France: Wine, French Wine Regions, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, & More Profiled

2019 Château Haut Coteau, France, Bordeaux, Saint-Estephe, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$38.00USD

Ruby in color with a purple core, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has sour cherries, some cassis, and slightly earthy with some attic dust.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate sour cherries and black cherries.  Nice finish.  A nice wine, but the tartness will require some food to balance.  Perhaps Roasted Duck would work nicely.  Drink over the next seven to twelve years.  

2019 Château Climens Asphodèle, France, Bordeaux, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$54.00USD

This is 100% Semillon from Bordeaux.  Light, silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  Great, powerful nose with papaya, slight tangerine, and chalk notes with nice minerality.  Medium to full bodied.  Oily texture.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the tangerine comes thru but also some limes, especially on the long finish.  Some depth.  This is nice on its own but will work well with foods, too.  It will work well with sea food and especially shell fish.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

2005 Geantet-Pansiot Charmes-Chambertin, France, Burgundy, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2005
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$375.00USD

A bit bigger and riper than a "typical" Charmes but quite enjoyable.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright, showing no bricking.  The nose is great.  Earthy with cherries and spice along with a nice minerality.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is vibrant and drinking well.  Cherries, some black cherries and underlying minerality.  Some complexity.  Good acidity.  This is getting close to peak.  While it may never be ethereal, it is very enjoyable.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  It would work well with coq au vin, of course.  

2003 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2003
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-

Found this lost in my cellar.  From an historically hot vintage, I had little hope for this wine, but opened it anyway.  I was wrong again.  What a lovely CdP.  This is not their luxury cuvée, so perhaps that helped get the less ripe grapes, but at age 21, this bottle was excellent.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, some black raspberries, "purple" flowers, slight barnyard and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Wispy tannins.  lovely, juicy texture.  On the palate, black cherries with depth and complexity.  Good finish.  The bottle

2012 Christophe Pichon Côte-Rôtie Promesse, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2012
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$44.00USD

Purple in color, opaque and slightly flat.  The nose features black raspberries, black pepper, bacon fat, and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has some complexity and depth.  Black raspberries with black pepper and spices.  Nice finish. This seemed to be close to peak but should have another five to seven years at this level.  It went very well with a black olive tapenade and flat bread.  

2021 Domaine Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Les Saussots, France, Burgundy, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$40.00USD

A really nice value in French Chardonnay.  Gold/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose has red apples, good minerality and a touch of spice.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, no hard edges.  Very smooth with apples and minerals.  Long finish.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  Pepper crusted Tuna steaks would be nice.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

1996 Château Calon-Ségur, France, Bordeaux, Saint-Estephe, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1996
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$225.00USD

This is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot from the very good 1996 vintage in Bordeaux.  purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  There is some cassis but mostly dried fruits, tobacco, cigar box, dried leather and some spice.  Medium bodied with good acidity.  On the palate, this is complex and fully mature.  It doesn't seem much past though (depending on how you like older Bordeaux).  Black cherry fruit, dried cherries, forest floor, and slight spice.

2019 François Villard Côte-Rôtie Le Gallet Blanc, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$70.00USD

This is a delicious Syrah from the Northern Rhone value.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries with some funk/Brettanomyces.  Also a slight lavender note.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cleaner with black raspberries, minerality an char.  Nice finish.  Obviously young, but drinking well, it will mature and improve.  That said, drink over the next twenty years.  A nice match would be Lamb stew. 

2000 Château Haut-Bages Libéral, France, Bordeaux, Pauillac, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2000
Grade: 
Current Price: 
$145.00USD

Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and showing just a bit of bricking on the edges.  The nose is a bit musty but I didn't think TCA  (although some did), with cigar and some cassis.  The mustiness did not blow off completely but did not get stringer so I am going with a bit of bottle age.  There is some depth to the wine.  The palate has some cassis and some tertiary notes of leather and dust.  Good acidity.  Most 2000's are slow to mature, but this bottle, at least, seems past prime.  Drink up.  No rating as not sure how representative this bottle is.  

1994 E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1994
Score: 
85
Grade: 
B

When I saw this being opened, I had no hope.  But, it showed well.  Past prime and this was never a great wine (not a good vintage), but a very enjoyable wine.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has dried raspberries but a touch of fresh with dried floral notes and spice.  Medium bodied.  Tannins resolved.  Good acidity.  On the palate, raspberry fruit with some depth and complexity.  No off notes.  Good finish.  Way to go!  Drink now if you have this, but at least give it a chance.  It went well with some pasta.  

Pages