u/CMSniper

So I'm partial to Côte des Bars and always enjoy the wines from that part of Champagne. That soil really speaks to me I suppose. I like the contrast between Côte des Bars and Chablis being that they're so close. I feel Pinot Noir from this part of Champagne is generally fruitier and with age shows a richer, deeper fruit than the northern regions. All the little villages with the small hills are so beautiful too, not to mention Burgundy is just a stone's throw away... Anyway Ruppert-Leroy has always been one of favourite producers and I credit them for making me want to explore that part of the region and the producers.

Cuttings taken from the Fosse-Grely plot (planted in the 70's by Gérard Ruppert) were used for the Papillon plot. They are certified biodynamic since 2014 and practice low intervention in the cellar. They have a bunch of animals on the farm, do composting for their fertilizers and their own preparations like chamomile instead of copper and stuff like that. Everything here basically goes full circle and I really like that

My case just came in and I was eager to have some of their wine. Last time I had one this young was was 11, 12, 13,... like 5 years ago and ever since I typically wait 4-5 years post dégorgement as they show such deep character as they evolve. Last Papillon I opened was R18 D2020 was during game 7 of the LA Dodgers vs Toronto Blue Jays of the world series last year. It was going to be a celebration or drowning our sorrows with top shelf wine... We drowned our sorrows

This one, fresher, shows some nice fruit on the nose (blood orange, red berries) and some wild herbal notes I just can't put my finger on. Still quite yeasty but definitely enjoyable. There's a lot of red fruit on the palate with some salinity that just lasts for ever and keeps you wanting to drink more. Beautiful texture, balanced acidity, soft bubbles. I absolutely love the colour on this as well, not BdN and not rosé but somewhere in the middle.

A couple of weeks ago I found this bottle tucked away in the long term aging red wine section of my cellar. I don't recall putting it there and it was obviously a mistake on my part. Anyways, I pulled it and set it vertical to let the sediment settle to open it asap. This should have been opened years ago but here we are...

Not gonna lie I really thought it would go straight to the drain at this point but instead I was pleasantly surprised. When I opened it there was immediately some reduction that came out like grilled sesame seeds. This is my happy place in wine, when I get those notes I'll cherish the moment as long as I can. This is especially true with Chenin from Loire for some reason (bâtonnage, vdf). Unfortunately I could tell that there wasn't a whole more behind this and by third glass when the reduction notes had dissipated I could see that I was right.

The wine remains sound, discreet notes of candied citrus/marmalade as you would expect from this type of wine. Any texture from the skin contact is gone and barely any acidity remains. It's thin and nearly void of any aromas though that initial reduction on the nose made this a lot of fun. In the end it's just going downhill fast but I'm glad I caught it before it was completely dead and very happy to see it has clung to life this long.

I still have a lot of his wines and looking in the cellar now it looks like I have some 17s and 18s I should open very soon

Came across this Cuvée Madelon 2024 from Ganevat in the bargain bin at my local shop. Not even in Europe either, crazy

So I just staryed playing with game with a friend and downloaded this game on my phone. On the table we were counting 9+A5 for 15 and A9+5 for 15...

Is this not how it works? The game on my phone doesn't seem to think so

Edit: sorry, gotta click the picture to see my hand

So I started with the Ace, opponent played Q. I played Q for 2 points (pair) and then she played another queen. How much does that score? 2 points for 31 and then is it 3 points for the three of a kind or 6 points? Asked Gemini and it said 4 points for the third queen so I came here

Not much of a hiker if I'm being honest but I'm taking a real liking to it. Went to Parc Regional de Val-David in QC, Canada. Did four summits and on the third some birds landed on my hand. The first two was still early morning and clouds were blocking the view. Once that burned off it was really nice. Trails were well kept and postings were adequate. It was easy to figure out where to go and not get lost. There were some really cool mushrooms too

Went for a hike to check out various view points in the mountains near me. Got to the second and there were a bunch of these guys in the trees and getting really close to me. I just put my hand out and they took turns landing on it. I thought it was very special, I hope you agree :)

A really fun one to go into blind as I typically drink (very) dry wine. It was a pre-dinner apéritif as we stood around the kitchen island... The conversation stopped immediately as this was way outside of our confort zone.

Initially the nose was inviting with tropical notes of yellow fruit. We all thought of riesling and for me it felt "evolved". I was torn by youthful fruit aspect and slight age showing but also the colour. Before tasting we were trying to place it in time which was really difficult.

On the palate it was, again, very tropical with mango, pineapple, etc... but also very creamy. I took this as a sign of an age worthy sweet Riesling. Nice acidity, lots of fruit, rich, creamy texture alsmost honey like but not heavy in any way. A truly delightful and elegant wine not showing any type of old/damp basement notes.

I was really confused about the age, it seemed too youthful to be really old yet very balanced for a sweet riesling which could only mean age... Everyone was thinking roughly 20 years with someone blurting out "MAX" and no one could argue different

I need to get into older riesling more, there was talk of taking a trip to Germany lol

First time I've ever seen this type of glassware. There seemed to be some "dots" etched into the bowl of the glass and that made the bubbles form a nice patern

This moment right here is when I punched Victor right in his chiseled jaw line