I picked up 6 of these and 6 of the Palmer BdB last Fall and just polished off my last one of the Brut Reserve, as these come across as more accessible and less complex than their BdB sibling.
These champagnes are fairly new to the US (though not new across the pond), so I’m starting to see them more and more. This champagne reminds me of Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve “lite”. It pours golden in the glass with plenty of toasty/yeasty notes, alongside truffle honeycomb and sea salt. The palate trends more towards the rich side yet finishes lighter than expected. Some nougat, golden delicious apple, caramel and lemon pastry. Not the most complex champagne, but it’s enjoyable on its own and has been a solid everyday/house champagne the last 6-8 months. — 4 years ago
Este vino es una Co fermentacion de Tannat y Viognier. O sea ambos mostos fermentados juntos en El mismo tanque/barrica.. La nariz es un bofetón repasao..pero demasiada barrica nueva para mi gusto. Excelente fruta se puede apreciar la viognier..interesting — 2 years ago
Les Cassagnes de La Nerthe is produced in the Southern Rhône Valley in France by a property owned by the Richard family, who also manage the famed Château La Nerthe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The same team creates this elegant and fruit driven wine.
The wine is a blend of organic Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes grown in sandy and limestone soil containing shards of calcareous rocks, providing high quality natural filtration. The average age of the vines is over 40 years old. The vineyards are located at altitudes up to 600 feet above sea level. The gently undulating slopes produce high quality grapes that turn into fleshy and balanced wines. The grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted after arriving at the winery. The grapes are lightly crushed, and color and tannins are gently extracted with several daily pumping overs of the tanks. Co-fermentation of the three varieties occurs over a long maceration (3 to 4 weeks). The final blend is aged on fine lees in stainless steel tanks for 9 months before bottling. — 2 years ago
Burgundy 🇫🇷 is renowned for its Chardonnay, but did you know that Aligoté is the second most planted white grape in the region? 👀
Some of the finest Aligoté comes from ‘Bouzeron,’ an appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise region (north of Mâconnais, south of Côte d’Or).
In a land of Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, Bouzeron AOC is 100% dedicated to producing Aligoté 🙌🏻. In fact, it first became a legally-recognized AOC in 1998 thanks in part to the efforts of Aubert de Villaine, the winemaker behind this beautiful bottle. 👏🏻
Interestingly, Aubert is also a co-owner & co-Director of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) (and, as an aside, was on the tasting panel for the 1976 Judgement of Paris 😆)…
Yet, instead of devoting himself exclusively to DRC — one of the world’s most famous and prestigious estates — he and his wife, Pamela (a California native), were enchanted by the possibilities of Aligoté, and terroir of Bouzeron, where they put down roots through “Domaine de Villaine”.
This wine is Domaine de Villaine Bouzeron AOC (2019). It has a shimmering lemon robe and bouquet of white blossom, just-ripe white peach, yellow apple, pear, citrus, fennel, and wet slate notes. It’s remarkably fresh on the palate with mouth-watering acidity balancing the warm (14% ABV) and fruit-driven profile. It’s positively delicious!
We’re pairing it w/ pan-seared sea scallops, roasted asparagus, & lemon-herbed farro…
Cheers to nurturing the diversity of Burgundy in all of its splendor! 🥂
💙🤍♥️ — 2 years ago
Austin Blackwell
Nice earthiness to the aroma profile. Layers of bright and dark cherries co-mingle on the palate with hint of white pepper. Nice long finish. Aging well and fruit is still strong. — a year ago