Enjoyed while on vacation at Wild Dunes, Feb. ‘23…staring out at the ocean! Janet really liked this one. — 3 years ago
@Jason and Jennie in your neighborhood tonight before heading down to Bandon Dunes for four days of golf. Dropped by the storefront for Battle Creek. Nice Pinots and great people! Nose is really great on this. — 5 years ago
Wine to drink on top of sand dunes in the desert — 7 years ago
History goes back to the 17th century, one of the oldest chateau’s in the appellation, dating back to the 1600’s, when it was built by the Marquis de mons de Dunes. Mostly Merlot with intense berry fruit aromas and hot pepper spice. On the palate blackberry and blueberry fruit, almost jammy with oaky spice notes. Lingering with tight tannins ending a bit hot with pepper character and mineral tones. Good but needs more time. — 8 years ago
Herby grass nose. Sand dunes dryness and surf acidity. At Puffers of Pismo. — 9 years ago
2013 hoists this producer stratospherically. Great wine with integrated tannins. Meaty nose of cured and sliced roast beef and black pepper; tinged brown-brick from its 10 year slumber; cigar wrap, and roulade, graphite and smoke, and just barely, dried, black mushroom and rose petal. The palate is lush. Cherry soft, raspberry reduction, shows round but pronounced tannic dunes. Our tar is integrated, chicory peeks forth, the pepper submerged in a perfect expression of varietal and vintage. Solid work Arpatin (winks at Mother Nature)!
#2013 #barolo #piemonte #piedmont #barolo #nebbiolo #docg #alba #cuneo — 3 years ago
Good, crisp dry and clean — 5 years ago
100% Garnacha Blanca (white Grenache) from 60+ years-old vines rooted in “panal” soils (fossilized sand dunes). Barrel fermented and aged for 8 months in 500 liters French oak barrels. Elegant and complex with aromas of white fruit, apricot, orange rind, almonds and oak. Full-bodied. Peach. Mineral, somewhat saline. Long finish — 6 years ago
As someone who loves the minerality of a good Riesling, this was a very interesting red for me. Grown in the clay dunes between Sintra and the coast, this presents a soft mineral impression on the palette, but is still remarkably smoothe. A wonderful pairing with Thanksgiving dinner. — 8 years ago
Enjoyed at Wild Dunes, Feb.’23…staring out at the ocean. — 3 years ago
Reg Chablis, paired with sand dunes oysters from PEI. — 4 years ago
100% Garnacha blanca from a single plot in Gandesa, planted in the 1990s in panal (fossilized sand dunes) soils. Fermented in clay amphorae with indigenous yeasts and short skin maceration - just 5 days, as opposed to the estate’s other “brisat” wines, which macerate with their skins for 1-4 months. Aged in clay amphorae for 6 months. Aromas of tangerine, apple, white flowers and some herbal notes. Fresh, elegant, balanced. Good acidity. Long finish, with slightly bitter notes. — 5 years ago
A unicorn wine presents a unicorn experience. First, all hail the Ramisco varietal, explained to me as singular to this area of Portugal and soon to be extinct given the level of building development there. From the label: “the Colares wine región was defined in 1908. The vineyards are planted in the dunes between the hills of sintra and the Atlantic Ocean “. The nose alone is worth the price of admission: vibrates with intensity, red fruits, cut flowers. And this was after drinking an intensely vibrant Syrah by Herve Souhaut!
Taste is somewhere between a medium bodied Rioja and a deep Mercia from Ribera Sacra, minus any traces of barrel aging. Utterly seductive mouthfeel, not unctuous or cloying, almost chewy. An intense pitch of acidity higher up on the register ( hence the Ribera analogy). 38$ for a 500ml bottle. A reminder why sharing wines like these with your homeboys is the only way to live. — 6 years ago

Chris Buggy
No better brew for a morning at Old Mac…or an afternoon at Bandon Trails, or anything in between! — a year ago