Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Excellent showing. Great concentration and mid palate presence. Long finish — 8 days ago

Turd Ferguson

9.1

Bright and lifted. Very refined. Red fruit. Violets. Faintest hint of herbs/pepper. Killer. — 18 days ago

Matt Perlman

9.2

Deep dark purple in the glass, muted at first but with air the aromatics of blackberries, violets, cracked pepper, graphite and dried leaves come out to play. Palate-saturating and velvety in the mouth with finely grained tannins and sweet dark berry fruit. Beautiful and should last a while — 10 days ago

Ryan Guy

9.1

Day 2: Cola and dark cherry nose, with graphite and smoke. Underripe currant leaking out as well. Gritty tannin with cranberry and cherry fruit. Chalky minerality. Lingers well, plenty of dimension. — 10 days ago

Sean Driscoll

9.3

Infanticide, but calling it baselining. Bringing the goods as usual. Look forward to opening more starting in a few years. — 6 days ago

Paul Masson

9.1

In its prime — 8 days ago

Evandro Pereira

9.4

Como era de se esperar, mais magro de fruta que o Poyeux e Bourg, mas ainda assim delicioso — 18 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Insane aromatic complexity. Elegant, nimble, red fruited, long and complex. No formal notes. — 43 minutes ago

Adam Beasley

9.2

What a treat. Great Chenin purity with laser focused acidity and a delicious warm bread and mineral quality. — a day ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.3

Chenin ❤️‘ s botrytis

Unlike anything I’ve had nor was it what I was expecting. After the first sip (or the first pour), I had to set aside all previous experiences with Savienniéres. I mean—just look at that color.

Do not mistake the browning for oxidation (Nicolas Joly makes this distinction clear on the back label and on his website). The wine is developed, and there are oxidative notes, but the fruit flavors are still there, ripe and vibrant.

This is distilled essence of Chenin Blanc right here. Green apple, pear, apricot, beeswax, honey and almond. A dominant honey note but not sweet. White pepper and maybe a hint of ginger. That lanolin note hasn’t completely disappeared, but takes a back seat. Imagine a dry Sauternes…

Nicolas Joly recommends decanting and drinking over several nights. I skipped the first part of that recommendation and am working on the second this week.

Ordinarily, I’m not sure Joly would approve of my choice of “glassware,” but under the circumstances (birthday + oysters + a perfect afternoon watching the ocean mist rolling in over Tomales Bay) I have to imagine he’d be 100% on board.

Not bad for an 882nd consecutive vintage! — 12 days ago