French Wine
Domaine Philippe Alliet Chinon Vieilles Vignes 2021
"Crafted from old vines (70 to 80 years old) on clay, gravelly soils, the 2021 Chinon Vieilles Vignes is instantly brilliant in the glass. Despite a slight reduction, it offers up aromas of blueberries, cassis, flowers, violet, rose petals and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, layered and structured, it’s seamless and enveloping with powdery tannins and delicate notes of violet and blueberries on the finish. It's approachable now but also built to evolve with grace." - Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2015
Champagne Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs 2015, "After the pillowy, chiseled 2013, Pol Roger's 2015 Brut Blanc de Blancs is cut from richer, broader cloth. Offering up aromas of crisp golden orchard fruit, white flowers and subtle hints of warm biscuits, it's full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a fleshy core of fruit, lively acids and a precise, chalky finish. In style, it's reminiscent of a somewhat more sun-kissed version of the 2012 rendition." - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé Nuances 2020
"Its delicately iridescent, rather deep colour keeps its promise: on the nose, it's an elegant explosion of red fruit, Morello cherry, redcurrant, refreshed by notes of citrus, grass and mint. On the palate, this fine, delicate, full-bodied wine reveals a fine, full-bodied and particularly delicious world. The young finish needs just a few months to lengthen and leave the sapid sensation that traditionally characterises this wine." - Winemaker's notes
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé 2022 Magnum
"The citrusy, mentholated 2022 Bandol Rosé was crafted with a blend of 65% Mourvèdre and 35% Cinsault and matured six months in barrels. It displays aromas of pomegranate, citrus, spring flowers, iodine, jasmine and crushed stones, followed by a beautifully defined texture, a fleshy core of fruit and racy acids that underpin a delicate, well-delineated and calcareous finish. It's going to drink nicely in its youth, but I suspect it will also age gracefully over the next 2-5 years. Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé 2022
"The citrusy, mentholated 2022 Bandol Rosé was crafted with a blend of 65% Mourvèdre and 35% Cinsault and matured six months in barrels. It displays aromas of pomegranate, citrus, spring flowers, iodine, jasmine and crushed stones, followed by a beautifully defined texture, a fleshy core of fruit and racy acids that underpin a delicate, well-delineated and calcareous finish. It's going to drink nicely in its youth, but I suspect it will also age gracefully over the next 2-5 years. Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Lanson Le Black – Création Brut Non-Vintage
Champagne Lanson Le Black Label Brut Non-Vintage – “The latest release of Lanson’s NV Brut Black Label is showing well, offering up aromas of warm biscuits, crisp orchard fruit, dried citrus rind and toasted brioche. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and crisp but fleshy, with the house’s non-malo style tempered by a generous core of fruit, concluding with a long, chalky finish. This is a very creditable non-vintage cuvée that has the cut and structure to evolve in the cellar.”- William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Lanson Le Black – Création Brut Non-Vintage Magnum
Champagne Lanson Le Black Label Brut Non-Vintage – “The latest release of Lanson’s NV Brut Black Label is showing well, offering up aromas of warm biscuits, crisp orchard fruit, dried citrus rind and toasted brioche. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and crisp but fleshy, with the house’s non-malo style tempered by a generous core of fruit, concluding with a long, chalky finish. This is a very creditable non-vintage cuvée that has the cut and structure to evolve in the cellar.”- William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Lanson Le Black – Création Brut Non-Vintage Jeroboam
Champagne Lanson Le Black Label Brut Non-Vintage – “The latest release of Lanson’s NV Brut Black Label is showing well, offering up aromas of warm biscuits, crisp orchard fruit, dried citrus rind and toasted brioche. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and crisp but fleshy, with the house’s non-malo style tempered by a generous core of fruit, concluding with a long, chalky finish. This is a very creditable non-vintage cuvée that has the cut and structure to evolve in the cellar.”- William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Lanson Le Black – Création Brut Non-Vintage Mathusalem
Champagne Lanson Le Black Label Brut Non-Vintage – “The latest release of Lanson’s NV Brut Black Label is showing well, offering up aromas of warm biscuits, crisp orchard fruit, dried citrus rind and toasted brioche. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and crisp but fleshy, with the house’s non-malo style tempered by a generous core of fruit, concluding with a long, chalky finish. This is a very creditable non-vintage cuvée that has the cut and structure to evolve in the cellar.”- William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Champagne Lanson Le Black Label 375ml
Champagne Lanson Le Black Label Brut Non-Vintage - “The latest release of Lanson's NV Brut Black Label is showing well, offering up aromas of warm biscuits, crisp orchard fruit, dried citrus rind and toasted brioche. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and crisp but fleshy, with the house's non-malo style tempered by a generous core of fruit, concluding with a long, chalky finish. This is a very creditable non-vintage cuvée that has the cut and structure to evolve in the cellar.”- William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Domaine Trapet Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin “Ostrea” 2019
Domaine Trapet Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin “Ostrea” 2019, "More deeply pitched and slightly less elegant aromas are comprised by notes of plum, dark currant, forest floor and whiffs of game and herbal tea. There is excellent density and power to the broad-shouldered yet still reasonably refined flavors that flash a bracing salinity on the refreshing and impressively long if slightly warm finale. This is always a solid Gevrey villages and 2019 is no exception." - Allen Meadows, Burghound
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru “Les Pruliers” 2020
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru “Les Pruliers” 2020, "Slightly riper aromas of black cherry, raspberry and earth are fresh if brooding. There is both excellent delineation and vibrancy suffusing the delicious medium-bodied flavors that culminate in a chalky, palate drenching and youthfully austere finish. Lovely and very Pruliers in character." - Allen Meadows, Burghound
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Charmois” 2020
"The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Charmois is pure rich purple in colour, the bouquet has a slightly softer style of raspberry fruit. Very intense linear style of red fruit, the tannins are that much less evident while the acidity remains with us. Long fresh raspberry finish."- Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé Nuances 2019
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé “Nuances” 2019, Light, brilliant orange. Expansive, mineral-accented blood orange, red currant and nectarine aromas are complemented by suggestions of succulent herbs, honey and lavender. Sappy, chewy and penetrating on the palate, offering densely packed red berry, pit fruit and floral flavors underscored by a vein of chalky minerality. Smoothly plays power off finesse and finishes minerally and extremely long, with repeating floral and pit fruit notes." - Josh Raynolds, Vinous
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rouge 2018
"The 2018 Red is a deep, vertical, and devilishly seductive wine. Mourvèdre, a rather masculine archetype, here takes on the air of Pinot. A hodgepodge of red and black fruits gradually reveals the expression of the limestone terroir, spices and garrigue. This wine is full, enjoys a particularly tasty and vibrant, reactive tannin texture." - Winemaker's notes
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rouge 2019
Pibarnon's 2019 Bandol is marked by scents of vanilla, black cherries and plums. An assemblage of 90% Mourvèdre and 10% Grenache, it's ripe, even a touch jammy, in a powerful, modern style. Full-bodied, supple and rich, it finishes with a gentle coating of soft tannins. I suspect my rating is conservative, but in this year's blind-tasting, I actually preferred the less expensive Restanques de Pibarnon bottling. - Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate
Château de Pibarnon Bandol Rosé 2021
Château La Gravette de Certan 2019
"The 2019 La Gravette de Certan is a fleshy, charming wine, bursting with aromas of cherries, minty blackberries and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, ample and giving, it's sensual and succulent, with an enveloping core of fruit, supple tannins and lively acids. It's entirely composed of Merlot this year and largely derived from vines planted in 2010, supplemented by a plot planted in 1998." - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils Grand Cru “Clos de Vougeot” 2019
"This is the first wine to display prominent oak and it's not subtle with plenty of menthol character sitting atop the aromas of dark currant, plum and warm earth. There is fine cut and punch to the moderately concentrated flavors that possess solid size and weight, all wrapped in a lingering finish that is perhaps a bit less youthfully austere than it typically is. While not super-dense, I like the balance and in any event, it has the more than sufficient stuffing to reward extended cellaring." - Allen Meadows, Burghound
Domaine de Montille Pommard Premier Cru “Les Pézerolles” 2019
"Unfurling in the glass with aromas of red berries, rose petals, sweet soil tones and orange rind, the 2019 Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles is medium to full-bodied, ample and velvety, with a fleshy core of fruit and a vibrant, seamless profile, concluding with a fragrant, peony-inflected finish.- William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
