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

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

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

Patrick Murphy

9.1

Wine Essentials: Classic World Wine Tour@iceculinary

Institute of Culinary Education wine tasting class.

Goldenish, gold colour. Older smell. Apple cider, carmelly, heavy, coats the tongue. Residual sweetness. 100% Pinot Gris.

2011 Vintage — 9 years ago

S Butterfield

Sommelier Flask Fine Wines

9.3

Youthful color verging on green gold tinge. Brilliant old apples, hay, cider-y nose. Very concentrated at the center of the palette. Laser focused. A touch of creme brulee in the back end, still firm acids and ling mineral finish. Deeeeelightful — 10 years ago

J. Xiang

9.4

dry plum, dark chocolate, cinnamon, woody, BBQ sauce, cider, eucalyptus, black pepper, newspaper

Coarse tannin rush into mouth
Vegetal & smoky long finish — 10 years ago

Janice Wang

9.2

2012. Gold colour. Whiff of cement dust. Like earthy cider. Sea breeze and mushrooms emerge. Balanced, structured. Some heat. Bitterness. Big powerful energetic wine pent up. Long palate. Rich smooth body. Fine Sinewy tannins. Golden heavy silk. Plays in the mouth for a long time — 10 years ago

Sarah Monceaux

8.9

A little sweet, but nice and smooth — 11 years ago

Jiri Placek

9.3

This wine is lush - deep yellow gold color, ripe yellow fruit, full mouthfeel. Pairs well with pork fillet mignon with cider/mustard sauce. — 11 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

Andrew Schirmer

9.2

Pale gold. Honeyed pear and yeast on the nose. Lush, gorgeous approach on the palate, bubbles enveloping like the rush of a tide. Short finish attributable to youth. All this for $30. — 9 years ago

with Alsu

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Heavy in the glass, med gold. Interesting nose with notes of ginger, iodine, apple cider, white stone, and honey. Big, rich and round in the mouth. Got better with air over three hours. Great balance of structure and fruit. Impactful presence and long finish. — 9 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.3

Hey babe, what's in your eyes?
I saw them flashing like airplane lights
You fill my cup, babe, that's for sure
I must come back for a little more
You got my heart you got my soul
You got the silver you got the gold
You got the diamonds from the mine
Well that's all right, it'll buy some time — 10 years ago

Whitney Mannies

9.2

Like apple cider. Syrupy, but not overly sweet weirdly enough. Like a dry, syrupy cider. Beautiful dark gold color. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Brilliant pale gold in colour. Henriots premium cuvée only produced in exceptional years. Nuances of apple cider. Very flavoursome powerful palate. Bought this in Reims last year and a great tipple for Mothers Day. 17.5+ This is La Cuvée des Enchanteleurs. — 10 years ago

Ted

9.0

My Christmas lights are working and gold rush starts in an hour. — 11 years ago

Michael Brown

9.0

Very ripe apple flavored, full-bodied English cider made by coop of Thomas Oliver and Virtue. Strong barn notes--horses, yeast and wood, mixed with honey and cheese. Medium dry with tons of tannin. — 12 years ago

Max Schector

9.5

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

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

Robert Oldenkamp

9.2

Elegant flavors of blackberry with a long peppery finish. A great gold rush area Zin. — 9 years ago

Nick Wilson

9.1

Light gold color, aromas of barnyard, caramel, apple skins. Fresh/ripe apple, and caramel flavors. Nice finish fairly tart with a full body. — 9 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Medium gold color, heavier than the BdM. Some sort of Apple cider thing in the nose hinting there's a flaw. Kind of dusty in the mouth with pear and petrol notes. We put it aside and checked on again hours later and the wine came around. Enjoyable old Leflaive and fortunate we were patient. — 9 years ago

Scott Wiegand

9.3

My favorite cider. A sweeter cider but well balanced and slightly spicy for an overall great flavor profile. Their Saskatoon cider is great if you are looking for something a little sweeter and more unusual. — 10 years ago

Michael Wangbickler CWE DipWSET

President Drink Local Wine Inc, Educator Discover Wine & Spirits Academy

9.0

New York makes some great cider. This one is made from heirloom apples. #wbc15 @tomcwark @evescidery — 10 years ago

MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

9.4

Lovely medium gold color aromas of apple pie cinnamon stick and lemon tart. It's delightfully refreshing with very little sweetness just a hint to make it off-dry and well balanced acidity. At only 6%abv you can quaff it quite nicely. — 11 years ago

Tsuyoshi Enoki

Sake Specialist Hasegawa Sake Shop Tokyo

9.3

Name:" Kariho"/ brewery: Akita seishu/ region: Akita prefecture/ cépage: Yamada-nishiki-28%:shubo, Miyama-nishiki-72%: mash/ polish rate: 45%/ category: Heisei 25 brew- year All Nippon Sake competition Gold medal junmai daiginjo/ fresh and crispy note of apple, peach, cider, fresh clear sweet attack with juicy acid and smooth mineral. After taste comes elegantly. Best balance! — 11 years ago