David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Nice soft mousse body, yellow peach, tropical melons, pineapple, some lemon meringue, lime zest, slightly bitter apple cider, whipped cream, hard chalkiness, alluvial limestone, saline, sea fossils, bread crust, yeastiness, yellow florals, racey acidity, nicely balanced & structured with a finish that lasts 90 seconds.

Needs a few more years in bottle. — 4 days ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

It’s Miller time. Well…actually Billecart time. I like this more than I buy it. One of good cuvées easily found in 375ml.

The body creamy, layered, nice c02, bruised golden & green apple, ripe Bosc pear, pineapple flesh, tropical melons-mango driven, lime & lemon zest, cream soda, cream, white spice-ginger, bread, yeast, brioche, soft but grainy moist chalkiness, sea spray/fossils, slightly chard sourdough toast, wet/softened alluvial, limestone, wet river stone, notes of flintiness, yellow lilies, white orchids, fruit blossoms, jasmine, rainfall acidity, excellent balanced fruit & earth, tension, structure with a juicy two-minute polished finish that falls onto beautiful minerality.

BTW, home grown tomatoes with Companion Bakery wheat sourdough, lightly toasted w/ olive oil, burrata, Tondo balsamic (stunning), olive oil & fresh basil never gets old. — 6 months ago

David Kline

9.3

32 years and going strong. Chanterelle and porcini with earth notes and crushed cherries and baked plum. Palate of dried blackberries and alluvial strolls, black currant and smoke. Cedar-cinnamon-tobacco triumvirate. Gloriously strong and hearty.



#chateauleovillebarton #leovillebarton #saintjulien #bordeaux #leftbankbordeaux #cruclasséen1855 #cruclassé #deuxiemecru #1990 — a year ago

Delectable Wine

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9.3

Sourced from a single vineyard located at the bottom of Chinon's slope on alluvial/clay soils, the 2019 Chinon Les Grézeaux is currently a bit shy in terms of revealing its fruit flavors. It’s also a hint reductive with its smoky bacon characters, but that's unimportant. What matters is the core of fruit and excellent focus. It's very relaxed and fluid with mouthwatering acidity. The tannins are more serious than the front and midpalate would have suggested and betray a little grittiness. Aged 15 months in cement, this could be opened in one to two years, but the concentration and structure offer drinking over a decade. (Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, October 2021)
— 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

This is their 2002 Vintage Brut but the top of the bottle reads 250 ANS? Maybe, an anniversary bottling. I do seek out Veuve Clicquot as much of what I’ve tried from them hasn’t to my liking. There are simply producers I enjoy more at or under their price points. But, this was quite good & the best offering I've had from them. Enjoyed it. Better than all the vintages of Grande Dame I've had. Having said that, it is not on the same par as the 02 Rare and 02 Billecart.

It was showing the right spot to starting drinking it. More reductive than oxidative. Lively, fresh acidity. Citrus blend, some of both apples, a little white stone fruit, nice brioche, soft playful yeastiness, excellent fine chalkiness, alluvial limestone, spring flowers and well done, balanced, structured, tensioned, elegant and not overly polished finish that lasted 90 seconds.

Pour at the Saturday Pebble Beach Food & Wine walk around “From the Cellar” dinner — 17 days ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Dairyman Vineyard sits in the southern alluvial plains of the Russian River Valley near the ocean, a region where cooling fog comes in through the Petaluma Gap in the morning and once again in the evening. Bright Ruby, some purple edges, with aromas of ripe berries and baking spices. On the palate flavors of raspberry and black cherry with herb, cedar and cinnamon. Smooth fine tannins, medium+ finish with lively acidity, great structure, ending with fruit and cedar spice. A Fav! — 8 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.2

The 2020 Chinon Rosé is a very pure, dry, mid-weight that offers delicate raspberry notes, but this is as much about structure as it is about fruit. The flint soils contribute a slight phenolic texture and length to the finish. A serious food rosé, made with a blend of 50% flint and 50% alluvial soils, and hand-harvested and gently pressed. (Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, October 2021)
— 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Lovely. Spent sometime in neutral oak. Apple cider-green & dominate red, bruised pear, overripe pineapple juice, tropical melons, ginger ale, white cream, some overripe white peach, saline, sea fossils/spray, limestone alluvial minerals, bread dough, yeastiness, moist/wet chalkiness, yellow, white flowers, excellent, round, acidity, well; knitted, structured, nicely tensioned, balanced & evenly polished finished that lasts two-minutes. — 4 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Happy Anniversary Sofia. I miss you honey and will forever! Cortona calling. Cheers! 🍾🥂

I had this a few years ago and thought this needed another 3-4…apparently wasn’t wrong. Not as stellar as the 07. Starting come into its own. Golden apple, green apple, lime pulp, tropical melon, just ripe pineapple, ripe pear, vanillin, caramel, cream, sea spray, alluvial limestone minerals, beautiful mid grain chalkiness, brioche, baguette crust, nice, soft yeastiness, jasmine, yellow lilies, really nice acidity, well structured, balanced, delicious finish that lasts two-minutes. 🌹 — 7 months ago

Martinez

9.4

One of Usseglio’s top cuvées, Mon Aïeul (“my granddad”) is 100% Grenache from some of the estate’s oldest vines (about 85 years of age) in La Crau, La Guigasse and Les Grandes Serres lieux-dits – each with a different type of soil.

Situated on an elevated plateau to the east of the village, La Crau is perhaps Châteauneuf’s most famous cru, known for its distinctive “galets roulés”, large, rounded river stones deposited here by the Rhône millions of years ago. To the south of the village, Les Grandes Serres is a very warm site on gravelly alluvial soils (and the source of the estate’s biggest wine, the 18% ABV “Not for You”). La Guigasse, on the other hand, is a cooler, sandier site with hardly any galets located on the northeastern part of the appellation, near the famous Pignan and Rayas lieux-dits (Chateau Rayas)

Mostly unoaked, it was brought up in concrete vats, with 15-20% in demi-muids. Ruby red color. Intensely perfumed, with notes of red and dark fruit (strawberry, raspberry), licorice and herbs. Full-bodied, rich, opulent and concentrated. Ripe fruit (cherry) and white pepper, smooth and creamy on the palate. Long, velvety, quite tannic finish. Hedonistic wine. — a year ago