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. — 3 months ago

with Tony and David

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 🎉🎉🥂🥂 — 2 years ago

with Deked1

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. — 3 years ago

romo

9.2

Best of three very good single-variety bottlings (S, G, and this M). Slightly savory with judicious oak and some stems — 7 months ago

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. — 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Night 1 of WineBoyz Wineapalooza. I hosted a pre-game before dinner at La Belena in Carmel, and opened two champagnes to kick off the blowout weekend our wine group has set up. This has a straw gold color. Vibrant with great energy in the glass. Chablis-like nose. Notes of citrus, wet river stone, vanilla, some iodine. Chalky with nice salinity in the mouth. Great, long-lasting finish. Got better with an hour of air. Killer juice. 96+ — 2 years ago

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. — 2 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. — 2 years ago

Kyle Katterjohn

9.5

Pure Gold on the Government s dime. We’ll kind of. Haha Kpk/Carol — 2 years ago

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.
— 3 years ago