Vanessa

9.2

Here we have the Benoit Lahaye ‘Blanc de Noirs’ – a non-vintage white bubbly made with 100% Pinot Noir, representing a blend of two parcels in Bouzy (Vaux-Bétins & Raies Tortues), each contributing a unique personality to the cuvée.

Harking back to more traditional winemaking methods, it was barrel-fermented naturally & bottled without filtration.

It has a pale gold hue w/ expressive aromas & flavors of baked red apple, cider, raspberry, fruit cake, lemon curd, cherry blossom, toast, clove, cinnamon, pastry, almond paste, and nougat next to chiseled mineral & wet stone notes.

With an ‘extra brut’ dosage (5g of sugar/L), this wine is bone dry, with a fine-beaded, creamy mousse, that is nicely balanced by a racy acidity. It has a kinetic energy & persistent finish. It’s absolutely delicious.

Who ever said you can’t sip bubbles on a Monday night?

I believe every day is worth celebrating in one form or another. Plus, this counts as studying for our WSG Champagne Masters class. Also, it’s Eiffel Tower Day!!

Cheers. — a year ago

with Deked1

Winton Sweum

8.9

Medium gold; nose subdued by a bit of oxidation but showing mineral, wood and a touch of honey; just medium bodied with enough cider-apple fruit and mineral to balance the brightish acidity, and finishing slightly saline. Romo, why not? — 4 years ago

with Laura

GV

9.4

Henney's is a modern cider with roots only back to the 1990s, but they very much make their drinks using g traditional methods of pressing the fruit and using local Herefordshire apples.

This is a delightful amber coloured cider with good apples aromas that show it is real cider with real apples. It is a [very] moreish medium sweet taste with the apples, a little caramel and just enough tartness to make this a real summer stunner.

Adam and Eve may have got in trouble with an apple but Henney's are the Gods of cider. — 4 years ago

Allison Lyzenga

9.2

Medium gold; medium intensity aromas of yellow apple, apple skin, subtle cider, yellow plum, firm apricot, baking spices, almond; dry, high acid, medium alcohol, medium plus body, medium plus intensity flavors consistent with aromas; medium plus finish, very complex and concentrated, well balanced, an outstanding wine — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Dark gold. Heavy like oil in the glass. At open this has an oxidative nose with a heavy dose of apple cider. But the first taste revealed a massive core of fruit with a lot of acidity. Thus with air this opened up to reveal a powerful and rich wine. Notes of ripe apples, uncut lemons, beeswax, stones and tan spice. Some heat suggests this has a fair amount of alcohol too. I liked this but was alone amongst the family in that assessment. I would say drink these up sooner rather than later but it depends how you like your aged white Rhône. — 6 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.2

Gold color, medium+ viscosity and medium intensity. Oxidation and Botrytis on the nose: blue cheese, mousy, cider, bruised apple and baked pear, volcanic ash/smoke, red plum, flinty chalky minerality. Fruit went tart on palate, green apple, green pineapple, green mango, still honey saffron wasabi. Dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol, long finish. — 6 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.0

Rkatsiteli is an old grape. Extremely old. It’s mainspring was Georgia and is worth knowing just how flexible and “survivable” these vines have been.
Here’s a cherry that O found on Wiki:
“This ancient vinifera originates in Georgia and is one of the oldest grape varieties.[1] In Georgia, clay vessels were found with seeds of Rkatsiteli grapes which date back to 3000 BC.”

The color is a lemony bit of gold. The nose is bright and laced with melon and touches of peach. The body is a rush of refreshing acidity that round out on the palate in a “zesty fashion” which stamps those refreshing flavors in the back of your mind. — 7 years ago

with Beth

Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Blend of Pinot Noir (66%), Chardonnay (35%) and Meunier (3%) Medium gold color. Aromas and flavors of citrus, apple cider, ripe pear, white flowers and freshly baked bread. Touch of oxidation. Large amount of soft mousse and consistent bubbles. Fruit forward and well structured. So light, crisp and refreshing. Cheers to Baby Amelia!!! — 2 years ago

Tom Garland

9.2

From mag

Pop and pour. A wondrous medium gold color. On the nose: Asian pear, oyster shells, lemon, floral, toasted nuts. Taste: great creamy-chalky mouthfeel with lemon, minerals, tart green apple, honey, cider. YUM! Still delicious at 27 years. — 3 years ago

with Brenda

Gene Buonviri

9.1

Born in Croatia, made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, which sourced a journey to New England in 1829. In the true American spirit, Zinfandel found it’s home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849.
This Dessert Wine is bold, lots of spice with a light peppery finish, rich smooth and jammy.
— 4 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.2

From one of my child's birth years. Labelled as Pinot Noir Color is a medium light gold. Super classic nose; brioche, yeasty bread, toasted nuts. Wife calls cider (oxidative notes?). Paired with prawns persillade, buerre noisette scallops and wild harvested cocktail prawns and handful of tiny fish.
Exquisite balance, great depth of flavor and seemingly more life than the other club 2012 I bought for the cellar. — 4 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of bubbly saturate gold. Nose of ripe sweet pineapple, apple, a bit salty mineral, some spice, Sprite, and oak. Nose is pretty good. Taste of sweet apple cider, pine apple, roasted nuts, hint of mineral, and a bit tinkling spice. Quite sweet yet flavorful. Aftertaste shows some more alcohol strength. Pretty good — 6 years ago

Chris Wheaton

9.3

Number 14. Really seems ageless. Still quite sweet, gold color, apple cider and pear. Will certainly live longer than the cork (which is also in good condition) — 6 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.4

My #3000 on Delectable...! 🥳

Liquid gold in the glass with wonderful cupreous hints shimmering through.
Really harmonious on nose and palate, showing complex and heartwarming notes of apricotpie, honey,, warm custard, cider, baked pineapple, and deep mysterious floral notes like honeysuckle and saffron.
Low acidity, soft and versatile.
Beautiful! — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.2

I’m between a 92-93 here. Second time with this champagne in the last year and it has stayed consistently delicious.

Slightly older disgorgement at July 2021. 100% Pinot noir. Extra year aging and fermentation in used barriques compared to all stainless for the Resonance cuvée.

Almost 6yrs on the lees and it shows with a leesy character alongside rich power (which can be hard to do with zero dosage champagnes, but the vintage and style help). Gold tinged in the glass. Spiced cider, oyster shell aromatically before a honeycrisp red apple, cranberry, red and black berry fruit and a mineral/limestone finish. I’d love to try this disgorgement a few years down the line, as I think it would be doing even better.

Happy Thanksgiving. — 3 years ago

Teresa Stepp

9.2

April 2023 WOTM — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Medium to dark gold. Nice weight. Old/leesy nose with notes of apricot, bruised apple, pineapple, apple cider. Muted acidity at first. But with 6 hours of air the zing of acidity powers up. I'm in the "it's not chardonnay" camp. After going through a mental list of "what it's not" I arrive at a guess of 95 Chave Blanc. This got better through the day. Surprisingly good for the hot vintage. — 4 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.0

Old-time-y, gold rush type label. Dark color like a Bing cherry. Aromas of barnyards and berries. Maybe a bit of old wood. Flavors are nice and true to the type. — 4 years ago

Willie Carter

9.1

Consistent excellence. Pure gold in the glass with a creamy mousse and a ton of tiny, fine bubbles. On the intoxicating nose you’ll find some smoke, apple cider, and orange peel. Tasty honey and apricots make their presence known here. Just hints of the yeast and toasted nuts for now but will be more present as time goes on. Oak, dark fruit, and some really lively violets top this off.

So much richer and more voluptuous than most similar offerings, Bollinger always stands out from the pack. Quite the vivacious champagne, this is full of life and full of power. Muscular in nature but still has more than enough finesse with a velvety mouthfeel. The complexity and depth is definitely a step above, due to the amount of reserve wines used in the blend.

The palate pleases with chalk, apple pie, and lemon rind. More orange and the thought of warm biscuits to go with baking spices and pears. Long finish featuring spice and cream. How many other entry level bottles from the other big champagne houses can compare? Excellent champagne, a beautiful journey. — 6 years ago

Damon Kornhauser

9.2

Long forgotten in some backwoods Colorado wine shop's mini-fridge, and procured for about half of market rate after 15 years of bespoke provenance rolling through alpine summers and frigid winters. The fresh flavors long having evolved... euphemistically "matured" into deep nutty butterscotch and aged gouda and pear cider on the palate, and a deep gold on the eyes. In all honesty, this Phoenix like anomaly pairs extraordinarily with an aperitivi of parm and salumi after a day's cross country skiing in single digit mountain air. — 7 years ago