Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Eric Rodez spent his formative years at Krug. This is an 9th generation family that has 9 hectares of Grand Cru vines in the village of Ambonnay that are Chardonnay & Pinot Noir.. Their vineyards are certified biodynamic and utilize highly sustainable practices. Eric, his wife Martine and their son Mickael operate the Domaine.

It is a spectacular cuvée from the moment you raise the glass to your nose. It is almost hypnotic. You feel the evanescence twirl into your nostrils. Lime with skin, kiwi, green & golden apple, lemon, underripe pineapple, green melon, white peach, sea foam, chalk powder, caramel, frothy cream, vanillin, delicate volcanics, dry limestone, lightly yeasty bread dough, some dry twig to barrel dust, white, yellow & spring flowers framed in blooming jasmine.

The mousse is soft, elegant and rich. Ripe; lime with skin, kiwi, green & golden apple, lemon, underripe pineapple, green melon, white peach, sea foam to spray, nice salinity, chalk powder, caramel, frothy cream, sea fossil dust, vanillin, hues of butterscotch candy, dry volcanics bits, white spice w/ a hint of palate heat, dry limestone, lightly yeasty bread dough to baguette crust, some dry twig to barrel dust, beautiful, delicate but zesty acidity, white, yellow & spring flowers framed in blooming jasmine with balance & length for days, perfect tension & structure-not too much or too little with elegance & beauty that lasts two-minutes and lands on delicate minerality.

Some additional cellaring, 94.

Bottled Spring 2021. Launch2024. 100% Chardonnay.
Vintages in the blend: 2020 - 28%, 2019 - 14%, 2018 - 24%, Previous vintages - 34%. Vinification: 15% in tanks and 85% in barrels. Partial malolactic fermentation. Blended with 90% reserve wine that did not undergo malolactic fermentation. 1.5g dosage. — 19 days ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.1

Port City Hazy IPA.
Pours a deep gold w craggy head, though not that hazy unleas you twirl the bottle first. Classic tropical/guava aromas, balanced bitterness and satisfying malty palate. — 5 years ago

Willem Jan Withagen

9.0

A somewhat older chard. Serieus vanilla caramel coffee flavours. No fresh fruits. High in alcohol, bit peppery. Has not gone all butter/wax. Lots of finesses to enjoy. Even after a few minutes there are still some fragrances that twirl around in my mouth. — 6 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.2

A brilliantly adorned fine lady, draped, dressed casually yet spilling elegance where one might first be lured by her skin tones dripping burgundy and mysterious light-enhanced hues humorously then hauntingly holding insisting with her intoxicatingly spicy essence where each and every spin and twist insists that you pull her close embrace and taste each twirl each kiss each exchange deeper more sincere lasting dancing spinning gripping grabbing recklessly but gently casually slipping begging - do it again - whole lotta love - cheers🍷🌀🕶

PS all good stuff at PromiseLand Market (people, juice, food, groovy tunage, southern charm and local coastal vibe in quaint but sparkling Morehead City, NC. Don't miss it! — 9 years ago

Sophia Vandewater

9.0

Very berry and lush. Great casual wine to have for tv night! — 10 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.0

Dressed in garnet going purple a bit wispy with a slow spin and a rhythmic twirl, the light catches an interesting blue defining her rim, another spin, another twirl, face to face, her leather then her lace, her first kiss lingers then goes deep, spice enhanced earthiness black and blueberry, a hit of acid gives way to her tannic grip lingering, clinging as she slips, drags, then she releases over the edge - so I beg another pour, as the crazy-cool spot-on-proper tunage of Morehead City, North Carolina's Promise Land Market sings out songs some from now and some from then - check it out...
Skål! — 10 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.3

I opened this on my birthday (it seemed apropos). Like its big brother (sister/horse-er?), it is a St-Émilion Grand Cru…and I tried the 2021, which, omg, I feel bad I have committed so much wine infanticide in my life…this is good now but shows SO much promise for age-ousity (new wine adjective, adverb?) Made of 60% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. Blackberries, tobacco, slight violet notes and toasty cedar on the nose initially, heavy twirling teases out hints of red plum. The palate starts earthy, broadening across the mid-palate to reveal juicy, juicy cassis (red and black) and a touch of dried vines that reads as enriching, not drying—inching further towards perfume on the finish. The tannins are the melt-in-your-mouth type—they make themselves known and then relax. I loved this wine. Give it air if you open it now, lots of air and twirl it like it’s the belle of the ball, but ideally, give it a little more time. I’m not sure when it will peak, but it should continue to evolve favorably over the years. — 2 years ago

T M

9.0

Sweet but not too sweet, like it a lot — 4 years ago

Ross Fulton

9.2

Twirl around the beanstalk and don’t call me Shirley — 6 years ago

Kristen Rettig

9.7

Adore, tastes like a light bright, makes me happy, play some Jerimaqu, smile snap twirl ha! — 8 years ago

E. Bishop

9.2

This is a very interesting Bourdeaux blend. Dark purple red, with long legs on the twirl. Medium alcohol with nose that grows on sitting. Tobacco smoke nose with dried currants. Suede leather on the tongue with earth and dried smokey cherries. Semi dry mouth feel on the last with tannins that contributed to a nice rounded flavor. Was so tasty with my brisket raviolis. — 9 years ago

jams jerfy

9.4

blend with pineau d'aunis. reduction on the nose like my mom getting a perm in the late 70s when opened, but a little shake pour and twirl and it was perfect. also: new favorite place. — 9 years ago

with Christina

Tom Dare

9.1

Absolute soda pop, don't bother to smell, sip, taste, twirl..... Just down it and order another bottle! — 10 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.5

Sensuously deep, dark blood red, crimson against a dark violet and deeper blackberry juice that oozes, drips from freshly picked fruit squeezed between fingers offering the sort of memorable stain one keeps against well-oiled heart pine floors or worn proudly post a power twirl finding air over the rim settling nicely against a white linen barely buttoned shirt and suntanned skin (I wear this often). A twisting twirl and a deep nose hit after an aerated pour and 15 minutes of glass play reveals seductive, complex well-measured black and blue fruit nicely spiced not unlike a fruit-centric sugarless dessert in the oven sharing the ambient air space with a light chamomile tea. When it slips and slides through your lips its acidic brightness is challenged by its tannic grip slowing its pace as it gingerly feels its way like a first-new cave dive at night memorizing crooks and crannies as blackberry and black plum show their familiar selves against tinges of blueberry, hinting of anise and spice spelunking deeper, further with a mental Kodak moment that hangs, lingers and lulls. I deeply dig this fine wine (hear that with my slight southern accent; works better that way)...🍷🕶
#get some

PS best thing from my Ravenswood buds, in a while;plus, my highest rating, of late. Also, a home wine at 14.6%😎🌀 — 10 years ago

S.S. Mandani

9.2

Color: actually copper like, amber, orange like the setting sun

Aroma: light light apricot, a bit of brown sugar

Tasting Notes: super well balanced, honey, caramel, stone fruit (apricot)

Texture: slight twirl of tannins and acidity but in a nice congruence, a nice balance , bouncy texture, like drinking clouds of sunset — mouthwatering — 3 years ago

S.S. Mandani

9.4

Big pastry guy as you can see. This baby never stays empty.

The wine seller calls these grapes “happy grapes.”

Plummy, rich, dark, sweet like licorice and cedar. A forest perfume of pine.

They’re definitely happy because I’m happy. This is a succulent, rich wine. A lot to enjoy. A good rouse between tannins and acid on the palate, in a good way, like an entertaining joust, a rumble in the ring, or the bull and the toreador. This is the downs I imagine Hemingway drinking from the bottle at a spontaneous picnic on the Spanish countryside in his real life The Sun Also Rises.

Dry, but not leaving you puckered and wanting more, just the right balance with a creamy mouthfeel of silken roses to follow, lingering on the palate like the twirl of the toreador’s cape in the ring. — 3 years ago

Ross Fulton

9.6

This is more like it, a twirl and a twang away from perfection — 6 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.0

Road trips deserve respites. Beaufort, SC’s Old Bull Tavern spinning Marvin, Jimmi, and Stevie while casually offering up perfect garlicky oil bathed snails set upon crazy freshly baked chewy sour dough simply screams for, oh yeah, the wine. This fine Pomerol waits, wanting , her dangerously dark scarlet skin shimmers as she spins in the early evening tempted by the tunes revealing her marooning shades, darker bleeding berries, showing lighter in the wafting inconsistency of candle light. Another spin , a tilt, a voyeur’s gaze, a twirl, and a first kiss’ earthy wet spice on the front succumbs to plum its well-balanced acid clutches begging another spin, The I sip slow seductive deep kiss as she floods forward - I swallow, but she clings slowly, gradually, teetering touching sliding slowly, stealthy, soothingly, seductively signaling - have another hit... Don’t miss this wine or place, both picture perfect dripping southern edge and charm with a French accent and kiss🍷🌀 — 8 years ago

Dock Hooks

8.9

Kicking back letting the local tunes adjust my attitude with wine:30 showing on the clock she strolls in my direction digging the slow roll Hendrix spinning left then twisting right dressed in deep purple clinging and flowing interestingly crimson along her rim and edges back to casually claret whispering that she's from a small chateau hanging on the right bank of the Gironde near Arveyres. Offering her hand, I accept pulling her in close then a slow spin and a slower twirl she comes close bathed in the essence of blackberry and spice, young but ripe, wet earthy slowly working her way to a first kiss dripping then gripping, pulling tightly then going soft and silky still clinging while working her way deeper. I close my eyes, Hendrix stops and she's gone. A distant guitar string bends an unknown player. I spot her by the bar, her colors waving in the breeze of a lazy fan I reach out take her firmly by the neck, then lower bending her gently back then spinning her my way, she again engages, her essence lingering in my memory, we dance on as the tunes continue their spin. Later, when we are both done I figure she's likely a fine Merlot brightened by Cab Franc having found her way through new French oak nestled by the river, intelligently nuanced well worth the dance and cost is not an issue...

Hanging at Promise' Land Market where the tunes are always righteous, the people are cool, the conversation is groovy and wines dance from the walls... — 9 years ago

Eric Guido

9.5

How do you define a wine such as this? The descriptors could go on for a page, but what I believe truly defines the Occhio di Pernice is its contrasts of sweet versus savory, heavy versus weightless and it’s unbelievably long finish. The color is a dark amber, more like a long aged Balsamico, than Vin Santo. Twirl the glass and watch as this elixir slowly melts away from the edges. You can’t call these legs—as the wine coats the glass in a layer of dark maple that never truly goes away. I put my nose to the glass and find long-aged cherry Balsamico, raw honey, espresso, fig paste, brown sugar, caramel—I could keep going. On the palate, it has the weight of syrup, yet seems to become weightless as this coats the senses and saturates them with notes of toffee, fig, raisin and maple. Yet there’s a savory note here, like smoked meat with an intense minerality and hints of tannin. As for the finish, I was moved to blurt out the word “WOW”, as notes of coffee, dark chocolate, spice and dried cherry seemed to linger for well over a minute. — 10 years ago