A stunning champagne Charlie that is still vibrant , complex with lots of bread dough , mineral , ripe apple with incredibly fine bubbles . The bottle was pretty beat up but when the cork gave us a big pop we were quite relived and very impressed . 1979 is one of my favorite vintages . Legendary bubbles ! — 7 days ago
Nose has toasted brioche, grilled lemon, warm lemon creme, lemon zest, oxidized pear slice and fresh, rising bread dough.
Palate has lemon poundcake, cold toast, limestone chips, dried lemon slice and (light) candied orange.
Great mid-palate, a restrained richness is all elegance, acid balance is perfect and not pulling you one way or another. At 15 years past vintage, a great example of finesse in Champagne.
An aptly titled, solid bottle to begin our Valentine's Day 2020 afternoon. — 22 days ago
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. — 11 days ago
“I am not drinking any f#<k*ng Merlot!”
OK go figure, easy drinking wine BUT has surprises. On swirl: rose petal red & thick legs. On nose: Strawberry field near the ocean in time converts to deep Raspberry with hints on baked crumble spices. On taste: Abundance of Strawberry then surprise! Tingling in mouth of cola characteristics followed by hints of oak, leather & ends satisfying length of chocolate syrup. This may sound like a teenager loose in the kitchen but it worked with savoury roast beef🍷 — 4 days ago
Classy single vineyard Syrah. I assumed this would be an opaque, full bodied monster, but it was pleasantly balanced and closer to medium. Expensive oak was the star, but not in an off putting way - with 7 years and a four hour decant softening the barrel influence. Tasty and well crafted, unfortunately the Royal City’s price almost doubled once it became the first Syrah in Washington to receive 100 points in 2006. $130 — 11 days ago
This is powerful Syrah with a lot going on. More concentrated and tannic than many of the other Smith Syrah offerings I’ve encountered. Game, black pepper, violets, camphor, cocoa, coffee, and wild berries all leap from the glass. This wants lamb or a rib roast. Considering the price difference I think I prefer this to the Royal City. Well made wine. — a day ago
Mario Vaillancourt
The nose is very nice, red fruits, spices a bit. The palate is fresh and balanced between a nice vivid acidity and fine grained tannins, the fruit is pure, precise and gorgeous. Not the most powerful and concentrated but always fresh and delicious.
Nez qui pinote, aromatique et sur les fruits rouges, des épices aussi. La bouche est équilibrée entre des tannins de grains fins et assez souples, belle acidité et un fruité pur et irrésistible, frais et savoureux. Pas le vin le plus puissant et le plus concentré, mais délicieux. 90-91
— 2 days ago