1999 Navarro Blanc de Blancs
(No clue what is in this wine as
Navarro did not answer any of my inquiries)
A slightly sweet and fluffy entry with pear gumdrop notes starts this
wine off. It has a good dose of apple led acidity, but a rather harsh and
bitter drying finish. With time a pine like accent picks up on the nose
and palate. An interesting wine that is not like other Anderson Valley
or California sparklers. I would say it is more of a curiosity than a
good sparkler. High C+ (78-80 pts). Find this wine
NV Lanson Black Label
(15% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 35%
Pinot Meunier; Stainless steel; Disgorged late 1990s;
$30-40 US)
I’ve haven’t had a recent bottle of Black Label, but the bottles from
the late 1990s are singing beautifully. To me, it is a scaled down
version of the NV Bollinger. It has some spicy citrus and biscuit
characters with a touch of pear and nutty, sherried maturity. A tasty
and inexpensive wine that really shows what cellaring a feisty and tart
NV for 5-10 years can do. Grade of High B
(86-87 pts). Find this wine
1985 Charles Heidsieck Rose
(Approximately 30% Chardonnay, 70%
Pinot Noir; Addition of red wine; Stainless steel; Disgorged early
1990s; $75-100 US)
This has aged wonderfully over the years and is still going strong. It
is loaded with bright cherry-strawberry fruit, a kick of citrus and
biscuits, and subtle hints of spicy, nutty funkiness. A wine at its apex
right now. Grade of Low A- (89-91 pts). Find this wine
1990 Pol Roger Rose
(65% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir;
Addition of red wine; Stainless steel; Disgorged late 1990s; $60-100 US)
I’ve had this wine quite a bit over the last 5 years and I think its
peak has passed. Where this wine was absolutely kicking in 2003-2005, it
has slowly regressed since. It is still full of red citrus, red berry,
and buttered biscuit flavors, but a bit of a dry and harsh sherry notes
is slowly creeping up on the fruit. By no means is this a bad wine, but
it isn’t the funk party it once was. I would drink up soon.
Grade of B+ (87-89 pts) where this wine was a
Strong A- (91-93 pts) in 2002-2005 and an A- (90-92 pts) in 2006. Find this wine
1988
Salon
(100% Chardonnay; Le Mesnil-sur-Oger;
No malolactic fermentation; Stainless steel; $150-225 US)
I had three bottles of this over a week and none of them were drinking
very well. One had some sort of damage (either heat or cork) and the
other two were just not showing well. I believe this wine is only going
through an awkward period so I wouldn’t worry yet, but I wouldn’t start
popping bottles either. Right now, very little fruit is present in the
wine and a stringy, dry citrus and nutty sherry flavor dominates. Some
creamy vanilla is starting to form, but having a tough time integrating.
Salon normally starts its metamorphosis around the age of 20 so things
are probably still on track, but something in the back of my mind
worries me about this wine. I just hope it is me being paranoid as I
bought heavy in this vintage. Grade of Low B
(83-85 pts) for today, but this wine has shown A potential in the past
(93-95 pts). Find this wine
1999
Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon
(Approximately 50% Chardonnay, 50%
Pinot Noir; Full malolactic fermentation; Stainless steel; Disgorged
early 2006; $105-125 US)
The color of this wine reminds me of pale sunshine just before sunset on
a late summer evening. As for the rest of the wine outside of the color,
it is great too. A sharp nose of spiced peach blossoms, fresh mushrooms,
and creamy yeast declares that this wine is young, but means business.
Pungent citrus leads the palate with yeasty dough and a pointed acidity
playing backup. Like most young Doms, this finishes clean as a whistle,
but has a bit of jagged citrus cream note to it that lets you know that
there is more to come in future years.
While this wine isn’t drinking as well as the 1998 currently is, the
1999 will be a better wine. It reminds me of a cross between the feisty
and jagged 1995 and open 1998. In my original review which was based on
only an array of tastes, this wine got a wide range of B+/A- (87-93
pts). After spending more time with the wine (which means guzzling an
entire bottle, it gets a final Grade of Low A-
(89-91) for today with High A- potential (91-93 pts) in the future.
Find this wine
1990
Pommery Louise
(60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir;
$90-150 US)
The deep golden color of this wine would have had me guessing an early
80s wine and not a 1990. Aromas of lightly spiced and sherried pears and
citrus continue this trend of early mature characteristics. Nutty,
sherry laced vanilla and citrus are the main flavors. While this shows a
good dose of acidity, the maturity is too upfront for me and overpowers
the other flavors of pear, toast, and biscuit. It finishes up with a
mouthwatering concoction of sherried (yes, more sherry), spicy, slightly
tart peaches.
While this isn’t a bad wine, it just isn’t a great one and is not worthy
of its price tag. I’m amazed at how young some 1990s are and then you
have this wine, which is so advanced already.
Grade of Low B+ (86-88 pts); lovers of mature notes may really like this
in a few years and would probably score it a couple points higher in the
Low A- range (89-91 pts). Find this wine
1996
Pierre Moncuit Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs
(100% Chardonnay; Le Mesnil-sur-Oger;
Some malolactic fermentation; Disgorged 2005; $35-45 US)
My glass is filled with a numerous bubbles and a golden tinge. The
bubbles burst lively on the surface and fill my nose with fresh and
zesty aromas of citrus laced dough, flowers and cream. Following the
nose is a citrus filled palate that has a nice sharp citrus streak
running through it, yet also has a good body with firm flavors of nutty
dough and small dollops of sweet cream. A mouthwatering finish of cream,
nuts, citrus, and dough brings this wine home as a winner.
While most of the other vintages of Moncuit I have had do not show long
term aging (this is not a good or bad thing), this one will age well. It
tastes much younger than the 1998 and 1999 releases and the magnums are
especially tight right now. Grade of B+ (87-89
pts) with Low A- (89-91 pts) potential over the next decade. Find this wine
1996 Pierre Moncuit Cuvee Nicole Moncuit Vieille Vignes
(100% Chardonnay; Le Mesnil-sur-Oger;
50+ year old vines; Some malolactic fermentation; Disgorged January
2006; $45-55 US)
This wine was hyped quite a bit before its release. Moncuit called it
their best wine ever. I have been a big fan of the Moncuit wines, but
have always been waiting for that one release that would knock me out .
In the past, their wines have always been in the B to Low A- range
(83-91 pts), so I wondered if this would finally be the cuvee to lift
Moncuit up to the next level where it would play with the superstars?
Initially, the nose on this wine is quite closed, but it opens up with a
couple hours of air and shows plenty of orange, lime, slightly smoky
minerals, and dough. The palate has a good concentration of citrus (but
not necessarily acidic or tart citrus) that wraps around flavors of
creamy minerals and young dough waiting to go toasty. A creamy and
fluffy mouth feel is enjoyable and leads into a finish of zesty citrus
and dough.
This is a very good wine, but it isn’t a blockbuster and I have a few
concerns with it. It is very easy to drink and a bit too heavy and
creamy. I think that is because the malolactic fermentation was carried
out too far. I’m not for or against malolactic, but the way it was used
for this wine will wind up stunting its growth potential. Also, as in
past vintages, the top end Vieilles Vignes Cuvee is only a hair better
than the basic 1996 vintage cuvee (see the review above). I would like
to see more separation between the two vintage cuvees for the extra
10-15 dollars this one normally costs me. Grade
of High B+ (89-91 pts). Find this wine
NV De Sousa Cuvee des Caudalies
(Pure 1996 vintage; 100% Chardonnay;
Grand Cru vineyards in the Cote des Blancs; 50+ year old vines; 15% new
oak fermentation; Disgorged February 6, 2001; $45-55 US)
Light and creamy oak, young pears, minerals, and a touch of spicy dough
give this wine a complex nose. The palate follows the nose by starting
out with a good dose of Sprite ® -like acidity and cream, but a few
slippery citrus notes make their way in and muddle things up. Further
back on the palate the oak notes seem to be fighting with and covering
up the fruit and toast notes.
This is a tough wine to make a call on as some wines that show
infighting of flavors are in the process of breaking apart (or never
coming together) and others are just learning to play nice. For this
wine, I don’t think everything will ever come together. It is a nice
wine at a good price point, but I don’t think it deserves some of the
hype it has gotten. Grade of B (83-86 pts).
Find this wine
Cheers!
Brad Baker
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