Seth Masterson

9.3

This 21 is really starting to get good. A deeply layered nose of spices and garigue and stewed fruits or maybe it's more fruit leather plus mushroom. It's got all that and more flowing out of the glass.
It sits high on the pallette - meaning you really need to slurp, suck and swish to get everything out of it. Fairly low acids, which I think is good because any more acid would mask the subtle flavors. Maybe a little restrained but it makes you want to come back for more and more.

*Footnote - I 'Coravined' 2 glasses from this bottle then came back 2 weeks later and 😲 did this really come alive! It has an energy and vibrance that wasn't there out of the sealed bottle. — a month ago

Doug Powers

9.7

Tight, backwards, and structured, dark berry, garrigue, deeply-flavored and very complex, long, lingering finish, drinking well now, but has the stuffing to easily go another 10-15 years, a great Vieux Donjon!! — a year ago

with Jim

Shay A

9.4

@Delectable Wine: This is the Sans Soufre Syrah. I didn’t see it in the database.

What a crazy wine. I had the pleasure of meeting Travis (a second time) in Seattle while I was traveling, and popped an Egly Ouriet Les Crayeres while we talked all things Kobayashi. He told me this 2020 was drinking great, so I had to see for myself.

Sans Soufre. Travis recommended an hour decant. He was spot on. After an hour, this came alive! So perfumed. Intoxicating aromatics. Deeply floral and bright fruit all over. Blue fruit, spiced pepper. Great weight to it. Very “pure”. It straddles Barossa Valley’s SamiOdi with the aromatics (rich and decadent black/blue/purple fruits) and channels more Cornas type of a vibe with its charcoal/savory mid palate. Has that distinct incense flavor that his Mizunara barrels impart, but I don’t think this wine touched those barrels.

Drank half from the decanter over two hours, then I corked it and had the second half the following day and it held strong/just as enjoyable. — 2 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Château de Fesles – La Chapelle Vieilles Vignes Chenin Sec 2010. Anjou, Loire Valley – France 🇫🇷

Overview
A limited-edition bottling from one of Anjou’s most historic estates, this Chenin Blanc comes from old vines (“vieilles vignes”) rooted in schist soils surrounding the chapel of the domaine. Château de Fesles is renowned for producing some of the Loire’s most age-worthy Chenins, and this 2010 shows just how gracefully the grape can evolve.

Aromas & Flavors
Complex layers of baked quince, dried apricot, acacia honey, chamomile, and lanolin, underpinned by beeswax and a mineral flintiness. Secondary notes of almond and brioche hint at its decade-plus of bottle age.

Mouthfeel
Dry (“sec”) yet textured, with a medium+ body, bright acidity still intact, and a long, savory finish. The balance between freshness and maturity is remarkable, showing both vitality and evolution.

Winemaking Notes
Fermented in oak and matured patiently, with low yields from old vines contributing depth and concentration. Loire Chenin’s natural high acidity is what makes wines like this so age-defiant.

Food Pairing
Perfect alongside roasted chicken with herbs, veal in cream sauce, or rich seafood like lobster and scallops. A natural match also for aged goat cheese (think Valençay or Crottin de Chavignol).

Verdict
A stunning example of aged Loire Chenin Blanc: vibrant, layered, and endlessly complex. Proof of why Anjou and Loire whites belong among the world’s most cellar-worthy wines. — a month ago

Matthew Lin

9.1

rounded fresh fruits, deeply tannic still. aniseed, pepper, like a cured sausage taste. light oak on the nose and on palate. clove. slightly mineralic, granite and graphite, fresh olive, orange rind. — 2 years ago

Vanessa

9.1

Yes to rosé made in every way!

Today, it’s rosé bubbles made into this vibrant pink hue thanks, in part, to the “saignée method.” A method that’s actually rooted in red winemaking; used to concentrate grape must before fermentation.

Saignée is the French word for “bleeding.” The method gets this name because, as the crushed black grapes are macerating – extracting color, tannins, aromas / flavors from the grape skins – a portion of the juice is “bled off” into a separate vessel for production of rosé wine. The original vessel, now with a greater skins-to-juice ratio, increases concentration during the remaining red-wine maceration.

As a result, Saignée method rosés tend to be a little deeper in color concentration and may adopt more of the aromas and flavors that come from the black grapes used to make them. Certain regions, like Champagne, are well known for producing rosés in this way.

Here we have a Drappier Rosé de Saignée Champagne (NV) made in a Brut style using Pinot Noir grapes. It is deliciously concentrated for a rosé, not just in color, but aromas and flavors of just ripe red cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, apple, pear, bread dough, and toasty notes. — 2 years ago

with Deked1

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Light ruby , bright pink rim . Little more reserved on the nose , with some spiced cherry , wild strawberry and herbal elements , touch of earthiness also . On the palate this has a bit more richness to it , and a little more tannin , slightly darker fruits , red cherry and some strawberry notes . Good balanced acidity and ok length . Touch of pepper , mineral hint on the finish . Drink from now over the next few years . At Vinous Icons NY, Pier 60 , Feb 2025 — 2 months ago

Adam Kincaid

9.4

Just an incredible 19 year old bottle with plenty of life left but drinking perfect tonight. Inky and dark purple. Raspberries and cherries, but with lots of dark fruit, spices, caramel, and gamey scents that develop more deeply when stirred and sipped. Elegant balance of tannins and fruit. Medium+ body. 5 min or longer finish. Robust but not overwhelming. — 6 months ago

with Jillian

Ericsson

9.5

This was truly an experience, the oldest CdP I’ve had. Deeply concentrated flavors with layers of complexity and a long finish. — 2 years ago

Richard Rosensweig

9.2

Other raters may have opened this baby too early. Now Clos St. J is deeply intense with blackberry, Garrigue and fennel. Very pure flavors. No alcohol burn at all. A real decadent pleasure. — 4 years ago