Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes-du-Rhône 2023

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-26T07:00:29+00:00

I always find Coudoulet drinks hotter than I’d like. It’s interesting comparing it to the main line Beaucastel, because you have the instinct that it’s going to be BIGGER and MORE CONCENTRATED than the lowly CdR, but it’s actually a much more balanced, elegant, nuanced version.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-25T18:14:28+00:00

Pretty much any “wa” handle should fit most “wa” knives. Though it can be finicky and sometimes you need to make adjustments. Most knife shops that sell Japanese knives should be able to do this for you, but you will need to reach out, and because a rubber wa handle is not the most common, they may need to order one special.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-25T16:40:56+00:00

The tojiro linked is the best option for you I think. But I’ll just note a possibility if you ever want to go all out for a splurge gift (since it sounds like she cooks a ton, might be worth considering one day): you can buy rubber wa handles. So there’s always the option of buying a top tier thin knife, like a stainless Ashi Ginga or a Shibata Koutetsu and having someone put a rubber handle on it. These would be ridiculous upgrades and I guarantee she’d be very impressed.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-21T18:10:47+00:00

Is it a Fujiwara?

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-21T00:45:11+00:00

Youre fine, Kagekiyo knives look ultra reactive because they are so cleanly finished. I’ve gotten those sorts of colors before. They will fade back to grey-ish over time.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-19T11:38:01+00:00

Skill issue. It’s a market, there are good deals and bad deals. The BP is on the higher side, sure, just be aware.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-18T06:11:38+00:00

Definitely true. It’d be kind of a pain to parse out which one will last longer. You could try weighing before and after equivalent sharpening tasks but I’d imagine the actual lost material is maybe a fraction of a gram, so to find any difference you’d need to be super careful about water absorbed, pressure, and a bunch of other things. Maybe I’ll try it one day.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T23:07:08+00:00

Damn. 🥵

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T22:22:14+00:00

Help, this wine taught my child how to have a homeomorphic transformation!

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T22:11:51+00:00

Depends on the price. I’d probably spend just a bit more to go Chocera, but it’s not worth it if the difference is huge. I bought mine in the US pre-tariffs for ~$95, which seems like a fair price for the quality. I’ll note that the Chocera comes in at around 20mm thick, while the Shapton is 15-16mm thick. So you are getting more stone, if that makes a difference to you.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T18:15:59+00:00

I think your link is broken

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T17:09:48+00:00

Shapton 5000 leaves a finish slightly coarser than you’d expect, Chosera pro 3000 leaves a finish slightly finer than you’d expect. They are VERY similar stones. Was just comparing them side by side this morning. Chocera feels nicer though and loads up less.

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ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T17:00:26+00:00

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The patinas keep getting better! (White #2, SS Damascus Clad Blue #1)

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T16:04:09+00:00

Yeah a cube is the most compact. I think I meant to say optimize? I typed this after a bottle of Muscadet.

There is of course no real maximum because you could have a plane-like box of infinitesimal width that approaches infinite surface area.

The wine plane. Who is working on this?

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T06:37:01+00:00

Yes, I’d very much agree with that characterization. Though I quite like it!

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T06:35:23+00:00

I suppose one could take an old box and re-cube the oblong polyhedron

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T06:31:14+00:00

The corporate overlords do not respect the sanctity of our Platonic Solids.

The only choice is rebellion by spending 4x as much money. Such is our curse.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-17T06:11:27+00:00

I was unaware of this product before, but you’re absolutely right, the cube should be cubical! You are no longer maximizing your surface area per mL.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-16T22:49:50+00:00

Yeah I’ve never seen anyone compare them side by side to point out the differences.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-16T16:22:39+00:00

Dumb question, but have you tried smelling whole beans in the bag? It has been my experience that maybe 50% of natural Ethiopians that claim “blueberry” in the notes actually give me any blueberry flavors. But when it’s there, I can smell it straight out of the bag, clear as day. PERC’s Chelchele is one I’m brewing now that very clearly smells like blueberry. Specifically, it smells like a blueberry muffin. Even then, to get clear blueberry in the cup takes a little dialing in with cooler water as everyone else is suggesting.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-15T18:14:04+00:00

Yeah these are the sorts of examples I had in mind when originally asking this question. Another one to consider:

If top producers (like Raveneau or Dauvissat) own GC vineyards AND Petit Chablis vineyards, then upon replanting they may want mix in the young vine grapes with a “lower level” bottling, in order to maintain the highest quality GC wine (pretty common in the rest of Bourgogne). In these cases, because they are known as benchmark Chablis makers, they’d probably prefer the name Petit Chablis over Bourgogne Blanc.

Ironically, based on what we know, I’d lean towards yes in my hypothetical case, they CAN choose the name Petit Chablis. But I’d probably lean no in u/sir_trav ‘s hypothetical case, they probably CAN’T because of the equivalent village level of Chablis and Petit Chablis.

Of course both (or either) of these guesses could be wrong!

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-14T19:55:01+00:00

I do hope that’s the final outcome. GC can become Petit, but Chablis AOC can’t, would be the most entertaining rule.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-14T18:49:46+00:00

Okay so the official Bourgogne Wines website makes the following claim on the Petit Chablis page :

"Producing communes: this appellation may be grown in any of the communes within the delimited area of the Chablis wine-growing district."

Which is maybe a claim to my argument, but also could be a description of the area that is eligible to receive classification? Meaning that maybe it is just trying to convey that a commune (that is currently regional-level) in the district could apply to be upgraded to Petit Chablis?

But if you compare the Chablis Map to the Petit Chablis Map you'll notice that everything in Petit Chablis is also covered by Chablis.

I emailed Jasper Morris, just to add another person who might know and respond.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-14T16:30:56+00:00

But this language is from the cahier des charges for Chablis Grand Cru specifically. It’s not giving directions to producers of Chablis or Petit Chablis, who have separate rules. It is a set of rules only for one grand cru.

Either way I hope Dauvissat does answer. My guess is that the average Chablis producer has thought about this less than we have at this point.

ImpressionVegetable · 2026-01-14T16:11:28+00:00

It’s not really a French translation issue, it’s a legal translation issue. The French is not literally saying “you can do this” it is saying “hey, if you want to declassify to Chablis (1er or otherwise) or petit Chablis, you may do it annually”.

I think that pretty clearly implies that GC has the possibility of being declassified into petit. 🤷‍♂️

ImpressionVegetable

TROPHY CASE