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

2013 Château Coutet, France, Bordeaux, Sauternes, Barsac, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$50.00USD

This is one of the better houses making sweet dessert wines in Barsac.  This one was no exception. Light copper/orange in color.  Perhaps a bit darker than expected but not an issue.  On the nose, there is tropical fruit, slight each and a slight kindling smoke note.  On the palate, this is rich.  Plenty of Botrytis but good acidity to offset the sweetness.  Honey and tropical fruit on the palate.  Clean.  Long finish.  This is great on its own or with a more savory dessert (no chocolate).  It should easily last another fifteen to twenty years.  

NV Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier

Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$35.00USD

This is a blend of 40% Pinot noir, 40% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Meunier.  This is drinking very nicely.  Light golden in color.  The nose has red apples, brioche and slight toast.  On the palate, this is easy, crisp and very enjoyable.  The apples come thru with an underlying minerality.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This should be consumed in the next few years.  It is quite food friendly and will go with almost any food.  

2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu, France, Loire Valley, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2002
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A

This was a sound bottle.  Many of the Huet 2002's are subject to premature oxidation.  This bottle was excellent.  Chenin Blanc, especially with some residual sugar left, can last for decades.  Golden in color, clear and bright and slightly deep.  On the nose this has orange peel, crushed shells, salinity and a touch of canned peaches.  Medium bodied.  Slightly sweet on the palate.  Complex.  Nice minerality layered with a bit of peach and slight honey.  Nice acidic backbone.  This worked great with a peach cobbler dessert.  Good bottles of this can be enjoyed at any point over the next cou

2002 Domaine des Baumard Coteaux du Layon Carte d'Or, France, Loire Valley, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2002
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A

This is a dessert wine made from the Chenin Blanc grape.  At age 17, this is doing great.  Chenin is one of the longest lived wine grapes out there.  Golden in color.  The nose is great with sea air, orange peel, crushed shells and honey.  Medium bodied.  This is sweet, not cloying or even very sweet but more than off dry.  There is also a bitter note on the finish which complements the sweetness nicely.  In between, some citrus and lots of minerality.  Nice acidity.  This would work with citrus based desserts well or in a small glass on its own.  No hurry, this has at least a decade left i

2003 Château Branaire-Ducru, France, Bordeaux, St. Julian, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2003
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$74.00USD

This took about an hour to open and then was drinking great.  It is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4.5% Petit Verdot and 3.5% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, cigar box and cherries.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  Ripe fruit.  Lighter tannins.  Flavors of Cherries with some cassis, chocolate and clean(er) barnyard.  Good finish.  This is about at peak now but should be here for at least another five to seven years.  It will go well with roasted meats or fowl. 

1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1999
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$70.00USD

This was a very nice bottle.  It was clean and must have been well stored all of these years.  Ruby in color.  The nose has red berries (kind of a cross between cherries and raspberries) with slight violets, roasted herbs and a bit of black pepper.  On the palate, this has some depth and a bit of complexity.  At or slightly past peak (perhaps) but drinking wonderfully.  Cherries with roasted herbs and slight forest floor.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  No hurry but it won't get better and should probably be consumed in the next five to seven years though it will last longer.  It will go with

2017 Marcel Lapierre Morgon, France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$28.00USD

I love Beaujolais.  At least the Cru wines.  They are versatile, friendly and although not everyone agrees, the best ones age wonderfully. So, when at a friends house for dinner recently and he had prepared a Cauliflower dish with pesto that seemed a difficult food match, I suggested he open this.  A good choice.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, plums, spice and some barnyard.  On the palate, there are cherries with slight almonds and slightly dry tannins which all worked together in a good way.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.

2015 Rotem & Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Magis, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$130.00USD

What a killer white wine.  This was even better than the 2016 and 2013.  Deep golden in color.  The nose has smoke, lemons, floral notes and white peaches.  On the palate, this is full bodied with a zesty acidity.  There is a lemon cream quality to it not too unlike a nice Chard but also peaches with underlying minerals.  This is a big wine but with enough energy to pull it off.  It does have a bit of an acidic bite on the finish right now.  It is delicious and worked great with a pea.

2015 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée Marcel Lapierre MMXV, France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A

This is the top cuvee from one of the top producers in Beaujolais.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has a significant amount of barnyard on it.  While I enjoyed it, this may be off putting to some.  Also, plenty of cherries, black cherries, and charred wood.  On the palate, the cherries come thru along with some sour cherries, and a bit of earthiness.  Plenty of depth.  Great acidity.  Still showing very young with light tannins.  Nice finish.  This probably needs another three to five years if well stored.  It will work well with casseroles and stews as well as roas

2015 Domaine de Bellivière Jasnières Premices, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$30.00USD

This one is chugging along.  Perhaps a bit shut down from a bottle a few months ago, but it might have just been the bottle, night or me.  Still an outstanding bottle of wine.  Opened for friends who like to cook but at not into wine.  Come to think of it, the glasses were small and shallow and that may have been an issue as well.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has sea air, slight orange peel and honey.  On the palate, this is off dry.  It has a slightly viscous texture.  Honey, slight ginger, salinity, minerals and slight citrus.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Went great with

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