François Saint Lô
François Merlin
Saint-Joseph Syrah 2014
Ripe red fruit, dried herbs and some characteristic blood and sweat. A bit hot. — 4 years ago
François Villard
Gran Reflet St. Joseph Syrah 2010
Wow. Complex, ripe but deliciously structured, runs a line with aromas that remind me of a top Burgundy but then again... no. Not a super powered Syrah but a refined, elegant, complex, and cerebral kind of Saint Joseph. Challenges all the great regions of the Northern Rhône. 2010 — 6 years ago
François Saint-Lô
Les Fontenelles Chenin Blanc
This 2015 was a gem. Oxidative is not the term to use for this wine. Apple and gasoline sorbet. Medium sexy body that sticks to the glass. Salud. — 6 years ago
Domaine François Carillon
Le Charmois 1er Cru Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Chardonnay 2014
Was Chassagne and delicious. — 7 years ago
François Saint-Lô
Le Chenin de Vie Anjou Chenin Blanc 2014
This is fantastic! Such great balance with rocks/mineral, apples, honeysuckle. Beautiful wine. — 7 years ago
François Dumas
Saint-Joseph Syrah 2014
Nez fume grille viande grillée
Bouche basalmique fruit rouge fraîche belle usité mais assez courte
J adore cet équilibre — 3 years ago
François Saint-Lô
Saint Gro Lô Grolleau
Easy drinking, like a fruit-salad kombucha. Floral notes of hibiscus (and maybe violet?) picking up tart berry in the mouth. Easy finish. — 4 years ago
Château Minuty
281 Côtes de Provence Rosé Blend
This recently caught my eye, mostly because it was a $75 bottle of rosé — it’s rare to come across any rosé more than $40 (aside from Champagne), but also because of its distinctive design (I should’ve trademarked the drip).
The origin of Château Minuty dates to the early 18th century. The Matton-Farnet family has owned the estate since 1936, with its third generation, brothers Jean-Etienne and François Matton currently at the helm.
The Château’s vineyards are situated on limestone and schist hills outside the Provençal village of Gassin and overlooking the bay and city of Saint-Tropez. They exclusively produce rosé.
For their cuveé 281, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault, the Mattons enlisted Hubert de Malherbe to design the bottle, who worked on several Veuve Clicquot designs as well as Dior perfume bottles and stores. The blue is said to represent the Mediterranean Sea and sky, both of which have significant influence in shaping the wine’s character. The exact shade of blue is Pantone 281.
The wine opens with melon, citrus peel, and stone fruit, all of which translate through to the palate. That’s where the intensity ratchets up, with pungent, rocky minerality set against a backdrop of herbs and a generous seasoning of sea salt. Everything melds together before taking the long ride home on a bright beam of acid. Superb. — 6 years ago
Billecart-Salmon
Brut Rosé Champagne Blend
If you read my posts, it's no secret I really enjoy their Rosé Champagne. Always consistently great and delicious. On the nose; spring florals, sea spray, chalky minerals, tangerine, black cherry, raspberry, watermelon & strawberries. On the palate; tangerine, black cherry, raspberry, watermelon & strawberries, saline, beautiful sticky palate chalkiness, pink roses, baguette, amazing minerality, finish and acidity. Photos of; their house, vineyard and cellar. Producer history and notes...Bilecart was founded in 1818, by husband and wife Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. For nearly two hundred years, the Billecart family has been making exceptional champagne. Today the House remains independent and is run by the family’s seventh generation under François Roland-Billecart. The Billecart-Salmon House covers around 50 hectares, and gets its grapes from a total of 170 hectares of land. Meaning...they also have a number of great relationships with grape growers. At the foot of the Mareuil-sur-Aÿ hill, the Billecart-Salmon family cultivates one hectare of Pinot Noir on a single, enclosed parcel; the Clos Saint Hilaire. Billecart uses modern and innovative technology to constantly improve the quality of its champagne. From the Côte des Blancs to the Reims Mountain and the right bank of the Marne River are some of the greatest sites for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. These grapes/sites are all used to make beautiful Billecart champagnes.
— 7 years ago
François Saint-Lô
Saint Lô Pette Rosé Blend
This is so good and fun to drink. V fruity and a nice dry finish — 3 years ago
François Saint-Lô
Les Palennes Cabernet Franc
Savory and delicious. Mushroomy dirt nose to start that blew off pretty quickly. Dark fruits, tobacco, green pepper notes. Smooth sandpaper and a longer than expected finish. Excellent wine. — 4 years ago
François Saint-Lô
Gamin! Red Blend 2016
High tannin, fruit forward, red fruit. Lasting flavors on the palate. — 5 years ago
Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru)
St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2006
On the nose, bright, ripe, ruby; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, blue fruit mix, strawberries, creamy raspberries, plums, cranberries, black tea, loamy soils, dry clay, dry stones, limestone minerals, saddlewood, crush dry rocks, dark moist soils, dark chocolate, vanilla, field of violets, lavender and fresh red florals.
The palate is medium-full yet a little lean. The fruits are elegant, ruby, ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, blue fruit mix, strawberries, creamy raspberries, plums, cranberries, black tea, loamy soils, dry clay, dry stones, limestone minerals, used leather, cedar, crush dry rocks, dark moist soils, dark chocolate, vanilla, field of violets, lavender and fresh red florals. The acidity is very good. The length, balance and length are nice. The structure a little lean. It a well polished rich fruit finish, but is a little short.
Photos of; the Chateau, Owner Patrick Maroteaux (may he RIP), Estate grapes and their barrel room.
Producer notes & history...Branaire Ducru has a long history has a long history that dates back to 1680. In those days, Branaire Ducru was a part of a larger Beychevelle. When the owner of Beychevelle passed away, he left behind a huge Bordeaux vineyard that was seriously in debt. To pay off the debt, the vineyard was broken up and sold. Several new estates were created in Saint Julien, which include Chateau Branaire Ducru. Jean-Baptiste Braneyre created the estate in 1680. As was was tradition in Bordeaux, the owner gave the estate his name, which is where the first part of the properties name came was given. Braneyre was later altered to Branaire. Braneyre bought the land we know as Branaire Ducru because of the terroir. He understood that Cabernet Sauvignon grew best on the deep gravel soils found in the Medoc. With that, we have the birth of Branaire Ducru. Or, at least the Branaire part. The middle name was gained through marriage. Marie Braneyre married Pierre de Luc which as you can guess, gave us the Branaire Duluc (the name of their 2nd wine). Almost 100 years later, the first winery at the property was constructed in 1824. It took almost 200 years for the Ducru portion of the wines name to make its way to the label. In 1875, with no direct descendants, Gustave Ducru, a more distant relative took over the property and added his name to the label making it, Chateau Branaire Ducru.
Patrick Maroteaux bought Branaire Ducru in 1988 from the Tapie family who had owned It since 1919. Prior to his ownership of Branaire Ducru, Patrick Maroteaux had no prior experience in the wine business. His background was in banking and then a president of the massive sugar company, Eurosucre. Patrick Maroteaux also served as the President of the UGCB, Union of Grand Crus Bordeaux, and as the President of the Saint Julien appellation.
Since his purchase, Patrick Maroteaux has focused much of his efforts on performing extensive work in the vineyards and in the cellars. He also began reducing the yields. Additionally, he increased the size of their vineyards by 10 hectares. Patrick was also modernized their winemaking techniques.
In fact, Patrick Maroteaux was one of the first producers in the Left Bank to being filling his tanks entirely by gravity. He did this beginning with the 91 vintage. This was done with the help of Philippe Dhalluin.
Philippe Dhalluin left Branaire Ducru in 2004 and took the same position as the director for wine making at Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Philippe Dhalluin was replaced by Jean Dominique Videau.
Chateau Branaire Ducru is a family business. The son of Patrick Maroteaux, François Xavier Maroteaux has carried the family business and joined the estate. Sadly, on November 19, 2017, Patrick Maroteaux passed away at the age of 67. His son, François Xavier Maroteaux took over the full time responsibilities of managing the property.
All the new technical improvements at Branaire Ducru quickly paid off for Patrick Maroteaux. Beginning with the 2000 vintage, Branaire Ducru became one of the top Saint Julien wines. It’s also one of the better values for high quality Bordeaux.
The 60 hectare vineyard of Branaire Ducru is planted to 65% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The vineyard is very close to the size it was during the time of the 1855 Classification.
The terroir is deep gravel with clay soils. The best terroir is located near the chateau, closest to the Gironde river. They also have blocks further inland, with a small section of vines placed close to Chateau Lagrange and Chateau Talbot. The vineyard can be divided into 15 different blocks with 70 different parcels of vines. On average, the vines are close to 35 years of age. However, the estate has older vines as well. The oldest vines date back close to 90 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that ranges from 6,700 to 10,000 vines per hectare. The higher levels of vine density are for the newer plantings. The goal of the property is to continue increasing the vine density in all of their better terroirs.
Branaire Ducru, fermentation takes place in 28 temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks. The 28 vats vary in size. The vats range in size from as small as 30 hectoliters and up to 210 hectoliters. Each vat is sized for the needs of each specific vineyard parcel. Each vat is filled using the gravity based system.
Branaire Ducru is aged in 60 to 65% new, French oak barrels for between 16-20 months. The amount of new oak varies depending on the quality, character and style of each vintage. On average, the annual production is about 25,000 cases depending on the vintage. — 6 years ago
Brandon Thiessen
Creamy but super bright; amazing structure. Dill and acetic, cidery, chamomile, sweet hay, apple, yellow pear, preserved lemon, flan custard. Really super nice and continues to improve as it opens. — 3 years ago