Freddy R. Troya

9.3

Opalie de Château Coutet – 2023
Bordeaux Blanc Sec AOC – Barsac, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
From the legendary Château Coutet in Barsac, better known for its Sauternes-style sweet wines, comes this rare dry white. Crafted from 93% Sauvignon Blanc and 7% Sémillon, Opalie highlights Coutet’s limestone terroir and precision winemaking. A wine of elegance and aromatic complexity.

Aromas & Flavors
Yellow plum, white peach, and stony orchard fruit, lifted by citrus zest and a delicate floral note. A subtle smoky-mineral edge underscores its depth.

Mouthfeel
Crisp, bright, and aromatic with well-balanced acidity. Medium-bodied yet lively, finishing with a saline freshness that keeps it engaging sip after sip.

Food Pairings
Sole meunière, oysters, scallop carpaccio, Roast chicken with herbs, goat cheese tart, Asparagus risotto, Mediterranean mezze.

Verdict
A vivid, terroir-driven Bordeaux Blanc that offers both energy and refinement. Bordeaux dry whites often fly under the radar, Opalie is a fine reminder of their potential.

Did You Know?
Opalie is produced in very small quantities (just a few thousand bottles annually) and showcases the same vineyard plots used for Château Coutet’s Sauternes, but harvested early to preserve freshness instead of allowing botrytis. — 8 months ago

Angel A Santiago

9.4

Cabernet Cubin…beautiful color. Light but still jammy. Slightly dry. Stays on the front of your pallet and roof w/ serious cherry flavor. Can fly solo or pair w/ meats or ESP some chocolate. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

The very definition of velvet wrapped in an iron fist. It is singing on my palate.

This Dry Creek is better than the Select Terraces I’ve opened lately. Deep, black, ripe, ruby, currants, blackberries, black plum, plum, black raspberries, boysenberries, blue hues, dark cherries, crazy, deep, Indian spices, dark berry cola, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, vanilla, caramel, malt balls, fresh tobacco, used leather, tree bark w/ sap, steeped fruit tea, limestone, crushed risks, river stone, forest floor with dry leaves, dry herbaceous notes, endless rainbow of florals, beautiful acidity and well balanced, structure and tension that is tightly knit with finish for days.

Crazy, stupid, producer that continues to fly well below the radar. I am thankful it does.

This 2010 has 10 years plus of life left ahead. The best Ca Cabernet I’ve had in many years. Wine affects me differently than most but this wine is like a full body massage. Maybe, that is why I discovered my palate. — 3 years ago

Ryan Stewart

8.9

Rich amber color. Luscious red fruits, licorice, honey, and cardamom in the nose. Deeper flavors on the palate, with very rich mouthfeel and hints of light smoke. Luxurious finish. Nice to be tasting some Japanese whisky again after a dry spell in California! — 8 years ago

Roy Goble

9.4

Love the flavors. — 9 years ago

Karen Dickson

9.0

We had this on AMTRAK...what the what?!!! I may never fly again! Fruit forward on the nose and first sip with a lovely, dry finish. — 9 years ago

with John

Ryan Mullins

9.4

If you ever fly through Rome you should grab two bottles. Send one to me when you get back to the US and I will return the favor with a very silly bottle of wine — 10 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Opened in advance of service; enjoyed over the course of an hours. This bottle of the 1979 pours a garnet color with significant rim variation; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears and signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with a mix of tart, ripe and dried, red and black fruits: red and black currants, blackberries, mixed dried flowers, tobacco, some green pepper, leather, dry gravelly earth, and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. These old vintages of Spring Mountain fly under the radar and the 1979 vintage is simply special. This might outlive me. — a year ago

Abbas Zand

9.4

Dark red/purplish color.
Earthy, dusty cedary nose, dried red fruit, hint of herbs.
Medium/ full body. Good bit of tannins.
Dry, but not too dry. Long earthy fruity (blackberry, dark cherry, blueberry) finish.
Absolute knockout at $13 — 2 years ago

Ericsson

9.4

Very wrongful but very necessary pairing. Paul Hobbs Napa Cab with “on the fly” turkey avocado sandwich. Intense ruby color with cocoa, oak, tabaco, dark fruit, cassis and leather on the nose. The pallet is full bodied and dry with medium high tannings, medium acidity and high alcohol. It feels like simple elegance: naked fruit with only the basic oak cloak, and a hint of dark chocolate to accentuate it all. What can I say? This is drinking, necessarily, on point. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

A couple of months ago I ordered a bottle of Lebanese wine at a local wine bar. After reviewing it, the owner of the winery got in contact with me. He decided to fly down to Orlando to meet with me, and brought a couple of nice bottles for us to drink.

The first one is a GSM blend that shows black and red fruits, wood, earth, vegetables, tobacco leaf, spices, wet leaves, black tea, dark coffee and peppercorn.

Dry on the palate with medium acidity.

Nice length on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

Needs 45 minutes to open up properly, and show the tannins.

A blend of 55% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre and 15% Syrah. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points. — 6 years ago

Michael Mugmon

9.4

In Little River. — 9 years ago

with Amy

Matt Austin

Owner/Winemaker, Grosgrain Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA

9.1

This really grew on me over the course of the bottle. Reminded me a bit of a Gueuze. Some pet nats fail to hit the proper level of carbonation, but this was dead on. Totally dry with refreshing acidity. — 9 years ago

Tommy

9.2

Decanted for two hours. Berry flavor, dry and strong. Seemed a bit light in color and not so red. The flavor was really good after giving it some air. A fly even tried hard to jump in but did not succeed. I have one more bottle of this. Hope it lasts long enough in the cellar. — 10 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

I coravined some of the 97 early this week and as I sipped it, it was had not to think it was the best Jones Family I’ve had. A score of 98 and I have not given a wine 98 in a very long time. But no matter where you go, there you are.

Tonight I had the 01 at the “Tasting House” and it was amazing. Their Short Ribs are amongst the best I’ve had. A deliberate wine bring knowing the wine & how well it pairs w/ short ribs.

1997 was an outstanding vintage. I think we can all agree on that. Jones Family is a TRB wine that should not fly under the radar in any vintage and I have had nearly all those good vintages since 97.

The 1997 is ethereal. The nose is pure beauty. Perfectly ripe and resolved fruits. Blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums & juicy strawberries. Perfect baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, sandstone/limestone, fresh tobacco, cedar to sandalwood, dark, Indian/Asian spices, camphor, black licorice, berry cola, sun tea, volcanics, tree bark w/ hints of sap, dark & red fresh flowers.

The palate is incredibly, beautiful, balanced fruit & earth. Bright cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, hovering raspberries & juicy strawberries. Perfect baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, sandstone/limestone, beautiful Indian/Asian spices w/ some plate heat, fresh tobacco, sandalwood, volcanics & dry clay, camphor, dark chocolate baking bar, black licorice, some warm caramel, berry cola, sun tea, volcanics, dark rich soil with dry leaves, tree bark w/ hints of sap, fresh & dry herbs, dark & red fresh flowers framed in lavender & liquid violets, excellent acidity with perfect; elegance, tension, balance and structured finish that last minutes landing on fresh fruit, dark spices and earth tones.

I’ve posted other bottles of 97 Jones Family that were incredible, 95-96. This one perhaps had better storage, evolution & timing. Magic. — a year ago

Zack McDonald

9.1

Sky high dry… now fly. #birdman — 2 years ago

with Zorica

Scott Rowe

9.8

My wife’s birth year.
A Sunday treat in light of the current world situation.
COVID-19 can fly a kite.
Drink good wine incase it all turns to shit tomorrow.

The wine is freaking epic by the way. Another 10 years in it easily!! — 6 years ago

Brett Johnson

8.9

2017 Reserve. Medium straw color. Aromas of banana esters, melon, and slate. Taste peaks early with a long finish. Elements of gravel or clay. Deliciously dry. — 8 years ago

with Tom

Patrick Vanhoucke

9.0

LONGING FOR THE SOUTH

Yesterday I drank this very nice Macedonian semi-dry T'ga za Jug red wine.

The wine is made of the native grape variety Vranec. It has an intense red color, and the distinctive taste of raisins and raspberries, which make it a nice sweet treat (hence: semi-dry).

The wine is named after the poem ‘Taga za Yug’ of the Bulgarian poet Konstantin Miladinov (1830–1862), one of the Miladinov brothers, who originate from Ottoman Macedonia. Both brothers are thought to have laid the foundation of the Macedonian literary tradition.

‘Taga za Yug’ means ‘longing for the South’ (el anhelo por el Sur): "If I had an eagle's wings, I would rise and fly on them to our shores, to our own parts [...] Here are frost and snow and ashes, blizzards and harsh winds abound [...] There the sunrise warms the soul".

When it is cold outside, and fiercely raining, I can assure you that it makes you long for the sun that warms the soul. Drinking the T'ga za Jug wine in good company and nice surroundings makes for a wonderful or sometimes even better alternative.
— 9 years ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.0

Super dry, nice texture, a little tannic on the finish. — 10 years ago