Vanessa

8.9

When the weather is in the 80s, an aquatic happy hour is in order!

We’re excited to try this rosé, made primarily from the Tibouren grape, coming from the Côtes de Provence AOC of France.

Clos Cibonne has been in the loving hands of the Roux family since 1793. Due to the hard work and dedication of this family, the vineyard from which this wine comes was among the 18 designated “Cru Classés” in the Côtes de Provence 1950 classification, an indication of its quality. You may attribute Tibouren’s inclusion in the list of legally-permissible varieties in the Côtes de Provence AOC to the Roux family, as well.

This rosé is 90% Tibouren and 10% Grenache. It was made by direct press, giving it a paler hue, fermented in stainless steel, and aged biologically for 12 months in large, 100-year-old oak foudres under a thin layer of yeast (known as a “fleurette”), a process similar to that used to create Fino Sherry in Spain (where the “fleurette” is called the “flor”).

The result is a crisp, elegant expression with delicate lemon, gooseberry, white peach, chamomile, blanched almond, and clay notes. It also has a savory element that I’m having a hard time putting my finger on, perhaps it’s soft white cheese, along with great structure and texture.

Clos Cibonne, Tibouren, Cru Classé, Côtes de Provence, Vintage 2018, ABV 13.5%. — 4 years ago

with Deked1

Andrew Schirmer

9.5

A real stunner. Honeyed nose with beeswax, mead-like. Palate is all-encompassing, coating, zinging acidity, long finish. Beautiful work. — 5 years ago

with Alsu

Jessica Dean

9.0

Light and bright. Good table wine — 6 years ago

Jonathan McCarthy

8.9

Unctuous nose with ripe, bruised fruits. Peachy and macerated. Floral qualities and an alluring dash of freshly ground white pepper. Good rich texture with a calcareous finish and a little suggestion of light nectar or thistle honey. — 7 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.2

Definitely the most broadly appealing and well-rounded of the Alvear range. Fruit-driven and concentrated, decidedly less salty and mineral-forward as the entry level Fino. Rounded, complex mouthfeel with nice slow-building acidity that coats the palate very well from front to back. Quite dominated by youthful yeasty aromas that are remarkably similar to fresh baked bread. It’s relatively dry and fresh but would work beautifully with sharp cheeses. — 7 years ago

Elizabeth Verity

9.3

Not a watery boring Pinot - lots of depth. Gift from Rob for work on Avast — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

On the nose, stewed fruits of; black plum, blackberries, dark cherries, plum and blueberries. Mocha, chocolate, mixed berry cola, sweet spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, loamy mineral soils and dry dark florals. The mouthfeel is less concentrated than other vintages of Corison but that's indicative of the 10 Napa vintage generally. The tannins are nicely resolved with another 5-8 years before they are completely resolve. The fruits are; dark cherries, black plum, plum, black raspberries, blackberries with strawberries that dance around the rest of the fruit. There's nice barrel toast, vanilla, nutmeg, light clove, cinnamon, touch of wood shavings, liqueur notes, caramel, mocha chocolate, mix berry cola, loamy soils, dry crushed rocks, bramble, dry stems with nice soft round acidity. The finish is a little lean but tasty. Good balance of fruit and earth with long, rich elegance. Cathy slightly overachieved the 10 vintage as a whole. Photos of; her estate building, Cathy in her vineyard, grapes coming in at night (better to harvest when the fruit is cooler) and her estate vineyard in all it's glory. Producer notes and history...Cathy Corison grew up in Riverside, California. She studied biology at Pomona College and was on their men's diving team, because the school didn't have a women's team. In 1972, she had to take an extracurricular class. She signed up for a trampoline class, but changed her mind upon seeing a sign-up sheet for a wine tasting class. This class was the catalyst that sparked her interest in winemaking. After graduation in 1975, she moved to Napa Valley in California. She received her Master's degree in Enology from University of California, Davis. Upon moving to Napa, she started working in the tasting room at Sterling Vineyards and at a wine shop. During this time, she was getting her Master's degree at the University of California, Davis. She was told by her professor that she would not get a job in Napa Valley because of being a woman. However, if she wasn't the first Napa Valley female Winemaker, she was certainly one of the first. She tried to get a job at Freemark Abbey and was denied because they believed she could not work in the cellar. She almost took a job at Christian Brothers in the enology lab. However, she decided not to take the job and in 1978 she became an intern at Freemark Abbey and eventually became their Winemaker. She joined Chappellet in 1983 and was their Winemaker for nearly ten years. She founded Corison Winery, in 1987. The winery is located in St. Helena, California in a barn built by her husband, William Martin. Corison makes Cabernet and Gewürztraminer. They produce about 3,500 cases a year depending on the vintage. The winery makes a Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and as well as a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The Kronos is an estate wine that is made from organic grapes. The vineyard is dry farmed. The grapes come from one of the oldest vineyards in Napa Valley. The Napa Valley Cabernet comes from Rutherford. The Gewürztraminer is called Corazón and comes from the Anderson Valley. — 8 years ago

Jerry Mimus

9.0

Beautiful blend. Can't go wrong for the money — 4 years ago

Brian Lenich

9.6

Great wine Amy received as a gift for all her hard work. Very heavy bottle — 5 years ago

LM Segal

9.6

Even better than last year’s bottle, which I called “the devil’s work” and rated 95. So much more emerging and the finest, grainy tannins just melted on my palate. Burnt cocoa, velvety cassis. Never got warmed up due to Covid doors open. This has decades to go. — 5 years ago

with Mark and Joe

Lindsay Corrigan

8.9

Bright Red Cherry front to clove and finishes with light smokers oak. Soft tannins & youthful acidity that worked well with fatty meat. We enjoyed it with Chuck Burger topped with Provolone, Avocado, Tomato, Mayo on Egg Bun and side of Root Veggie fries🍷 — 6 years ago

Matti Jokelainen

9.0

Great Torre in the making. Still very primary and upon opening shy nose with acidity and tannins dominating. After 30min slow-ox and getting up to temp the nose opens revealing hints of whats coming with florals, red berries, some forest floor. Similarly fruit picks up in intensity, tannins soften and wine turns to nice young nebbiolo balance. This is very much red fruited with gread mid palate intensity and additional depth still lurking in need of bit more bottle age. After 2h the wine begins to shut down confirming it's still work in progress. If you like excellent young barbaresco and empty your bottle withing 2h feel free and pop. However I'll store my remaining ones for 2-3 more years to get bit more complexity and developed notes I adore in Produttoris bottlings — 7 years ago

Nicole Johnson

8.9

I enjoyed this reasonably priced wine. — 7 years ago

Andrew Gallo

9.0

Whisper frizzante low to the ground soft touch dryness would buy again but not for more than 25$ — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Masi was in the forefront of the work to identify the historic "cru" vineyard sites for Amarone. The ‘15 is a big rich powerful wine. Deep Ruby, aromas of ripe dark fruits, floral and tobacco spice notes. On the palate ripe blackberry flavors, dried plum and licorice with cacao and espresso spice. Rich soft tannins, long finish, well balanced ending with nutty toasty spice. Very Nice. Good now but has plenty of aging room! A joy! — 5 years ago

Amy-Claire Morgan

9.8

Gorgeous. Smells a little like liquorice, and "leather" as someone else reviewed it said, peppery. So smooth, almost creamy, yet punchy! Dark sharp fruits.
Enjoyed with pizza as a treat to celebrate being alive and the start of a week + 1 day off work 😬🤤🍷🍕 — 5 years ago

Chance Miller

9.3

Nice after work treat 🙂🥂 — 5 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.4

Wine as art. Wine like the book you reread or the movie you rewatch and find something new each time, except with sips. I will restrain myself so I can try it over a couple days but ohhhh Boudignan how I love your work. Acid lasers cutting honeycomb onto beds of greens like lemon verbena composed in sheepskins (lanolin!) in a pear orchard. Rich complex and every sip is a new season in the orchard revealing new things. Omg this wine. It makes me MAD. Because I only got one bottle of it. — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.7

A review of 9️⃣’s for fun 😁

The 2009 was made 9 years ago @ £39 & 19 years after the 1990 @ €90 😁 so I thought it would be fun to compare how my favourite Pomerol has evolved 😁

💵 Oh & Petrus next door to this Chateau is 90 times more expensive 🤣

🥊 So 90 vs 09

🏵 90 - 97-98 points
🏵 09 - 94-95 points

🍷 90 - Garnet opaque ruby w/ bricking
🍷 09 - Opaque ruby

⏩ scroll for colour pics on Instagram ⏩

👃 90 - Bordeaux nasal sex of soggy earth, sooty underground 🚇, char-smoked oak, old leather, damp musty cellar, mushroom, mirabelle plums, damson compote, obliterated blackcurrant, herbs, toasted fig, bitter mocha & liquorice
👃 09 - Dark jammy plum & blackcurrant through smokey oak, choc mocha, flint, pencil lead, soggy earthy leaves & wet rock minerals

👄 90 - Med body of creamy earthy smooth silk dark plum & berry bathed in ground mocha & liquorice
👄 09 - Med+ creamy smooth ripe dark plum & blackcurrant body w/ a mocha infusion & mineral tone

🎯 90 - Long mocha liquorice dark fruits mouth filling linger w/ a big happy smile 😃
🎯 09 - Long smooth ripe dark fruit, minerals & rich mocha linger - oh & still big happy smile 😀

⏰ 09 I can’t wait to revisit you in 19 years 😘

👏 @josephjanoueix @jeanphilippejanoueix 😍
— 7 years ago

Kim Stanbro

9.2

Chocolate and cherry on the nose, lots of depth both in the glass and in this poetry reading @amysaulderby #wizardtower — 8 years ago