Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

⚡️⚡️⚡️I ordered more before starting my notes.

I would normally wait on a PGSC for 5 plus years, but wanted to know if I wanted more.

2019 was a challenging growing year in early & mid season but favorable August-September conditions created a quality vintage that should prove to be cellar worthy.

The Champagne Special Club, initially called Club de Viticulteurs Champenois, was founded in 1971 with 12 members. Three of those founding members, Pierre Gimonnet, Gaston Chiquet, and Paul Bara, are still active within the club of now 24 members today. The number of members changes yr to yr.

Beautiful nose of; green apple, lime zest, Meyer lemons to meringue pie, tropicals, stone fruits, kiwi, some heather honey, white spice-ginger, sea fossils/foam, yeasty bread dough, whipped cream, subtle caramel notes, limestone/volcanic minerals, white spring flowers, yellow lilies and whiffs of jasmine.

The palate is dazzling & has everything one would want. Incredible mousse & mouthfeel. It has a slight creamy texture. Simply beautiful in every way. Ripe & rich; green apple, lime zest, Meyer lemons to meringue pie, tropicals, stone fruits-yellow & white peach-nectarines, apricots & kiwi. Heather honey, nougat, some toffee/butterscotch, white spice-ginger limestone/volcanics burro their way into the center tongue/palate, subtle herbaceous quality, sea fossils/foam, yeasty bread dough, cream to whipped cream, caramel, vanillin, crumbled chalkiness for days, white spring flowers, yellow lilies, jasmine, perfect acidity, well; knitted, balanced, tension, structured, polished finish that lasts minutes starting fruit and landing on mineral-spice. So balanced.

This at $112 for Champagne is a good value today.

Bottle data: 4,020 bottles produced. 100% Chardonnay-90% from Croix-Blanche and 10% from Les Roualles. 4g dosage & my personal sweet spot. Disgorgement 9/2024.

Photos; long view of House of Gimonnet & vines, their very old rootstock, Olivier & Didier Gimmonet and their beautiful Chardonnay grapes. — 5 days ago

Jeremiah Glazer

8.9

Great smooth red. Raspberry fruit, nice minerality, solid tannins. — 3 years ago

Ro-el Cordero

9.5

Baja brewing’s “Burro Winter” seasonal brew is an exceptional coffee imperial stout. Strong espresso bean notes, it’s like drinking a chocolate covered espresso bean. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

This is a producer I have not had for a while. Sofia and I have attended a couple dinners there in the past. They prepared nice menus and created an even nicer presentation in their cellar.

I bought this because I hadn’t had it in a longtime. Also, I do like 21 vintage quite a lot. It was smartly priced enough to bring back some memories and check on their current craft.

Hour and half decent before detailing my notes.

The nose has beautiful ruby, candied lavender & violets. It does show a bit of hot alcohol. Probably flushes out in time. Dark currants, ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, boysenberries, both plums, dark cherries, raspberries and just a whiff of blueberries. Dark chocolate, cedar, fresh & dry tobacco, anise that runs into black licorice with some mid berry cola that wraps it, clove, nutmeg, ground cinnamon to stick, soft vanillin, sweet, dark turned earth with fresh, slightly candied, dark, red flowers wrapped in lavender & violets.

The palate presents a slight alcoholic tongue burn. The M-M+ tannins are round and fairly soft at this stage. The fruits are beautifully ripe; dark currants, ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, boysenberries, both plums, dark cherries, raspberries and just a hint of blueberries. It’s kind of lean and not very complex. Especially, for a 21. Dry cedar & dark spices w/ heat burro into your tongue. Dark chocolate, fresh tobacco, anise that runs into black licorice with some mid berry cola, delicate clove, nutmeg, ground cinnamon to stick, soft vanillin, sweet, dark turned earth, w/ slightly dry leaves, dry crushed rocks/limestone, grey volcanic minerals, dry river-stones with fresh, slightly candied, dark, red flowers wrapped in liquid lavender & violets, beautiful acidity with an elegant, ripe, well balanced, softly tensioned finish that lasts a minute falling onto nice, dry earth, spice with bright fruit overtones.

While you should let this one better integrate for another 3 years or so, I don’t think this bottling is a long cellar vintage for them. Thinking it has a window of another 10-15 years. Maybe, 1 or 2 more w/ excellent storage. Likely will add a point w/ the right age.

A decent Napa Cabernet, but underwhelms given the vintage and other 21 offerings I’ve had from Napa producers.

14.5% ABV seems 15.5% at this point.

I’m sure many of you have noticed the wrong grape varietals on the wrong tabs for some time now. Have you noticed that Delectable hasn’t published new weekly tasting notes for two weeks? Is there anyone still working for the app? Will anyone still be able to read our posts tomorrow or the next days going forward? 🤔 Good thing I have been double posting on CellarTracker for awhile now. — a month ago

Ericsson

8.9

Good wine, great acidity and perfect match of spaghetti burro. — 5 years ago

Giorgio Rinosi

8.9

Giallo dorato, floreale giallo, ginestra, mimosa, fieno, burro. Di corpo — 6 years ago

with Rino and Marco

Natasha Langton

8.9

Lemon sponge cake — 2 years ago

Paul T HB

9.5

First time having this one, I’d buy it again.
Vinous 94

Winemaker Anthony Yount produced a stellar set of wines in 2018, all of which exhibit the vibrant fruit character that marks the vintage. Once again, I was impressed by the all-Carignan Sacred Burro bottling, which shows the potential of this still-obscure variety in Paso Robles, both as a blending grape and for a stand-alone varietal bottling. While more and more wineries have begun to include it in their plantings and the resulting wines, nobody yet is doing it as consistently well as Denner. — 3 years ago

Sagee Aran

9.0

Bodega Santa Julia.
El Burro, Malbec Natural.
Fresh, young gentle Malbec. Deep purple color, good flowery nose. Medium body, not heavy. — 3 years ago

Riccardo Arrigoni

9.2

Dopo due anni in cantina. Nuovo bouquet profumi burro, gustoso, torta sfoglia uvetta. Ciliegia amarena. Chiodi di garofano. Colore più granato più denso. Liquido più denso cremoso. Grande acidità e tannino ancora da domare. Leggera astringenza eccessiva. Esplosivo. Castagne. tabacco — 5 years ago