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%. — 5 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. — 6 years ago

with Alsu

Victor Hwang

9.2

88 mouton with Keith harding art work. The nose upon opening was sublime. As it decanted and opened, it was a bit disjointed. Has a lot of potential but at this age I think it’s not going to come together. The nose weakened, and the body to finish is a bit jarred. — 7 years ago

Nicole Johnson

8.9

I enjoyed this reasonably priced wine. — 8 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. — 9 years ago

Jerry Mimus

9.0

Beautiful blend. Can't go wrong for the money — 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 😬🤤🍷🍕 — 6 years ago

Chance Miller

9.3

Nice after work treat 🙂🥂 — 6 years ago

Jessica Dean

9.0

Light and bright. Good table wine — 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. — 8 years ago

Martin G Rivard

10

Quick funny story:
Christine & I are LUCKY to have Kelly work in our office but we are BLESSED to be able to consider her and Darryl as dear friends.
We recommended to Kelly, prior to her going on vacation in Charleston SC, that they should stop by the Belmont hotel. They have a bar and restaurant that is 2nd to none in that area. Christine & I LOVE it!!!! Kelly sent me a quick text to say “hey, we’re at the Belmont! And about to have dinner!”
Being the goof ball that I am..... .....I called the Somm and said “I don’t care what they ordered, bring them a Shafer Hillside Select with some age on it!!!”. 10 minutes later he was decanting a 2003 Hillside Select table side! I love that hotel! Incredible service, incredible food and always a phenomenal experience! The only thing better are-our friends that are there right now!!!!

I didn’t Have a drop of this wine but I am scoring it a 10 based on experience alone!! It must have been “Badass in a Glass” as I always say!
I’ll let Kelly and Darryl fill in the official tasting notes!
by the way Kelly: don’t love SC tooooooo much, Christine & I can’t operate that place without you! See you next week! 👍👏👏👏👏👍
— 8 years ago

with Christine

Pete Schork

9.3

Ripe fruit gives way to baking spices baking spices baking spices. Jammy but not overly so. This is a unique little number, very interesting and agreeable — 9 years ago

Brian Lenich

9.6

Great wine Amy received as a gift for all her hard work. Very heavy bottle — 6 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. — 6 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

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 😍
— 8 years ago

Andrew Gallo

9.0

Whisper frizzante low to the ground soft touch dryness would buy again but not for more than 25$ — 9 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.1

Fabulous wine. Golden color with classic chenin aromas; quince, lemon oil, honey and butterscotch... found this on the list at Bernardus lodge for $60... siting down outside at the lodge with this at my table for $60 is ridiculous... good work michael Marcy — 9 years ago

Jocelyn Yi

9.3

Good middle ground for jams & i — 9 years ago