Aravind A

9.3

Pop and pour. Notes from 4 hrs open. On the nose: freshly cut honeysuckle, then loads of flowers, mint, soft honey and wet stone. On the palate: excellent acidity, wet stone, ginger, medicinal herbs, fantastic density. Better than my last btl...definitely one of my condrieu standards. Yum! — 4 years ago

with Florent

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Love half bottles of good Blanc Champagne at Costco for $18. Sure makes it feel like Christmas come early.

I’m dreaming of a wine Christmas. What’s on your list?

Really nice cuvée from Laurent-Perrier and even better price point.

Bruised apple & Bosc pear, pineapple juice, nougat with nuts, ginger ale, vanillin, white spice, sea spray, soft volcanics, easy, powdery chalkiness, bread dough to baguette, withering lilies and spring flowers. Lively acidity and well balanced, rich, elegant finish that persists minutes landing on minerals & spice.

Happy Holiday Season! 🎄🎅❄️⛄️🎁 🌟 — 4 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.5

Nose has beautiful saline mousse of lemon curd, slightly oxidized tart green apple peel, freshly baked sourdough bread and cold limestone slab.

Palate has day old bread, dried-shaved ginger, dried lemon pith, squeeze of lemon juice, touch of sweet caramel notes with great acidity, and forever finish. Opulent!

Wow, just wow, enthralled by the aromas coming out of the Gabriel Glas! The palate is just dancing like a Ginger Rogers, matching Fred Astaire doing everything ‘backwards and in high heels’. Hands down the finest version of this California sparkling wine ever passing my lips.

As this warms in the glass it's just even more amazing, moving from 9.4 to 9.5! — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Champagne is for celebrating, not that I need a celebratory reason to open a bottle as I am hooked on champagne. 💉

However, after installing 27 solar panels and waiting an additional seven weeks for my Tesla, I/we have almost erased our carbon footprint. Finally picked it up today. I believe we all need to do our part to save the glorious vines that bring so much happiness to our lives. 🍷🥂👍

As for the Baron Fuentes, the is a very good Champange and is perhaps the best QPR out of Champagne at $24.99.

Bright lemon, lime, grapefruit w/ sugar, bruised red apple & pear, touch of ginger & cider, bread dough, baguette crust, sea spray, white spice with some palate heat, sea fossils, grey volcanic minerals, spring flowers, lilacs and yellow lilies. The acidity is bright, crisp and lively. The finish is smartly polished, well balanced and persistent for minutes.

Whoo hoo! So close to carbon free! 🍾🥂 — 5 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.0

Beautiful wine. Off-dry. Great floral aromatics- and bursting with honey, lemons and ginger. Sweetness and acidity feel very balanced in this vintage. Slightly rounded mouthfeel. Hints of petrol on the 2nd night. This has a lot going on for entry-level Vouvray. Simply a very good, inexpensive Chenin that I would recommend easily and would love to pair with sushi. — 7 years ago

Eric Godin

9.3

We had to wait a bit to burn off some ethyl acetate(nail polish remover) but it did in fact leave which was a relief.
Nose: stewed almost carmelized pear with vanilla and cinnamon and a touch of gingerbready ginger.
Pallatte: thick, sweet, intense. A flood of rich caramel pear and apple pie with... Wait is that cocoa on the finish? Enchanting! — 7 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.1

Grilled lemons, ginger, freshly cut green herbs, pinch of that peppery candyshop sponti-nase. Beautiful.
Powdery mouthfeel, quite concentrated.
Great to drink now.
— 4 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Well...this was one hell of a week. There is only one way to wind it down. Reach for an excellent bottle of vintage Champagne.

My first thoughts are how delicate this is on the palate. Further, how unbelievable it will be with another 8-10 years in bottle.

The nose shows; slightly sour lemon, the good parts of lemon Pledge, lemon meringue, white stone fruits, pineapple fresh with lots of juice, grapefruit, lime pulp, honeysuckle, soft, haunting caramel, brioche, limestone & slightly, dirty, grey volcanics, saline, sea fossils, sea spray, bread dough, vanilla, white spices-light ginger with spring flowers, mixed floral greens & lilies.

The body is light on its feet and dances on the palate. Delicacy abounds. Its soft, gorgeous mousse right there with the best money can buy. Slightly sour lemon, lemon meringue, green & with more bruised golden apple, white stone fruits, pineapple fresh with lots of juice, grapefruit, lime pulp, touch of apple cider, honeysuckle, soft, haunting caramel, ginger ale into cream soda, brioche, nougat, toffee notes, lighter nuts without skin, limestone & slightly, dirty, grey volcanics, saline, sea fossils, sea spray, bread dough, vanillin, marzipan, white spices-light ginger with spring flowers, mixed floral greens & lilies. The acidity is mellow yet lively, gorgeous and as good as it gets. The finish is all luxury. So well knitted & balanced, elegant, rich but not overpowering and gently persisting several minutes.

Photos of; The House of Taittinger, their caves so chalky white and built on the famous Crayères Cellars of Reims: 2.5 miles of tunnels (they own 1/4 to 1/3 of it) cut out of chalk by the Romans, the portrait of Thibaud IV who was a king, lord, manager, singer, conqueror, explorer & 11th century Crusader all rolled into one from which, this Cuvée was the catalyst creation and part of the 600 plus hectares they own in Champange.

Some producer notes; Taittinger's history can be traced back to 1734, when it was originally known as Forest-Fourneaux, founded by Jacques Fourneaux who worked closely with local Benedictine monks to learn how to produce wine. They were just the 3rd Champange house.

The estate was bought by the Taittingers – a family of wine merchants – in 1932, and thanks to the great depression and subsequent low land prices, the family also picked up huge swathes of vineyard. From 1945-1960, Francois Taittinger established the cellars in the Abbey of Saint-Nicaise, and after his death in 1960 his brother Claude took over, pushing the estate into a Champagne house of world renown. Such was the status of the label that the Taittinger family soon expanded its business into other luxury goods. However, this eventually led to financial difficulties, and in 2005 the Taittinger brand – including the Champagne house – was sold to the American owned Starwood Hotel Group. The sale was badly received by the Champagne industry, with many fearing the new owners – unfamiliar with the culture of Champagne – would put profit ahead of quality.

Just one year later, Claude’s nephew, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who had always been opposed to the sale, negotiated a €660m deal with the Starwood Group, and the Taittinger family resumed ownership of the company.

In 2017, Taittinger planted its first vines in England, near a village in Kent, for its venture into English sparkling wine. The first bottle will be ready in 2023.

1/8/21 — 4 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.1

This did not age well for me. A 2016 opened in 2019. Insanely sour. Definitely ginger but it became a little much on both fronts for me. I’d be interested to try again at the brewery if when they have vintage pours. — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Straw gold. Distinct and vibrant in the glass. Notes of sweet lemon, stone, white flowers, clay dust and a little ginger spice. Rich in the mouth. Long finish coats the palate. Very nice. Needs more time on its side to gain some complexity. — 7 years ago

Andrew S

9.6

Wow- a power house yet plenty of subtlety as well. Acidity is fully on display. Citrus, dark bread, hints of ginger and nuts. Could go for many years more. — 7 years ago

TheWineStalker

10

A dry minerality overlays the juicy peaches and ginger on the nose. In the mouth it’s light and crisp, yet soft and fluffy when swished into foam. There’s intense green apple all over the palate, with a tiny squeeze of lemon and lime. It’s just so refreshing and delicious that it’s ridiculous. — 8 years ago

Matt

9.2

Loved this over several nights, exuberant and exotic with zip and phenolics to hold everything up. Apricot, pineapple, racing citrus notes, mushrooms, candied ginger, saffron, white tea, herbs. — 4 years ago

Adam Beasley

9.1

Textbook Chenin nose of pear, lemon oil, ripe red delicious apple, ginger, and hay. Big round body with an oily texture. Could have stood to have a little more acid, but very good regardless. — 4 years ago

Darby Mae

9.4

Dazzling 70s lampshade orange hue, with a pronounced nose of peach and ginger, jasmine and spice. Each sip tickles the palate echoing its perfumed nose, and yet maintains an impressive level of couth complexity, revealing evermore as it sashays towards the back of my throat. This is a sexxxy wine. A sophisticated wine. Acidity, minerality and tannin come together in a waxy state of bliss. Have with lemon and herb roasted chicken, carrot purée and Django Rheinhardt. — 5 years ago

JeremyC

9.2

2015 in 3/20. Glorious!!!! Soooooo wish I bought more of this. Skin contact Zibibbo from AUSTRALIA!!! 13%. 70 yr old Bush vines. 150 days in clay. Stone fruit, cooked citrus marmalade, ginger-esque something. So aromatic, delicious and fun!! Need more stuff like this around the Orl area. This was from the Winebarn tstg in WP and from Mary Elizabeth table. — 5 years ago

Matt

9.5

This wine is just as delicious as the first time I tried it, aging glacially too 😋 Powerful, complex, balanced, texturally expansive and detailed, savory and singular. Love the clarity that binds it all together. Golden pear, pineapple, citron, salted lemon, citrus blossom, candied ginger, crushed leaves, white tea, spring honey, kiss of something vanilla, of a mouthful of wet stones. — 6 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.1

Petrol, honey, ginger, bruised apple and pear. Canned apricot and nectarine. Minerals. Great structure. GG - dry with some RS. Abv 13%. — 6 years ago

Gregory Fulchiero

9.4

Wool, saffron, ginger, saffron... a study in Chenin — 7 years ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

9.0

Three cheers for ginger. Ginger! Ginger! Ginger! — 7 years ago