WTN: North Berkeley tasting

[Jenise]

In-store, so tiny pours. Didn't take notes, so next-day impressions. This is from my town's best wine store where in situations like this I buy to support their business and am not concerned with whether or not it's the absolute best ___ I've ever had or if I can get better prices elsewhere (trust me, I always can.)

2018 Francis Blanchet Pouilly-Fumé Kriotine Sauvignon Blanc
Bright, citrusy with fresh lime leaf and Loire minerality. Complex, not smokey. $26. Bought two.

2016 Domaine Marius Delarche Pernand-Vergelesses Les Combottes Chardonnay
Could only be from Burgundy--fresh herbs, white fruit and what I'm remembering (possibly falsely) as a limestone kind of minerality. Either way, liked it enough to buy two for $49 ea.

2016 Domaine Calot Morgon Tête de Cuvée Gamay
Classic Cru Morgon. Brimming with red fruits and granite minerality, with a bit of that geranium leaf that distinguishes most French gamays from anyone else's. Very good. $29.

2017 Gérard Raphet Morey St. Denis Vieilles Vignes Pinot Noir
North Berkeley describes this as "a villages wine that ages in step with the finest premier cru bottles...old-vine fruit (60 years or older) from ‘Clos des Ormes’ in Morey as well as fruit from premier cru Morey-Saint-Denis ‘Millandes.’ " Sweet cherry with that dark spice note typical of MSD. Balanced, good finish. Love Raphet so even at $80, gulp, I bought two.

2017 Domaine de Gouye Syrah Vin de France Gabouillon
New producer to me. Substantial body but not overdone, deep garnet-purple color, classic syrah nose of kirsch, baked ham and a little black pepper. Impressive overall and I did a double take on the price--$22. Superb value, well worth it. And everybody in the room but me preferred it to:

2016 Domaine de Gouye St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes Syrah
Lighter in body than the straight syrah served before it, but lithe and balanced as well as containing more of that essential green olive and pepper character. My preference of the two. $47.

Brings back memories. NBI was one of the first retailers I frequented after moving to Berkeley in 2001. Until quickly de-camping for Kermit Lynch (and many others). Blanchet, Delarche, Raphet and Calot were all core NBI names back then.

Any mention of whether they still use the 'Cuvee Unique' formula that led many of us to associate NBI with egregious new oak?

[Jenise]

No, no sign of it. On Cellar Tracker, I noted past versions of CU in the Raphet and Calot, but they're not shown on NBI's website and the wines I tasted were not overoaked.

[Jenise]

Rahsaan, I called NBI and asked if they were still using Cuvee Unique. Yes they do--sometimes. But no longer on these particular bottlings from these producers.

Rahsaan, I called NBI and asked if they were still using Cuvee Unique. Yes they do--sometimes. But no longer on these particular bottlings from these producers.

Good for them. I guess the market shifted away from that style and they responded. They certainly have some good producers.

[Jenise]

Couldn't get to admit to that intention but yeah, obviously.

[Jenise]

Rahsaan, more info. Another person from NBI called me yesterday after hearing about my inquiry the day before. He provided specifics as he's the guy who did the barrel selections at Raphet last year, and could attest that the '17 I tasted above was from a two year old barrel. He generally selects two and three year old barrels but does not recognize that as a preference for new oak. Interestingly he mentioned that back in the 90's when they first got involved with Raphet, Raphet was using old barrels--so old they were decaying and imparting vegetal flavors, and it was the guys at NBI who talked them suffering the cost of replacing them.

That is some customer service!

Sure, they would say that they cleaned up the wines and avoided 'flaws'. But that road is not necessarily without tradeoffs.

Either way, I can't pretend to have followed their CU wines very closely, and I'm sure they know their wines.

[Jenise]

I haven't followed them at all. I just know the rep from what others say--Dale W. mentioned NBI in a comment on another wine in another thread this week.

But yeah, cool of the guy to call.

Like Rahsaan, I followed NBI and Kermit Lynch for several years before moving on, prompted by dietary and palate changes..haven't followed either of them for a number of years.. remember the Cuvee Unique wines and, as said above, NBI certainly had some stellar producers.

Like Rahsaan, I followed NBI and Kermit Lynch for several years before moving on, prompted by dietary and palate changes..haven't followed either of them for a number of years..

Not sure why you are connecting NBI and KLWM here? Very different styles!

[Robin Garr]

Not sure why you are connecting NBI and KLWM here? Very different styles!

Jumping up to second the motion. I'll still grab a Kermit import just about any time, with particular joy in knowing that I can still afford quite a few of them.

Ditto.

Rahsaan..Pls see your original post cut and pasted below..that is why I mentioned both NBI and KL

Brings back memories. NBI was one of the first retailers I frequented after moving to Berkeley in 2001. Until quickly de-camping for Kermit Lynch (and many others). Blanchet, Delarche, Raphet and Calot were all core NBI names back then

Robin..Pls see Rahsaan's original post re both NBI and KL.

[Robin Garr]

Robin..Pls see Rahsaan's original post re both NBI and KL.

Will do, Jon!

Rahsaan..Pls see your original post cut and pasted below..that is why I mentioned both NBI and KL

Yes, but am still not sure I follow the logic. In my view, NBI (new oak modern) and KL (clear classic) represent the two opposite sides of the wine spectrum. So am not sure how your palate could move away from both of them at the same time?! Was just curious what direction that might have been.

My wife is very much oak averse so dropping NBI was no big deal..Our lifestyle has become more active, Between the 2 of us, we have run over 20 half marathons, the same number of 10 milers and 5 marathons..We have scaled back our eating of red meat, breads and processed foods, we eat more salads, chicken and fish, and find that Kermit's portfolio didn't align with the foods we were eating as we have been drinking lighter wines, and have found other sources, mostly local, that we prefer.

That being said, only point I was trying to make in my original post was that I used to buy wines from NBI and KL and no longer do so..Was not trying to connect the 2 of them..

Fair enough. I too have been drinking less wine than when I started. All part of the life cycle!