Vanessa

9.5

Happy New Year’s Eve to you all! 🎉

To celebrate the holiday, we’re popping this special bottle of bubbles we’ve been eager to try. 😝

It’s Champagne Philipponnat’s 2004 vintage champagne made with 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay hailing from a single clos – Clos des Goisses – surrounded by a traditional stone wall in the Village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.  🍾

Talk about a singularity of place!  It was first produced as a single vineyard wine in 1935, a pioneering approach for a Champagne House in a land known for regional blending.

After fermentation, this wine aged on the lees for 10 YEARS in Philipponnat’s historic cellars in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ; a Premier Cru Village of the Grand Vallée de la Marne, located on the southerly flank of the Montagne de Reims, where Pinot Noir dominates like in the Grande Montagne.

Okay for the tasting note!  Wow. 🤯 It has pastry, brioche, nougat, and marzipan for days, next to toasted almond, lemon curd, white peach, baked yellow apple, dried chamomile, blossom, and wet slate notes. Despite its unequivocal richness, it has a spine of acidity lending balance and brightness.
 
Cheers to 2025; may it be filled with hope, health, joy, adventure, and amazing sips! 🍾🥂 — 22 days ago

with Deked1

Bob McDonald

9.0

Another memorable Port drunk at my 70th Birthday last weekend following the 1982 Reynella. This was not as full bodied as the Reynella tawny in colour. A top quality Tawny Port from the famous house of Quinta do Noval. Notes of toffee and walnut - quite sweet on the medium bodied + palate. Very savoury. Slightly preferred the Reynella for its full bodied flavour. The Quinta was more elegant. — 2 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.3

Impressive, Cranberry, touch volatile acid, cherry, juicy, lots of tannins. This is really good and reminds me of the Burghs in the old old days before they did get stylized. Biodynamic, 13%. — 2 months ago

Dawn E.

9.0

Zippy, quaffable, stone, and tropical fruits! Gooseberry, limestone, and fresh cut grass. Crisp and refreshing on a hot summer day.
WS gave this a 90, I will go with that — 7 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

The largest Champagne house in France, founded in 1743 by Claude Moët, blend of 41% Chardonnay, 38% Pinot Noir & 21% Pinot Meunier. Golden straw color with aromas of stone and citrus fruits with notes of nutty toast. On the palate flavors of apple and peach with lemony tones and floral notes. Great balance, good bubble bead flow and mousse, lively acidity, long finish ending with crisp toasty mineral tones. A Fav! — 2 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.3

A most beautiful ethereal Zinfandel that hearkens back to the old Napa Zins back in the 60s and 70s. A mixed black field blend of Zinfandel, Carignan, Petit Sirah. Vines were first planted in 1895, 1995 was the first vineyard (as John O didn’t care for any grapes other than Pinot Noir…) Barrels passed from from the Pinot Noir program. Aged for 18 months. Medium concentration. Pale bright ruby. Red crunchy cherry, white pepper, bread dough, blueberry pie, cedar, pencil shaving, hints of stony characters. Elevated acidity and medium-grained tannins. Med++ finish. I love how light it is on its feet and I would have never called it a Zinfandel if given in a blind tasting. — 2 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Pale lemon with aromas of stone and tropical fruits. Made from 40-year old vines, aged in 100% stainless steel. On the palate flavors of bright lemon citrus with crisp apple and peach notes. This medium-body wine has crisp acidity, good balance and nice mouthfeel, smooth long finish ending with creamy mineral texture. Very Nice! — 5 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. From magnum. Deep dark tawny color, opaque. Notes of cherry cola, earth, black fruit, gravel/stone, red cherries. Seems old, lacking tannin or acidity. My guess was an old Graves bottle from the 30s. This was fun to follow over the evening as it really blossomed in hours 7-9. — 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Bright scarlet color, mostly translucent. Red fruit, gravel stone, spice, dark earth, some tobacco and some leather. Fruit is somewhat faded but still present. I think the 85 LB is moving towards being past peak, but still delivers a nice old world experience. — 2 years ago

Shengli Hu

8.9

Visited the vineyards with Tim Mosher on a hot late summer day at noon - Sep 3 2022. Drove through and tasted berries from the OG ungrafted DRC vines, old and new Pinot Noir vines, Grenache, Syrah and Carignan vines. It was a blast.

Barrel fermented, 10 months aging on lees which were stirred once a week, full malo. Yearly contract with Pride Mountains for making wine. Since 1996. 13.2% abv. Yellow delicious apples and other stone fruits, hazelnut, stony characters, butterscotch, Brioche, lemon curd, yeasty sea salt, smoke and flint. A mix of new Francis Fevre medium toast barrels (they get 12 new barrels every year) and 1 year old barrels from Pride Mountains. Ever since 2016 elevage was down to 10 months (instead of 18 months) for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. — 2 years ago