As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in June, and while it took forever to post these notes, I am happy to finally be getting to them at this point. I must start by thanking Ari Cohen, yet again, because all the wines tasted here, other than the wines from Elvi, were managed by Ari. The total number of boxes in my hotel room, still makes me laugh!

Moises Cohen from Elvi Wines sent me the Elvi wines tasted below while the rest of the wines either I or Ari bought.

As I stated, in my previous post, I kept to my hotel room for much of the trip. Even vaccinated, I was worried, and am still worried, as such I kept to myself, where possible. Almost all the wines below were tasted alone in my room other than the last few wines which were tasted at IDS’ offices.

Magrez wines continue to be a horrible mess

Besides the 2017 Chateau Fombrauge, Blanc, which was an oxidized disaster, I also tasted five more Magrez wines and they all continue to be a shadow of what the 2014 vintage was for this winery. Truly unfortunate for all of us kosher wine drinkers.

Memorias del Rambam

These were also not very impressive. I had them over a few days and they never turned the corner. They stayed very much a ripe ball of oak and fruit, classic parker style. The Yunikko was interesting, without the oak overpowering the wine, it has potential, but it also never came together.

Elvi Wines

I got the chance to enjoy the 2016 Elvi Wines Herenza Reserva and it is quite a joy. It should be coming to the USA soon, definitely a wine worth stocking up on!

Languedoc & Savoie Wines

Overall not a bad batch of wines though there is a clear WINNER in the 2019 Château de Marmorières Les Amandiers, La Clape, Languedoc. WOW!! if that was available in the USA, for that price, I would drink it every week!! Much like the Maison Sarela White, I enjoyed in Paris as well. The 2020 Jean Perrier & Fils Pure, Savoie was nice, much better than the Blanc which was not useful!

Overall, IMHO, the 2019 Château de Marmorières Les Amandiers, La Clape, Languedoc is such a WINNER it is a shame it is not here in the USA. Again, I understand import prices, extra layers of costs, so I doubt it makes sense here in the USA. But, for all of those in Paris/Europe – BUY IT!

Various Bordeaux Wines

This group was a total loser, other than the Cru Ducasse family of wines and the two Taieb wines. The two Taieb wines were nice and documented here. The rest were a total mess.

The 2012 Château Cru Ducasse, Haut Médoc and the 2012 Chateau Moutinot, Saint-Estephe are two more WINENRS and they were incredible! The price and the quality – WOW! The 2012 Château Cru Ducasse was imported into the USA a long time ago and then it disappeared. It is available in Paris/Europe – BUY IT!! WOW!!

Wines enjoyed at IDS’ Office

Ari gathered all the wines we tasted that day and Ben Uzman from Les Vins IDS shared a bottle of the 2020 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Symphonie Blanc, Cotes de Provence. That is a lovely wine, a bit expensive, but a lovely wine indeed!

Besides the lovely Vermentino, we had the complete set of kosher Chateau Trianon that is for sale, at this time. The early 2017 vintage – the petite was not very good. However, the 2018 and 2019 vintages were lovely!

Thoughts on this tasting

Overall, these wines were unimpressive, but wow did we find some real sleepers! The 2019 Château de Marmorières Les Amandiers is a no-brainer for those in France/Europe. The Elvi is coming here soon, and the Trianon while lovely, is not yet been imported, and when it does, I doubt the price will stay near where it is today to stay a WINNER.

Overall, many great WINNER wines will stay in Europe or may come here to the USA but will not be WINNERs here. Still, again, for those in Europe/UK – enjoy! Thanks again to Ari and IDS for their help!

The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

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2016 Chateau Tour Blanche, Medoc – Score: 80 (QPR: BAD)
The nose on this wine is flat as is the mouth, it is not a fruit bomb, it is just boring. The nose on this wine shows black and red fruit, a bit of dirt, heat, and loam. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is flat, it has no acid, it is lifeless, and not interesting. Next! Drink now. (tasted June 2021)

2016 Chateau La Tour Carnet, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Haut-Medoc – Score: 89.5 (QPR: POOR)
This wine is far less fruity than the 2015 vintage, showing notes of deep loam, fresh dirt, sweet oak, sweet dill, milk chocolate, nice green notes, foliage, smoke, anise, tar, and ripe fruit, interesting. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is ripe, but controlled, with proper acidity, elegance, layers of big bold blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, with lovely mouth-draping tannin, dark chocolate, rich saline, lovely graphite, all wrapped in a rich plush mouthfeel, dense yet balanced with sweet oak, sweet tobacco, and nice mineral. The finish is long, sweet, balanced, with green notes, bell pepper, foliage, leather, rich earth, and lovely clean fruit on the long finish. Drink from 2024 until 2030. (tasted June 2021)

2016 Chateau Fombrauge, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 86 (QPR: BAD)
This wine, much like the Tour Blanche, is empty, it is not unbalanced or a fruit bomb, rather it is none of the above and free of anything that will grab my attention. The nose on this wine is red and black, with green notes, sweet oak, and anise. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is empty, free of acidity, life, or fruit, it has a bit but all I get is oak, sweet fruit, and smoke. The finish is long, with mouth-draping tannin, sweet fruit, leather, and more sweet oak on the long finish. Drink by 2027 (tasted June 2021)

2017 Chateau La Tour Carnet Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Haut-Medoc – Score: 85 (QPR: POOR)
WOW, I am confused the 2015 vintage was overripe, the 2016 vintage was balanced, now the 2017 vintage is lifeless with hints of ripe fruit in the far background, like what??? The nose on this wine is empty, hints of ripe black fruit, overripe blue fruit, sweet oak, sweet dill, and not much else. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is ripe, with mouth-draping tannin, and not much else, blackberry, raspberry, all trying to cover up the glaring hole in the middle, with not enough acid to get this all around. The finish is a bit short, with more milk chocolate, smoke, green notes, and leather. Drink until 2027. (tasted June 2021)

2017 Chateau Magrez la Peyre, Saint-Estephe – Score: 83 (QPR: BAD)
Another Magrez and another wine without any life, I guess 2017 Magrez = empty lifeless wines. The nose on this wine is ripe, unbalanced, and empty, again, with notes of milk chocolate, sweet oak, ripe black fruit, a bit of earth, and that is it. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is empty, it has nice mouth-draping tannin, it has no holes, but it has no acid, and it lacks life, the fruit is nowhere, with a bit of blackberry, raspberry, and green notes. The finish is long, green, red, and ripe, with milk chocolate, leather, sweet spices, more oak, and good mineral. Drink until 2027. (tasted June 2021)

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2016 Memorias del Rambam Red, Classic, Utiel-Requena – Score: 70 (QPR: NA)
This wine is too painful to describe, it is pure date juice that is empty of anything. Simply stated – move on! (tasted June 2021)

2016 Memorias del Rambam Crianza, Utiel-Requena – Score: 84 (QPR: BAD)
This wine is not as bad as the Classic but it is an oak bomb with a fair amount of ripe fruit. The nose on this wine is very young, I am not sure if it will calm down, but now the wine is an oak bomb, with too much sweet oak, ripe fruit, and dense overripe fruit in the background. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is ripe, oak-laden, and too much for me, at this point, maybe this comes around, but now this wine is undrinkable. The finish is long, dark fruit, smoke, earth, tar, clay, and rich loam. Drink until 2026. (tasted June 2021)

2016 Memorias del Rambam Finca Zerezal, Reserva, Utiel-Requena – Score: 84 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose on this wine is more balanced, it is ripe, but balanced, with dark and brooding black and blue fruit, deep smoke, good sweet oak, nice rich loam, clay, elegance, and yet scary by all this very bold fruit. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is intense, layered, and dense, sadly, the mouth is too ripe, the blackberry, boysenberry are too ripe, the acidity is there but cannot pull the weight here, with too much dark fruit, mouth draping tannin, good enough acidity, and more fruit. The finish is long, dark, brooding, leather, milk chocolate, smoke, and rich mineral. Drink until 2026. (tasted June 2021)

2018 Memorias del Rambam Yunikko, Utiel-Requena – Score: 89 (QPR: BAD)
This wine was aged in clay and IMHO it helps as the absurd levels of oak are not as present as in the previous wines from this winery. Still, the wine is very ripe, over the top, with dense fruit, smoke, black and blue candied fruit, loam, and more mineral. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is dense, it is not as unbalanced as I feared, still, the fruit is overpowering, smoky, and sweet, with rich leather, tobacco, and sweet green and floral notes that make this interesting but not quite my kind of wine. The finish is super-long, truly dense, mouth draping, and somewhat elegant, if the fruit had been more in check, showing dark chocolate, dark and candied cherry, plum, boysenberry, and candied root beer, very unique and very ripe. Drink by 2027. (tasted June 2021)

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2016 Elvi Wines Herenza, Reserva, Rioja – Score: 93.5 (QPR: WINNER)
This is what I crave in wine – balance, complexity, elegance, and all bottled for a price that makes it a WINNER! The nose on this wine is beautiful, balanced, complex, lighter than 2014, but still bold, rich, and expressive, soy sauce, umami, rich mushroom, loam, spices, blue and red fruit, and sweet anise, lovely! The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is not as bold as the 2014 and it starts a bit ripe, with time the wine opens to show balance, dark blueberry, plum, candied/spiced raspberry, and rich sweet spices give way to a mouth-draping elegance, sweet tannin, plush mouthfeel, and rich loam, clay, and earth, beautiful. The finish is long, balanced, with leather, sweet tobacco, root beer, sweet baking spices, cloves, cinnamon, sweet cedar, dark chocolate, and rich searing acidity that brings this wine altogether. Bravo!! Another smash! Drink from 2024 until 2032. (tasted June 2021)

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2019 Les Bases Collines Mediterranee, Minervois, Languedoc – Score: 88 (QPR: GOOD)
This wine is a GMS (Grenache, Mourvedre, & Syrah). This is a good simple wine for the price and one that is not for holding. The nose on this wine is nice enough, showing ripe but just balanced with black and red fruit, earth, blueberry, root beer, and nice tilled earth. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine has bubbles, not from the second fermentation, most probably from the bottling, but let the bubbles disperse or shake it slightly until the fizzing stops, with blueberry, raspberry, dark cherry, hints of black fruit, earth, great acid, nice sweet tannin, and good leather. Drink until 2024. (tasted June 2021)

2019 Les Bases Collines Syrah Grenache, Minervois, Languedoc – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
This wine is a blend of Syrah and Grenache. The nose on this wine is lovely, but simple, with notes of deep blue fruit, juicy boysenberry, tart raspberry, in control, with sweet notes, loam, root beer, and smoke. The mouth on this wine also had bubbles, again, I shook it and removed the bubbles until it stopped fizzing, showing blueberry, raspberry, nice tart acidity from tart red fruit, lovely smoke, earth, intense tannin, nice with good mouth-drying texture. The finish is long, ripe, red, blue, and sweet, with more smoke, dark chocolate-covered coffee beans, licorice, and intense graphite/leather on the long finish. Drink until 2025. (tasted June 2021)

2020 Jean Perrier & Fils Pure, Savoie – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is simple but it is also very tart, acidic, with clean lines, good fruit, and nice tannin. The nose on this wine is fun, it is very bright, showing rosehip, violet, nice red fruit, with just a hint of smoke, mineral, and hay, nice! The mouth on this medium-bodied wine has a lovely tart fruit focus, intense acid, mouth draping tannin, lovely juicy and tart raspberry, cherry, good dirt, lemongrass, and slight musk notes, fun! The finish is long, tart, and spicy, with more of the leather/tannin lingering long. Nice!! Drink until 2022. (tasted June 2021)

2019 Château de Marmorières Les Amandiers, La Clape, Languedoc – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
Well, tasting this with other red Languedoc wines, this is the clear WINNER, sadly, the price in the USA will be much too high to garner a WINNER score, but in Europe, this wine is a CLEAR WINNER! It just feels like an elegant, grown-up Languedoc, very nice!
The nose on this wine is lovely, ethereal, yet rich, dirty, and fruity, impeccable balance, rich loam, dirt, smoke, tar, asphalt, red and blue fruit, with nice balancing roasted herbs, garrigue, and more mineral, lovely! The mouth on this medium-plus wine is rich, layered, smoky, and quite fun, loaded with screaming acid, lovely and elegant mouth draping and drying tannin, scraping mineral, blueberry, raspberry, smoked cassis, balanced so well with roasted herbs, rich dry spices, cloves, mineral, graphite, tar, hay, with crazy good acidity, wow!! The finish is forever, so long, green, red, blue, black, with roasted herbs, leather, smoking tobacco, and rich spices, cinnamon, cloves, tarragon, wow!!! Bravo!!! Drink until 2024. (tasted June 2021)

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2020 Chateau Haut Fourat, Bordeaux – Score: 70 (QPR: NA)
The Haut Fourat is an unenjoyable Bordeaux in Beaujolais clothing, hard pass. This is a quasi-dry fruit juice wine. (tasted June 2021)

2019 La Jaugue Cuvee Prestige, Saint-Emilion – Score: 72 (QPR: NA)
Another one of these unappealing green and tinny wines, no structure, no balance, just green notes, a bit of red fruit, and lots of tin/metal. Next! (tasted June 2021)

2015 La Fleur Du Chateau De Beaulieu, Montagne Saint-Emilion – Score: 82 (QPR: BAD)
The nose on this wine reminds me of candied rose petals and more green and tinny notes, covered up by oak, and toast. Essentially, another unappealing wine that does not make the mark. The mouth does have some nice tannin structure but the rest of it is not appealing. Drink by 2024. (tasted June 2021)

2012 Chateau Le Chene, Haut-Mdeoc – Score: 70 (QPR: NA)
This is another tinny, candied floral wine, hard pass. (tasted June 2021)

2012 Chateau Cru Ducasse, Haut Médoc – Score: 94 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a crazy WINNER in France and elsewhere not even close to worth it, which is so sad! The wine has such elegance, grace, power, and focus, that it makes me sad to not have access to such wines. You can just open the bottle, and find the wine accessible, but to me, this wine is still not ready, it needs a bit more time to start to show the tertiary notes I love.
The nose on this wine is stunning, bright, ripe, balanced, black and red fruit, with intense mineral, slate, graphite, loam, and rich clay, lovely!!! The mouth on this full-bodied wine is crazy fun, it reminds me a bit of the 2008 Château Armens, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, all you feel at the start is the intense scraping mineral, followed by bold yet perfectly balanced fruit, rich and layered, dense and smoky, with rich blackberry, tart strawberry, dark plum, rich roasted herbs, all wrapped in dense and mouth-drying rich tannins, and more loam. The finish is super long, rich, and tannic, with green notes, foliage, loam, mineral, pencil-shavings, iron, and rich dark chocolate that is beautiful. Drink until 2027, probably longer. Bravo!!! (tasted June 2021)

2012 Chateau Moutinot, Saint-Estephe – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. This wine is less rich than the Cru Ducasse and this is the 2nd wine of Chateau Serilhan.
The nose on this wine is ripe, dirty, and nice, with green notes, soy sauce, rich mushroom, this wine is more mineral and herbal than it is fruity, still very nice. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is nice, dirty, earthy, with blackberry, raspberry, loam, rich roasted herb, lovely bright acidity, and nice mouth-coating tannin that gives way to a good fruit focus. This is a very nice mid-tier wine. The finish is long, green, herbal, with foliage, rich spices, cloves, anise, black pepper, and good smoke. Drink until 2027. (tasted June 2021)

2015 Chateau Picampeau , Lussac Saint-Emilion – Score: 88 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 5% Cabernet Franc. The nose on this wine is a bit tinny, green, but it has enough fruit to be OK. The nose on this wine is green but is backed by black and red fruit, with good smoke, tar, and roasted herbs. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is also tinny, a bit simple, with green notes, roasted herbs, smoke, oak, tar, and graphite, with blackberry, raspberry, cherry, nice enough tannin, and loam. The finish is long, green, but also fruity, well-controlled overall, with searing acid, tannin, and more roasted herb, mint, menthol, and oregano. Drink until 2025. (tasted June 2021)

————————— Tasted at IDS offices with Ari and group ————————————–

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2020 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Symphonie Blanc, Cotes de Provence – Score: 92 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose on this lovely wine is rich, acidic, tart, and plush, with rich peach, apricot, lemon Fraiche, yellow plum, smoke, orange blossoms, green notes, and white flowers, lovely! The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is plush, a bit oily, with lovely tart peach, apricot, rich orange, nectarines, with balancing acidity, nice fruit, good weight, nice mineral, slate, and orange pith. The finish is long, green, sweet, and plush, with lovely pith, more fruit, rich saline, mineral, slate, more orange blossom, and lovely smoke. The pith, smoke, sweet fruit, and rich spices linger long, lovely! Drink by 2022. (tasted June 2021)

2020 De Fournier Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The wine is a bit flat, it has nice fruit, but lacks acidity. The nose on this wine has nice enough and simple fruit, lemongrass, gooseberry, quince, and peach. The mouth on this light to medium-bodied wine has just enough acidity, a bit refreshing but overall a bit lacking. Drink now!  (tasted June 2021)

2017 Le Petit Trianon, Saint-Emilion – Score: 78 (QPR: BAD)
The nose on this wine is painful, sad, and boring, it is a simple French wine, with all the wrong flaws. The nose on this wine is green, tinny, metallic, with a bit of dirt, and too many green notes. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is flat, useless, and nasty, move on. (tasted June 2021)

2018 Chateau Trianon, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose on this wine is dynamite, really lovely, dirty, earthy, smoky, with rich blue and black fruit, great earth smoke, mineral, and rich loam, wow! The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine is lovely, plush, layered, rich, and concentrated, without crazy extraction, pure elegance, good acidity that takes time to come out, with blackberry, blueberry, green notes, foliage, and lovely tension, fruit focus, and mineral. WOW! The finish is lovely, green, fresh, rich, with smoke, graphite, dirt, and rock. Lovely!! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (tasted June 2021)

2019 Chateau Trianon, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose on this wine is even better than the 2018 vintage, tasting them side-by-side, what a lovely wine!! The nose on this wine is crazy fun, rich mineral, smoke, loam, lovely blue and black fruit, rich graphite, iron, and roasted herbs, lovely!!! The mouth on this full-bodied wine is lovely, layered, rich, plush, very elegant, without intense extraction, rich saline, mineral, blackberry, blueberry, saline, lovely roasted herbs, oregano, mint, rosemary, and plushness that is beautiful and elegant, lovely! The finish is lovely, rich, with mouth-draping and drying tannin, plush, scraping and elegant graphite, leather, smoke, and dark chocolate, green notes, foliage, and anise galore, lovely!!! Drink from 2026 until 2035. (tasted June 2021)