Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium lemon gold , still some perlage. This is quite evolved on the nose , with candied peel, brioche , roasted nuts , brine and touch of porcini . On the palate this has good intensity , with high acidity . Creamy lemon peel , toasted nuts , brioche, and a mineral backbone . Quite persistent, lemon pith and chalky finish . At peak now and will continue over the next few years , though this won’t improve — 8 months ago

Conrad Green

9.4

Dark gold in color. Dried apricot, biscuit, toast. Very broad and rich in the palate with loads of complexity but a deftness. Oxidative notes and sherry. I suspect this bottle isn’t as great s as it once was but it’s still a complex and fascinating wine. Memorable. — 2 years ago

with Tony and David

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.1

A very old bottle bought back from a customer cellar. Foil suggests serving chilled or "ice cold," welcome to 80's era wine guidance.
Medium gold color. Nose is apples, slightly bitter apple pip/skin. With air shows some delicate/floral peach aromas. Balance is spot on with a good acid/sweet balance. Maybe this would be between sec and demi sec these days. There is a slightly bitter mid palate attack that echos an apple pip/cyanic character. Surprisingly good given character of cork, which refused to come out with an ah-so and retreated to the bottle. — 4 years ago

Kyle Katterjohn

9.5

Pure Gold on the Government s dime. We’ll kind of. Haha Kpk/Carol — 4 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.2

Good enough for Covid Oscars...bright, limpid gold, round, creamy, soothing attack! Starts pushing out the ripe, red apple, dripping juicy pear.... really nice with the runny triple cream and the crumbly, salty, crystallized Pecorino. I think this wine deserves another point... maybe point and s half. Lucious glass of bubbles! Cheers! — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind, from two combined bottles. Dark gold color. Hazy in the glass because our host wanted to include the fine sediment in the pours. Great nose. Notes of apricot, petrol, rocks and stones, some spice. Sweet impact in the mouth, packs a wallop with its still present light acidity. Guessed 60’s-70’s German. Over the evening this grew and grew, delivering some Wow moments for everyone. — 6 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.3

Pale gold. Fresh crushed ivy leaf, golden fruits, pineapple. Seems dry but probably a few grams r/s in entry feels just off dry. Great w charcuterie. — 7 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.0

The 2024 Ameztoi “Rubentis” carries a subtle, almost rose gold hue in the glass. The nose contains bright red berry notes, but it’s on the palate where this wine absolutely shines.

The blend of hondarrabi zuri and hondarrabi beltza are at the heart of the wine, but its real beauty stems from the method to its marriage.

Both grapes are hand-picked, but then placed in hoppers from where they are de-stemmed together, then pressed together, then allowed to naturally ferment together. Towards the end of the process the tanks are closed to preserve the naturally occurring carbonation.

As is traditional/preferred method in Getaria, the tanks themselves are kept near freezing to solidify the blend’s effervescent character.

The result is a robust-yet-effervescent rose whose roots date back to the late 1800’s.

The craft used to make this very wine made rose popular in the Baque region of Spain LONG before rose became so popular around the world. — 8 months ago

with Beth

Shay A

9.2

I’m between 92-93 here. I bought this at the same time as the Marguet Shaman 17 I opened two weeks ago and wanted to try them fairly close together for comparison sake (both are grower, zero dosage), and the V&S wins (more body/richness).

Jan’21 disgorgement. Gold in the glass. I’m not a fan of decanting champagne, but I do love drinking champagne from wider bowl glasses to air them out gently, which this benefitted from. Doesn’t have that really brisk Carmex aromatic I get with many lean grower champagnes. It sports a gently oxidative flair with golden pear, red apple, and honey roasted cashews. The palate has a distinct bakers yeast note along with classical chalky limestone too. It was a match made in Heaven with lobster corndogs! Will purchase again. — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Tasted blind. Dark gold color. Heavy like motor oil in the glass. Sweet nose. Notes of apricot and spice. High-pitched, more so than a Sauternes. Guessed 70's German. — 4 years ago

Byron C Mayes

9.1

Holy S#!+! Yeah that wa the first thing I said upon tasting. Bright yellow gold. Abundant nose of yellow apple/brown pear dumpling with spices and buttery crust. Full-bodied palate echoes the nose adding a hint of caramel and eucalyptus. Medium acidity from entry to finish, which is long and luxurious. An excellent example of premium Napa Valley Chardonnay at a very good price. Complex on the palate but still an easy drink, the Piña Low Vineyard will pair nicely with heartier white wine fare but especially richly sauced casseroles or lobster in any of its popular forms (boiled and buttered at the top of the list). I’m having mine with salmon in butter garlic sauce. Drink now through 2029. — 5 years ago

David L

9.6

14’ d'Yquem "Y" 75% SB 25% Semillon.
Let this warm up & open up in the glass for a good 30+ minutes. Medium gold color. Yellow/green apple, apricot, white peach, pear, hint of honey. wrapped in light/medium acidity. Everything plays together beautifully. Wonderfully made wine.

Want to thank Ronnie for not just picking up this wine and throwing it into his wine cellar for the last year +. Just being an all-around great guy. Thanks again for everything. @Ron R . Wanted to give this a proper post from last nights dinner. — 6 years ago

Daniel Taub

9.4

Deeper gold than some of the other 14’s but drinking quite well — 6 years ago

Conrad Green

9.2

Gold cap. Light bright and fresh. Delicate s sweet fruit with hints of lime and salinity. Light and breezy. — 2 years ago

with Amanda

Bob McDonald

9.5

Mid gold in colour. Aromatics of yellow peach and honeyed notes. No traces of petro chemical. Medium plus intensity of stone fruit and mineral on the palate. Great depth. One of the top Rieslings in Alsace and showing it in spades. A beautiful Riesling and probably at its peak. Will stay on this plateau through the 2020’s. Interestingly about 25% went through malolactic so this is a different style from the usual Cuvée Frederic Emile. Very fresh for a 14 year old Riesling but remaining fleshy and M plus bodied. — 2 years ago

Vanessa

9.7

Belatedly celebrating @Deked1’s special day with his favorite bottle of bubbles! 🥂🥂

This wine was disgorged in 2017 after aging on the lees in Ruinart’s chalk cellars for a decade. It’s spent the last 5 years in the bottle.

With a pale gold hue, this wine is showing some delicious signs of age, but also remains incredibly vibrant.

It offers a fine mousse with rich notes of lemon curd, flint, hazelnut, marzipan, toast, and brioche. Yas!! 👏🏻 It’s so darn good. We don’t want this bottle to end.

HBD @Deked1 🎉🎉🥂🥂 — 4 years ago

with Deked1

Willie Carter

8.9

A remarkably pretty gleaming gold color with persistent bubbles. Everything about the nose is natural, fresh, and alluring. Apple is dominate in the beginning with lemons and limes developing. Brioche, chalk, and a hint of spice round things out.

It’s truly amazing just how ready all of these 2012’s are. They are all shining like diamonds immediately. Grower producers are working magic. 60/40 CH/PN, this is a very traditional champagne but elevated. The acidity is wild and beautiful at the moment and will calm down with time. Even on day 2 this retains that freshness and refinement.

The palate showcases some really nice, vibrant citrus fruit. Grapefruit, cherries, and wild strawberries up front. Peaches and cheese with minerality and a little smoke. Definitely ready now but built to last. Precise and creamy. Very nice.
— 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Generally regarded as New Zealand’s best expression of a left bank Bordeaux blend. This is a dense Ruby red in colour. Aromas of cedar, cassis, mint, leafy and a menthol note - generally classic left bank descriptors. Quite balanced - a medium plus weight palate - medium tannins and acid. Still a good future into the late 20’s or early 2030s. Sam Kim, who is a NZ wine taster and commentator described this wine on release as the greatest wine ever released in New Zealand which was a big call at the time. Bob Campbell MW said “Coleraine doesn’t get much better than this. “ — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Tasted blind. Dark brown gold with notes of warm orange sauce and spice. Flamboyant and rich. Long finish. A perfect finish to the wines tonight. Guessed mid-70's d'Yquem. — 6 years ago

Conrad Green

9.0

Light gold. Slight bubbles. Probably 80’s. Pretty white flowers and apple noes with honey and pin pricks of acidity. Pretty — 7 years ago

with David, Walker and 2 others