2004 Domaine Tempier Bandol La Migoua

Domaine Tempier is the leading winemaker in the Bandol appellation, part of the overall Provence region. It is an area along the Mediterranean coast where to meet the requirements each bottle must contain at least 50% of the Mourvèdre grape. Typically wines contain much more than 50% with some Cinsault and Grenache as part of the blend. This 2004 is truly fresh as a daisy.

The nose is a lovely blend of raspberry, cherry and a lovely combination of spice and floral notes. Very nice nose. The color is dark ruby, translucent. The initial experience with the wine, even before a taste is genuinely outstanding. It leaves you wondering if it can live up to its billing. 

Fortunately, it does a vey nice job on the taste. it is quite fresh on the tongue, with strong dark fruit and leather. It holds its flavor and offers a very enjoyable mid-palate where even today the tannins show. The finish is very nice, although with a hint of bite that was a bit unexpected. 

This wine is excellent and I rate it 95.

WS 95 WA 92  







WR

2008 Chateau Pontet-Canet 7th of 7

Pontet-Canet is a Bordeaux property that seems to have really upped its game over the last 15 years. It was another very dark, inky colored wine in this tasting. The nose was slow to develop, with a light spice that after a time started to favor more berries and earthiness.

This wine is a bit of mystery to me. I have not had the pleasure of tasting a large number of wines in the "then" and "now" way that professional tasters can over many years. I have had some finer wines 20 years apart, but mostly I have to accept the past reports of others when I drink a much older Bordeaux, say from 1982 to try to understand the concept of a really long lived wine. However, if I had to guess, I would say that the winemaker here was looking to bottle something here that will be at its peak in about 2045.

The wine is buried beneath a load of tannin, but it is clear that beneath that tannin is a wonderful selection of fruit. I tasted cherry, plum and blackberry/currant.

I just never know what to think about wines like this as I can't really see myself wanting to buy them simply because they will never be ready to drink.

RP 96 ("candidate" "wine of vintage") WS 92. 

2008 Chateau Leoville Barton 6th of 7

Leoville-Barton is a Chateau that I have tried often. In the early 2000's I would splurge on their wine during the week as the price was reasonable and they tended to be pretty approachable. This version was much less approachable and seems destined to be ready to drink in about 25 years. The nose was closed and uninviting, even after and extended period of time. The Wine itself was a monster of fruit, acid and tannin. The tannins were overpowering from the first and never really let up even to the end.

The fruit itself was also very rich with currant being the most predominant flavor for me. While in the past it had always been a strong wine it was not nearly as pucker inducing as this glass. I do expect this to be a good wine, as the tannins while at the forefront now, were sweet and I suspect will resolve nicely into the fruit over time.

RP 92 WS 91  Not really sure what wine the WS was tasting as I really cannot imagine anyone wanting to drink this wine now.


WR

2008 Chateau Rauzan-Segla 5th of 7

The initial nose on the dark burgundy colored wine was one of dirt and tobacco. It was very earthy and not particularly nice, but within ten minutes it had already started to transform and a lovely coffee aroma began to emerge. The coffee and tobacco flavor worked very well together.

Once you taste the wine you find a very nicely balanced wine. I would not expect this to last for as long as many Bordeaux wines last, but the wine was a pleasant blend of fruit, sweet tannin and carried a nice finish that included the coffee to the end.

RP 90+  WS 90

WR

2005 Chateau Palmer 4th of 7

Dark inky purple wine. Reminds me of Chateau La Conseillante with the color. The aroma is classic Margaux with a perfume like floral scent over the top of berry, licorice and mild oak. It is quite enjoyable and yet, it is a bit deceptive, as the wine itself hits with a punch of great fully integrated elements. The fruit is bright with berry there is a layer of spice, the licorice and other hints. Then there is a most wonderful finish with the flavors carrying through to the end. Very enjoyable wine. At its relative youth it is fully drinkable and I would expect it to be a great drinking wine for a long time.


The Palmer is a lovely wine. It is an excellent example of a very, very good wine. Fully balanced, fruit bright with flavor, lovely color and nose. It, of course, raises the classic dilemma of how much is too much to pay for a bottle of wine. It retails at $350 a bottle. The question is always going to be asked, is it worth it? The answer really is challenging. If money is no object, then by all means I suggest trying it, for sure. Someone has the kind of money for this type of wine, which in a restaurant would probably go for $750. But, if the real question is can't I have this same kind of wine experience for a lot less money, well the answer to that is most definitely. There are many wines that would rate with this Palmer at a 10th of the price. RP 96 WS 95

WR

2005 Chateau Beausejour 3rd of 7

Pretty deep ruby red wine in the glass. The nose is very closed, heavy legs which foretold heavy tannin. The wine has a tangy strong fruit that packs an initial punch. It smooths out with a longish finish. The tannins have started to resolve nicely into the wine. I could see this wine being quite good in another three to five years and lasting many years beyond that. It has a good base and I think may lose some of that initial spunk which will make it more fluid.

I would expect this to be a particularly good good option with food.

RP 91 (higher rated in earlier tasting) WS 92-94

WR

2000 Chateau L'Hermitage 2nd of 7

L'Hermitage is a Merlot Cabernet Franc blend. The nose on this wine is very nice. It comes right up with pleasing cherry/berry aromas. Quite enjoyable. The wine itself is a bit more dense and heavier, with a shift to a more raspberry flavor (perhaps that was the nose and I just missed it, but cherry was more predominant to me) solid tannin's but a somewhat short finish.

It simply dies in the mouth which given the flavors was a bit of a disappointment. Overall a sold wine. RP 91 WS 84 Not sure what wine WS was tasting from the bottle it does not seem to bear any resemblance to what I had. Their barrel note is pretty close.

WR

1995 Troplong-Mondot 1st of 7

Another Beltramo's tasting. This time it was focused on 2008 Bordeaux, but included this 1995, and two 2005 wines. Overall it was an okay tasting. I thought a couple of the wines had merit, but with Bordeaux's expanding prices over the last couple of years, it requires one to dig deep to support the habit. One that I find more challenging with so much great wine flowing from so many regions of the world. To the Troplong-Mondot.

This wine was nicely ruby in color with a closed in nose initially. It had tobacco and cedar notes. The taste was very gritty, heavy with raisin and prune. It had a heavy flavor profile and a long but sweet finish. Tannins were still not fully resolved into this wine. RP 92, WS 90. Price $175. I would not buy this wine, but would not be disappointed if someone served it at dinner one night.

WR

2000 Leoville-Las Cases Redux

So, two nights after opening this I went back to the bottle that had sat room temperature on my counter, with a simple stopper in the bottle.

My original note is here.

About 70% of the time I do this, I take a taste and pour out the glass and the bottle. 30% of the time, funny things have happened. Some just odd, others very enjoyable.

This was more than enjoyable. The wine had evolved wonderfully, developing some complexity, continuing to give the fruit with both strong and subtle flavors that it showed originally and the tannins had smoothed down beautifully. The finish was long and delightful.

It is so great when the 30% happens like this. It confirms for me that this wine will drink remarkably well for many many years to come.



WR

2006 Michel Picard Corton Clos des Fietres Beltramo's 8 of 9

This wine was a mystery. The nose was subdued. It really did not give off much of anything. The wine itself started with a burst of tannin and acid, carried along with some big berry fruit. It certainly stuck with you as it literally finished all of the way down my throat. I have some experience with good Burgundy, but not really that much with older wines. Some that I have had have been very good, others just weak and dead. This wine must be built to last. It has the pieces to be very good, but I would have a very difficult time playing the odds on that actually happening. I just really do not see the fruit coming forward, or perhaps the tannins resolving away sufficiently that this will end up a great bottle. And at $90, it would need to be very good to justify its price.

6th place out of 9.

WR

2006 La Pousse d'Or Corton Clos du Roi Beltramo's 9 of 9

Okay, this was the best wine of the group by quite a margin. It was also the most expensive at $115 per bottle.

What made this special? First the nose was a beautiful fragrant blend of sweet strawberry and blackberry. The nose was special. Then it was followed by a wonderful fresh burst of fruit on the tongue, followed by a great slightly tart slightly sweet finish. The finish was lovely. Everything one looks for in a fine pinot from France. The fruit the fine wine making, structure, taste the works.

Definitely and easily 1st of the 9 wines.


North Berkeley Imports has the scoop on the La Pousse the winery.

And that concludes the Beltramo's tasting notes.

WR

2005 Joseph Voillot Pommard "Clos Micault" Beltramo's 7 of 9

This wine starts with a dark color and right away on the nose backs it up with a heavy berry nose, mixed with a slightly burnt hint. This wine was the most alcohol rich of the group from tasting and it had a slightly glycerin silky flavor which I almost never associate with pinot noir grapes. It was quite pleasant to taste, my guess is that it benefited as against the other wines due to the extra year of aging, but I think it will be a much more complete wine in three or four more years. Right now it is a bit disjointed, but when it settles down it should be quite good.

2nd place out of 9.

WR

2006 La Pousse d'Or Volnay "Clos des 60 Ouvrees" Beltramo's 6 of 9

Nose of berries and a lovely ruby color. Fresh fruit starts off the mouth and opens up with strawberry hints. It is very light, but with excellent structure and balance, making it a very solid wine. Would be great with veal or game hen.

3rd place out of 9.

WR

2005 Bruno Clair Savigny-les Beaune "La Dominode" Beltramo's 5 of 9

This was a bit of an odd one. It was closed in the same way that the Mongeard-Mugneret, and on the first sip I thought it was going to be a very similar experience, but then out of no where a nice delicate fruit found its way to the front. The acid bite up front was not really that strong, but it had nothing to balance with at first. In the end it did not open up much either, so hard to feel good about it as a wine, but it seems like it would have more potential.

7th out of the 9.

WR

2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-les Beaune "Les Narbantons" Beltramo's 4 of 9

This was a very closed wine. Essentially no nose in the glass. Follow that up with the taste of chalky dirt and gravel. Not a revelation. Clearly this wine is not ready for this type of tasting. Even 15 minutes later when you could start to sniff some strawberry hints on the nose, the flavor in the glass was not there. Not really fair to judge a bottle like this, it clearly needs much more time to show its true nature.

8th place out of 9. Just can't rate it well, if it cannot show well.

WR

2006 Simon Bize et Fils Savigny-les Beaune "Les Fournaux" Beltramo's 3 of 9

Berry/cherry nose, lovely color in the glass. Starts with a tight acid bite, but loosens up and has a nice dark fruit, blackberry(?), flavor and a long pleasant softening finish. Nice wine, drinkable now, drinkable in a couple of years I am sure.

4th place out of 9.

WR

2005 Chateau de la Maltroye Chassagne Montrachet Rouge "La Boudriotte" Beltramo's 2 of 9

This wine started flat on all accounts, opened up on the nose a bit, with Cinnamon and ginger(?). The taste was bitter, strong tannin and acid with no balancing fruit that I could discern. Gave up hoping it would come back.

9th place out of 9.

WR

2005 Tollot-Beaut Chorey-Cote de Beaune, Beltramo's 1 of 9

Simple, open strawberry nose, moderate structure. Quite drinkable today, but this is not going to last for years.

5th place out of the 9 wines.

WR

Beltramo's January 31 Red Burgundy Tasting

The next sequence will be a very brief set of notes on 9 French Burgundies. Prices range from $30 to $115. Beltramo's has a very functional tasting area, they Vinturi the wines as the decant, and the pour is a controlled 1 oz pour with a pour device. The have good tasting glasses and have a new tasting every weekend. I am on a roll right now and later today will hit the Parker 95+ wines tasting they are having.

Sorry no pictures or website, except for my favorite for the group. I will list the wines place for the flight, 2nd of 9 or whatever. I primarily use the wine quality as the measure, but when I break a tie, I typically give the break to the wine that is a better price. When I do this type of tasting, I realize the wines are not really in competition, but it is a natural way of thinking about the tasting. It tends to be the case for me that one or two wines stand out positive, one or two wines stand out negative and the others jumble together without much to differentiate them, so take that into consideration if you are looking at the rankings.

WR

2000 Leoville-Las Cases

"A tour de force in winemaking" no less authority than Robert Parker.

I opened this tonight on a whim. It is a very nice bottle of wine, but I felt like something special, I have a few of these and have not tried one in well more than a year. It is still a long way from being a special wine. But all the elements are there. The fruit is full, with great subtle flavors. I sniff spice and licorice and cherry, and taste the berry coming through still somewhat strong tannins. I am sure that these tannins will mellow over the next few years and I will probably wait at least another year if not longer to break out another one of these.

I have no doubt this will be a great wine, but unlike many much more reasonably priced wines I have been drinking lately, it is not really for drinking now. It requires more time to fully achieve what the winemaker was aiming to deliver.

The winery does not seem to have an online presence, but here is a wikipedia entry.

WR