5/12/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

I have been anxious to open this yet leery of the wine's authenticity, beginning with the label (the vintage looks like old typewriter style?) These feelings were not assuaged by the relatively clean and solid cork which I would have guessed to be from the late 60s or so. But Bouchard is known for episodic late release wines, so, hmmm. Loads of sediment on decanting; incredibly deep dark purple color; ripe plum and mincemeat notes, some savory beef stock and bacon fat nudged forward by underlying acidity, hints of mocha add some complexity; all in a fairly luxurious mouthfeel. Not at all fragile nor fleeting. Probably the oldest burgundy I've ever drunk but it really didn't seem that at all. No doubt touched up a bit before release (didn't mention bottom neck fill level) but this was a delightful experience.

5/12/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

This had some initial VA dominating but it blew off quickly with airing; enchanting aromas of rich black tea and oranges, slowly opens to more savory notes of root vegetables and beef stew; a more classic, rustic style.

5/12/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Dusky purple color; Nose of dried cherries, blood iron and wood smoke; spice cupboard and red twizzlers; just going tertiary and having some orange citric top notes; solid and compact Gevrey that has plenty of life left in it.

5/12/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

After opening this bottle I realized just how wrong I was in thinking these were over the hill based on one odd bottle opened a week ago. So wrong in fact that I shared the second half of this one TWO FULL DAYS after opening with a fellow wine lover. It was still showing remarkably well with Granny Smith apple and lemon oil; fullish, big and balanced. Outrageously great value!!!

5/12/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Light lemon yellow color with lively beading; fairly clean style with lemon pith, petrichor and only the slightest hints of melon (indicating some age to me); creamy yet plenty of energy still; ample acidity and loads of tension; would pair well with oysters or even heavier fare.

5/8/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Better than a bottle enjoyed in June '18; more tertiary with a depth of sous bois and classic old burg notes.

5/8/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Sadly my last bottle of this; showed well. 94+

5/8/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

I've been enjoying several bottles of different disgorgements of this wine for at least ten years (and several different label variations). Still a light golden color; enormously rich and complex, creamy and showing what seems like a little pop of acidity into an extremely long finish. A great showing! 94+

5/8/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Clean style, floral and youthful with apple and ripe peach notes. Excellent value!

5/3/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Another great bottle of this, just slightly more mature which has only added complexity. It’s still hitting “drink up” territory. 92+ Revision: to my utter amazement this wine is fresher and better on 2nd day with all traces of oak no longer apparent. 93pts!

4/24/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Took a mag of this to Black & Blue to share with some old former colleagues, most of us retired. It showed beautifully, complex, balanced, rich yet refreshing. For a hot vintage, it is still classic in style and was widely enjoyed.

4/21/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Showing little evidence of age; classic Chablis in every sense. Super value and amazing age worthiness!

4/20/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Another nice bottle of this; nearing peak, refined and delicious with prime rib. 91+

4/18/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Shared with Xavier94, I defer to his comments. Happy to have several more of these socked away!

4/18/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Shared with Xavier94, I defer to his note. 92+

4/18/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Light golden with rigorous beading; fresh and clean style, even smells dry; spritz of lemon over green apple notes; a tad yeasty; attractive spice notes; pleasantly dry and refreshing. Disgorged 2/19. Shared with Xavier94, clearly I enjoyed it more.

4/14/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Freaky bottle as this was not well developed; nothing tertiary and slightly vegetal. Likely an off bottle. Eminently drinkable but not consistent with other bottles. A late release.

4/14/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Tasted blind: Deep garnet with brownish to clear rim; deep nose of dark cherry with spice cabinet and notes of tomato leaf. Very savory umami notes, Worcestershire and sous bois. Another surprisingly good 1990.

4/14/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Deeply colored; solidly secondary character, black cherry and cherry cola notes, beetroot; serious depth and complexity; very graceful and elegant.

4/14/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Totally secondary at this point; red cherry fruit with hints of root beer; savory and showing lively acidity which amplifies the goodness here. 91+

4/14/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Tasted blind: Clearly French Chardonnay; classy apple and pear nose; somewhat austere; a tad hollow for gran cru. I can usually identify Chablis with prolific accuracy. Totally shocked to see what it was; I’d guessed it to be a Chassagne1er.

4/14/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Full straw/yellow with vigorous fine beading; clean style with white orchard fruit with a nice lemon creme overlay; very complex and well-integrated; excellent vinosity and length. Super showing! Disgorged 5/14

4/18/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Finally a bottle that’s not infected, “roasted” or torrefacted or otherwise trashed. This is deep, dark and delicious. Remarkably similar to a great ‘64 Remoissenet Clos Vougeot shared with Xavier94 the other day. Classic rich and spicy Vosne! 93+

4/18/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

While drinkable, this was far more advanced than (several) recent bottles. Cork/capsule gave no indication of a problem.

4/15/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Down to my last couple bottles, this one is too far over the hill; I’ve enjoyed several “lesser” classed ‘14 WBs that are still singing. Several of these have lately been more mature than hoped. Eminently drinkable for anyone enjoying mature white burgs but it declined quickly over a couple hours. Hope my last bottle will show better than this. Will have that one soon.

4/9/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Typically wonderful stuff from Girardin; fresh, greenish straw color; vibrant classic nose of green apple, lemon lime and crushed stone; relaxed palate, luxuriant viscosity yet ample acidity to keep things popping. The great vintage shows through here.

4/6/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Another great bottle, amazing consistency!

4/6/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

93+

4/6/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

The light fresh nose of plums is deceiving as the second it hits your palate, the impression is of a much younger, powerful wine. Viscous and rich, almost syrupy; really grows on you. Will enjoy sipping this through a sunny but cold day. 92+

4/6/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Still going strong; perennially the great value in their lineup.

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

I almost didn’t give this a score as I was initially turned off by a distinct maderized note on initial nosing; on second snort this was showing distinct chocolate notes. It continued to open with the maderized note being pushed aside. The guest who brought it expressed disappointment in that it didn’t show as well as previous bottles he’d enjoyed. I suspect it would have shown better had he decanted it prior to traveling across town with it. It was pleasant enough but not as good as I’d have expected for a great producer’s gran cru from a great vintage.

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

This wine has been amazingly consistent and outstanding! My next to last bottle of this and it continues to get better. 94+

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Remains solidly rich and complex for its level with briar and lavender notes. 92+

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Still fresh, barely secondary, slightly confected sweetness with bright red cherry and graphite notes.

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Rich & opulent. 94+

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

My last bottle of this, served it blind to two fellow tasters with a combined 50 or so years working in the wine biz. Their consensus score was 92pts.

4/3/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

My last bottle of the plain label (without the numbered edition). Medium gold with fine steady beading; Mature, ripe apple, crushed almond, hazelnut, some pleasantly sweet character; rather clean style; long finish. 94+

4/1/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Met with my tax guy today and needed something to cheer me up: color of aged burgundy; effusive ethereal nose of sous bois, tertiary red cherry fruit, blood iron, beef stock and spice cabinet. Velvety texture, layers of amazing complexity; ample acidity that amps up all of the strong points; great perfume, elegance and length to the finish. Shockingly great stuff. Thrilled to have another bottle of this. 96+

3/31/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Best bottle of this yet. Sad to have just one bottle left.

3/31/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Shared with Xavier94 a day after first opening it (See his note); there’s certainly no rush on these but I’d found this bottle with an entirely corroded wet capsule and significant leakage evidenced by fill level. LBL’s adamance on overfilling bottles created this tragedy. Fortunately just a few other bottles in the case got stained, but why the hell???!!! Pathetic that the person posting the above photo perfectly captured this issue with an obviously stained label. Even more pathetic that a wine like this, which needs a lot more bottle aging, will undoubtedly result in more sad “leaker” experiences!!!👺👺👺

3/31/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Shared with Xavier94 (see his excellent note); matchstick prominent with lashings of oak on first opening, resolved within a couple hours when tasted then; richness and intensity were our most frequent descriptors. Excellent finish.

3/19/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

Brownish purple color, the only sign this wine has aged at all; fairly four-square though reticent nose; surly rough palate of secondary fruit notes, unresolved tannins and firm acidity. While this is regularly a long-lived wine, there was none of the balance, layering nor elegance I expect from a 21 year old burgundy. So to assuage my disappointment, the “Mad Blender” mixed this wine with some ‘02 Camus Mazoyeres and, voila, the resulting blend was WAY better than either wine on its own. No doubt the “high-pucker-factor” purists are clutching their pearls at such a travesty! But there you have it,….

3/10/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Another really nice bottle; it could really use a few years aging as it slowly unfurls in the glass and improves a great deal with airing.

3/5/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Another excellent bottle of this, likely the best yet. It was secondary going solidly tertiary; loads of sous bois, umami, truffles and rich soil. This was really singing! 94+

3/5/2024 - jmoore431 wrote:

I’ve enjoyed several excellent bottles of this but sadly, this was infected with TCA.

3/5/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

This was great after a quick decant but really tightened up after an hour; Remoissenet has bottled some great GEs over the decades and this one will last much longer than I will. Loads of potential to improve over time!

3/5/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Just a little over 5 years since I cracked one of these; this is still pretty clenched and crunchy. Made from purchased grapes, this is very traditionally styled with loads of fruit buried beneath slowly resolving tannins. I have a few of these left but wouldn’t touch another for at least five years.
92+ with at least a couple more points potential yet to come.

3/5/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

This is way more open than a bottle tried in 2016. Fresh deep fruit, remarkably approachable at this point. 92+

3/5/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

This shows gorgeous fruit on nose and palate with a touch of tar and licorice; very caressing silky texture; nice notes of autumnal sous bois and funk, just going solidly tertiary but loads of life ahead. Faiveley nailed it in ‘93 as shown here and in a ‘93 Charmes I loved 5 years back. 94+

3/2/2024 - jmoore431 Likes this wine:

Dark Vosne spices and bright acidity stand out on Day 1; just barely secondary character; too young & tight. Day 2: opened up beautifully, needs several years yet. 92+ on 2nd day.