Ron R

9.5

This has remained steadfast since purchase. I advised @Dawn E. back in 2021 to consume her 18’s, but in this case, I was wide of the mark. Very impressive and enjoyable. Flamboyant nose of cassis, with a bold tannic structure on the mid palate. Finishes long and racy. No signs of aging and zero rush to consume. — 16 days ago

with Anne-marie

Sally Wilde

9.8

Wily and coy, leading me down a dusk-lit walkway of cobblestones and cascading ivy, whispering and beckoning through the shadows to a well hidden speakeasy entrance where it knows the doorperson. Must let it open for some minutes before tasting, let the demons out and then the softness reveals itself….
sallywilde.bandcamp.com — 3 years ago

MK

8.9

Had this at Pepperoncini’s Havorford. Very smooth and easy to drink — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured, enjoyed over two days. Best on Day 2. In the glass, the 2019 Sandlands “Lodi” is deep ruby with a translucent core. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, high intensity with dark cherry, ripe bramble fruit, freshly cracked Tellicherry pepper, black licorice, stone, and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the mixed fruit set, black pepper and licorice with bergamot and baking spices. The wine is so fresh with one of the sexiest textures you’ll ever encounter in a Zinfandel. The finish is savory and the black pepper note goes "on and on and on, on and on and on, checka check it out to the break of break of dawn" (to quote Naughty by Nature). This is a truly remarkable Zinfandel from Lodi. — 3 years ago

M Y

9.5

In the glass, the Virevolte Haut-Médoc unfurls like a velvet curtain parting on an opera at dusk. Its robe is a brooding garnet—deep, moody, suggestive of candlelit chiaroscuro and philosophical malaise. The bouquet is an olfactory aria: first, a plume of graphite and cigar box, as though the wine spent its formative years in the library of a Parisian diplomat. These give way to whispers of stewed blackcurrant, truffle ash, and petrichor on polished leather, evoking an autumnal horseback ride through the forgotten paths of Gascony.

On the palate, the wine does not so much speak as pronounce. The structure is austere yet self-assured, with tannins that march in double-breasted formation. Merlot offers a baritone plushness, while Cabernet Sauvignon contributes a tensile, almost Stoic verticality. Subtle mineral tension runs like a minor key through the mid-palate—an ode, perhaps, to the gravelly terroir that birthed it.

The finish is prolonged and philosophical—less an end than a Socratic ellipsis. One is left pondering not only the provenance of the wine but the transience of joy itself. — 13 days ago

Daniel P. Drake

8.9

This very nice wine the 2020 Dawn Chorus Sauvignon Blanc I opened on Thursday. From Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

On the nose the is lime, grapefruit, white peach, melon, passionfruit, saline and minerality.

On the palate there is grapefruit, lime, melon, white peach, a bit of saline and minerality.

This wine is medium bodied with medium ti medium+ acidity that leaves you with a long fresh citrus minerality finish. Looks like a beautiful weekend so please enjoy ot to the fullest. Stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🥂🥂🥂🥂 — 2 years ago

Sam Lee

9.1

7seven時🌆
This is so good, so I’m going to rate twice, it’s lemon creamy buttery is amazing and it’s stoned fruit flower and summery apricot so nice so soft and easy citrusy plays nice acidity overall, finishings soft and lemony buttery 🍋

Color is brilliant, gold yellow, pure gold yellow shine and deliciously elegantly dawn 🌆 — 3 years ago

Ron R

9.3

@Dawn E. Nailed the notes on this wine/vintage. Impressed, girlfriend. But we’ll take a hard right turn on the rating. We were really impressed with how it presented. Less limestone, more citrusy and moderately sweet. In some ways, similar to the Edge Hill.
A lovely gift from @Mike R 🩷 — 10 months ago

with Anne-marie

Louis Martin

9.1

Lemon and grapefruit accents, medium body, nice acidity, enjoyed as our “pre-lunch” morning aperitif (since Alba is Latin for Dawn, seemed appropriate to drink as a morning wine). — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.7

Real talk: I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this is my first experience with the wines of Domaine Champet. When I consider that their approach to winemaking is philosophically aligned with my own preferences, how did this meeting not happen before now? Maybe it’s because they only make 1000 cases of wine a year? Maybe it’s because I live in Nebraska. Whatever the reason, it no longer matters because I have now experienced what cannot be undone. For a bit of reference, the family has a rather rich, (Romain and Maxime are 4th generation), history working with vines in the “La Viallière” lieu-dit in the Côte Brune. “La Viallière” was made famous thanks to Dervieux (yes, as in Gentaz-Dervieux). The land is…improbable to farm…with some slopes close to 60°. Everything is performed by hand. This bottling, “Les Fils à Jo” focuses on the old vines from their holdings in “La Viallière”.

Popped and poured; consumed over 5 days, best on days 3-5 and the following notes reflect such. The wine pours a deep ruby with a near opaque core and pretty significant staining of the tears. Medium+ viscosity and every so slightly turbid. On the nose, blue and black fruits with bacon fat, lavender, kalamata olive, a whisper of baking spices…some white pepper, some tobacco…wild and beguiling. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium++ tannin and medium+ acid. Incredible texture. Confirming the fruit set and other aforementioned characteristics. There’s blueberry scone and an iron-ore kind of thing going "On and on and on, on and on and on; Checka checka it out, to the breaka breaka dawn". The finish is long…as in forever…and absolutely, positively divine. If tonight is any indication, this wine will drink well past 2040. Between the Levet’s and Champet’s, there are very few in Côte Rôtie making wines like this anymore. What is certain, is that this was one of those experiences where there was a time before, and a time after Champet. Certainly one of those I won’t ever forget. — 3 years ago