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KJ

@iwasreallyhere

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Cork shredder with a camera.
Wine director for @yorkannarbor

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Looking back with great fondness and gratitude: about a year ago, Chaad @realwinelife and I had the privilege of visiting Gravner and spending an afternoon with the ever-gracious Mateja Gravner @matejagravner by @iwasreallyhere

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Tomorrow at the wine bar! by @iwasreallyhere

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Last week at York, we moved from the fully evolved grandeur of Château Franc-Mayne, glowing with the warm generosity of the 1990 Bordeaux vintage, velvety leather, truffle, and resolved tertiary depth, to the more lifted, finely detailed realms of Champagne and Jura. Péhu-Simonet’s Fins Lieux No. 6 offered a strikingly chalk-driven expression of Verzenay, a single-site Blanc de Blancs with Montagne de Reims tension, nuances of extended lees aging, and wonderfully exacting grower precision. François Rousset-Martin’s ouillé Savagnin Perle du Village supplied a different kind of experience, trading oxidative Jura notes for unctuous, generous, and honeyed vibe. Mature Nebbiolo followed in the 1996 Cantina Vignaioli Elvio Pertinace Barbaresco, all dried rose, mandarin, tar, leather, and quietly persistent old-school structure, while Comm. G.B. Burlotto’s 2021 Barolo showed the house’s signature floral lift and refinement, with ethereal aromatics, spice, and remarkably weightless tannins. And the Rieslings and rosé…🩷🩷🩷 by @iwasreallyhere

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A few shots of friends at Katie and Jordan’s wedding. by @iwasreallyhere

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A few shots from the beautiful wedding of Katie and Jordan. What a gorgeous couple! by @iwasreallyhere

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So much gratitude to @jasonberthold for hosting and cooking, and to @theonlywallerofwine for providing such lovely wines! Wasn’t able to capture everything, but you get the gist.
@thegermanwinecollection
@vomboden
@sourcematerialwine by @iwasreallyhere

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What a night hosted by @twistieb! So grateful for such an incredible evening filled with amazing food, beautiful wines, and wonderful company. Thank you for making it such a special night! by @iwasreallyhere

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Great trio tonight, the kind of lineup that makes a wine bar feel like a small pilgrimage.

Got to open the 2018 Proprietà Sperino Lessona, Nebbiolo grown on the sandy, iron-rich soils of Alto Piemonte rather than the Langhe’s limestone and marl. The difference shows immediately: more perfume, more tension, less brawn. Rose petal, blood orange, and a saline mineral edge carried through a long, structured finish.

Then Domaine de la Grosse Pierre’s 2020 Chiroubles “Grille Midi,” made by Pauline Passot from a parcel that straddles Chiroubles and neighboring Fleurie, with 40 to 60 year old organic vines. Chiroubles is Beaujolais’ highest and coolest cru, and it showed: bright, granite-lit Gamay with real lift, crunchy red fruit, and none of the heaviness some 2020s carry. Gorgeous and gulpable, with genuine depth underneath.

Closing with Jean-Yves Péron’s 2023 Côtillon des Dames from Savoie, a wine that never behaves the way you expect. Skin-contact texture, high-altitude energy, citrus peel and mountain flowers laced with something wild. Péron farms like a mad scientist and it shows in the glass.

Three regions, three grapes, one thread: growers working at altitude, on marginal soils, refusing to make anything predictable. Cheers to nights like this! by @iwasreallyhere

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When @theoriginalfarmermick calls for a mid-summer white Burg tasting… by @iwasreallyhere

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Another beautiful night at York, with some of my favorite gems… by @iwasreallyhere

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Four fine wines at the wine bar tonight.

The 2018 Pardas Collita Roja was spot on, with perfect fruit, texture, and balance, while the 2023 Domaine Testut Côte de Bréchain needed a bit of air to shed its baby fat.

The Tochter & Vater Grüner Veltliner was fruit-driven, with crisp apple and citrus, a traditional peppery hint, and vibrant acidity.

The 2022 Meulenhof Riesling Kabinett Erdener Treppchen was a bright, off-dry Kabinett showing high acidity balanced by noticeable sweetness, with aromas and flavors of tart apple, lime, grapefruit, peach, and subtle honeyed notes, delivering a lively, mineral-driven finish. by @iwasreallyhere

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Another wonderful tasting with the wine crew, focused on Grüner Veltliner, with a couple of reds thrown in to balance out the night. by @iwasreallyhere

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