Tasting Notes

Rating 7/ 10
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N. Julhes Marc Volnay Premier Cru 2021 (Caillerets, Champans, Taillepieds sont dominants) | Cépage Pinot Noir 43%

Nose: Greenhouse crops, tomatoes and vines, green beans, sugar snap peas. Slightly perfumey notes here. Green pear skins. Broccolini. Sun dried tomatoes. Light sweetness.

Palate: Mmm this is a fun journey. Pink peppercorn. Dried grapefruit peel. Slightly sweet, notes of spice to licking an envelope landing on a nice little berry, fig, and grape finish.

Rating: 7 / 10

Rating 6/ 10
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N. Julhes Marc Meursault Premier Cru Charmes 2021 | Cépage Chardonnay 43%

Nose: Sage. California pepper tree. Slightly rotten lime. Peanut butter or butterscotch fudge. Those greenhouse notes with more subtle savory notes. Weird note, but smells like paper fresh off the printer with ink.

Palate: Licking envelopes, orange blossom water, unripe figs / fig sap.

Rating: 6 / 10

Rating 8/ 10
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N. Julhes Marc Meursault Clos de La Barre 2021 | Cépage Chardonnay 43%

Nose: Cedar, tarragon YAAAAAZ, lavender, thai basil, corduroy bear, kinda creamy texture to the scent. Yuzu. Cinnamon bass note and underbelly that doesn’t dominate. I love this nose.

Palate: Dammmmn. lovely. That is a delightful match to the nose, all those herbal notes with that subtle cinnamon bass note. Ghost of yuzu. A long gentle warmth on the finish. The finish leaves you with the chardonnay grapes.

Rating: 8 / 10 – freaking interesting AND delicious

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N. Julhes Marc Champagne le mesnil 2021 | Cépage Chardonnay 43%

Nose: Wet oats and hay, clover. Graham crackers. Scotch tape, subtle paint thinner, and maybe shoe polish. With time you get those Indian spices on the palate. Chickpeas. Rooibos tea.

Palate: A nice Indian vibe here, chutney, masala, cinnamon. Key lime.

Rating: 7 / 10

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N. Julhes Marc Champagne Mont de Cramant 2021 | Cépage Chardonnay 43%

Nose: Acetone and fingernail polish. Roasted cauliflower and parsnips, Limestone, kefir lime leaves. Subtle sugar cane.

Palate: Sugar cane indeed. Lime peel. Lots of minerality.

Rating: 6 / 10

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N. Julhes Marc Champagne Chantereine 2021 | Cépage Chardonnay 43%

Nose: Tomato tart.

Palate: Bright and yet earthy. Quite mineral, wet clay. White veggies (asparagus). Shades of an agave spirit. Fresh pomegranate and subtle notes of raisins.

Rating: 6 / 10

Rating 6/ 10
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N. Julhes Marc Condrieu Vernon peintre 2021 | Cépage Viognier 43%

Nose: Some barnyard that then gets cleaned with a dial soap bar. Putting my nose into a copper pot actively popping popcorn.

Palate: Pipe tobacco and smoking a cigar. Light turon with hints of cloves. Cardboard.

Rating: 6 / 10

Rating 5/ 10
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N. Julhes Marc Condrieu Vernon La Croix 2021 | Cépage Viognier 43%

Nose: This one is very different from the rest. Much simpler, honestly smells like a very mineralized water, maybe some subtle notes of fruit.

Palate: Mmm, unexpected, mixture of tobacco and fruit, well balanced and straightforward.

Rating: 5 / 10

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N. Julhes Marc Condrieu Vernon la Vieille 2021 | Cépage Viognier 43%

Nose: Garlic, olive oil, and mushrooms. Ground bruised stone fruit. Bok choy. Printer ink.

Palate: Nose matches palate here, fun! Compost pile. Fermented dried lemon peel. Bbqed watermelon rinds.

Rating: Wtf / 10

Rating 5/ 10
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Domaine DuPin 2014 #39 Cask Sample November 2022 by L’Encantada

Nose: Saucisson. It’s all I can smell. A rich fattiness, nearly bone marrow. The resin part of the epoxy before adding the curing agent. Like hanging out with a friend wearing a slightly wet flannel who was smoking cloves outside. The longer it sat, the more I can feel the old woodshop dust from a project finished long ago. The smell of sharp nostalgia. But when I get past the raw ethel vibe, it’s wonderful.

Palate: I know the name is so suggestive it probably just drags me there, but the pine derby vibe is unmistakable. Marijuana tar. Cloves. I was in a bar recently where a few mixologists were practicing for the Spanish cocktail championships. They would never call themselves such a pretentious title, but the experiments that happened in front of my face were inspiring. One lady made me a molasses based mojito that was so earthy, with the tiniest hint of smoke. It was to be remembered. A hint of ephemeral honeysuckle.

Rating: 5 / 10 – The ethel vibe is strong, but once I get past it, both the nose and palate have something special. I’m nearly a 6 and as this smoothes out it should be something special.

Rating 5/ 10
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Domaine Artigaux 1985 by L’Encantada

Nose: Apple tree in bloom, kombucha and cider vinegar. Cigar tobacco vibe, licorice root.

Palate: Intense oak bomb. I feel like a termite. High proof but the alcohol only plays on the finish. Concentrated plum along the dr pepper spectrum. Almost a pepto bismol sweetness. I rarely say it’s too much, but tonight it’s too much.

Rating: 5 / 10 – timber.

Rating 6/ 10
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Domaine Couloume 1966 by L’Encantada

Nose: I’m not typically in love at first sniff, but dannng, domaine whose name I can’t read because vincent handwriting is illegible, I might love you. Mom and I used to make plum butter every year from the orchard. We would take the plum acidity and sweetness, layer in baking spices and then concentrate and then concentrate until we have a spread fit for the gods. We would make so much and you can only eat it so quickly, that I recently had a debate with mom about expiration date. This isn’t a distillate or a wine, a 1998 plum butter vintage is quite suspect. Still smelled amazing though but I was too scared to try it out. The dutch might consider themselves the licorice maestros, and it is hard to argue given how much amazeballs salted licorice my mom used to drag home from business trips. But when dad started traveling to Australia for his eucalyptus research, he began to bring home a whole different take on licorice. Soft, chewy and rich flavors, layered both anise and licorice root oils. On mouthfeel they take the crown. But they also had a rich and decadent smell no other style has ever produced. There is so much more but I want to dive into the palate, so brain dump style: toasted pecans, dry oak right as I place it in the fire before it burst into flame, cassis concentrate, oyster mushroom, dr pepper at the bottom of my glass after it has dried.

Palate: I’ve been titillated by tart lately. Wood forward. And while on the first sip that is all I found, I reached for a bigger draw and flavors cascaded onwards. Maybe a lower abv? Definitely plum. Kind of reminds me of the higher abv Capreolus damson EDV we tried with Barney. Earl gray, hot. Bergamot and black tea. Licorice root. An adult tootsie roll. And something intensely floral that I can’t quite pin down.

Rating: 6 / 10 – top notch sniff, and a woody wood wood palate with tiny bursts of sweetness. Which I personally quite enjoy but might only appeal to those oak munchers. Hard to say. Wish I knew the ABV.

Rating 6/ 10
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Bruichladdich 10 year 2002 Madeira 46% For Dramfool’s

Nose: Barnyard funk, touch of sulfur, hints of prime rib, sweet treats, lot of delightful things here dancing around on the nose. Maple candies. Frosting.

Palate: Chocolate, leather, heather, smoke, vanilla salt water taffy, salted cod.

Rating: 5 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10

Rating 7/ 10
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Bruichladdich 2002 20 year First Fill Bourbon 59% For Dramfool’s

Nose: Plain milk chocolate m&m’s, snack pack chocolate pudding cups, stale vanilla wafers you pick up at the costa rican gas station on the way to a company meeting… nearly a tradition. Graham crackers / circus animals, werther’s originals, tangerine flan with a well balanced layer of smoke.

Palate: Tangerine cut in half and plopped on the grill with a sprig of rosemary. Grapefruit peel. Wildflower honey. Sour grass.

Rating: 5 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10 – a fun mix but surprised too

Rating 7/ 10
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Capreolus Apple Eau de Vie “1000 Trees” 2019 Harvest 43%

Nose: Brilliant and pure essence of all the apples, gorgeous. The depth and breadth of the apple essence is such that I can taste and feel the texture of an apple slice in my mouth. Dried apple rings, with the tiniest dusting of cinnamon. Apple turnover. Raspberry leaves. Moss growing on apple bark? , elegant sweetness that isn’t cloying or cheap.

Palate: Pink peppercorn, green chillies, crab apple, tarragon.

Rating: 7 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10 – amazing nose, palate a bit too sharp for me. Ryan: I can’t recall having had such a beautiful and pure expression that gets to the heart of what makes apples such a delightful and beautiful fruit in eau de vie until this.