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Hotel Wine tastings – Taieb Wines, Mercier Wines, Corcos Wines, Bokobsa Wines, Honest Grapes (Montille), plus more
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in January with Avi Davidowitz from Kosher Wine Unfiltered. The number of boxes in our room was not nearly as insane as two years ago. That was a tower of boxes. Still, we had a lot of wines to taste and some good wines to talk about.
Two years ago, we had some 80 wines, this past tasting we were at 58 wines. There were a couple of wines I think were bad bottles, so I will not post them, so I guess it comes to some 56 or so bottles.
This post will close out the blog’s 2024 year, and then we can get to the wines of the year and such! Then we can get to the KFWE post! Yeah, lots ahead!
As I have stated before. I want to taste all of these blind. Let me make this simple: unless we can find someone to pay to help us manage the tastings, taste blind, and gather all the metadata and the forms and sheets, it is just INSANE! We really need to get a helper who understands English enough and can handle sheets and the such in Paris and wherever else we taste wines. Until then, we will have to give up on tasting blind.
The wines were tasted in classic region/style order, whites, reds from Burgundy, Rhone-like areas, Bordeaux/Blend wines, and I think that is it. The comments are listed by the producer.
Taieb Wines
There were 23 Taieb wines. We received the usual Jean-Philippe Marchand wines. This year, there are eight wines. There are two whites, the Meursault and the new Puligny Montrachet, and then we have the return of the same reds. Sadly, I could not taste the Pommard or the Aloxe Corton. The two white wines are wines that feel bottle-shocked and also have more oak than I expected. They may come around in a few years. We opened them Tuesday night, and they never came around. They kind of lost some of their oak after 7 days, but honestly, well before that, wine should either be there or not. The red Burgundies we received were terrific and show the continued success of Jean-Philippe Marchand wines.
To close out the story, Mr. Taieb asked for the warehouse to send us the eight Burgundies, but instead, we received two other wines. Such is life!
Taieb Wines. Yoni and his family continue to make well-priced wines and garner QPR WINNER scores. This tasting was no exception, with five WINNER wines from the 24 wines tasted and many wines with a GREAT QPR score. I have posted often about Taieb wines, and if you want to read the entire background, read the first post I made here.
The 2023 Baron David and the 2023 Chateau Tournebrise were solid wines that are available now in Paris and ones I would pick up for a nice Shabbat! Two great wines from Taieb. The 2023 Elysee Palace Merlot is dirt cheap and a solid Mevu option. Finally, the 2023 Moise Taieb, La Petite Metairie Chinon, is a classic Cabernet Franc and shows nicely.
Honest Grapes Wines
Nathan from Honest Grapes was very kind in helping arrange a shipment of Domaine de Montille. These wines were pulled from the barrel, much like the wines I tasted last year in London. The white wines shined in this new 2023 Domaine de Montille Burgundy tasting. The red wines were fine, but one was either shocked or maybe just a bad bottle. Like all barrel tastings, I can put a score on the wine but understand that this may well not be the final score.
On an aside, you may see two wines that were associated with Honest Grapes, 2022 Chateau Teyssier and 2023 Le Nardian Grand Vin de Bordeaux. They may well still be wines Honest Grapes sells in London, but they are now also available in France. Those two wines can be found under the assorted wines.
Mercier Wines
Once again, Mercier delivers excellent wines at a higher price range. The 2022 vintage did take a slight bite at the 2022 Château de Fieuzal Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Leognan. It is the return of this wine, which was last made Kosher in 2005. So, 17 years later, the wine is fine, but it lacks the acidity I crave.
Once again, the 2022 Château Olivier Grand Cru Classe, Pessac-Léognan, on the other hand was a HOMERUN! That wine has everything I want, acidity, pop, body, structure, and minerality. It is quite an impressive wine and a baby! This wine will not be ready to play for a long time.
Once again, the 2022 Chateau Fayat, Pomerol, is sensational. It is priced higher than the 2022 Montviel, higher than the 2018 Echo de Roses Camille, but lower than Gay. To me, it is a QPR WINNER.
The 2022 Chateau Haut-Marbuzet, Saint-Estephe, has the added Cabernet that really helps make the wine pop! It may well be the most balanced wine we had at this tasting overall. Quite impressive indeed! Merlot in hot vintages is more challenging to get perfect than with some Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. The Marbuzet has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and a good amount of Merlot.
Then there were three white wines that stood out, two that were dry, and one sweet. Until now, Mercier had been making Sauternes from the Chateau Rayne Vigneau. The latest vintage of Sauternes from the main label was 2018. However, in 2022 and 2023, Pierre Miodownick and Mercier made two dry wines and one second label Sauternes. Both of these dry wines took forever to open. Avi was not even around anymore when the dry white Grand Vin finally opened up.
The 2023 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau Grand Vin Blanc Sec, is not going to be cheap, but it is a beautiful wine. The 2023 Les Sec de Rayne Vigneau, is going to be cheaper, but I am not sure what the prices will be like in the USA. In France it is a QPR WINNER. Finally, the 2022 Chateau Rayne Vigneau Madame de Rayne, Sauternes, is lovely and a solid option for those that want quality Sauternes.
Overall, this tasting may have been Mercier’s best showing, that Avi and I have tasted, so far. Bravo!
Bokobsa Wines
I keep trying to get their wines to taste. So far, I have not been very successful. If you read my previous posts, you will see that they have good wines and great prices, especially in Paris. However, getting to taste them is proving very complicated.
We got three wines to taste, and the Cissac Lamothe is back! The 2022 vintage is solid. The 2022 Bokobsa Gigondas is solid, a bit too ripe for me, but many will love this. Finally, the 2023 Dominique Piron Chiroubles is a solid Gamay for a good price.
Shlomo Corcos (Guter Wein) Wines
I have had enough wine in my life to say that there are very few things that shock me anymore in wine. That may be a blessing and a curse, but that is fine. However, tasting the 2022 Chateau Grand Corbin, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe, shocked me. I have yet to taste a wine that shows that distinct a flavor of roasted lamb. I enjoyed this wine with a freshly baked milk pizza, and I felt dirty. That is a great wine. The other wine is the 2022 Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc. Both wines are lovely, show good pop, and are made well. I have no idea if/when these wines will be in the USA, so keep your eyes open and tell me if they land in some store in NYC/NJ!
Assorted Wines
The remaining wines came from Ari Cohen, a wine Avi brought, or from stuff I bought from MVC (MesVinsCacher.com). MVC is a great place to go and see the current releases and to buy some older releases. All the wines are held in good storage, and like all old wines, you may hit or you may miss.
Ari has started a business called Bakus Wine. He gave us a few wines to taste. First was the 2023 Hans Wirsching Iphofer Riesling, Iphofen. It is a solid Mevushal Riesling. It shows like a Riesling, and at least in Paris, the price is a WINNER. He also sells three Cascina Perrone wines. We have already posted the notes for the Barbera d’Asti and the Nebbiolo. The 2020 Cascina Perrone Barolo continues to show the fine makeup of this wine line and is a good WINNER, with a long life ahead of it.
Then, I bought one wine for the tasting from (winess.com). David Sabban is a great guy, and he either has the wines in his lovely store in Paris in the 17th Arrondissement or can get them from his warehouse. He helped us with a bottle of 2023 Le Nardian Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Lugaignac. This wine shocked me, as it came in at 15% ABV for a white Bordeaux. That is CRAZY! The 2021 and 2022 Le Nardian came in at 12.5%! So, yeah, while I have no interest in buying this wine again, it is a decent wine. I just cannot get behind a 15% ABV white wine.
Ben Sitruk, owner of WineSymphony.fr, hooked us up with a few wines. The first was the 2022 Chateau Vieux Taillefer, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. It seems that now the winery is making their wines kosher on their own or maybe through some other hands, I do not know. This is solid but lacks the pop I need and is ripe. Still, it is balanced and will appeal to many people. The next wine he helped us with is the 2022 Chateau Teyssier, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. It is a solid wine, but it is NOTHING like the 2019 or the 2020. Those two wines scream acidity and pop, while this one has the 2022 curse.
Finally, we bought some older wines from MVC, such as the 2017 and 2018 Dampt Freres Chablis, Premier Cru. The 2017 is a STUNNING wine and has evolved to even higher heights than I dreamed. But it is DRINK NOW! Pop them NOW! There is no tomorrow. Please take note of my DW (Drinking Windows) on those wines – right on point, thank you! LOL! Even a broken clock is correct two times a day!
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My tasting of Bokobsa/Sieva wines – May 2023
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in May, 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 Clarisse and Lionel Bokobsa of Sieva/Bokobsa Wines. They were so kind to host me and let me taste the lovely wines. I was also joined by Mr. Benjamin Kukurudz, sales manager at Sieva, sadly Mendy Asseraf was onsite at a winery that day.
Late last year, I enjoyed some lovely wines at the offices, and that was now past all the COVID madness, even then. Royal Europe threw the 2023 KFWE, sans VIP, and it was solid. Bokobsa has decided to do their event every two years, so I hope it will happen around the same time as the London event in 2024! Mr. Menahem Israelievitch and Clarisse – I am hoping you can help with this, please!
The pricing of these wines is mostly cheaper in France than they are here in the USA, as such, some of the wines have better QPR scores in France. Also, many of these wines will not come to the USA, but overall I continue to be impressed by the quality of the wines and how Bokobsa’s selection and quality have grown from year to year.
In regards to the wines tasted, I tasted a 2021 red wine and it was nice! Along with a simple rose, a nice simple Chardonnay, the new vintage of the Pouyanne Blanc, sadly a wine that will never make it to the USA. The new Chablis, and a nice Brouilly.
Overall, a short visit but one that continues to show Bokobsa’s desire to make wines that work for the price and the quality. The 2021 Sancerre L’Indiscrete is a wine everyone should try and get! It is a wine I think both Avi Davidowitz (again a no-show for this trip) and I helped get imported to the USA!
My thanks to Clarisse and Lionel Bokobsa and the rest of the Sieva/Bokobsa team (especially Mr. Benjamin Kukurudz for putting up with me) for hosting me and letting us taste the wonderful 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:
2022 Bokobsa Chardonnay, Vin de France (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this Chardonnay is simple, green and yellow apple, smoke, flint, and candied white flowers. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has a nice weight, and good acidity, simple with yellow apple, pear, yellow flowers, and nice fruit.
The finish is long, tart, with hints of funk, and nice rock. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2020 Chateau Pouyanne Blanc, Graves (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER (In France))
This wine is a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc.
The nose of this wine is fun, showing mineral, smoke, green and yellow apple, quince, dry grass, and good funk, quite nice.
The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is quite nice, a lovely plush and tart vintage, with nice acidity, smoke, hay, straw, quince, yellow apple, Asian pear, herbs, and lovely minerality, with a fun fruit focus, but also great minerality, and saline. Nice!
The finish is lovely, with great acidity, straw, and elegance. Bravo! Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12%)
2022 Pascal Bouchard Chablis, Chablis (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER (In France))
This is a lovely wine, one that shows the beauty of Chablis, clean, professional, balanced, and piercing with acidity, fruit, and mineral.
The nose of this wine is lovely, with piercing brightness, and nice, showing green apple, pear, peach, mineral, slate, citrus, yellow floral notes, and flint. Lovely!
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is well-balanced, with intense acidity and elegant mouthfeel, smoky, green, and yet screaming with acidity, showing freshness, Asian pear, lovely green apple, flint, mineral, smoke, and a strong fruit focus.
The finish is long, green, earthy, and fruity, with nice balance, mineral, and flint. Nice! Drink now! (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2021 Jean-Pierre Bailly Pouilly-Fume, Pouilly Fume – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER (In France) GREAT (USA))
This vintage is slightly more tropical than previous vintages but perfectly balanced and lovely!
The nose of this wine is lovely with notes of gooseberry, sweet passion fruit, lovely citrus, rich smoke, flint, saline, and lovely sweet pear.
The mouth of this lovely wine is ripe, layered, and concentrated, with lovely complexity, lovely flint, rich salinity, ripe and juicy gooseberry, tart pear, sweet yellow plum, and screaming grapefruit, just lovely!
The acidity, saline, and fruit hit you hard, lovely! The finish is long, tart, fruity, and perfectly balanced with great minerality and saline, wow! Bravo! Drink by 2026. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2022 Bokobsa Rose Prestige, Vin de France – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is sweet, and off-dry, with mango, pear, and raspberry.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is sweet, and off-dry, with mango, grapefruit, and sweet notes.
The finish is long, sweet, and slightly tannic. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2021 Dominique Piron Brouilly, Brouilly (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is toasty, smoky, and purple, with plum, dirt, orange notes, and plum blossom.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, and fruity, with nice plum, dark cherry, nice acidity, a soft mouthfeel, good tannin, correct varietally, with loads of dirt, smoke, loam, and minerality.
The finish is long, dirty, earthy, and smoky, with clay, graphite, and loam. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2021 Chateau Le Lescot, Medoc – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER (France))
This is the first red Bordeaux from the 2021 vintage that is not a green mess. This wine is a blend of 65% Merlot & 35% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The nose of this wine is lovely, ripe, black and red, with no green notes, a really good expression for 2021, with black and red fruit, hints of garrigue, nice smoke, roasted herbs, and rich minerality.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is well-balanced, showing great minerality, graphite, smoke, earth, blackberry, dark cherry, and rich ribbons of charcoal, all wrapped in elegant mouth-drying tannin, very nice!
The finish is long, dark, and balanced with great acidity, rich minerality, good fruit, and an overall lovely wine for the vintage and price. Drink by 2026. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2019 Bokobsa Sieva Wine tasting just outside of Paris
So, let’s start from the beginning. As I posted here, about the coming wine events of 2019, there were many options for you to get out and taste great wines almost across the globe. Well, recently, as you know well I have been focusing more on Europe, so I was in Paris later last year again to taste the new 2016 Bordeaux, and now I wanted to return to Bokobsa’s tasting, which is not officially part of the KFWE franchise. Avi Davidowitz, of kosher wine unfiltered, did every KFWE this year, Tel Aviv on the 4th of February, London on the 6th of February, and then on to NYC and L.A. I decided that I did not need to go to Sommelier this year and instead just focused on Bokobsa’s tasting which was on the same day as the KFWE Tel Aviv in Israel.
As I return home, Paris and London KFWE, NYC KFWE, and L.A.’s KFWE are in the rearview mirror. I will be posting on them separately, so I start with Bokobsa Paris.
To start the Bokobsa Tasting, from the company known in France as Sieva, happened in Paris (well not exactly Paris, more on the very outskirts of Paris to be exact) on Monday, Feb 4th, on the stunning grounds of the Pavillon des Princes in the 16th district. I arrived early and after taking a bunch of pictures I just relaxed and waited for the event to start. One of the issues from the tasting in past years was the wine glasses, but this year, Bokobsa had lovely glasses to truly appreciate the wines.
The ambiance and space were both far improved from the previous location, which was the basement of the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris. The table layout was far improved, it was truly a lovely event. The food was a bit mediocre, with it being essentially cold food, like Sushi and elegant salads on crackers, though they had warm chicken further along into the event.
The wines and the setting were the clear stars of the event, and with the lovely glasses, the wines did shine. My main issue with that some of the wines were the old and not showing well, which degrades the very purpose of a show/tasting like this. For example, they poured a 2013 Covenant Sauvignon Blanc and a myriad of older roses that were far over the hill and not showing well. Though at the same time, they poured some lovely Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon and Lavan, along with many of the top Royal Wines from France and Spain, and the new Champagne from Rothschild. There were a few older vintages of the French Royal wines that I do not remember now that were out of place, but they were still showing well. Read the rest of this entry
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