As always, my last post in the series deals with the hotel tastings that I do each trip with David Raccah of Kosher Wine Musings. At this stage, while there are still some more big wines to taste (IDS and a couple of Mercier releases primarily), I have already reached conclusions about the ’22 vintage. In a nutshell, and this plays out among the wines represented here – small wines did NOT do well in ’22 – not a disaster like ’21, but really, nothing to write home about. The big wines almost universally did exceptionally well. Certainly the best vintage since ’19. I would even say that in kosher it was better than ’18 and ’20, which were both hot ripe years as well. I think the key here is that France is learning to manage the climate change.  The wineries are more and more prepared for what G-d has planned, and therefore those wineries with staff on hand throughout the growing season who decided to pick early and then continue picking each plot as it reached its optimum maturity, did well. On the small wines, where grapes are simply picked once for the most part – I think you ended up with some anemic wines – likely because some plots ripened VERY early due to the heat. But this is just my conjecture. And honestly, the “why” is of much less import. The bottom line is that the big wines did very well – and quite frankly I am very excited to taste the rest of the ’22’s on my next trip in May. On top of that we got our first real taste of ’23. So far – it’s an “OK” vintage. Nothing as bad as ’21. Maybe in line with ’17 quality wise.

This trip in addition to standard tastings we also received barrel samples of the 2023 Domaine de Montille Burgundies. As they were barrel samples, I will not give notes here, but I will say that the whites showed well, while the reds were likely bottle shocked – so we’ll have to wait for the real releases. The ’23 Marchand Burgundies were the real deal and will be included below. ’23 in Burgundy seems to have real potential. Anyhow, enough chitter chatter, this post is long and a good four months late, so here are the notes:

2023 JP Marchand Burgundies

2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand, Meursault, Vielles Vignes – 13% abv – On the nose, you get a ton of tropical fruit and oak. In the mouth, you get apple, pear, mango, guava, and oaky coconut. There is a nice amount of balancing acid here, but while the oak does calm down a bit – it’s a heavily coconut and vanilla profile overall with too much big tropical fruit. I am told that this wine continued to improve after I left, but I can only score on what I taste. 88

2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand, Puligny Montrachet – 13% abv – On the nose, at first, this wine is all about the oak, with apple, pear, and a smoky vibe. On the palate, it starts off relatively closed. shy, with apple, pear, and smoke taking the lead. The sweet oak is quite prominent, but there’s enough acidity to keep things interesting. As it opens up, the fruit flavors come forward, showing good acidity with pear, some peach, apple, and a touch of lime. The mouthfeel is plush, with sweet tannins, slate, and oak adding to the complexity, though the acid recedes a bit, unfortunately. As with the above wine, I am told this one continued to develop – for now it’s a 90.

2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand, Bourgogne, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Vielles Vignes, Le parc de Faye – 12.5% abv – On the nose, you get all oak all the time with a little bit of cherry after shaking the hell out of it. After a day, the oak mellows, and you get much more of the cherry and herb coming through – much improved.  After a couple of days, the wine is now open and you get cranberry, cherry, herb, smoke, The acid is nice. The oak is balanced. There is some nice light tannin here to hold it together. This is a really good wine. The finish is long and bright without being overpowering. Really pleasant. Really good stuff for their entry level red. 92

2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand, Bourgogne, Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, Vielles Vignes – 13% abv – This is nice. On the nose, you get some herb, good red fruit, and of course some toasted oak, but less than the last wine. In the mouth, you move into cranberry-land primarily with raspberry and good toasted herbs, plus a hit of saline and smoke and good roasted meat. The finish is earthy with good umami and meaty notes complementing the red fruit and herb and some balanced floral notes giving even more complexity.  Another really nice wine. 92.5

2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand, Nuits-Saint-George, Vielles Vignes, Aux Herbues – 13% abv – At first, on the nose – you get nothing but a little oak. With a couple of days of air, you get some cherry, good floral notes, and bramble. In the mouth, nice earth, herb, cherry, some pomegranate. The acid is really nice here and balances the wine; the tannin is on point. The finish is again red fruit enveloped by rich earth, mushroom, and those jasmine and violet floral notes. Wonderful. 93

2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand, Vielles Vignes ,Gevrey-Chambertin – 13% abv – On the nose, you get toasted oak, ripe concentrated red fruit, floral notes, herbs, mushroom, rich wet earth, and a nice waxiness. In the mouth, the acidity is off the charts. You have violet, red raspberry, toasted and fresh herbs. The finish is long, with more rich earth, violet, mineral, mushroom. and precise red fruit. Very impressive. Great wine! 94

Whites

2024 Elysee Palace, Chardonnay, Pays d’Oc – Mevushal – 13% abv – On the nose, you get apple, pear, and a little citrus. In the mouth, you don’t really have enough acid to get the party started. Mostly just unripe apple and touch of pith. Meh. 85

2022 Le Chene de Margot, Blaye-Cotes de Bordeaux – 12% abv – Mevushal – On the nose, you get gooseberry and some peach and citrus. In the mouth, no acid whatsoever and barely any flavor other than some vague bitter citrus. The wine is flat and hard to drink. 80

2022 Chateau de Cor Bugeaud, Cuvee Prestige, Blaye-Cotes de Bordeaux – 12% abv – Mevushal – On the nose, dead candied gooseberry and artificial lemon. In the mouth, it does have SOME acid, but almost no flavor other than some light vague citrus. 80

2023 Hans Wirsching, Iphofer, Riesling – Mevushal – 13% abv – On the nose, you get basic flavors of honeysuckle and lemon with some oak influence and smoke. In the mouth, the wine is Trocken, so you do get some expected sweetness with the nose showing a bit more floral, with honeysuckle lemon, smoke, and saline. The acid is excellent and keeps the sweetness in check. Nice stuff indeed. 91

2023 Joseph Mellot, Pouilly Fumé, Le Chant des Vignes – 13% abv – The nose is very muted here with some gooseberry and not much else. In the mouth, we have some nice standard notes of grapefruit, lemon, and some smoke. Ultimately this wine doesn’t really hit notes of Pouilly Fumé, but ignoring that, it’s not bad in an OW SB sort of way, with decent fruit and nice acidity. The finish is a little short though. 87

2023 Domaine Lebrun, Pouilly Fumé – 13% abv – Same notes as my last tasting. 92

2023 Joseph Mellot, Sancerre, La Gravière – 13% abv – On the nose, you get a basic Sancerre profile – plus a little smoke and some funk. Nothing over the top. In the mouth, this is a decent baseline Sancerre with smoke, floral notes, lemongrass, and some lemon/lime. There is nice acid and medium + finish. Overall, a very nice bottle with excellent QPR. 91

2022 Alphonse Mellot, Sancerre, La Moussiere – 13% abv – No change since my last notes. 90

2017 Dampt Freres, Chablis, Premier Cru, Côte de Léchet – 13% abv – There are certain wines that blow your mind – not necessarily because they are the highest scoring – but because they are super unique – this is one of those wines. If you are looking for a steely base level, this is NOT your wine. This one has wonderful tertiary notes of MUSHROOM. That’s right. I mean – wow! We struggle to find whites that last, let alone develop – but this wine proves it can be done! On the nose, you get mushroom, funk, some apple, and hints of lemony citrus. In the mouth, you pretty much get a repeat of the nose, and it is glorious –  but the primary fruit is really just in the background at this point, hanging on by a thread – with mushroom, funk, great mineral, and  again some apple, citrus, and some smoke The finish is long and really complex with hay, mushroom, mineral, smoke, and some apricot. Really beautiful stuff. This is the second of the unique wines on this tasting that I mentioned above. If you have this – or you can get your hands on it, drink this NOW. This is one of those wines that people should really make an effort to taste. 93+

2023 Le Nardian, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Lugaignac, Bordeaux – 15% abv – Unfortunately this is a Goldilocks wine – served too cold and the wine shows flat and dead, served to hot and the wine is a mess. But – when it is served “just right” (probably 20 minutes out of a wine fridge should get it to the sweet spot of 60 degrees Fahrenheit or so) the wine fires on all cylinders. On the nose, you get nice funk, stone fruit, spice, citrus, and pineapple.  Despite clocking in at a crazy 15%abv, the wine is NOT hot, but it is relatively HEAVY. In the mouth, you get apricot, white plum, pineapple, and some nice smoke. The finish is funky with grapefruit, orange, and some ginger kick. This is a really complex wine – at the right temp. None of these notes hold when it’s not served at that temp and therefore the wine is a 92+ (it would have gotten at least another point otherwise).

2023 Les Sec de Rayne Vigneau, Bordeaux – 13.5% abv – On the nose, you get a basic old world SB profile with citrus, herb, some flintiness, and just a little gooseberry. The mouth was closed at first but eventually opened to show very nicely repeating the nose. Really full mouthfeel, great acid, great length. Really nice stuff. 91.5

2023 Château de Rayne Vigneau, Grand Vin, Blanc, Sec, Bordeaux – 13.5% abv – On day one, both the nose and mouth here were fully closed. On day two, the wine finally opened up, showing really well with nectarine, quince, nice funk, stoney gravel. The acid is excellent, and the finish is long and even a bit tannic with more nectarine, mineral. and saline. This is really nice. 92.5

2022 Château Rayne Vigneau, Madame de Rayne, Sauternes – This is the second wine of Château Rayne Vigneau. On the nose, you get honeyed tropical fruit galore, some apricot, floral notes, and honeydew. In the mouth, there is real complexity here, with apricot, mango, guava, honeydew, some sugared pecan nuttiness, and some honey Wow! It’s been a couple of years since we had this complex a sauternes. The acid balances out the rich mouth. The finish is long and adds a little funk to the mix. Really nice – and a great way to finish the whites! 93+

Miscellaneous Reds (France/Spain/Italy)

2023 Dominique Piron, Chiroubles, Beaujolais – 13% abv – On day one, this wine really did not show well, very perfumy, flat, no acid, no flavor other than tasting like your grandmother’s perfume. By day two though, the wine had completely turned around, with really nice blueberry, raspberry, smoke, meat, and earth, with some tannin and acid to balance out the rich fruit. My only issue with the wine is the finish, which is on the shorter side, but not crazy. Overall this is a really nice Beaujolais. 90

2023 Moise Taieb, Côte de Brouilly, Reserve du Fondateur, Beaujolais – 12.5% abv – On the nose, you get red fruit and funk basically mixed together. In the mouth, you get ripe red fruit on the opening, and the acid is there, but then the wine falls of a cliff and drifts away with almost no finish. 85

2023 Moise Taieb, La Petite Métairie, Chinon, Vieilles Vignes, Loire Valley – 12% abv – This is what I’m looking for in a Chinon. On the nose, you get these great herbal, earthy, smokey notes, and in the back you get some flowers and a touch of red fruit and, of course, mushroom.  In the mouth, you get exactly what you would expect: cherry, raspberry, herb, smoke, a little mushroom, and earth Simple, but nice. 91

2023 Moise Taieb, La Petite Métairie, Bourgueil, Loire Valley – 12% abv – This one is floral and red with a bit of earth on the nose.  In the mouth, you have bright red near sweet raspberry, some acid – but not enough. It fine, just very basic and with nothing that pulls you to it. 87

2022 Domaine La Martinelle, Côtes du Rhone Villages, Visan AOP, Syrah – 14% abv – On the nose, the primary notes are white and black pepper, dark ripe blue and black fruit, and a bit of smoke. In the mouth, you get really ripe black fruit and crazy black pepper, acid and tannin, and then the wine just drops off a cliff with absolutely no finish. Unfortunately, this does not improve. 85

2022 Bokobsa, Gigondas, Les Pierres Blanches – 14.5% abv – On the nose, you get milk chocolate, anise, blue and black fruit, and smoke. The mouth is not really for me, but that’s because it is black licorice forward – with nice baking spice, blackberry, blueberry, black pepper, and even some raspberry – with a hit of acid. The finish is medium plus length. This is a very nice base level Rhone. 90

2022 Bodega Marco Abella, Daleah, Shomer, Priorat – 14.5% abv – Muted nose of mostly black fruit with milk chocolate and not much else. In the mouth, you get black and blue fruit with good tannin and really nice acid. But the wine basically just falls apart in your mouth though with no finish.  It’s as if you never even drank it. 84

2023 Bodegas Faustino, Faustino VII – 13.5% abv – Garbage nose. Garbage mouth. Really ripe. No acid. No finish. I feel that this is just a straight money grab – throw together a kosher wine with the Faustino name and that’s it. (By the way this is NOT a Rioja, unlike the previous kosher Faustino). 75

2022 Cantine Leuci Brunese, Primitivo, DOP Manduria – 14.5% abv – The nose here is not offensive per se, but it’s really not something that speaks to me – with crazy candied red and black fruit and a touch of smoke, In the mouth, you get syrupy cherry cola with residual sugar. Big pass for me. 75

2020 Cascina Perrone, Barolo – 14% abv – On the nose, you get sweet smoked bacon/sausage with red fruit. It’s a bit over the top, but not crazy – it actually becomes more focused after a day of air, with some of that tartness making its way through. In the mouth, on day one, you basically get what you would expect, raspberry and black cherry with a healthy amount of smoked meat – but that acid carries it. By day two, it is much more balanced, with the tannin giving it some stricture and that really makes a big difference. Nice bottle. 92

2023 “Small” Bourdeaux Wines

2023 Elysee Palace, Merlot, Pays d’Oc – Mevushal – 14% abv – On the nose, you sample red and green notes. Nothing too focused, a little faint. In the mouth, it’s better, on the simple side with some raspberry, cranberry, and a little earth. There is a nice amount of acid and a fair amount of tannin. Simple, but nice mevushal wine. 89

2023 Baron David, Bordeaux – Mevushal – 14% abv – No real change since my last note. Maybe I was half a point too generous. 89.5-90

2023 Domaine de Grava, Bordeaux – 14.5% abv – On the nose, you have good red fruit, smoke, and herbs. It is focused and tart. In the mouth, you get ripe red raspberry, plum, cherry, and sweet herb, The finish is medium plus with sweet oak and smoke and more herb. Simple, but nice. 89.5

2023 Les Remparts de Bel Air, Bordeaux – Mevushal – 14% abv – On the nose, you get some red fruit, funk, and floral notes. In the mouth, the wine is a catastrophe with RS, and where we had funk, now we just have an overripe mess – and no amount of acid will ever be enough to hold this wine together. 75

2023 Château La Naude, Bordeaux Superieur – Mevushal – 14.5% abv – The nose is simple floral and red and that’s about it. In the mouth, pure perfume with again no middle or finish. There is acid and a touch of tannin, but not much else. 80

2023 Château Tour de Bellegarde, Bordeaux Superieur – 14.5% abv – Mevushal – On the nose, you get intense sweet floral and green notes. In the mouth, you basically get a light bodied fruit punch or a medium bodied off-dry wine. Can’t tell which. No thanks. 80

2023 Château de L’Anglais, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux – 14% abv – On the nose, you get floral red candied notes, which seem to be a theme with the small wines of ’23. In the mouth you get hit up front with massive acid – but after that all you have is a metallic red mess. The wine is unpleasant. 75

2023 Château Meilhan, Medoc – 13.5% abv – On the nose, you get nice red fruit, good mineral, and a little smoke. In the mouth you get VERY ripe almost candied red fruit – raspberry, cherry – but there is a fair amount of acidity to balance it out, which together with the mineral basically bring balance to the force. The finish is medium plus with enough tannin to keep it interesting. Another basic simple wine. 89

2023 Les Hauts de Mole, Puisseguin Saint-Émilion – 14% abv – Again on the nose, we get candied flowers and red fruit, with smoke and all of the rest of the standard ‘23 goodies. Thankfully in the mouth at least there is no RS, but you get a mouthful of rotting flowers with a crazy amount of acid that makes your head spin. Don’t let that fool you into thinking this is somehow balanced. It isn’t; t’s just bad. 78

2023 Château Tournebrise, LaLande de Pomerol – 14% abv – On the nose, you get ripe red fruit with nice earth, slight smoke, some blue fruit, and toasted herb. On day one, the wine drank slightly hot, but this changed by day two (this is why we retaste!), and you get raspberry, cherry, mineral, lead, and earth. The finish is long, with more herb, tobacco, graphite, smoke, and raspberry. Nice. 91

2022 “Big” Bourdeaux Wines

Haut-Médoc

2022 Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc – 13.5% abv – On the nose, you get a nice amount of inkiness, black fruit, good rich earth, a bit of herb, and mint. In the mouth, you have a very nice wine with ripe blackberry, black plum, some blueberry and raspberry, with roasted herbs, mineral, lead, some tar, and rich earth. The acid is balanced, and the tannin is mouth-coating. The finish is long with notes of milk chocolate, toasted herb, and more black fruit. Overall a very ripe, but very nice wine. 92+

2022 Château Lamothe-Cissac, Haut-Médoc – 13.5% abv – On the nose, a LOT of earth, with bramble, mushroom, red fruit, and forest floor. In the mouth, you get red and black fruit with blackberry, raspberry, and ripe plum, with nice earthiness and smoke. The wine drinks a bit heavier than the 13.5% abv – and so while the acid is certainly felt and sufficient, a little more wouldn’t have hurt. The finish is long and rich with notes of espresso and chocolate, red fruit and tons of earth. Really nice. 92

Saint-Émilion

2022 Château Grand Corbin, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé – 14.5% abv – On the nose, you get rich dirty earth, a lot of wax, and some smoke. In the mouth, you get really unique notes of roasted gamey lamb, with some smoke and brooding blackberry, raspberry, and some plum. The tannin is really aggressive here and the acid is on point – but the wine has the chops to stand up to all of that! This wine is VERY unique and is super impressive. It may not be the best wine of 2022, but it certainly stands out from the crowd – in a very good way. This is one of two unique wines on this batch that you really should make an effort to taste. 94

2022 Château Teyssier, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru – 15% abv – On the nose, you have a classic St. Émillion profile – herbs and good earthy red and black fruit. In the mouth, you get a replay of the nose, but with tannin that perhaps overpowers the wine and acid that is slightly out of whack. The wine is built like it is much bigger than it actually is – and it simply doesn’t have the depth to support that structure. Almost like a house with no furnishings  inside. There is nice raspberry and blackberry and some herbal notes and good earth, but that’s it. And so you end up with an unbalanced wine. 89.5

2022 Les Jardins de Soutard, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru – 13% abv – On the nose, you get earthiness and tons of oak. In the mouth, the wine is very fruity with red raspberry and dark notes. There is acid but perhaps not enough – while the tannin is searing. Basically, the wine is unbalanced. It has way too much tannin for what it is, and not enough acid for what it needs and not enough depth to make interesting. 87

2022 La dame de Baladoz, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru – 13% abv – On the nose, you get sweet oak, clean red fruit, and vanilla. In the mouth, we have another tannin bomb with ripe blackberry and black plum, followed by  over-the-top floral notes. The finish is long with more floral notes and some mineral. Not sure what it is, it simply doesn’t do it for me. 89

2022 Château Vieux Taillefer, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru – 14.5% abv – On the nose, sweet red raspberry and floral notes. In the mouth, you get sweet raspberry, blackberry, and some lead,  a lot of tannin, some acid, but not enough. On the finish, you have sweet red fruit, milk chocolate, and some smoke. Much like the previous wine, this wine is unbalanced for me. 89

Pessac-Léognan

2022 Château Olivier, Grand Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan – 14.5% abv – On day one on the nose, you have vague notes of blue and black fruit with some earth. Just a mouthful of tannin at this point with some acid. Good luck. Day two the wine is just a totally different animal. Again, you can’t just pop and pour wines. You simply can’t. You need to taste and retaste and sometimes retaste again – and this is especially true with the 2022 vintage. In the end in the mouth, you have excellent  black and red fruit with blackberry , black plum , raspberry, and ripe red cherry with really nice mineral (which is a hallmark of 2022), and the acid here does a great job of balancing out this rich and extracted wine, while the tannin provides an excellent core that will hold this wine for a good long while. The finish is long and earthy with more mineral and black fruit. Beautiful. 94

2022 Château de Fieuzal, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Léognan – 13.5% abv – The nose starts off muted with just earth and chocolate showing. It took a good two days to really open up, especially in the mouth – where you get blackberry, black plum, excellent mineral, and earth. The acid does a nice job of balancing out the rich profile. The finish is long with tobacco, chocolate espresso, and earth. Very nice stuff. 93

Saint-Estèphe & Pomerol

2022 Château Haut-Marbuzet, Saint-Estèphe – 14.5% abv – On day  one, you get nice super clean lines with sweet oak and red and blue fruit with some floral notes. Interesting nose! By the end of day two, the wine has developed into crazy black notes on the nose with nice mushroom and mineral. In the mouth, the wine is a monster with nice extraction. We get blackberry, raspberry, mineral, and black plum. The tannin is mouth-coating and the acid is on point. The finish is long with notes of baker’s chocolate, graphite, mineral, earth, mushroom, and some more black fruit. Truly excellent. 94.5

2022 Château Fayat, Pomerol – 14% abv – Another wine that is super closed to start. When it opens, you finally get a savory beast of a wine. On the nose, you get soy and black fruit with really nice earth. In the mouth, the opening attack is blackberry, raspberry, and dark plum all wrapped in a nice earthiness. The wine has excellent mouth-coating tannin and wonderful balancing acidity. The finish is long and even more savory with mushroom, soy, olive, earth, and smoke. Really a wonderful wine. 94+