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Your scribe is fortunate to enjoy a diverse wide range of mature wines. Sometimes your expectations exceed the actual results. Other times less frequently the anticipation is met by an over delivery of delightful complexity. This past week was a the lottery win with three very different bottles all showing outstanding quality. My enthusiastic brief comments follow:

NOBLE RIDGE VINEYARD & WINERY THE ONE GRAND RESERVE SPARKLING 2017:

British Columbia are making some unsung excellent Sparkling wines. Pioneered by the dependable Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars there are now several top quality Sparkling producers. One of my favs is Noble Ridge in Okanagan Falls owned by conscientious Leslie & Jim D’Andrea and with the now Chief Operating Officer Benoit Gauthier but still the inquisitive talented Director of Winemaking & Viticulture. They all strive to produce the finest quality and have succeeded with this Sparkling wine. This first one produced in 2017 as a Grand Reserve is a step up from their regular dependable “The One”. Also check out their 2020 The One 20th Anniversary Sparkling plus 2021 The One Blanc de Blanc. Like how they picked the 2017 vintage of 78% Chardonnay and 22% Pinot Noir at low 18 Brix sugar but with defining unique terroir using Methode Traditionnelle en Tirage for 66 months at 12.1 abv with only 2.5g/l residual sugar for 165 cases. Others like it too as Katherine McEachnie, Master of Champagne, gave it 100 points as “truly exceptional – It is refined, elegant and finessed”. Your scribe appreciated the rich nutty balanced flavours with long lees aging complexity that was delightful both as an aperitif but also a wonderful pairing for a sardine pasta with sweet leeks, crisp celery, and toasted bread crumbs. Congrats! More of the same please.

BACO DIVINO NAPA VALLEY 1999:

Bacio Divino Cellars (“Divine Kiss” in Italian) is a small family owned Napa Valley winery of Winnipeg Canada transplant friend Claus Janzen who has a passion for top wine doing stellar marketing for 12 years at Caymus before his own first release in 1993. This 62% Cab Sauv is blended with 28% Sangiovese & 10% Petite Sirah was a bit disjointed early on but the three grapes have now come together magically for my last bottle. There is a Napa Cab Sauv signature here but further enhanced by the savoury smooth softer Sangiovese. Almost similar to a Cab Sauv Ornellaia with Merlot/CF/PV in the blend while here using Sangiovese & Petite Sirah coming in at 14/1 abv. Like the back label note of “Contains Some of the Winemaker’s Heart & Soul”. So true and has aged to surprising delightful drinking. Matched perfectly with a fresh local hand made meatball course with tomato and chickpeas. Baco Divino are now making some really outstanding wines using quality fruit from top vineyards as highlighted in this article here. Well done Claus & family.

CHATEAU TALBOT SAINT-JULIEN 1982:

This celebrated vintage stored well is showing brilliantly for many Bordeaux chateaux at 40+ years of age. Shows you how important it is to be vintage aware and collect these top years for later drinking. Talbot a Fourth Growth 1855 classification from Cordier was in these old days cheaper and usually playing second fiddle to their Second Growth big sister Gruaud Larose St. Julien – those 1982 and 1986 are also outstanding and more structured. Really appreciate how this value wine has developed and stayed on a beautiful drinking plateau (as has the 1986). It shows classic textbook pure bouquet of cedar cigar box lead pencil with intriguing leathery floral notes. So delicious and singing fully sweet, rich and balanced with a Penne Pasta Bolognese main course. Buy a current top vintage of Bordeaux from a value property and wait a few years (maybe not 40) to treasure this rare experience. Really a delightful surprise!

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How best to select wines to pair with food courses is a source of many opinions and much debate. Recommendations have evolved because of the high cost of traditional wine pairings plus the now available interesting wide selection of quality wines from around the world. Many diners prefer at dinner simplifying the presentation to just one wine to enjoy with the dish served emphasizing more social interaction. Wine groups sometimes organize an event with a wine theme resulting in an educational tasting of many wines at either a vertical or horizontal. Another fine choice is the mini vertical or horizontal allowing the diner to study and compare two or three similar wines. The Sous-Commanderie de Vancouver of Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin has brilliantly achieved this at two consecutive events. Kudos for most smartly chosen wines by new Grande Senechale Dr. Christine Collison and Cellarmaster Blair Curtis at both the annual wine & cheese soiree (reported last year on March 18, 2024 here) on March 5, 2025 and Tavola restaurant combining French wines with Italian cuisine on April 8, 2025.

Your scribe really appreciated the opportunity to experience the vintage variations of the same wine. A few comments:

At Wine & 16 Cheeses:

MEURSAULT PERRIERES 1ER CRU ALBERT GRIVAULT 2006, 2008, 2015:

Really like the complexity and aging ability of this excellent vineyard – especially in 2014. Here instructional to compare hotter year 2015 at higher 14 abv with less acidity but full rich extract opulent style drinking forwardly but no rush – seems more like the rounded power of Charmes; Cooler 2008 smaller pour as one bottle was maderized showing best with lighter elegance better balanced acidity with subtle minerals almost Genevrieres in style; Exotic 2006 more maturity with tertiary complex bouquet with richer depth on best plateau now.

CLOS VOUGEOT GRAND CRU of different producers from 3 vintages:

Not top vintages but all showed better than expected approaching best plateau for current enjoyment.

2007 DOMAINE GROS FRERE ET SOEUR “MUSIGNI”:

Variable year but lovely clean elegant and stylish from a key vineyard north of the Chateau with major mid-1980s replanting.

2006 ALAIN HUDELOT-NOELLAT:

Vintage that required careful sorting because of rot. But here with a property south of the Chateau shows the darkest biggest solid most fruit of these three. No outstanding 2005 in this flight but this surprises evolving rather nicely with balance.

2004 DOMINIQUE LAURENT:

Controversial “lady-bug” year often with those flawed green vegetal notes but wine better than many 2004 red Burgundy. Lacks ripe fruit and finishes rather dry but OK with food.

At Tavola excellent Italian dinner by Chef Wesley Weber and brigade:

Underated Vaulorent vying with Montee de Tonnerre for best 1er Cru Chablis. At southern end of large 130 hectare Fourchaume are 13+ hectares of Vaulorent adjoining Grand Cru Les Preuses. A rich full complex Chablis especially from William Fevre.

2008 CHABLIS VAULORENT 1ER CRU DOMAINE WILLIAM FEVRE:

All their Fourchaume vineyards are in the prized Vaulorent section. Shows lightest youngest green tinged look. Wonderful fresh minerals and vibrant lift. Could be a bit fuller perhaps but excellent typicity. Clear winner!

2009 CHABLIS VAULORENT 1ER CRU JEAN-MARC BROCARD:

Dark yellow golden look from hot year. Very mature. Rich ready soft lacking needed acidity. Drink up.

2015 CHABLIS VAULORENT 1ER CRU DOMAINE LOUIS MICHEL:

Top producer since 1850 but hot year has advanced dark look with the opulence of Vaulorent but more “Macon-like” fruit.
Shows you to collect for aging the better balanced vintages like 2010, 2014, 2017, and 2020.

POMMARD LES GRANDS EPENOTS 1ER CRU DOMAINE MICHEL GAUNOUX 1999, 2001, 2002

Misleading names like in Echezeaux & Grands Echezeaux. Here Les Grands Epenots is smaller than Les Petits Epenots and refers to the grander longer length of the vine rows.The most elegant Pommard is between the two as the monopole of Comte Armand in Clos des Epeneaux. Wines show their vintages well here from the largest holdings of Domaine Michel Gaunoux.

1999: Darkest deep look. Dense concentrated fine tannins. Intense age worthy and very Pommard. Patience.

2001: Less ripeness. Lighter colour open & developed at 24 years. Easy current drinking now.

2002: Consistent surprising year. Like the elegance and charm of the red cherries fruit.

2000 NICOLAS POTEL – Compare same vintage and producer who picked later in 2000 from different vineyards:

CHAPELLE-CHAMBERTIN: Does better in cooler years (opposite of Latricieres). Pretty clean without rot but less acidity than some 2000s with earthy softer and supple textures.

MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN: Way more fruit depth and rich complexity of this vineyard shows through. Prefer the structure and the power of Mazis.

Thanks for the experiences.

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Chateau Pichon Baron in Pauillac has really progressed since the acquisition of the property by owner Axa in 1987. Some good wines previously produced including an excellent four year stretch from 1959 to 1962 including the surprising 1960 with those three other outstanding vintages. However they are today back at the deserving Second Growth classification received in 1855 with a solid run of complex lower yielding mature vines (using more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend) resulting in outstanding wines from 2015 to 2023 inclusive. Managing Director of AXA Millesimes Christian Seely was at our Vancouver International Wine Festival on February 28, 2014 conducting a vertical of his wines from 2010 to 1990. He stated that the recent history was “in two phases of first 1987 to 2000 of less know how producing higher yields and secondly 2000 on paying more attention to small details in the vineyards and much lower yields with better selection”. Christian describes it as “72 hectares of which 38 are great gravel best plots of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and to the west on richer clay soil is mostly Merlot used earlier in the Grand Vin but now more in their second wine Les Tourelles de Longueville.” He described the present terroir as “The Renaissance of Pichon Baron with a personality defined by old vine Cabernet Sauvignon grown on a plateau bed of gravel”.

On April 1, 2025 our Vancouver Group of Eight held meeting # 129 at Blue Water Cafe featuring nine vintages of Pichon Baron from 2009 back to 1982. We started with the legendary small appellation of CHATEAU-GRILLET 2011 run by the Neyret-Gachet family from 1830 until the 2011 acquisition by Artemis Domaines (Pinault family). This was their first year but the Viognier was so special combining delicate minerality with tight power and elegance. A beauty.

The Pichon Baron were served in two flights youngest to oldest and your scribe has ranked them personally with the first place deserving a much higher score than 9th but all really showed very well indeed. The tasting confirmed that even with higher yields the unique terroir really shone through in top vintages like 1989 & 1990. The future for this property is very high indeed.

2009 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

This very dark almost black younger vintage is 70 CS & 30 M with 80% new oak. Impressive powerful depth of fruit with harmonious balance. Juicy exuberant ripe accessible young but not too ripe as still built to age. Slight label change in 2009 from “sickly griffins” to “healthy vigorous “ ones. Christian fav is the twin 2010 of 79CS/21M where “the purity & freshness of the fruit are masking the tannins”. Two degrees higher average temperature in 2009 than 2010 that was cooler. Rank 4th (best future)

2000 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

Not as dense as some recent ones but open bouquet with delicious finesse and balance of integrated tannins. Showing beautifully on a lovely drinking plateau now at 25 years. Not as fantastic as show stopper 2000 Lynch Bages Pauillac written up last week here. Enjoy. Rank 3rd

1998 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

More herbaceous but less Pauillac definition forwardly with spices and less tannins. Easy mellow smooth ready but missing depth in the mid-palate. Drink presently. Rank 8th

1996 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

Surprised at being the lightest rim of the First Flight. Structured tannins with high CS 80 + 20M with 70% new oak in almost a Napa-like eucalyptus style. Christian stated “high yields in 1996 of 385,000 bottles and since 2000 only half that production of the Grand Vin at 170,000-190,000”. Solid but a bit disappointing for this top vintage. Rank 6th

1995 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

More colour depth as Christian noted back in his 2014 seminar that “smaller grapes for more skins and intense juice than 1996″ but spicy less ripe Merlot over lesser amount of CS on the nose. Evolving more quickly but losing fruit. Better when paired with the tasty excellent mushroom rabbit course. Rank 7th

1990 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

Deep but paling edge with stylish beautiful lead pencil, cedar, cigar box Pauillac definition. Good texture with earthy flavours plus drying a little bit on the finish but nonetheless excellent. Christian called it “one of the great years with a fresh style but yields of 73CS & 27 M were way too high at 67+ hl/ha”. Some tasters ranked it first or tied for first but your scribe believes 1989 has purity with more elegance. Rank 2nd.

1989 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

Another great twin year with 1990. Very textbook Pauillac definition! Complex pure fruit aromatics with exotica. Wow. 65% new oak worked perfectly here using the same cepagement as 1990. More intense richness from the riper hotter opulent year but is holding the fruit wonderfully precisely together throughout. Also improved the best with airing and warming opening up showing more development over the dinner. Collected this 1989 vintage since Wine Spectator named it in 1992 as their Wine of the Year. Superb choice by them that your scribe has respected and enthusiastically enjoyed over many decades for the “breathtaking” quality. WOTN for me and Fred Withers agreed. Rank 1st

1986 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

Colour OK but not as dark as many 1986 Bordeaux. Not that clean with a touch of TCA corkiness. Less depth and less weight. Simpler. Not best bottle but seem to have missed the mark this time. Last vintage of the Bouteiller family ownership since the 1930s before Axa purchase. Your scribe has tasted better bottles of it than this one. Rank 9th

1982 CHATEAU PICHON BARON PAUILLAC:

Good bottle and drinking lovely but drier with less fruit than the glorious Fifth Growth Pauillac Grand Puy Lacoste 1982. Nice elegant mature finish. Leaner and was showing more fruit a few years ago but sings better with the culinary treat course of beef two ways. Drink up. Rank 5th

2003 CHATEAU RIEUSSEC SAUTERNES:

Deep dark usual Rieussec look. Rich powerful caramel/toffee notes with honey that pairs nicely with the prominent ginger in the ice cream.

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