Sipping Fine Wine

9.9

JV btw Ch Cheval Blanc & Terrazas De Los Andes, blend of Bordeaux "First Growth" winemaking in ARG, blend of Malbec (70%) & Cab Sauv (30%), aged about 14 months in oak (50% new, 90% French), great vintage, cooler year, deep Ruby, complex aromas of berry fruits & complex floral spicy nose. On the palate flavors, blueberry and juicy blackberry fruit with spicy herb, cacao & toasty oak. Fine soft tannins, well balanced, good acidity, long finish, almost creamy, ending with fruit & oak. Will continue to age well. — 10 months ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.7

Classic blend of CH, PN, PM, 1/3 each. 60+ months on the lees, disgorged Jan 2020.
This is complex & quite profound. Nose shows terrific tension between the lemon, lemon peel & kumquat and the toasted brioche with fresh hazelnuts & freshly made creme brûlée.
Lovely mouthfeel, v. creamy & quite rich yet impeccably balanced with electric acidity, super fine froth and a hint of minerality in the background. Great depth, purity and precision, but most of all, finesse.
This beats most Champagnes flat out.
A truly great wine! — 3 years ago

Matt

9.7

Absolutely smashing! Captures everything I love about Champagne: terroir, freshness and purity, lees and autolytic notes with a dollop of post disgorgement bottle age. Perfect harmony of reductive, oxidative, and tertiary elements coming together. At its lower atmospheres this gained a gorgeous vinous feel too it which had me thinking Batard Montrachet at times. Tangerine marmalade, succulent and ripe asian pear, poached apple, pineapple, spring honey, toasted hazelnut, sweet cream, brown butter, chalk, orchard blossoms, salt, brioche. 100 CH, 5.5 g/l, 9 years on lees, 4/2014 disgorgement — 4 years ago

Jeremiah Diaz

8.9

Medium straw color; smells like yellow apple and maybe jasmine on the nose; medium acidity; tastes like star fruit, saline, and a hint of butter with a long finish. I'm really enjoying the minerality. — 10 months ago

Willie Carter

8.9

An enchanting pale rose petal pink color in the glass. A fine perlage with plenty of small bubbles. A classic rosé nose with nice red fruits and a floral character. Black cherry dominate with cherry blossoms and wild strawberries. Fresh herbal aromas are underlying with hot buttered toast.

70/30 CH/PN from Grand Crus in Louvois, Bouzy, Avize, Cramant, and Chouilly, this has an impressive pedigree. Non vintage but a blend of a single year, this can withstand more time being left alone for a few years but it oh so pleasant right now. As much as I love the no or low dose champagnes, the 7 g/l is more than welcome here. Bright acid throughout.

There’s a definite intensity to the fruit on the palate. More of those nice red fruits occupy most of the attention here with a touch of chalky minerality. That familiar yeast makes a quick appearance backing up the herbs and spice. Immensely enjoyable. — 3 years ago

Keith Crump

9.0

2005 just across the road from Ch Palmer in Issan lots of Cabernet Sauvignon in a block of black fruits oak still on the palette, a strong wine will endeavour to keep my other bottles for a few more years either to relax or fall of a cliff — 4 years ago

Matt

9.1

Unique expression of CH given location and vintage. This has power and ripeness to a degree, but is able to maintain its balance in acidity and dosage, never feeling top-heavy. “Les Mottelettes” 100 CH 1/2015 disgorgement 5g/l dosage — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Located to the east of the village of Saint-Émilion, on one of the high points of the appellation and it extends over 20 hectares. Ch was promoted to "Saint-Emilion Grand cru classé" in 2006. A blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark Ruby with ripe fruit aromas & herb notes. On the palate black cherry & raspberry, currant-like, with tobacco & cacao notes. Dusty fine tannins, long finish ending with earthy mineral tones, drinking fine now! — 3 years ago

Matt

9.4

Powerful and dense, nicely juxtaposed by the racy chalkiness and snap of its acidity. Some post-disgorgement age has brought great balance and complexity. There’s ripe/baked apple, asian pear, orange peel, white strawberry, fresh dough, chalk, nutmeg, salt, some honey. Can clearly sense the 50/50 CH/PN and their respective terroirs. Kudos for purity given its low-to-no SO2 upbringing, which I find particularly hard to execute in Champagne. 5/2016 disgorgement. — 3 years ago

Ming L

9.3

Opulent and complex. Green apple, peach, a bit pipe apple, brioche, fresh bread dough, chalk, sea shells, and hint of toasted nuts. Savory and crisp at the same time. Splendid acidity. Super energetic mousse, though lacking a bit refinement.
Base wine is 2011, disgorged 2018. This and the Bollinger Special Cuvée are two of my favorite NV Champaign from larger houses. With 40% reserved wine averaged 10 year old, the CH Brut Reserve no doubt is a better value. — 4 years ago