France

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Great showing for this Premier Cru from the excellent 2005 vintage.  Ruby/purple in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, chervil and spice.  Medium bodied. On the palate, this is bigger than on the nose.  Cherries, black cherries with some spice.  Long finish.  Drinking well at age 17, this should go another ten to fifteen more years.  Better with food, this would work well with a seared Tuna Steak with a seared crust.

These wines don't seem to get the respect that other Bourgogne's get and that is a shame.  This was delicious.  It is more understated, but that is not a bad thing in Burgundy.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cranberries, rhubarb, cherries and slight char.  Medium bodied.  A bit riper on the palate with cherries and slight rhubarb.  Light tannins.  Sour/tart cherries on the finish.  This works better with food than on its own.  Sweet and sour Pork would work well. 

This is from a small producer in the south of burgundy.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, char and slight green/herbal notes.  Medium bodied.  Wispy tannins.  This is better on the palate with elegant cherry fruit.  Slightly complex.  Good finish.  This is a delightful Pinot Noir that drinks well on its own and is also great with food.  A nice wine for Roasted Duck.  

A nice showing especially considering the vintage.  Light golden in color.  A steady stream of smaller bubble.  The nose is clean with good minerality and slight pear notes.  Full bodied but overall the wine is more on the delicate side.  Clean.  On the palate, slight pear and nice minerality as well.  Long finish.  This should drink well over the next eight to ten years.  Very food friendly.  Nice to open a bottle of this with some popcorn.  

A difficult vintage in Champagne, but this one is drinking very well.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  A persistent bead of small bubbles form a nice mousse.  The nose is big with apples, pears, yeast and salinity.  Full bodied but good acidity.  On the palate, apples, salinity and slight yeast.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This is drinking well but should easily go another five to eight years.  Very food friendly, this would be very nice with spicy Thai food.  

From the late Phillipe Cambie, this is 100% destemmed Grenache.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black cherries, graphite, spices and roasted meat.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black cherries with great minerality.  Not as big a wine as one might expect from Cambie.  Deep.  Delicious.  Nice finish.  Drink over the next ten years.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  This would work well with fried chicken.  

Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with plums, black pepper, and black cherries.  Full bodied.  Lovely texture.  On the palate, plums and cherries with slight char.  Clean.  Good balance.  Long finish.  This is young and showing ripe fruit.  It is drinking well but may improve with a few more years of cellaring.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  it will work well with braised meats.  

This is a blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the rest is the other permitted varietals.  At age 22, it is showing some age and a bit past prime.  This bottle had been bought on release and well cellared.  Ruby/brown in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, dried cherries, soy/umami, and spice.  Medium bodied.  There are some drying tannins left.  Better on the palate.  Complex with layers of dried and fresh cherries.  Good balance.  Nice finish.

Gold/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose has chalk, salinity and green apples.  Medium bodied.  Moderate acidity.  No sharp edges.  On the palate, red apples with slight chalk.  Easy drinking.  Moderate finish.  Drinking well now and should for another five to eight years.  This would work well with shell fish.  

Gorgeous.  This is their "basic" non-vintage or multi-vintage but better than most luxury cuvees.  It is a blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, and 16% Meunier.  Light golden in color with a steady stream of small bubbles.  Nice frothy mousse.  The nose has toast, yeast, slight cherries, apples and chalk.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is complex and deep.  Slightly tart fruit (oranges) with some chalk.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now, and should for the next ten to fifteen years.  This will go with just about any food.  It would be great with Sushi.