Varietal: Champagne Blend | Location: France - Champagne
WS 91
Delicate and subtly textured, with sweet cherry, ripe plum and raspberry fruit notes that are balanced by ending with a light smoky finish. Drink now. 7,000 cases imported.
Varietal: Champagne Blend | Location: France - Champagne
WS 90
Rich, round and creamy, this offers light red fruit notes, a hint of orange peel and spice on the finish. Harmonious and beautifully balanced, with a lingering aftertaste. Drink now.
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
WS 94
Silky and forward, with black tea, melted licorice, hoisin sauce, mocha and currant fruit flavors gliding along cocoa-tinged tannins. Additional hints of tobacco, chestnut and grilled beef flitter through the finish, which has solid, latent grip. Drink now through 2028. 1,500 cases made.
Varietal: Port Blend | Location: Portugal - Douro Valley - Vintage Port
WS 95
Redolent of blackberry and dark fruits, this also features a fascinating mix of mocha, graphite and tobacco flavors. Very juicy as well, which figures into the finish of fine-grained tannins and spice. An exuberant and refined Vintage Port. Best from 2020 through 2050. 5,000 cases made. ?KM
Varietal: Pinot Noir | Location: France - Burgundy - Pommard
WA 92
BH 89
The 2009 Pommard Rugiens is a supple, beautifully balanced wine. It reveals lovely polish as the intensity of the fruit builds towards the textured, generous finish. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029.
I tasted an impressive range of wines with Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier, who is slated to take over when Lardiere retires at the end of 2012. Jadot makes a mind-bending number of wines, but I limited myself to the best 35 or so examples. In 2009 Jadot began harvesting on September 6. All of the reds were made from 100% destemmed fruit. Maceration times varied from wine to wine, but according to Lardiere all of the wines were made with essentially the same approach. Lardiere is another of the producers who compares 2009 to 1959, and believes the wines will age well because of their density of fruit and minerality. Many of the estate's own vineyards are farmed biodynamically, but of course Jadot also sources a significant amount of wine from other growers that is not necessarily from biodynamically farmed vineyards.
Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756The 2009 Pommard Rugiens is a supple, beautifully balanced wine. It reveals lovely polish as the intensity of the fruit builds towards the textured, generous finish. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029.
I tasted an impressive range of wines with Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier, who is slated to take over when Lardiere retires at the end of 2012. Jadot makes a mind-bending number of wines, but I limited myself to the best 35 or so examples. In 2009 Jadot began harvesting on September 6. All of the reds were made from 100% destemmed fruit. Maceration times varied from wine to wine, but according to Lardiere all of the wines were made with essentially the same approach. Lardiere is another of the producers who compares 2009 to 1959, and believes the wines will age well because of their density of fruit and minerality. Many of the estate's own vineyards are farmed biodynamically, but of course Jadot also sources a significant amount of wine from other growers that is not necessarily from biodynamically farmed vineyards. -- Antonio Galloni
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Sauternes - Barsac
WS 93-96
WA 93-95
We really enjoyed this wine during our group tasting with Bill Blatch, even before he took us to Chateau Coutet later that day! Our meeting with Aline Baly, niece of owner Philippe Baly, only reconfirmed our wonderful feelings for this wine. Rich and lush with tropical fruit flavors galore, this is fantastic stuff!
Varietal: Champagne Blend | Location: France - Champagne
WS 93
WE 94
One of the best vintages since the great 2002, this is a sophisticated, fruit- and yeast-driven wine. It has a delicate touch, with its white fruit flavors well integrated into the toasty and tangy texture. It will age for many more years.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon | Location: United States - California - Napa
WS 90
WE 92
WA 91
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five comes across as silky and seductive. Ripe red berries, flowers, mint and spices caress the palate in this understated, gracious wine. The 2009 impresses for its seamless texture and long, polished finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019.
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is a gorgeous wine that brings together the richness of the vintage and the house's continuing move to a more traditional style. Sweet red berries, flowers, mint, spices and anise are woven together beautifully in this large-scaled, generous wine. The wine gains volume and depth in the glass as the flavors built to a huge crescendo. The 2007 was aged exclusively in cask. This is a great showing from Fuligni. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027.
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Emilion
Now 10 years old, the 2002 Château Canon has reached an exquisite maturity. Silky smooth and vibrant in the mouth, the graceful fruit quite literally glides over the palate, displaying notes of plums, raspberries berries, crème de cassis, with notes of freshplowed new earth and vanilla rising towards the finish. Drinking beautifully now, this wine has reached the plateau of maturity, where it will easily hold for an additional 7 to 10 years. --Ben Giliberti, CW (June 2012)