Norwegian Cruise Lines, Norwegian Sun to Alaska, the Good and Bad

Embarkation Day/Disembarkation

Getting on board was probably one of the easiest of any cruise I have been on. You get in a line that is constantly moving and you go check in with one person who takes your picture and checks your boarding pass and passport and you are done. Once you get on the ship the line in our case went right by our muster station for emergencies and we checked in completing the requirement to report to your muster station. It was all quick and painless. The only downside was even though the line was constantly moving and going forward, the line was long and it took about 20 minutes of walking to get on the ship. Then the real fun began. What they don't tell you is your room is not ready yet and you have to "hang out" somewhere before you can enter your room. Because we now carry light and don't check big suitcases we had to carry our carry-on for hours. You get to go and sit down for lunch which we had planned to do, but we still had lots of time waiting for our room. The bottom line is like most hotels today your room will not be ready until 3 PM so you need to be prepared for that.  Disembarkation was similarly painless.  You packed your bags and walked off the ship, again with a long line but always moving.

The Room

There is no nighttime to speak of in Alaska during the summer. Sunset is late and sunrise is bright and early. There is a funny story here.  They had a spectacular sunset off the back of the boat so I was there taking pictures with my daughter waiting for the sun to set.  And I waited.  And I waited.  It then dawned on me, up here the sun never sets in the summer so the dozens of pictures I was taking were all the same.  Oops!  So we insisted on an interior room much to the chagrin of our family who could not understand with our financial ability why we would not want to be in a suite. On our last trip some 30 years ago we taped aluminum foil to the windows so we could block out the sun. Our cheap interior room met our needs this trip and was surprisingly comfortable when compared to other bigger rooms and rooms with a balcony were not that much smaller. We slept well as there was no light contamination and it was a little easier to control the room temperature. We had such a good experience we decided for the most part in getting interior rooms even on the luxury cruises. Other than sleeping you don't really spend that much time in the room and even with a balcony your views are still restricted so if you want a really great view you will find yourself up on deck to see the best views.

The Food

Food was marginal. There were some great items and some you could not eat. High points were sauces and desserts. I commented the first day they must have a dedicated pastry chef on board and they did and he has been on the same ship for 22 years. You could tell, the desserts were spectacular every day. I also loved the sauces made fresh and assumed they had a dedicated saucier on board though I never confirmed it. In general, the meat selections were very good. Sometimes tough but always very tasty. The Italian specialty restaurant La Cucina was our best dinner on the ship both for quality of food and service. In the French specialty restaurant, Le Bistro, the food was very good but the service was a bust, and making reservations there was BS. We were severely restricted on the time of our reservations which did not meet our needs yet when we had dinner ½ the place was empty and there was no reason they could not have accommodated our requests, demonstrating poor customer service they rigidly stuck to their talking points from a wound up cupie doll. Service was so bad for the first time in my life I went to the purser's office and demanded my automatic gratuity be reduced for essentially nonexistent service in the food areas. One example. They had fresh sushi one day, which was good, but no soy sauce. I had to ask a server, and then a manager 3 times to provide soy sauce, and after a long wait in my opinion they came out with the smallest bottle of soy sauce I have ever seen. It was like 4 ounces. In minutes 4 or 5 people emptied the bottle leaving everyone back at square one, having to chase down a server or a manager to restock the soy sauce. It was insane. I had to do the same thing with cream cheese for bagels. On multiple occasions, we had to find the manager and complain about the lack of service. In at least two cases the managers apologized profusely and brought us multiple extras to appease us when all we wanted was for someone to offer service and deliver food and drinks in a timely manner. It got so bad with drinks we finally refused to order food until after they served drinks totally confusing the servers. They acted like all they wanted was to take your order and get you out of there as fast as possible with no regard to having anything to drink with your meal. I do feel cruise lines need to change their operations which basically segregates beverage servers' and food servers' functions. In the French restaurant, they only had one beverage server and we were told up front they could not serve drinks in a timely fashion. Too bad, we waited until drinks were served prior to ordering which resulted in us being the last ones to leave the restaurant.  In another situation, we ordered a bottle of Champagne to have prior to dinner, and communication between the food and beverage server had to be bad as the wrong bottle was brought to the table.  By the time they found the right bottle we were finished with dinner and canceled the order.  One of the better food venues was the hot dog and hamburger place off the back of the boat.  We usually ate lunch there and they had great burgers and dogs, especially the dogs.  We have found we get no advantage to the drink packages as we just don't drink that much anymore and the drinks covered under the drink packages generally are not what we would drink anyway.  One example, currently I am drinking Chopin Vodka for martinis as it is pure potato vodka.  But on the ship, they were $19 plus gratuity and not covered.  We drink a fair amount of sparkling water and probably should have preordered that package as the price may have been less.  My adult kids did very well with the drink package and from what they tell me because they purchased it way in advance it was not much more than what I eventually paid for our soft drink package.

The Amenities

WIFI was expensive and spotty. When it worked it worked fine, and when it didn’t it was nonexistent. Our room price included 150 minutes which frankly met my needs but you have to be careful and make sure you log out every time you use it or you will waste all of your time. Two members of my family did this on the first day and had no time left without buying more at a very high price. At the ports there was always some place that had good WIFI available so if you wait to get off the boat and use local WIFI at a restaurant or business you are generally fine. You only need the boat's WIFI on sea days. We did not use the Spa as the prices again were in our opinion ridiculous for what you got. Their hot tubs were OK, especially the one by the kiddie's pool, and were hotter than what I have experienced on other cruises. The entertainment was OK. I saw a couple of shows and they again were OK. We watched a couple of movies in our room we had not seen before.

The Out Islands

If you have been on Carnival Caribbean Cruises you are familiar with the one-day out island experience. The Cruise company owns a small island and you spend the day there at the beach and usually having a cookout. Well, the cruise industry has taken this to a new level in Canada and Alaska.   Covid changed everything and Alaska cruises made lemonade as a result. The Coastline of Alaska is littered with abandoned lumber yards and canneries. Cruises purchased these areas for pennies on the dollar, built a dock, and renovated the area building shops and restaurants for tourists to visit. Some stand on their own like Hoonah, Alaska(Icy Straits); others are 5 to 10 miles out of town like Ketchikan. In Ketchikan, it is a huge facility and they offer free shuttle buses to town but not before having you walk through a mile of shops for tourists to drop a few dollars. You have to also believe the cruises save a lot of money in port charges in these areas. We actually found the one at Hoonah to be quite lovely despite being told there was nothing there. We found a lot of better holiday gifts there and stocked up. It also had great views. They also had great internet as compared to the ship. The main downside was sometimes the shuttle to town took 20 minutes or more but you also got to see the surrounding area and scenery while riding into town.

Excursions

We did not take any excursions off of the ship. The prices in our opinion were ridiculously high beyond reason and the rules and numbers did not work for our family. No more than 6 in a party, no children under 8, etc. Even online I could not find excursions that appealed to us. But we did fine in this regard. While online I found a site that rented large SUVs for large families in Haines and the family was able to spend the day exploring the out areas of Haines. In Sitka, we did even better buying tickets for the "Cool Bus" which was a joy and one of our best discoveries of the trip. The owners do a 1-hour loop around Sitka and actually operated on an "on Call" service. If you finish an activity early call them and they pick you up and take you to your next place. We ended up doing 4 activities in a day that individually would have cost over $200 per person with the ship excursions being offered and the "Cool Bus" fee is $30 a day per person all inclusive (https://visitsitka.org/member/sitka-rides). In Ketchikan, there were dozens of individual operators at the shuttle shops more than willing to pick you up right now with your group at substantial savings over the ship.  I highly recommend in Sitka using the "Cool Bus" you visit both the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center.  You can easily do both in a half day.  Both facilities have multiple wild animals to view and photograph that they are caring for and the staff at both places were highly professional, motivated, and instructive on what you were viewing and how to deal with these animals if you happen to come up on one during a hike.  Their websites are listed here:

http://www.fortressofthebear.org/

https://alaskaraptor.org/

The biggest advantage to our Norwegian Cruise was it was the least expensive trip we have taken in two years.  Overall we had a memorable and great family trip and met most of our goals.  I wished the food service and quality were better but in reality, for what we paid we got good value, and making the right choices made a lot of difference.  I suspect I would be OK with another Norwegian cruise though I would do as best I could with due diligence prior to booking.

Visiting Seattle, Washington State

This was my first trip to Seattle staying for a couple of days. In the past, I was just passing through and 30 years ago en route to China, I had lunch with friends downtown only. I remember that lunch as having great fresh seafood and a calm peaceful experience. I can tell you those days are gone. Downtown is now chaos especially the closer you get to the Public Market. Everything is very overcrowded. A large number of seafood places are there, but the food at best is marginal now and mostly fried and served with french fries. Nothing special. 

The homeless situation

I have recently been to NYC, San Francisco, and Miami but Seattle is the first big city I have seen lots of homeless people. They seemed to be on every street corner, 2 and 3 at a time. There were also plenty of mentally ill people walking around and surprisingly to me lots of physically disabled people with no safety net or help offered. There were stretches of slum areas downtown. You would have a nice store and then 3 or4 boarded up with graffiti all over the outside. And finally, obvious drug addicts walking around. So for a supposedly rich city, Seattle seemed more like the other big cities you read about with obvious serious problems including retail theft.  The entire time we were there the news was reporting constant retail theft. So far the worst I have seen. 

At the end of our stay, we finally had a decent dinner at The Capital Grill but I was very disappointed in the dining scene. As stated most food was tourist burgers and fries. Maybe I did not look hard enough but around the Public Market forget about a gourmet meal. When we go home we will stay near the airport, SEATAC, and we know there are some great places there, but for this trip that is a 30-minute drive and something we did not want to do. 

Shopping is also scattered around. There are many top-shelf shops but they are not in one specific area downtown and walking from one to another be prepared to walk through a dead area. I insisted on using Seattle as my start and ending point for an Alaska cruise as our last trip to Vancouver was traumatic but comparing the two now I can say for ambiance, food scene, and shopping, Vancouver is much better than Seattle if you want to spend a couple of days in town before a cruise to Alaska.

Palihotel Seattle Washington

The main benefit of this hotel is its location. It is a couple of hundred feet uphill from the Public Market which is a large complex of vendors, restaurants, and various shops. You can walk there in a couple of minutes. In addition, it is only a few blocks from most main attractions. You are about 3 blocks from Metro stations as well as the monorail that takes you directly to the Space Needle. The rooms are comfortable and housekeeping is adequate. However, there is no storage in the rooms and you need to bring what is necessary to charge electronics. The major downside and the main reason I would not recommend it is the very poor and uncaring customer service. From the check-in clerk to the day manager no one seemed interested in helping. Checking in was painful. At noon daily our key quit working because no one chose to pay attention to detail and program the computer that we were there for 3 days. One aggravation after another with the front desk staff not helping much. As I said you cannot beat the location but sadly customer service like the rest of the Nation is nonexistent.

DoubleTree Hilton at SEATAC Airport

No question the best hotel we have stayed at near SEATAC over the years. A fairly elegant facility with full amenities including a good hot tub. Good shuttle to the airport and good service from the staff though during our stay reception was clearly understaffed. We will use this as our go-to hotel in the future at SEATAC.

Roasters Restaurant

Directly across the street from DoubleTree by Hilton so very convenient and within easy walking distance. We actually planned to stay at the airport an extra night to eat here. It is a very full, busy fun place and both times now we have eaten at the bar as there is usually an hour wait for a table and the bartenders are a bunch of fun. They excel at meat and in the evening serve the 12-hour roasted prime rib that they are known for.   I had it again and it is beyond succulent. They also make their own bourbon that I have found to be excellent and sadly other than buying a bottle there and packing it in checked baggage no way to get any home. So I guess I will need to fly back soon to have another glass.  https://www.sharpsroasthouse.com/

Multi Year Tasting Matched with food of Colgin Title IX Bordeaux Blend

Continuing with my embarrassment of riches I was able to attend a wine dinner featuring a vertical of Ann Colgin’s Title IX California Cabernet in Magnums hosted by a great friend and for a great cause raising money for the local homeless coalition to provide services for the homeless in our area. The wines were matched with food from the Capital Grill in Jacksonville Florida. A few years ago I was able to visit the vineyard with our evening host for a tasting at the vineyard. At that tasting, we had the 2015 Title IX Cabernet RP 100 that I reviewed in my blog(Visit to Colgin, Wednesday, November 14, 2018, Hosted by Sara Goetting Part 6 Published April 16, 2021). I stated then and I will state and confirm now to me that is the greatest and best California Cabernet that I have had in my life. Also, the vineyard is on top of Pritchard Hill and lots of great wines are made by others nearby. I have found over the years that I really prefer hilltop or mountain Cabernets in California. I believe the cooler mornings help to soften the tannins a bit making those wines more approachable earlier on. So obviously I was looking forward to this tasting to see if any of these wines beat it. I will overall say no but many came very close.

 
2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Elisabeth" Brut Rosé Champagne
98 D 98 JS 97 RP 97 V 96 WE 94 JD

94 points Jeb Dunnuck

The 2008 Champagne Blanc de Blancs Louis Salmon Brut spent 12 years resting on its lees before release, with 7 grams per liter of dosage, and was disgorged in May of 2021. A medium straw with vibrant yellow color, it is a bit reserved initially on opening, but the nose unfolds to a layered and decadent bouquet with lemon curd, custard, green apple, and dusty earth. As it opens, it reveals more spiced notes that resonate on the palate, with graham crust, orange zest, and a bit of smoke. The texture is supple and inviting, with a long and expressive finish.

Continuing with a recent decision I will only provide one professional review of each wine I review that most closely matches how I would rate the wine. If available I will list all professional review scores. Also in my comments, I refer to these wines as California Cabernets. The predominant grape is Cabernet but they are all a Meritage or Bordeaux Blend style wine.

We started with Champagne with the 2008 Billecart Salmon Brut Rose 2008. My initial and overall impression was that both with the nose and taste a glass of tart nutty champagne with an excellent finish. It had good balance and good acid. For me, the primary flavor was lemon tart but I could appreciate apricot and apple as well. I picked up a fair amount of nutty flavors on the nose including almond and walnut. I scored it 14/20 so in line with Jeb Dunnuck. Overall it is a well-made and very pleasant champagne.

2011 Colgin "IX Estate" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
98 JD 95 V 94 JS 94 IWC 92 RP

94 points Int'l Wine Cellar

The wonderfully scented nose offers dark currant, black olive, licorice, smoke, caramel oak, and shoe polish, all lifted by an exhilarating note of tangerine oil. Sappy, sweet, and smooth, showing compelling mineral and floral lift to the intense dark berry flavors. Again, this is not a powerhouse but its penetration and lift are remarkable. Ultimately plusher than the Tychson Hill example and more minerally too. Still a baby.

92 points Wine Advocate

The 2011 IX Estate (66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot) possesses surprising density and richness (then again, it's from a hillside vineyard that was above the fog line in 2011), impressive purity, lots of red, blue and black fruits, and not a trace of herbaceousness. The oak is nicely integrated in this soft, round, generously endowed effort.

We initially were advised by our host that the first wine of the evening was in fact the weakest and lower-scoring wine of the group. He advised us that Horrors Robert Parker only gave it 92 points so I have included his review here. I found the wine for me to be better than described. Immediately upon pouring in the glass, the bouquet burst into the room filling my area. The nose was a large intense different flavor profile that took a minute to comprehend but in the end was a heavy rich licorice nose with a lot of dried fruit that carried on to the taste. One prominent flavor for me was figs. There was also plenty of cedar and cigar in the taste. It was exceptionally balanced with a good finish. Someone asked me why I felt it was one of the better wines of the evening compared to the others going against what had been presented and my answer was good aging. This was the second youngest wine of the night but seemed to have some age on it.   I should also mention that it was poured from Magnum and as a general rule the larger the bottle the longer and different the aging is. There is no question that Colgin IX Cab blend is one of the high-end great California Cabs year to year. The vinification and production of these wines is the highest possible year after year. My point, the wine is made almost perfectly. Therefore it will hold up and last decades and over that time frame continue to mature and evolve into something spectacular. I have followed a rule for years now that I do not open a high-end Cabernet for at least 10 years as opening them earlier they are just too tannic and young which will be evident in the other wines for the evening. So the wine was young when Parker tasted it so he would not be expected to taste how it might develop over the years. Trust me this wine has aged wonderfully and is opening a whole new world of complexity and flavor that I don’t think the previous reviews saw.  Being a 2011 it is coming at just 2 years after 10 years so close to 10 years.

2008 Colgin "IX Estate" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
99 JS 99 WE 96 WA 95WC 93 WS

96 points Wine Advocate

The opaque purple-hued 2008 IX Proprietary Red, a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot (also slightly modified from last year), reveals notes of espresso roast, blueberries, black currants and lead pencil shavings. The wine reveals superb concentration and richness as well as a structured mouthfeel. It begs for 4-5 years of cellaring and should drink well for 20-30+ years.

Up to this point in the evening this was my highest scoring wine as I gave it 18/20. It was an exceptional “alive” wine. One of the guests wanted to know why it had some sediment in it and my answer was it is “alive” and continues to grow and mature. It was very complex. The nose and taste had black pepper, licorice, blackberry, raspberry, and black currants. To me, the predominant flavor was all the dried fruits. The nose was woody and smoky in a good way with a taste of burnt toast and coffee. Even though it was 10 years old it still was a young puppy with rich dark and strong tannins. I totally agree with Parker that it will be great and I would say 50 years from now.

2009 Colgin "IX Estate" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
99 JS 97 RP 96 V 94 WS

97 points Wine Advocate

Composed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2009 IX Estate exhibits a flowery bouquet with notes of subtle smoke, blackberries, black currants, kirsch, and baking spices. Rich, deep, and full-bodied, this voluptuous, sensational blend boasts an inky/purple color.”

Another high-scoring wine for me at 17/20. On my initial smell and taste, I found the wine restrained and holding back creating a mystery. As it opened I could pick up the complexity and tasted licorice, blackberry, black currants, and cedar. It was exceptionally balanced and like others continued to have very young strong tannins. At this point, the taste and texture were not overwhelming but everything is there for this to be an exceptional wine with maybe another 5 years of age.

2010 Colgin "IX Estate" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
100 RP 97 JS 97 V 94 WS

100 Points Robert Parker


The 2010 IX Estate is another perfect wine. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by copious aromas of blueberries, cassis, pen ink, asphalt, licorice, and subtle oak. Full-bodied and rich but light on its feet, this spectacular effort was created from a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Enjoy this profound wine over the next 25+ years.

The perfect 100-point wine of the evening that for me opened with a soft smoky well balanced nose and taste. Lots of dried fruit flavors with raisins and prunes. I made a comment that it reminded me of an Amarone. There was vanilla as well as cedar. For some reason, I felt instead of cigars I tasted cigarettes. I scored it highly at 18/20 and agree the tannins are good and it will age and develop for decades.

2012 Colgin "IX Estate" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
99 RP 96 JS 96 V 94 WS

99 points Wine Advocate

Absolutely spectacular aromatics of spring flowers, blueberry, blackberry, and blackcurrant fruit intermixed with creosote, graphite, and floral notes are followed by a wine of great depth, elegance, richness, and purity. Simply loaded, but with pristine harmony and equilibrium, this is a sensational tour de force and a great tribute to this spectacular hillside site on Pritchard Hill.

Another young wine that in a sense totally blew away my opinion on the 2011 making the 2012 the youngest wine of the night so you would expect it to be tannic and it was and still needs time. I actually said on my scoring sheet that so far the wine was underdeveloped. So in revisiting my comments on the 2011 I still agree with what I said but that year is aging quicker than the others for unknown reasons so maybe it is time to drink the 2011 if you have any. My initial impression of the 2012 was it had an oaky smoky nose and taste that was complex and balanced. I picked up what I initially said was coal but what I meant was charcoal. There was lots of fruit with the usual predominance of dried fruit but primarily because of the tannins, which I said were intense pucker-up young tannin, the fruit was subdued. I did taste dark chocolate that I did not appreciate in the other years along with smoky cedar. It had a velvet mouth feel and I said it was one of the best and very balanced wines of the evening.

1997 Domaine Huet "Cuvée Constance" Vouvray Moelleux (1500mL)

100 points Wine Spectator

Extraordinarily rich. An amazing amount of botrytis gives this sweet white a powerful, spicy character, its masses of ripe fruit kept lively by electrifying acidity. So concentrated it tastes as though all the flesh has evaporated, leaving only the spirit behind. Will easily last your lifetime and mine. Best from 2005 through 2050.

99 points Wine Advocate

The stunning, virtually perfect, 1997 Vouvray Moelleux Cuvee Constance (named after his daughter) sports 150 grams of residual sugar per liter, 7.5 grams of acidity, and 12.5% alcohol. Tasting this sublime dessert wine brought tears to my eyes. It is so captivatingly pure, focused, and intricate as to be all but impossible to adequately describe. Its green and straw color reveals hints of gold. Aromatically, it titillates with scents of apricot jam, candied grapefruits, quince, bergamots, and flowers. On the palate, fresh peaches, citrus fruits, honey, acacia blossoms, quinine, chalk, and lemony mangoes can be found. Additionally, this medium-to-full-bodied, penetrating, yet perfectly balanced wine has a finish that seemingly lingers forever, revealing even more waves of minerals and fruit. It will require patience yet should easily evolve for 50 years or more. Bravo!

What a special treat to end a special evening. I continue to get to drink what I think is the rarest wine in the world only to find the next one weeks later. A month or so ago I had for the first time Hungarian Tokaij Essencia thinking it was the rarest and then I am presented with this one and one reason this Vouvray is so rare is that it was served in Magnums and as our host correctly stated you do not find large format bottles of sweet wines. These wines are meant to be sipped with dessert and most folks drink maybe 2 ounces if that. So you need a crowd to drink 1500 cc of sweet wine. Another reason it is rare is Robert Parker may have cried over this wine but even he only had it in a 500 cc bottle. It is low in alcohol at 11.5% so the sweetness and complexity of the fruit shine through. A very complex taste of apple, pear, honey, honeysuckle, apricots, and peaches. I tasted some butterscotch. It had an incredible smooth velvet mouth and throat feel. Another problem with this kind of wine, is you sit in a chair drinking it and it is so nice and smooth you have glass after glass along with great conversation, and at the end of the evening when it is all gone you try to stand up to go home and cannot get out of the chair as you are now wasted even though the wine is low alcohol. Low alcohol times 2 bottles is high alcohol.

The Wine Soapbox

No question these are some of the greatest wines in the world. At the dinner, the scores were mentioned as well as whether is there any difference between 99 points and 100 points or 97, 96, etc. Scores are only a guide from one person who probably has more taste buds than you do and certainly more experience drinking probably thousands of bottles over a lifetime. But at this level of wines, those scores are to me are really not important. At this level what these wines offer is the perfect balance of tannin, acid, and complex flavors that blend into a hedonistic experience when drunk and especially when matched with great cuisine. Whether or not it is complex with figs berries, and walnuts as opposed to another wine with pears, cedar, and cigar makes absolutely no difference. Both are exceptional wines just with different flavors and sometimes a different style. One of them you will fall in love with and want to drink all the time. I call those wines my spiritual wines. One of the guests told me they could not tell any difference in any of the wines and I can see that would be true for a lot of people. Interestingly Wine Spectator scored each of these wines at 94 for almost every year I believe. It is OK. Everyone agreed they were exceptional wines because they were. And even though they were different years they were all made from the same vines and the same production facility over the years so for most of us they are all going to be the same. And in that they are made well and stay young seemingly forever it will be decades of maturity before many of us will ever see any differences and sadly most of us won’t live long enough to drink these wines 20 years from now. I met Michael Mondavi years ago and he has said he keeps his cellar at 65 degrees because he knows he will not live forever and wants his wines to mature faster so he can enjoy them with some aging on them. But I also heard from someone that yes they may mature and age faster, but not as well. So in the end we all need to take the scores with a grain of salt. Find the ones you enjoy within your budget and drink them young or old. Wine is made to be enjoyed, not exploited.

French Wine Discoveries and purchases and Recommendations

Following is a list of wines we felt were exceptional and worthy of purchase, understanding most of these wines are unavailable in the US and some may now be sold out. My review is listed with the wine when available and some are in earlier blogs from the trip. They are listed with their tax-free price, shipping and insurance are additional. If you might be interested in purchasing any please feel free to contact Stevie Bobes(email stevie@wineambassadeur.com) who can help you obtain them.

Domaine Marc Morey Premier Cru Puligny Montrachet Les Referts 2016 $103.55

2016 Domaine Marc Morey Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru Referts sits NE of the Montrachet vineyard between Les Combettes and Les Charmes. It is not a large vineyard and I rarely see the wines from here often. But I was able to taste two side by side that were 2 years apart. This one the 2016 clearly was the older one with a dark color and the aroma and taste had both mineral and fruit expected there was a slight bitterness to the wine. I tasted it twice and after a few days of opening.  I and others tasted buttery popcorn.  It did have good balance and soft alcohol presence.  It was complex with tastes of honey, honeysuckle, lemon, and pear.  I think it is peaked and should be drunk now.  A few of us tasted it and everyone preferred the next wine the:

2018 Olivier Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Referts. $130. This wine was younger and had a clear yellow color with no age. It was also more complex and balanced. It still had a little bitter finish that I seem to remember being a character of this vineyard but overall it was more ageable and easier to drink. Closest to Meursault 1er Cru "Charmes", separated from its neighbor by the famous "Chemin des Moines". The marly soil at the top is more ferruginous at the bottom and, as a result, produces a Puligny-Montrachet that is a little smoother and fatter than the others. Sensitive to over-ripening and the soil is both clay and limestone.

Domaine Bzikot Premier Cru Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 2015 $81.75

Somewhat of a darker yellow color due to age.  the 2nd nose was light and fresh but there was a hint of musky smell that blew away.  Great mouth feel.  A lot of concentrated young fruit despite age.  I tasted lemon and pear flavors.  There was a nice finish.  I still feel it is at it's peak and needs to be drunk now.

Domaine Bzikot Premier Cru Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 2017 $81.75

SCEA Potinet Ampeau Premier Cru Monthelie Champs Fuillots 2016 $35.88

Domaine Michel Mallard & Fils Grande Cru Corton Marechaudes 2015 $113.55

Auxey Duresses Blanc "Clos du Moulin aux Moines" 2020 $44.50

Auxey Duresses Rouge in Magnum "Clos du Moulin aux Moines" 2018 $68.13

Domaine Bachey-Legros Chassange-Montrachet(region) 2021 $44.50 

*****This was hands down the greatest wine we tasted during the entire trip. The initial smell and taste by 100% of the group of 5 of us was OMG! Where did this come from! A stunning well balanced complex wine that experts will mix up with Grand Cru's. I don't know how much is out there but my highest recommendation is to purchase it as well as the Domaine Bachey-Legros Santeny Blanc. Also, the best price we saw for this high quality.

Domaine Etienne Sauzet Bourgogne Chardonnay 2021 $29.07 a true bargain

Domaine Edouard Delaunay Beaune Premier Cru Les Greves 2020 $50.14

I also purchased a mixed case of Nicole LeMarche's wines from her Godfather Frank Boyer of Vosne Romanee. Domaine LeMarche owns portions of the DRC vineyards like Le Tache, Richbourg, and Echezeaux as examples. Both LeMarche and DRC vineyards severely limit visitors(frankly none).

Other notable wines drunk during our trip primarily at dinners

Bouchard Pere et Fils Montrachet 2011 $720

Happily, I was able to visit the sacred ground these grapes were grown on this trip. It is somewhat of a pilgrimage. The wine presents a pleasant nose and future taste of light oak and butter. There was a velvet mouthfeel and initial tastes of lemon, pear, honey, and butter with plenty of fruit. I emphasized the finesse of the balance but again picked up on strong tastes of lemon, lemon zest, and lots of honey. Overall I rated it 20/20 and it has continued to be a great wine for me. I once had a case but I am down now to a few bottles. The price point of Montrachet continues to rise and for me may one day outprice itself. There clearly are Premier Cru's just as good and sometimes better. Walking the lay of the land this year I continue to marvel at the fact that Montrachet is surrounded on all sides the width of a dirt road by multiple Premier Cru vines that I cannot believe are not close enough to be as great.

Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Bordeaux $45

Another 2013 that has turned out to be a great value for Bordeaux. A trip or two ago I visited the vineyard and witnessed a professional team trying to make great wines as well as converting to biodynamic production which I still have doubts about. The day we were there they had an outbreak of mildew and I watched them treat it by spraying tea on the vines. This wine had a slight browning of color on the edges which I would expect from 2013. But it still was young with pucker-up tannins. The nose was oaky with cedar which came through prominently on the taste. The aroma and bouquet were both characteristic and distinguishable. There were a lot of complex tastes here including black pepper, licorice, blackberry, cassis, molasses, cedar, oak, and some alcohol though it's 13.5%. Overall it is a complex strongly tannic tart wine but at a good price and drinkable now.

Chateau Branaire-Ducru Bordeaux 2013 $45

2013 was not a great year for Bordeaux and may not age well. But plenty of vineyards made great wines as did Branaire-Ducru. I was introduced to this vineyard by Bruno Delmas(deceased) who grew up in the vineyards of Bordeaux and felt this wine was severely underestimated. They were in the middle of improvements and upgrades during my visit for barrel tastings and it was evident there was a commitment to quality. Frankly, they are one of the least expensive Bordeaux wines so the quality-price ratio is there. The 2013 is a complex, balanced soft wine with somewhat less body than others. Yet there are complex flavors of Blackberries, black pepper, cassis, hazelnut, cedar, and light oak. The finish lingered and overall the experience was exceptional. You simply cannot beat the quality of this wine for the price.

Veuve Cliquot Champage NV $49

The nose was very nutty and effervescent. The taste included honeysuckle, pineapple, melon, and honey, Balance and acid integration were excellent. At some point, I said it sort of tasted like a whiskey sour to me, and that surprised even me. If you are staying in Paris for a while it is fairly easy to do a day trip to Champagne and Veuve Cliquot has multiple themed tastings you can schedule. I was sick so could not go but plan to on my next trip.

Royal Tokaji Essencia 2008 $1400

One of the greatest wines ever made and the first time I have ever had it and only the 2nd bottle I have seen in 40 years. Given to Catherine the Great by Hungary in tribute to not be invaded the wine was otherwise famous as over centuries at times it was the preferred wine of the European Kings. Frankly, no one else could afford it. Frankly the richest and sweetest sweet wine ever. The nose and taste were complex, rich, and balanced. Plenty of floral characteristics but for me primarily tastes of honey and plum. The finish seems to linger on for hours. Everyone at the table who tasted it was somewhat overwhelmed by the experience. We did drink it over two nights as it is too rich to drink an entire bottle in a single seating. A good friend who has had multiple bottles over the years confirmed my evaluation and experience and like him, we look forward to the future to drink it again.

The Simple Life in Paris

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms...” Henry David Thoreau, Walden.

To paraphrase Thoreau, we came to Paris to live this summer to ignore the tourist stuff and learn and confront the essential daily life of the French with no preconceived ideas and see what their lifestyle could teach us. We did not want to die without having tried to have an authentic and immersive experience over here. On the one hand, we did not stay in 5-star hotels but at the same time, we were not Spartan-like either. Our apartment was compared to others very large and comfortable and it felt like home. We had hoped to explore one day and rest the next. Nature had other ideas and things to teach us. Instead, we were sick most of the time staying inside, watching TV, reading and researching the area, and getting take away. But I believe we met our objectives and learned many things. Yes, we were sick, but we were sick in Paris. Our needs were met. We could obtain medical and dental care when needed and it was easy to obtain medications. And every French person we met for the most part was happy, helpful, polite, and caring. The average American has over 300,000 items in their home. I spent decades accumulating and now cannot get rid of enough of it. Other than aristocracy, that didn't turn out well for most of them, and their opulent and grandiose mega-mansions, the average French person has much, much less. Their cars are smaller, and their homes are smaller, they have no walk-in closets. Twice a year during sales they buy the good stuff, designer clothes but where we buy 10 they buy 1 and keep it for 5 or 10 years. They have less to keep track of and less to worry about losing. After a month we immediately recognized we had brought 2X what we really needed. I hope we remember that lesson. I have read about it for a lifetime but now I have lived it for a month. Possessions don't make you happy and enrich your life as much as experiences, tastes, sunrises, and sharing those experiences with family and friends lingering over a coffee until the late hours of the evening at some cafe as opposed to watching some stupid reality show on TV.(apologies for the judgemental comment). Yes we were sick. But with friends and loved ones. It was still an experience, just not the one we had envisioned. So as best we could we embraced what we had recognizing that tomorrow brings a new day and a new chance. Tonight prior to dinner we went for a walk realizing the entire month we have been here we only walked down and around Boulevard Voltaire which is one block and intersects with Place Nation. For one month we had been exploring in only one direction. But there are at least a dozen streets that intersect with Place Nation and we could have spent an entire 2 weeks exploring a huge area and no telling what we might have found. We went in the opposite direction for the first time tonight and 2 blocks from our apartment we found an authentic family-operated Moroccan restaurant. We love Moroccan food and have not had it in decades. We totally missed it, but now have even more motivation to return to the same place in the future. We cannot control our age but we need to get home and deal with the health issues cropping up prior to returning. Paris like most of Europe is harder to walk around it, and now drive in, than the USA. Streets and paths are uneven and prone to falling. Metros have few to no elevators and you have to go up and down multiple flights of stairs. Most buildings and Hotels don't have elevators.  It can be hot one day and cold the next. So hopefully next trip we will be well and better prepared. We certainly hope so. I think our main lesson here is life really is and can be simple and even more joyful. But in the end, it is up to you to make it that way, and instead of complaining about what you don't have learn to adapt and use what you do have and have joy in doing it.

Day 4 in Bouregogne, Simply No Wine Left to Buy

 As our trip came to an end in Bourgogne all we could say was thank God we are done.  There cannot be any more wine to buy here.  So it was off to Chateau de Savingny-les-Beaune which I can highly recommend for a visit.  Another old Chateau renovated and improved by a new owner it is a fairly large complex with gardens.  The owner like many collects things, just much bigger than most.  His most prized possession is a hanger full of about 50 full-sized retired aircraft from military jets to large commercial airlines.  inside the house upstairs is about 100 vintage motorcycles, alas, missing a 1936 Indian my favorite,  They have a restaurant so it is a good visit and have a light picnic or lunch while there.  Of course, we were having nothing to do with light lunches so we were off to L'Ouvree(https://www.louvree.fr/)on the way to the Dijon train station for another lunch extravaganza.  They had some kind of fried cheese fritter that we talked them into selling us a half dozen to take on the train with us for snacks.  Of course, the food was outstanding as was the wine.  One of our party really loved the wine so much that they purchased 6 out of the cellar.  

So we arrived back at the Dijon train station totally full of food and wine and planned on shipping half of the wine of Bourgogne back to Florida in November.  Though wonderful, In the end, it was way too much of everything.  At our age, I cannot recommend this kind of schedule.  For one we all needed a 3-hour nap every afternoon we did not get.  I can say now 1, maybe a short second tasting a day is all you should do especially in Bourgogne because once you schedule the tasting the families over there will treat you very well.  They are very proud of their wines and have no trouble sitting down with you for hours to showcase their wines.  Of course, they are much younger than you.  

As I continue to review our options and how to manage our time I have decided on one major tasting in the morning with maybe a smaller minor tasting before or after lunch and then a 3 or 4-course wine paired lunch and then done.  Back to our rooms for a long nap and rest before some light shopping and then dinner, again a 3 or 4-course dinner with wine.  My days of 30 vineyard tastings in a 10-hour time frame and 17-course white truffle dinners are over and will never occur again.  I am too old for it.  I must admit that when I did it when I was 30 years old I probably didn't like it that much then either and I certainly could not remember anything that stood out as exceptional as I had 100% palate fatigue and could have been drinking and tasting sawdust and not known the difference.  But if you are young with an unlimited supply of energy and raging hormones go for it but maybe just do fewer stops and actually have some time to smell and taste the wine.

Day 3 in the Heart of Bourgogne

We started back at it on day 3 starting with a visit to Domaine LeMarche.  My first visit occurred during my last trip 4 years ago before Covid.  I have done the research and discovered that essentially LeMarche owns vineyards next to those owned by the DRC vineyards and continued to make their own label from the same named vineyards, just their own vineyard wines.  I had heard through the grapevine, most likely not true but understandable that decades ago the domain had decided to refuse Grand Cru status.  The story goes the Domaine felt it was a ruse in order to raise taxes and like many in the wine world some vintners flatly refuse to accept any kind of rating system at all feeling as long as they think they are making great wine that is the only rating needed.  There is a well-known vineyard in St. Emillion whose owner ran Robert Parker off his property as he does not believe in ratings.  If you have read Wine Spectator recently some of the first growth Bordeaux's are now not sending in wine to be rated.  Over many decades the vineyard was passed on and today Madam Nicole Lemarche is the sole owner and has renamed the vineyard Domaine Nicole LeMarche.  So four years ago I essentially harrassed Stevie to make an appointment which he could never do so on a lark we drove to the front door and knocked and met Nicole.  She was busy but I guess was impressed I was so persistent and welcomed me back that afternoon for barrel tastings.  So this time Stevie was able to make a follow-up appointment, understanding they initially gave him a hard time.  Ms. LeMarch had prepared a formal tasting for us this time in her home and dining room and we tasted about 10 of her wines including Grand Rue which is adjacent to the DRC La Tache vineyard and for me better than La Tache, except 1/2 the price.  There is another urban legend that sometime long ago Lemarche and  DRC and traded the right side of the vineyard for the left side of the vineyard so the old La Tache was now Grand Rue and vice versa.  I should mention that today these wines now have Grand Cru status.  These are great wines, better than DRC to me, and Nicole LeMarch is a valued friend and great winemaker.  Her wines, like DRC, are hard to find and purchase but are available online and you can purchase them through the usual distribution systems in the US.  Like all vineyards some years there are more available than others but you will not be disappointed in these wines.  They are spectacular.

The next stop was the old Chateau du Clos de Vougeot.  If you have visited Bourgogne you cannot miss it as it is a very old large Chateau sitting in the middle of a very large vineyard.  It has been there since the middle ages and renovated a few times, originally being an Abby, and now owned by the Brothers of Tastavin.  It is an inexpensive visit and worth the visit, if nothing else to see the monster large wine presses.  You have to wonder how they built these things.  Some of the wood beams are 36 inches by 36 inches and 20 or so feet long.  Just building them was an advanced engineering marvel.  But using them you have to wonder how did they do it?

Lunch was at one of my all-time favorites La Toute Petite Auberge owned by Frank Boyer, whom I have been told is Nicole LeMarch's godfather. My understanding is Frank has been close to the Lemarche family for years.  Frank has two wine cellars at the restaurant, one is a retail store and one is his own private cellar in the basement.  I have been in both and he has sold me LeMarch wine from his own private cellar.  He also has many of the top Cote de Nuit wines in the area that he sells in his retail store.  As usual, he sold me a mixed case including Nicole's wine.  If you visit he is a good source to purchase small amounts of LeMarche wine.  After about 10 years I think he is starting to recognize me.  He is probably like me and takes time to get to know you.  This year for the first time he gave me a special new discount.  I really appreciated it.

After lunch, we charged on to the Chateau and vineyards of Edouard Delaunay tasting over 10 wines, red and white including Grand Crus.  I thought I was going to die and hopefully go to heaven.  We tasted and drank way too many wines.  Between all of us we ended up buying 10 cases of wine to ship and ended up running a little late for dinner at:

Caveau Des Arches is our favorite Beaune restaurant.  Caveau des Arches(website https://www.caveau-des-arches.com/)

It's not Michelin, it doesn't show up on a lot of recommended sites, but it is one of my favorites in all of France.  Underground in an old cellar, the ambiance is great.  Most of the time I am there it is filled with locals, always a good sign.  And to this day the best-roasted chicken in an epoisse cheese sauce I have ever had.  I had the same dish in NYC at Daniel Boulards Pavillion at 10X the cost.  They have an extensive wine list at reasonable prices.  They even have the very first White Burgundy Clark and I ever drank Chateau Beauregard Pouilly Fussie, owned by a  cousin and across the street from Chateau Pouilly Fussie where Clark and I visited for a day on our last trip to France.  They have a variety of menu items and what are called formulas along with an extensive wine list with reasonable prices.  Someday I might get something different but as usual, I had their roast chicken cooked in an Epoisse cheese sauce.  Epoisse cheese comes from the village of Epoisse about 50 KM NW of Beaune and it is the only place in the world where the cheese is made.  Sometimes it is difficult to find it.  It has various ages you can buy, the oldest I recall seeing was 75 years old.  I highly recommend Caveau Des Arches.

Home to bed we were beyond exhausted.  Due to exhaustion I am fairly certain this is the day I got sick while over there, but we had another day before the train back to Paris.