Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.2

From one of my child's birth years. Labelled as Pinot Noir Color is a medium light gold. Super classic nose; brioche, yeasty bread, toasted nuts. Wife calls cider (oxidative notes?). Paired with prawns persillade, buerre noisette scallops and wild harvested cocktail prawns and handful of tiny fish.
Exquisite balance, great depth of flavor and seemingly more life than the other club 2012 I bought for the cellar. — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Dark gold. Heavy like oil in the glass. At open this has an oxidative nose with a heavy dose of apple cider. But the first taste revealed a massive core of fruit with a lot of acidity. Thus with air this opened up to reveal a powerful and rich wine. Notes of ripe apples, uncut lemons, beeswax, stones and tan spice. Some heat suggests this has a fair amount of alcohol too. I liked this but was alone amongst the family in that assessment. I would say drink these up sooner rather than later but it depends how you like your aged white Rhône. — 5 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.2

Gold color, medium+ viscosity and medium intensity. Oxidation and Botrytis on the nose: blue cheese, mousy, cider, bruised apple and baked pear, volcanic ash/smoke, red plum, flinty chalky minerality. Fruit went tart on palate, green apple, green pineapple, green mango, still honey saffron wasabi. Dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, medium alcohol, long finish. — 6 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.0

Rkatsiteli is an old grape. Extremely old. It’s mainspring was Georgia and is worth knowing just how flexible and “survivable” these vines have been.
Here’s a cherry that O found on Wiki:
“This ancient vinifera originates in Georgia and is one of the oldest grape varieties.[1] In Georgia, clay vessels were found with seeds of Rkatsiteli grapes which date back to 3000 BC.”

The color is a lemony bit of gold. The nose is bright and laced with melon and touches of peach. The body is a rush of refreshing acidity that round out on the palate in a “zesty fashion” which stamps those refreshing flavors in the back of your mind. — 6 years ago

with Beth

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of light gold. Nose of apple cider, mineral, ripe banana, and a bit sprite. Taste follows nose notes, with addition of good citrus acidity, ripe pineapple, honey, tinkling mouthfeel, and subtle mineral. Aftertaste is long and dominated by minerals and acidity. Pure, clean, and good flavors. — 7 years ago

Erik Nordman

9.2

Some pretty solid natty Chenin from Marie Thibauld in Touraine Azay le Rideau. First time trying this producer; have heard good things and am definitely not disappointed. Not dissimilar to a vinous equivalent to Basque cider; tangy and apple-y with great acidity. Bright in the glass with a medium (-) intensity straw-gold hue. Medium /medium (+) concentration of aromatics of tart green apple, oxidized apple juice, crushed wet flint, preserved lime, tarragon, hard cheese rind leesiness, lanolin, and some fresh jasmine. A bit of VA but in a small enough amount to be actually kinda enjoyable and provide some complexity and lift rather than come across as a distracting fault (and is probably partially responsible for my Basque cider comparison as well). On the palate, there's more tart green apple, wet flint, wooly lanolin character, and hard cheese rind, plus some underripe peach and citrus blossom.
High acid, dry, medium (-) body with a nice oily leesy texture, and the alcohol is medium and totally in balance. Nice length on the palate.
Pretty enjoyable stuff. Would love this with some fried chicken! — 8 years ago

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.4

Gold color. Slight oxidation on the nose, backed by a good layer of fruit. Laser sharp acidity on the palate, with a very long finish. Excellent with no rush to drink. Disgorged 11/21/2014. — 9 years ago

with Frankie

Tree Kilpatrick

9.0

Old-time-y, gold rush type label. Dark color like a Bing cherry. Aromas of barnyards and berries. Maybe a bit of old wood. Flavors are nice and true to the type. — 4 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of bubbly saturate gold. Nose of ripe sweet pineapple, apple, a bit salty mineral, some spice, Sprite, and oak. Nose is pretty good. Taste of sweet apple cider, pine apple, roasted nuts, hint of mineral, and a bit tinkling spice. Quite sweet yet flavorful. Aftertaste shows some more alcohol strength. Pretty good — 5 years ago

Chris Wheaton

9.3

Number 14. Really seems ageless. Still quite sweet, gold color, apple cider and pear. Will certainly live longer than the cork (which is also in good condition) — 6 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.4

My #3000 on Delectable...! 🥳

Liquid gold in the glass with wonderful cupreous hints shimmering through.
Really harmonious on nose and palate, showing complex and heartwarming notes of apricotpie, honey,, warm custard, cider, baked pineapple, and deep mysterious floral notes like honeysuckle and saffron.
Low acidity, soft and versatile.
Beautiful! — 6 years ago

Max Schector

9.5

Ridiculously smooth. The charred vanilla flavor is as advertised. Legs for days. Great wine! — 7 years ago

Steve Gerths

9.0

Italian grape blend grown in Placerville gold rush area. Refosco, aglianico, and carignane blend. Spicy and smooth — 8 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Very smooth and pleasant. The vanilla, caramel, and toffee notes are wrapped in right strength of spiciness. Also some apple cider makes her even better. — 9 years ago

Allison Lyzenga

9.2

Medium gold; medium intensity aromas of yellow apple, apple skin, subtle cider, yellow plum, firm apricot, baking spices, almond; dry, high acid, medium alcohol, medium plus body, medium plus intensity flavors consistent with aromas; medium plus finish, very complex and concentrated, well balanced, an outstanding wine — 5 years ago

Willie Carter

9.1

Consistent excellence. Pure gold in the glass with a creamy mousse and a ton of tiny, fine bubbles. On the intoxicating nose you’ll find some smoke, apple cider, and orange peel. Tasty honey and apricots make their presence known here. Just hints of the yeast and toasted nuts for now but will be more present as time goes on. Oak, dark fruit, and some really lively violets top this off.

So much richer and more voluptuous than most similar offerings, Bollinger always stands out from the pack. Quite the vivacious champagne, this is full of life and full of power. Muscular in nature but still has more than enough finesse with a velvety mouthfeel. The complexity and depth is definitely a step above, due to the amount of reserve wines used in the blend.

The palate pleases with chalk, apple pie, and lemon rind. More orange and the thought of warm biscuits to go with baking spices and pears. Long finish featuring spice and cream. How many other entry level bottles from the other big champagne houses can compare? Excellent champagne, a beautiful journey. — 5 years ago

Damon Kornhauser

9.2

Long forgotten in some backwoods Colorado wine shop's mini-fridge, and procured for about half of market rate after 15 years of bespoke provenance rolling through alpine summers and frigid winters. The fresh flavors long having evolved... euphemistically "matured" into deep nutty butterscotch and aged gouda and pear cider on the palate, and a deep gold on the eyes. In all honesty, this Phoenix like anomaly pairs extraordinarily with an aperitivi of parm and salumi after a day's cross country skiing in single digit mountain air. — 6 years ago

Kirk Irwin

8.9

Cider nose. Bright gold color. Fruit hit, grapey slight vanilla hint. Followed by warming citrus. — 6 years ago

Rhonely Boy

9.1

Slight haze (10 month skin contact in clay vessle, natural ferment, unfined, unfiltered, sediment in bottle) medium yellow-gold

Clean scent, very mild scent of apple cider vinegar, stones, youthful and would be interested to see where the aromas go with age. Smells like a good healthy natural wine.

Dry, medium acidity, medium tannin, medium body, medium intensity of clay and stones, light notes of dry under ripe peach.

Wine is more about texture than fruit and other characteristics. Medium finish.

Nice wine, not your typical Marsanne, look forward to future vintages. Would be interesting to see a portion of the Marsanne (or Roussanne) done in stainless (fruit retention) and blended in. Should talk with Big Basin about Roussanne - “2015 Roussanne Homestead Block is a super-expressive wine. In this vintage, most of the wine (80%) was fermented and aged in amphora, an approach that has worked beautifully here.”

TECHNICAL INFO
* Appellation: El Dorado Vineyard: Fenaughty Varietal: Marsanne Clone: Tablas Age: Planted 1990 Elevation: 2600 feet Soil: Decomposed granite w/red clay loam Harvested: September 12, 2017 Pressed: July 18, 2018 Maceration: 10 months in handmade Italian clay Fermentation: Wild yeast and bacteria Bottled: August 10, 2018 Production: 59 cases Release date: November 2018 — 7 years ago

Shawn Paul

9.3

Burn. Ernest Burn.

1994 in impeccable shape. Deep, burnished gold color.

Candied pear and yellow cider apple, marzipan and blueberry. Gasoline.

12.5% alc, totally dry, loooong finish. Layers of waxy yellow plum and pithy grapefruit.

Such fun to follow this wine over the course of 6 hours with the staff at Corkbuzz Charlotte. And to share with a few special guests.

The Gewurz tomorrow... — 9 years ago