich herbal heft of mallow and it works well in this wine. Fine stuff, but at the price we paid I expected more intensity in the flavour and nose.
Marriage material white Bordeaux

Carmen Organic Grand Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
The first thing that strikes you about this wine is the noticeable bret funk on the nose. This can work well in a Rhone blend but in a mono-variatal cab it detracts somewhat. There's a lot of cassis in the flavour profile and the oak is well judged. The wine is quite weighty and the amount of residual sugar makes this a satisfying wine int he mouth. The biggest plus point for this wine is how well it went with the food. As the glasses went down peoples throats and the pizza recipes got more outlandish, the Carmen went down faster and faster.
I'm not mad on organic wines as it goes, but if that's your bag this may be worth a look.

I'll give you a peep at the other three wines we had a little later and remember, may the wine be with you. Always.

Monday 18 March 2013

First show in the can, then back to boot camp.

Now that myself, Peter and the producer have finished shooting the first in the new series, a number of things have struck me.
1) At least we don't seem to be any worse at this gig than in autumn.
2) The Shit Wine review really does require a shit wine, with a capital turd. It's not the Passable Wine review.
3) The new titles look really cool.
4) The way that the raw footage has been filtered makes us both look like 80's dads dressed unsuitably young, but in a good way.

I was certainly pleased with the wines (Tour Leognan 2010 and Les Arums de Lagrange 2009), not only for their quality and enjoyability, but also for the ease with which we were able to review them. I really don't want to be banging on for hours using unidentifiable adjectives like a half smashed Jilly Goolden (ahhh, fond memories...) on an episode of Just a Minute. I want to tell you, briefly and comprehensably, if you should buy it.

Buy the Lagrange. White Bordeaux purists may want to turn their nose up at the richness, but there's no denying it's deliciousness. Drinks well. Provide your own adjectives.

Here's a snippet. Full show to be published soon.





While I'm happy with the look of the new video, there are some serious questions I need to ask of myself regarding how I appear on camera. Do I really want to "act" so much? I think it makes it funnier to watch, but is that really desirable in a wine show. Also I think I'll go back to the more heavily prepared, heavily written style of the first few episodes. Bits of paper, staples glue, paperclips children's reward stickers and lots of words were a fun, if solitary, way of preparing for a show. I think I'll go back to that style, only with fewer words.
Enjoy the episode.

Friday 1 March 2013

The perfect wine for Elmer Fudd.

A briefly taken snapshot of one version of wine's future. Are you bothered by wine tasting notes that bear no resemblance to the real flavours of food, flowers or wood? Conversely, does the incessant cry of wine store clerks that their product is very "fruity" rub you the wrong way?
These wines are for you! Choose which foods you like then buy the wine that matches. Simple. The fact that the sub title of the wine reads "Girl Friends' Wine" is not at all problematic, is it? We all know that women can only appreciate wine with colourful labels and animals.



Speaking of which, I'll be enjoying this on a dining room table very soon.
Be vewy, vewy quiet. It's wabbit season!


Monday 25 February 2013

Spring is almost here.

Rising like a hungover student from the unwashed bedsheets of the internet, it's the Wine Mothership blog. Please bear with us whilst it's crap. Please bear with me whilst I'm trying to get Peter over his pathological fear of the written word. While I admire his ability to reach into the air and conjure, in a Dumbledore-esque manner, a witty epithet that contains an unbroadcastable swear word, Peter has still to perfect this trick on a computer keyboard.

The second season of the 'ship hoves ever more clearly into view a few salient questions have still to be answered.
1) Was the first season actually any good?
2) What the hell are we going to do for the second?
3) Is it worth buying decent mics?

In the best WM tradition I think I'll just put these questions off for another payday and just focus on the first episode.

Ever since the early autumn last year, when I was awoken from a fitful slumber screaming the words "White Margaux", I've had a bit of a thing for white Bordeaux. Soooo herbally, lemony, stony and flexible in it's application is it, it's won quite a few fans among my friends. Friends that can often be a little reticent of my rather esoteric choices. Simple deliciousness and good value seem to be the order of the day when enjoying white Bordeaux.

I've ventured a little higher up, price-wise, recently and found a huge amount of cost performance.
The Prieure Lichine was too old, but hinted at something hugely enjoyable from younger, more vigorous bottles. The Carbonnieux was a piercingly bright star in the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon firmament.



I'm looking forward to a new series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.