Vilmart & Cie, always a favorite amongst the champagne faithful for a number of reasons, the leading one being the impeccable quality.
A clear pale gold robe. Teeny tiny persistent bubbles and terrific cream. The bouquet is highly evocative and the definition of fresh. Showing honey and white flowers up front and enswathed in citrus. Apricots and pineapples with peaches and the barest expression of banana. Quite posh and lovely.
Precision is the word of the day when dealing with these Vilmart champagnes. 70/30 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Rilly-la-Montagne from 30 year old vines. Aged 10 months in large oak casks and disgorged in September of 2018 with no malolactic fermentation. Just a touch of sweetness with a dosage of 8 g/l but you won’t even notice that as it gets air and evolves in the glass. Very lithe and graceful with toned down acidity and wonderful tension.
The palate is focused and precise, even on the second day. The dried citrus on the tongue is intense and alive. Mangoes and tangerines. Minerality and crisp apples truly shine. Long finish with a bite of spice and smoke. These are terrific and stately champagnes and I just keep going back to them over and over. For a good reason. — 2 years ago
To me good wine stands out from average wine when I can sense three things from it: time, place and intention.
This rustic garnacha clearly carries these three indices.
The top layer of smell is rustic- farm, soil. Sticking my nose in the glass I'm greeted with a maraschino liquor soaked cherry wood barrel.
The palate tells me it's been maturing and mellowing for three quarters of a decade - this is mature but eagerly waiting to be opened. There aren't layers to this- it's straight forward, direct, open and expressive. Elegant in it's simplicity but certainly not posh. Dry, but very much alive, like the garrigues that was once rooted where this vineyard now stands. This is central Spain. — 7 months ago
This is good by itself but paid with pumpkin pie and…it’s a dog chasing it’s tail situation. The pie is made all the sweeter and ginger spice-y (sans being baby, sporty or scary but maybe posh) by the wine. Then the sweetness of the wine pleads for a nibble of somewhat earthy pumpkin and the pumpkin says “be my baby!” (But not baby spice) to the wine so you gotta put some wine in your mouth so the pumpkin won’t feel so alone (pie has feelings) and so on and so forth. In terms of flavor here inddition to spice yes, I get those lychee notes but also apricot jam (which makes me wonder if next time I make a pumpkin pie I should add a bit of apricot jam to the crust before pouring the pumpkin in). And despite its turned up sweetness it has acid that keeps my mouth watering. I DID not know Gewurtz could do that. — 2 years ago
Wow. Very “Posh”. A pleasant surprise. Rose, apple, cran, hint of clove and oak. Soft tannins, but tannins. Soft. Enjoyable. — 2 years ago
With Dad for Sunday dinner of lamb shanks. Still using the Heidi excuse for bringing out the posh bottles. Bloody good — 2 years ago
New Year's Eve red with steak. One of the best posh French reds we have had. — a year ago
Spectacular Grand Cru grower Chardonnay from Chouilly. Medium gold in the glass. Meager, medium sized bubbles that dissipate rather quickly. Very zippy and lively from the jump. The nose is terrific with a little salt and herbs along with some toffee. Really nice citrus fruit leaps out of the glass. Buttered brioche and spice compliment.
Single vineyard Grand Cru fruit from a tiny plot called “Le Fond du Bateau”, the bottom of the boat. Bottled in June of 2010 and disgorged in May of 2018 with a dosage of 1 g/l to let the terroir truly shine. So bold and so full of personality. Racy acidity and distinctive minerality throughout. Nice depth and complexity here.
This really does get better and better as it evolves in the glass. The beautiful citrus expresses itself initially with peaches and green apples. Pears, apricots, and a nice bit of spice. Bold but oh so elegant simultaneously. This is long and very posh. An instant favorite and will be so much better down there road. — 2 years ago
Vasanth Balakrishnan
Posh #vinonobiledimontepulciano - not many descriptive notes as it was from dinner last weekend but this was a graceful #sangiovese expression. — 5 months ago