As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in May, without Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog, his lame excuse this time was not even a good one, like marrying off a daughter! Nope, I will not say something like a four-letter word on this blog! Whatever, you were missed buddy! Mostly for the IDS and Royal tasting! This part you missed nothing!

I kept to my hotel room for much of the trip. All these wines were tasted in my room. There were very few Roses available and what I could find, at that time, I have posted here.

White & Roses

After tasting roses from IDS and Royal I had a few more that I found around town. They were all very poor. I got to taste more roses in NYC, which was later in June, I will post those after this last Paris post.

Two red wines from Bakus Wines

Ari Cohen has a startup wine company called Bakus Wines. He shared two wines with me and this year’s vintages are solid! No issues with being over-oaked or overripe. Solid wines. Nice!

Two Chateau Peyrat Fourthon wines

This was the first big boy that I tasted from the 2021 vintage and scares me what these wineries will do with all the stock. These wines will not move quickly, short of drastic pricing, or just dumping. They are not the only ones sitting on palates of 2021 Grand Cru wines. Some wineries will weather the vintage and feel the satisfaction of the killing they will be making from the 2022 vintage. However, some wineries, like Chateau Peyrat Fourthon make very large batches of kosher wines and will be sitting on these for a long time and that makes me sad!

Understand that Chateau Peyrat Fourthonis one of the very few wineries that make the kosher wine by themselves and they therefore do not have the large “kosher stamp markup”. They sell the wine for a few more euros than the non-kosher sells for in France and Europe. It will be sad if the 2021 vintage stops them or slows them down from this approach. Here is hoping for another few years from Chateau Peyrat Fourthon!

Mercier Wines

I tasted two wonderful wines from the Mercier group and two basic ones that are okay. The 2021 Chateau Saint-Martin Rouge and 2021 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume! There were also some simple wines, three 2022 Le Grand Castellan and two L’enclos de Zeide Reserve wines.

The Rest

The rest were okay, though the lovely 2018 Ribeauville Riesling, Rosacker, Alsace Grand Cru is a wine that should be imported into the USA! Like its brother the 2018 Cave de Ribeauville Riesling, Vendanges Manuelles (which I have tasted two times in France – great wine!).

Thoughts on this tasting

Overall, most of these wines are not available in the USA, but you are missing nothing other than the Ribeauville and the Terra de Vinyaters. The rest are in the USA, including the Mercier wines and the Chateau Peyrat Fourthon wines.

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

2021 Chateau Saint-Martin Rouge, Cotes de Provence – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France))
This wine is a blend of 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 25% Mourvedre.
The nose of this wine is ripe and juicy with floral notes, violet, blue, and red fruit, smoke, graphite, and roasted meat. With time, the more savory, earthy, dirty notes come out as well and add complexity and depth to the wine.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is fun, floral, juicy, and tart, with boysenberry, plum, dark cherry, herbs, graphite, searing acidity, nice mouthfeel, and a good fruity, balanced expression. The savory notes come out after a few hours and add complexity, Bravo!
The finish is long, tart, and juicy, with nice acidity, graphite, roasted herbs, and red/blue fruit. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume, Pouilly-Fume – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France))
This wine is stunning, concentrated, focused, mineral-laden, and so tart/juicy, that my palate was salivating long after I spit the wine out. Nice!!
The nose of this wine is lovely, showing notes of sweet fruit, lovely orange blossom, intense minerality, honeysuckle, honeyed peach, honeydew, and intense smoke/flint.
The mouth on this lovely medium-plus-bodied is truly fresh, ripe, and well-balanced with screaming acid, smoke, flint, gooseberry, cat pee, grapefruit, orange, lovely screaming acid, and layers upon layers of flint/slate! Showing a lovely weight and mouthfeel.
The finish is long, green, ripe, and well balanced, with crazy mineral, screaming acid, and lovely rock, flint, and mineral. WOW!! Drink until 2024. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2022 Terra de Vinyaters Falset Ha-Llel-Uya! Blanc, Montsant – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 90% Macabeo and 10% Grenache Blanc. The nose starts closed but with time opens nicely to show a bounty of fruit, minerality, and smoke, with apple, pear, grass, straw, sweet oak, smoke, peach, apricot, cloves, and cinnamon. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is balanced, with enough acidity, a nice plush mouthfeel, refreshing and focused with nice sweet oak, pear, peach, apricot, and toast. The finish is long, tart, smoky, and balanced with honeysuckle, sweet herbs, spices, and toast. Nice! Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Terra de Vinyaters Falset Ha-Llel-Uya!, Montsant – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 80% Carignan and 20% Grenache The nose of this wine is ripe, and balanced, with squid ink, black and blue fruit, jasmine/yellow flower, and oolong tea. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, but the great acidity helps, showing boysenberry, blackberry, earth, intense but supple tannin, lovely minerality, charcoal, and sweet chocolate. The finish is long, ripe, intense, and smoky, with loads of acid, charcoal, sweet tobacco, and sweet spices. Drink by 2028. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14.5%)

2018 Ribeauville Riesling, Rosacker, Alsace Grand Cru – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this off-dry Riesling is nice, with classic Petrol notes, sweet mango, lychee, gooseberry, pineapple, tart and juicy citrus, and nice saline. The mouth of this off-dry medium-bodied wine shows some RS, with intense acidity, nice petrol, lychee, pineapple, mango, and nice minerality. The acidity, tension, and weighty mouth come together nicely, but the RS throws me a bit. The finish is long, tart, and bracing with more acidity, slate, ginger, and citrus lingering long. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2022 Chateau Haut-Philippon Blanc, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this simple wine is nice, showing that the 2022 vintage can improve even a simple wine like this with nice grass, herb, slight funk, apple, peach, and quince. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is a simple quaff, the bitter notes throw me, and the acidity is solid, with apple. pear, quince, grass, and slight funk. The finish is long, tart, green, and herbal, with bitter notes. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Holden, Haut-Medoc – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
At opening this wine shows like another green and tinny 2021 Bordeaux, what a shock! With time, the nose of this wine shows red fruit, some green notes in the background, herbal, some tinny notes, jalapeno, and loam. With time the mouth of this medium-bodied wine has good acidity, and green notes with raspberry, cherry, herbs, loam, and some smoke. The finish is long, green, herbal, with red fruit, soft tannin, and nice acidity. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12%)

2022 Le Grand Castellan Rose, Atlantique (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is nice, with raspberry, strawberry, peach, and quince. The mouth shows a bit of those Mevushal bitter notes, with a lighter body and a watery makeup, but still good acidity, and a nice mouthfeel, with raspberry, strawberry, peach, and lime. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Chateau Haut-Philippon Rose, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this simple rose is nice with peach, strawberry, apricot, and grass. The mouth of this simple but enjoyable wine is balanced, with nice acidity, fruit, and bitter notes throw me, peach, strawberry, and green herbs. The finish is long, tart, and enjoyable, a nice Mevushal quaff. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Peyrat Fourthon, Haut-Medoc – Score: 86 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, & 5% Petit Verdot. The nose of this wine is ripe, green and unbalanced, sad. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is unbalanced, too green, too herbal, at the start it is watery, with time the mouth opens but it is still unbalanced, herbal, with raspberry, black plum, nice enough acidity, a drop of elegance, but overall the tannin, and sweet oak are what shines here, not much else. The finish is long, green, thin, herbal, and smoky. Drink until 2027. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Le Grand Castellan, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 86 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this Merlot is balanced with juicy strawberry, raspberry, ripe cherry, and green notes. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, simple, and a bit watery, with strawberry, simple tannin, raspberry, plum, earth, and green notes. The finish is okay, with green notes and loam. Drink now! (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

Chateau Peyrat Fourthon La Demoiselle D’Haut Peyrat, Haut-Medoc – Score: 85 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is another 2021 vintage, ripe, green, herbal, and more green notes, unbalanced, with jalapeno, cucumber, candied cherry liqueur, medicinal, a real mess. With time the Demoiselle does come out, but it is still rooted in green notes, with some dark cherry, and herbs, but the Jalapeno and candied cherry are still a mess. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is watery, and all over the place, with green tinny notes, roasted herbs, and chunky tannin, just not enjoyable. With time the body comes out, the fruit a bit as well, but overall, the expression is green and unbalanced. Drink by 2026. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

N.V. Codorniu Cava, Cava – Score: 84 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this sparkling wine is sweet, with nice toast, pear, apple, quince, brown sugar, and mango. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is balanced, and the acidity is correct, but the sweetness still throws me, with apple, pear, mango, sweet quince, a nice enough mousse, and sticky peach candy. The finish is long, tart, and balanced, but again the sweet candy notes away from the wine’s enjoyment, for me. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 11.5%)

2021 Chateau Martin, Saint-Estephe – Score: 84 (QPR: BAD)
The nose of this wine shows some green notes, not tinny, with some red fruit, jalapeno, mint, anise, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine may not be tinny, but the green notes are so pervasive that the wine feels watery and weak, with some cherry, raspberry, roasted herb, loam, mineral, and too much bell pepper. The finish is long, herbal, green, and smoky. Drink until 2026. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 L’enclos de Zeide Reserve, Bordeaux Superieur – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The 2021 vintage will go down as a hard one to do well, this wine is much like the others, green tinny, and simple. The nose of this wine is green, tinny, earth, and smoke, while also being ripe and not bright, strange year. The mouth of this wine is ripe, green, herbal, and smoky, with good acidity, black plum, and raspberry, but in the end unbalanced. The finish is long, too ripe, too tart, and just all over the place. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Chateau Grand Cormier, Lalande-de-Pomerol – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
Finally, a 2021 Bordeaux that is not a green ball of tin. The nose of this wine is balanced, what a thought, with black and red fruit, some nice minerals, roasted herbs, mint, oregano, and smoke. Well, the nose was good, but the mouth is water, with enough acidity, green notes, and some minerality, just another example of what I do not need! Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2022 L’enclos de Zeide Vin Blanc, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is nice, a bit funky, with green notes, apple, pear, straw, and peach. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is too bitter for me, the bitter notes throw me and the wine off-kilter, with apple, pear, grass, and bitter notes. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Le Grand Castellan Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The wine is a classic Mevushal Sauvignon Blanc, watery, tart, and bitter, with some passion fruit and gooseberry. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Or dela Castinelle Rose, Cotes de Provence – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is nice enough, with cherry, strawberry, and peach. The bitter notes throw me. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice enough, showing good acidity, but again, bitter notes and fruit are not all balanced with some minerality. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12%)

2022 La Citadelle de Diamant Rose, IGP VAR (M) – Score: 82 (QPR: EVEN)
The Rose is a very simple, bitter, ripe wine with some redeeming qualities, but overall, not interesting enough to be fully written out. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Canon Chaigneau, Lalande-de-Pomerol – Score: 81 (QPR: BAD)
At the opening, this is another green and tinny 2021 wine. With time, the wine improves a bit, but overall, it is a green, tinny, watery wine that does show some weight but overall not an interesting wine, for me. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2022 Cantine Di Ora Amicale Rosso, Veneto – Score: 75 (QPR: BAD)
The nose of this wine is ripe, at opening it smells of cough syrup, heat, red berries, milk chocolate, and loam. The mouth of this medium to full-bodied wine is ripe, and it has good acidity, but the heat and the ripeness throws me, it feels hot and unbalanced, with raspberry, black cherry, sweet chocolate, sweet oak, and sweet spices. The finish is long, medicinal, and smoky. Drink soon! (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)