Anne Richardson

8.9

Flavor-full California red blend. Opens up quickly and pairs well with many foods. Flavors of blackberry, dark cherry and plum. — 6 months ago

Rebecca Fletcher

9.4

Apricot and honey. M+ acid and body. Balanced. Fresh and lively. Will be fantastic with blue cheese or any dessert. — 8 years ago

Rebecca Fletcher

8.9

2015 vintage. Lemon/lime, green apple, peach and minerality. M acid. M- body. A bit creamy, minerality. Refreshing and balanced. — 8 years ago

Aimee Sunseri

9.0

Amazing! America's first Moschofilero! Turned out sooo good. Can't wait for next harvest. — 9 years ago

Anne Richardson

9.0

A very pleasant Syrah! Not as peppery as some, but with enough spicy notes to retain its character. Notes of cherry, pepper and a smidge earthy. — 9 months ago

Rebecca Fletcher

9.0

Wine produced by carbonic maceration. Red cherry, strawberry, pomegranate and a hint of juicy fruit. M+ acid. M- body and tannin. Balanced. This is a fun wine that would go well with Thanksgiving dinner. — 8 years ago

Mike the Wine Guy

9.1

Barbera is becoming one if the most popular wines in California, and this one will show you why. Beautiful ruby color, cherry & light oak, smooth with a lingering soft finish. A Great example of the definition of "Balanced". — 8 years ago

Aimee Sunseri

9.0

America's first Assyrtiko! Shared with a group of Santorinian producers in San Francisco. Love this grape! Love Santorini! #assyrtiko #newclairvaux #aimee — 9 years ago

Caleb LaFrance

9.7

Love me some desert wine from these guys! — 6 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

For those of you who aren’t familiar with champagne made in the Saignee (sohn-yay) method. Here is Readers Digest version.

Saignée means “to bleed.” Saignée is one of the methods of making rosé wines, along with blending white and red wine (this is the method used to for rosé Champagne), along with a simply macerating (allowing contact with skins to leech out color and flavor) the wine with the skins for a short period of time. This can be as short as two hours and sometimes a little longer depending on the style of the Winemaker.

The nose reveals dark, ripe; black cherries, strawberries, cherries, summertime watermelon & raspberries, Cream, hints of bubble gum, saline, sea fossils, soft understated chalkiness, volcanic minerals, wafting vanillin, pink rose petals and spring flowers.

The palate is rich, lush, creamy with nice mousse. It’s very well balanced and has beautiful length. There is ripe; black cherries, strawberries, cherries, summertime watermelon, pink grapefruit, tangerine & raspberries, Cream, hints of bubble gum, saline, sea fossils, slivered almonds, brioche, chalkiness that starts soft but, penetrates the palate deeply & with some heat, dark medium spice, volcanic minerals, vanillin, lanolin characteristic, pink rose petals and spring flowers. The acidity is round and near perfection. The long, rich, elegant, well polished finish carries on for minutes. Quite nice and a steal at Costco for just under $40. Elsewhere, $50 plus.

Photos of, the House of Drappier, shot of their caves, Owner Michel Drappier & one of their vineyards.

Producer notes and history...Drappier’s story begins in 1803, Francois Drappier, descendant of a Reims family of cloth merchants and lawyers, settled in Urville next to an annex to the abbey of Clairvaux, and began working a vineyard in the area which today extends over 55 hectares.

The Drappier family sold the grapes to the great champagne houses of Reims and Epernay for more than a century.

In 1930, Georges Collot, the maternal grandfather of Michel, the current owner, decided to pull up the traditional Aube Gamay, and replant the vineyards with Pinot Noir, focusing on quality instead of quantity. Known has “Father Pinot”, Collot was essentially the driving force behind Drappier’s Pinot Noir heavy style.

After the Second World War, the Drappiers started to expand the business and had acquired the cellars that were located in the annex to the abbey of Clairvaux that remained intact through the years. The former abbey’s cellar was far enough from the front lines to go through both world wars unscathed, preserving the history of winemaking on the distinct limestone soils of the Aube.

In 1952, Andre and Micheline Drappier, Michel’s parents, launch the Carte d’Or cuvee, with its distinctive yellow label. The Drappier house is now run by seventh generation Michel Drappier, and consists of 55 of their own hectares, 50 rented hectares, and 30% of the grapes brought in. The vineyard holdings are dominant in Pinot Noir.

Drappier owns a total of 55 hectares in Aube. Overall, the proportions of vineyards planted are dominant with Pinot Noir 80%, with 12% Chardonnay, a small 7% Pinot Meunier, and an even smaller 1% of ancient varieties such as Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbanne.

Currently, 15 hectares are accredited organic since the harvest of 2014. Michel Drappier and his team have been cultivating the estate sustainably for years, and worked on the accreditation for 7 years. It’s one of the largest accredited organic estates in Champagne.

The rest of the Drappier’s estate, composed of 42 hectares, is cultivated with sustainable methods. No preventive treatments, soil management (grass, compost), use horses for plowing. — 6 years ago

with James and Christina