Matthew Cohen

9.6

Nose: mostly closed on open. Some peach skin. Tiger lilies. Yellow roses. Really pretty with some air. Almost a little vanilla bean but not in an oak way. A 9.6 nose.

Palate: dry elegant peach. A kiss of honey. Mineral. Very elegant. Expansive. A kiss of elegant richness. as this opens more just pure elegance. That vanilla bean. A kiss of peach.

Fass selections. — 2 years ago

Joanne Frette

8.9

Petillance and bright acidity. Melt water with wild strawberries. — 4 years ago

Melissa Gill

9.1

Get me to the beach — 4 years ago

Matt

9.2

Like drinking lightning bolts ⚡️ Ripe green pear, white peach, tart citrus, zest and pith, citrus blossom, tea leaves, crushed chalk, a layer of spring honey just barely. Tense on day one with electric acidity. Day 2 showing more aromatic complexity and a kiss of breadth on the palate. So much acid and rocks. Day 4 still fresh as a daisy — 5 years ago

Joe Dunn

9.0

Good acidity. High alcohol. Powdery. White flowers some vanilla. Kiss of citrus. Very chenin like — 3 years ago

Shay A

9.3

After opening a 2012 two weeks ago, I wanted to check in with the 2005. I also open a vintage L’Ermitage every 4th of July (as well as a bottle of zin), as it’s hard to beat this American sparkler at the price (and if you can, tell me).

Again, just a total QPR winner as evidence by this being 16yrs young. I believe this is the “oldest” L’Ermitage I’ve had, and my love for this sparkler is cemented. At its age, it really hasn’t oxidized much at all. I get a kiss of an autolysis flair here, but it’s more just rich and flamboyant. Yeasty/toasty. Toffee, honeycomb (always get that with these), sea salt and cinnamon topped golden delicious apple. Added notes of bruised pear and caramel round out the rich, yet vibrant, finish. The fact that these (yes, this vintage) can be picked up locally at $45-50 is just crazy. Takes a lot of restraint to not buy all they have. — 4 years ago

Keaton Kail

9.5

I feel like I’m rating this so high but if you’ve got a more impressive $30 American Chardonnay tell me about it 👇🏻.

Seamlessly mineral-driven, unencumbered on the palate by a kiss of oak, and distinguished by a bright purity of acid expressed as citrus oil and apple juice. Greek yogurt, lemon curd, perfectly ripe Granny Smith, tart pineapple, salted butter puff pistachio pastry. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.4

For planning purposes of something in the future, I tasted 2014 central coast Syrahs from high end producers blind. Along with the Lillian (my bottle), there was SQN, Andremily, Torrin Akasha, Booker Fracture, Alban Reva and Alban Lorraine.

First off, I love these wines. The price in comparison to the others is impressive, and it always delivers. I double decanted this about two hours prior to the blind tasting. Dark purple in the glass, with aromatics of both sweet oak as well as whole cluster stem inclusion. Loads of dark floral notes, ripe blackberries, cherry jerky and that kiss of sweet oak. The palate remained the same from opening through the end of the blind tasting…a distinctly fuzzy profile on the palate with gorgeous mid palate depth and richness of blue and black fruits with plenty of herbal flair and spice. It toes the line between cool climate Syrah with their signature black peppercorn and iron, as well as big central coast Rhône style with its rich and textural palate. No rush on opening, but it sure is great now.

Out of the 7 in the lineup, this was the “cheapest”, and tied for 3rd place (with the Andremily being the runaway favorite, Alban Lorraine taking second, and this tying the SQN). — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Henriot often flies under the radar and I get it, there are so many options out there...but don’t sleep on this house. This, their most modest offering, delivers immense pleasure for the price. A near 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (I guess they use 5% Pinot Meunier) the Brut Souverain displays well ripened pears, lightly roasted nuts, slightly burned brioche and a kiss of citrus. The texture is rich and creamy. The finish is long and satisfying. No disgorgement data. While there is a code on the back, I was social and wasn’t going to give myself the brain damage to decode that mess. — 4 years ago

Kimberly Eber

9.5

Perfect Chard. Perfectly balanced - just a kiss of oak. — 5 years ago

with Bridget