Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Medium lemon colour , white bright for its age . Quite reserved on the nose at first , with some lanolin , wet wool, wax , honied orange peel , touch of herbal spice . On the palate this is slightly rounder than expected , with lemon peel , hints of orange , honey and spiced apricot . Good acidity , balanced alcohol , quite textural . Medium length , slightly toasty , lightly honied lemon rind finish . Does feel like it has semillon in the blend , though it does not . Showing well still , this is at peak , though I wouldn’t leave it too much longer . A really good showing . — 9 months ago

Peter Sultan

9.3

Much more subtle than I anticipated & compared to Chidaine, Huet,etc. Probably a bit closed & can use a decant at this stage. All kinds of pulverized shells & a low key minerality, long & lean in terms of texture. No wool or wax here. White flowers, Asian pear, & I want to say raw yellow zucchini ( though I may regret that). All kinds of complexity to taste. A ‘contemplative’ rather than a race horse wine-& hope my homeboy will hang onto his others so we can taste what age will do. Opened during an exhilarating Knicks win. — 3 years ago

with Owen

Boris

9.5

Expressive bouquet: flowers, strawberry, chocolate, fig, animal farm, mushrooms, wet wool and vanilla. Well balanced, good acidity, evolving taste. Flavours of milk chocolate with wild strawberry and sweet tobacco in the finish. Quaffable wine with persistent aftertaste. Great wine.

Tasted on 2021-08-26 — 5 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.4

This wine really opened up since my last try 2 years ago!
Lemoncurd, white pepper, sereh, ginger, saffron, vanilla, oak and a lovely savory note of wet wool and seaweed. Unusual concentration and creaminess for an albarino. But.... Variety typical acidity - bracing, electric and refreshing - is available in spades.
Terrific wine and a great pairing with a classic carbonara and asparagus...! — 5 years ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.0

Lilly of the valley. Ripe pear, apricot and melon. Wet stone. That signature Chenin metallic note (typically referred to as “wet wool”, but that sounds drab and unappetizing, so I prefer to call it “Golden Fleece”.) Richly textured and vivacious. A touch of yuzu on the finish. From 40+ year old bush vines in Swartland. A nice treat & an incredible value.
— 6 years ago

P. Ivan Love

8.9

Vintage 2017. Purple and dense in colour. Plums, cherries, blueberries, violets, vanilla and wool mittens.
Fresh acidity, low in tannins and a rather short finish. Youthful and interesting. Very much a red version of what you find in a vinho verde — 8 years ago

Jay Svoboda

8.9

At some point I’m going to have to spring for a higher end Guigal, because I think the entry level stuff is so solid. For the first time in my wine drinking I can honestly say I got lanolin (wet wool) on the nose - interesting, but not unpleasant. While a solid Rhône red might age well, this ‘12 was drinking spot on - spread the bottle out over three days and it never fell off. Definite cran-raspberry dominated flavors, with organic earth and herbs rounding out the palette. — 8 years ago

Kishan Tsang

9.8

Just opened up another 2021 (have a few left in the collection after tasting this in SA). On the nose stone fruit, with a hint of flint. Taste: amazing texture and length, freshness, minerality and some wet wool, lanolin and hints of anise. I’d say perfect time to drink the 2021!

Pairing: Grilled octopus and saffron risotto — a year ago

Tyler Adam Smith

8.9

Smells like: steel wool, lime sorbet, whey, and rain on a tin roof.
Tastes like: white peonies, Cala Cala pith, caramelized pear, electric
Good for: flashback and flash forward scenes in movies about technology, rapini and anchovy with polenta. — 2 years ago

David Kline

9.4

Loveliest of mushroom-violet, saddle leather and fresh wool, dark legume, black olive, cool licorice notes and lavender. A graphite tip made of concentrated grape; a fig parchment carefully folded over smoke. Outstanding nose.
Tobacco flaking blackly over licks of flame, chicory, black licorice, cloves and black olives dance and darken to blackberry, charred elm and black pastry. Biomass folding in crystalline-spiked, smoky, charred cedar. Burnt cinnamon and peek-a-boo plum. Loamy and dense earth that encapsulates. Great wine to grow on!


#stemiliongrandcru #rightbankbordeaux #bordeaux #bordeauxgrandcru #bordeauxrouge #closlamadeleine #2010 #2010bordeaux #saintemilion #misenbouteilleálapropriéte #appellationsaintemiliongrandcrucontrolée — 4 years ago

Taylor Coil

9.6

Incredible, fragrant nose - sandalwood and bursting with black currant, maybe some black tea in there, too. Dry mouthfeel, like wool socks that were kept in a wooden drawer all season and then somehow got left out in the rain. — 5 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.4

Light golden colour. Very seductive and perfumed on the nose. Expansive and mouthfilling, Spicy (like ginger, cardamom and preserved lemons) and deeply fruited (tangerines, red apples, pineapple and apricots). Accents of gasoline and wet wool. Magnificant acidity!!
Terrific wine, nearly baroque in presentation, and a fabulous kabinett.
APnr: 04-11 — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

@Delectable this is their 18 Chenin Blanc. Just their regular Chenin.

The nose reveals; wet wool, Meyer lemon, pineapple, white peach, tropical melon blend, grapefruit with a touch of sugar, light cream & buttery notes, mixed greens, honey notes, touch of vanillin, delicate powdery chalkiness and minerality with yellow and white fresh flowers.

The body is medium, delicately soft, creamy and beautiful. A touch of wet wool (less than the nose), Meyer lemon, pineapple, white peach, tropical melon blend, grapefruit with a touch of sugar, light cream & buttery notes, mixed greens, honey notes, touch of vanillin, light white spice, delicate powdery chalkiness and minerality with yellow and white fresh flowers. The acidity excellent. The finish is as balanced as it can be. It’s exquisiteness defined. Light rich, ripe and well polished.

Photos of; the entrance to Reyneke, tasting room lounge area, ancient stone tools found in their vineyards and their beautiful mountain view from their Cellar Door. — 7 years ago

Neal Schaffer

8.9

Lemon, apricot, almond, tiramisu, and chalk dust. There is a distinct wool note that shows up in the finish. Love it. — 8 years ago

with Christy and Dana

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2020 vintage. Popped and poured. Unexpected levels of color. A bit of wool/lanolin in the high nose mixed with a youthful, Côte-Rôtie styled, spicy meat endeavor with flechettes of sulphur, cinnamon and really dark plum thrown into the mix. Buttressed by some toasty oak. Def intriguing. Tannic presence mid and finishing palates with a pleasant cache of richness front palate. Drinking nicely now but would love to stash a case or two and sample a bottle every six months or so. 7.10.24. — 2 years ago

Mark Eastom

9.3

Amazing. Honey, waxy, almost abrasive fresh flowers (in an amazing way) hay, wet wool, mandarin orange, spice, medium plus bodied and unbelievable acidity. WOW. — 3 years ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.1

Visits with my dad mean Turley. Baked raspberry and blackberry. Cocoa butter. Brambley things. Black pepper. Licorice. Cloves and other baking spices. A splash of orange rind/zest (like an earl grey/ bergamot thing on the back palate) like mulled wine. Per other commenters, port-like (16.2%!), but balanced with great acid and the perfect wine for a chilly Jersey November evening as this Californian acclimates to wearing her winter wool coat again for the first time in 18 months… — 5 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.1

🏅 Rating 91+/100 (4,15⭐)

Deep ruby color. Reminds of Barolo with sweet dried rose, but the tannins are not so grippy. Wool. Presence of wood. Fruit is ripe and sweet.
Elevated acidity. Overall leaves the impression of a serious wine in classic Burgundian style.

My notes are consistent over the other vintages I have tasted.

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Instagram: @wine_talks_club — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Raats was an interesting visit from all our others. Raats is considered a small producer in the 8th ranked wine producing country in the world.

Raats buys the majority of their fruit. The vines around their tasting room, they work but, do not own. They produce their wines at another producer’s facility. It’s a daunting expense starting a Cellar Door or Winery. Custom wine crush facilities are a trend not just in Napa but, other parts of the world as well. In this particular case, it saves the owner enough money to drive the very nice cars parked outside their tasting room, one a Ferrari.

This is their no wood/oak Chenin Blanc.

The nose shows; soft tones of wet wool, peach, white, lemon, dry green herbs, grapefruit, chalkiness, volcanic minerals & yellow flowers.

The body is round, full and beautiful. Soft wet wool, peach, white, green melon, a little sour lemon, dry green herbs, grapefruit, chalkiness, palate pressing medium intensity volcanic minerals & yellow flowers. Nice round acidity and a well balanced, polished finish.

Photos of; the view from their tasting room, lots of beautiful original artworks from famous local artists...a few of them the Uncle of our host, examples of some of the soil structures around their tasting room vines and their upstairs tasting room.
— 7 years ago

Mark Eastom

9.2

So good.. all you can ask for in a Chenin. Full round fruit notes, waxy, wet wool, big while being soft and light, with screaming acidity. Really opened up with a bit of time. Thanks Doug! — 8 years ago

with Douglas