Ch. Lynch-Bages 2001/Pauillac

 Ch. Lynch-Bages 2001/Pauillac (Cinquiemes Cru)

The color was garnet with orange color at the edge, but little darker than 2001 Ch. d'Almailhac.  Powerful and rich aroma and bouquet of ripped blackberry, cassis, and blueberry with hint of leather, tobacco, leaf mold, nutmeg, clove, and coffee.  Silky texture with flavor of condensed fruit, rich tannin, and soft acidity.  It's been aged for 12years but still young,, so I thought this wine just reached the beginning of its peak.

The grape varieties of 2001 vintage are 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot.

Ch. Lynch-Bages is ranked as "Cinquiemes Cru (5th);" however, many wine reviewers ranks it as the second cru.  Thus, the price is a bit pricy as Cinquiemes cru, especially for its great vintage such as 2000, 2005, and 2009.  The price may increase in the future, so it may be better to buy now.


This wine is available at this online shop;

This site has an English page as well (at the bottom of this site, there is an "English" link), but they ship only within Japan.


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Ch. d'Armailhac 2001/Pauillac

Ch. d'Armailhac 2001/Pauillac (Cinquiemes Cru)

The color was garnet with orange color at the edge.  Powerful and complex aroma and bouquet of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, raisin, and dried plum with some hint of leather, cider, sage, nutmeg, clove, coffee, tobacco, cigar, truffle, and leaf mold. Very smooth texture, and well-balanced acidity and tannin.  This 12 years-aged wine is just at the peak, so should drink now.

I like young Bordeaux but prefer such an aged one because of this wonderful complexity.        

The winery, Chaterau d'Armailhac, is owned by Baron de Rothschild, which is also owner of Ch. Mouton Rothschild.  The grape varieties is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot.  CH. d'Armailhac wine is usually soft texture and able to enjoy its young vintage.  I tasted 2009 before and enjoyed its youthful flavor very much.

CH. d'Armailhac has been improved the quality and rated high; thus, though the cost performance is very high now, it may become pricy near future.            

This wine is available at this online shop;

This site has an English page as well (at the bottom of this site, there is an "English" link), but they ship only within Japan.


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Dolcetto d'Alba 2011/Prunotto

I hadn't had any alcohol for 4 days.  Wow, my face is not puffy anymore...seems a bit sharp face-line!!  Well, I should have "no drinking day" more often...

The first wine after "no-drinking days" would better be some light-body one, so I picked this!

Dolcetto d'Alba 2011/Prunotto

Wow!  It's like fresh strawberry (more specifically, Hakata Amaou, one of Japanese strawberry bland). Light ruby color with aroma and bouquet of strawberry, violet, and licorice.  Flavor of fresh fruit and rich acidity.  Light body.  This wine was great to drink with fresh tomato's pasta.

The grape variety is Dolcetto, Italian local grape mainly viticulture in north Italy including Alba, Piemonte.  It was first time to drink Dolcetto wine, and now love into it! So fresh and tasty.



This wine is available at this online shop;

This site has an English page as well (at the bottom of this site, there is an "English" link), but they ship only within Japan.


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Nuits-St-Georges '07/Emmanuel Rouget

Nuits-St-Georges '07/Emmanuel Rouget

Wow....I was so lucky to be able to taste the wine of Emmanuel Rouget. I kept smiling for few days after tasting this wine, no kidding.

The first impression of this wine was "wood." Woods, earth, and underbrush.  As time goes, the aroma and bouquet in the glass were full of berries and rose with hint of licorice-like spices and tea.  Full of condensed fruit flavor, silky tannin, mineral, elegant acidity.  Remarkable thing is the after flavor; very soft sweetness came up somehow and remained very long time.  I don't know how to describe the sweetness.... it was like very soft and sweet strawberry....like cotton candy.

This wine truly the best wine in my experiences.  Great!!

The wine maker, Emmanuel Rouget, is nephew of Henri Jayer, who is one of the legend winemakers in Burgundy and called "the God of Burgundy."  Rouget learned everything to yield great wine from Jayer and inherited Jayer's vineyards (but not all of them) including his most famous vineyard "Vosne-Romanee, Cros Parantoux." (Rouget and Meo Camuzet inherited the Cros Parantoux.)

One of my dream is to drink the Jayer's "Vosne-Romanee, Cros Parantoux,"....well...actually, any of  Jayer's wine:) In fact, I've seen Romanee Conti (Just seen, not had nor tasted!!) but not Jayer's wine.

Ok, I don't say Jayer's wine, but love to drink Rouget's wine again!

It's hard to fine any Jayer or Rouget wine in Japan, but these store might have some stock;

1. WINE SHOP ENOTECA (English site available)


2. WINE MARKET PARTY (No English site)



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http://amys-wine.blogspot.jp/2013/01/blog-post.html


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Ch. Beychevelle '01/AOC Saint Julien

Ch. Beychevelle '01/AOC Saint Julien (Quatriemes Crus)

At the first, the bouquet was mainly roast, vanilla, earth, and woods.  After 30min, full of aroma like cassis, cherries, and dried fruits.  The tannin was rich but soft texture, well balanced with the fruit flavor.  Aged for 11 years, seemingly it's in the peak of this wine. So wonderful.  I enjoyed well-aged Bordeaux very much!

The history of Ch. Beychevelle began in 17th century.  The vineyard was ruined after the French Revolution, but it was restored by the new owner (a banker in Paris).  The current owner is Grands Millesime de France (join-stock association of GMF and Suntory).

The grape varieties of this vintage is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot, aging in oak barrels (55% new with the rest in 1-year-old barrel).

Hmm...wonderful experience for me to drink such a great aged Bordeaux.  Truly great wine!  
   
This wine is available at this online shop;

This site has an English page as well (at the bottom of this site, there is an "English" link), but they ship only within Japan.

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http://amys-wine.blogspot.jp/2012/12/ch-beychevelle.html


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Ch. du Tertre '04/AOC Margaux

Ch. du Tertre '04/AOC Margaux (Cinquiemes Crus)

Very elegant! Aroma and bouquet of cassis, blackberries, cocoa, licorice, and vanilla.  Rich flavor of berry-like fruits and rich but silky tannin.  The acidity and minerals made this wine very elegant.  Reasonable finish.

The winery, Chateau du Tertre, is AC Margaux of Bordeaux and located on hill ("Tertre" means "hill" in French) in the commune Arsac.   Before 1960, the condition of the chateau's vinyard was terrible.  In 1961 Phillippe Gasqueton, the owner of Ch. Calon Segur at the time, acquired the ownership of this winery and made great effort to restore the vineyard and Chateau.  After his death in 1995, the winery was sold to the owner of the Ch. Giscours.  The new owner renewed the vineyard and Chateau; in the result, the quality of "Chateau du Tertle" improved dramatically.

Elegant style with rich fruit aroma.  It may mariage with roasted beef:)

This wine is available at this online shop;

This site has an English page as well (at the bottom of this site, there is an "English" link), but they ship only within Japan.


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CHIANTI CLASSICO '07 / CASTELLO DI AMA

CHIANTI CLASSICO '07 / CASTELLO DI AMA

I had this wine with delivery pizza (in Tokyo).  

Deep ruby color. Very floral and full of fruits aroma, like violet, rose, ripped dark cherry and plum.  Also aroma and bouquet of raisin, licorice, and chocolate.  Flavors of berries with medium to bright acidity and silky tannin. Well balanced, elegant, long finish. Medium body.  It may be better to decant or to wait for 30min after open.

Because of this richness of fruits flavor and acidity, this wine truly mariaged with Pizza Margherita!!

The grape varieties are 80% Sangiovese and 20% Malvasia, Merlot, and Cabernet franc.  After assemblage, this wine spent about 13 months in French oak barrels, 25% new and the rest from 1-3 years old.  (Reference: http://www.castellodiama.com )

2007 is excellent vintage for Chianti Classico.  Yes, I truly agree with that!  I love this wine:) 

This wine is available at this online shop;

This site has an English page as well (at the bottom of this site, there is an "English" link), but they ship only within Japan.

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http://amys-wine.blogspot.jp/2012/12/blog-post_9.html


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