Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale lemon with aromas of ripe stone and tropical fruits with citrus and floral notes. On the palate fresh fruit flavors of grapefruit, pineapple, apple and melon with lemon citrus wrapped in lively acidity, medium+ length ending with rich fruit and lemon citrus texture. Nice! — 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Tuesday the 26th of January was Australia Day and a public holiday. What better way to celebrate than Australia’s best fizz Arras Grand Vintage from Tasmania. Quite light lemon in colour. Very citrussy and mineral on the nose. 7 years on Lees showing in the complexity of the palate which still shows tension and refreshment. See previous notes for the 2007 which was slightly better and Champion Wine of the Royal Brisbane Show. — 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Friday!

Been having a lot of Blanc Brut lately. Sooo good to get back to one of our favorite N/V Rosé Champagne’s.

Numerous, numerous notes stand.

Tonight; Blood orange, pink grapefruit covered in an ice cream creamsicle, volcanic, powdery chalkiness, sea fossils, pink roses, excellent acidity and balance, elegance and polish for days.

Photos of; amazing sunset shot of one of Billecart’s Grand Cru vineyards, two shots inside the House of Billecart and the grounds of Billecart. — 4 years ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.2

I first drank this wine in 2004 as a 22 year-old wine neophyte—with duck confit & spaetzle at the late great Earth & Ocean in Seattle—it blew my mind. As Swift said, “I drink no memories” so how does it hold up?

Quite respectably. Opening palate is fresh, mouthwatering, the memories of great Beaujolais crus past. Mid-palate with currant & slate. Excellent acid-tannin accord, cherry liqueur finish. Glorious with roast chicken & black trumpets. — 4 years ago

with Alsu

JKT

9.1

In Dublin hotel dinner brought by Hsing. Well made new world Aussie Shiraz with fruity well balanced nose of red fruits and cherry. Silky smooth texture for this style and long finish. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Grabbed a bottle to close the Summer on Labor Day weekend. Blend of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir this wine was rich and complex. Pale yellow, vibrant bubbles, Crisp fruit aromas, apples and pears. Palate shows generous mineral and toasty oak notes integrated with the fruit. Absolute a must on your list, a true house staple for me. Great Champagne value. Overall nice summer, a tad wet back east! — 6 years ago

Kyna Love

9.0

Very bright and jammy out of the gate, and quite tart in a pleasant way. — 6 years ago

Andy Hall

9.4

Terrific. Opened this to make sure it wasn’t baked from a shipping issue. Obviously it wasn’t but I am amazed how approachable this wine is at such a tender age. 5 more years of bottle age and this will be a stunner! — 3 years ago

Will Stanley

9.2

This is a superb NV Champagne, really quite dry, with flavours of butterscotch, shortbread, lemon pith, white grapefruit, all cut along a savoury and chalky profile with firm acidity, great texture and satisfying length. For a house wine, this is a real success. — 3 years ago

Diederick Swagemakers

9.0

Even geduld — 4 years ago

Doug Sayed

9.3

Big blue fruits with excellent structure and balance. Drinking well after about an hour of air. Excellent finish. Delicious. 2016 vintage. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Four day weekend. Gotta get it off to a good start. Been awhile since we had our 375ml of Ruinart.

The nose shows, ripe, slightly candied; black cherries, strawberries, kirsch cherries, rich, summertime watermelon, touch of orange citrus family blend, pomegranate juice, hints of fruit roll up & haunting apricots. Sea fossils & spray, a little bread dough, grey volcanics, chalky powder, orange, spring flowers with fresh & withering, red & pink rose pedals.

The palate is full & touch gummy/candied. Fruits are well extracted, deep, ruby; black cherries, blackberries, strawberries, kirsch cherries, rich, summertime watermelon, touch of orange citrus family blend, pomegranate juice, hints of fruit roll up & haunting apricots. Ghostly, not quite fruit brandy or fruit liqueur character, sea fossils & spray, a little bread dough, not quite medium, white spice with hints of palate heat, grainy, grey volcanics, chalky powder, orange, spring flowers with fresh & withering, red & pink rose pedals. The acidity lively and crisp. The round, well balanced & polish finish is always consistently satisfying and lingers for minutes.

Photos of; the House of Ruinart, Dom Thierry Ruinart, nicely light caves and rolling, hillside, Grand Cru Vineyard.

Not quite sure where “D” gets $83 when you can buy this all day at just under $65. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Still detoxing from Napa & Bordeaux Cabernet.

The nose reveals; dark cassis with some currants, some tarriness, hint of savory, smoked meats, black licorice to the core of anise, blackberries, black cherries, pomegranate extract, dry cranberries, some plum & blue fruits, dark fruit cola, liqueur notes, limestone minerals, some crushed rock powder, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, light vanilla, hints of sage & bay leaf, dark rich forest floor with dry leaves, dark fresh & withering flowers with a touch of bright red florals.

The body is on the fuller and richer side of Pinot. The wine is beautifully elegant across the palate. For a wine not coming from my best storage, this has held up nicely and showing far more complexity and integration than say a year ago. The structure & tension are still firm while the length and balance are approaching its high point. Dark cassis with some currants, some tarriness, hint of savory, smoked meats, black licorice to the core of anise, blackberries, black cherries, pomegranate extract, dry cranberries, some creamy black raspberries, mashed strawberries flesh, plum & blue fruits, raisins, dark fruit cola, liqueur notes, limestone minerals, some crushed rock powder, dark, long lasting spices with some heat, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, light vanilla, hints of sage & bay leaf, dark rich forest floor with dry leaves, dark fresh & withering flowers with a touch of bright red florals. The acidity is quite nice with well balanced fruit & earth finish that is persistent for minutes.

Photos of; Hope & Grace’s Stag’s Leap Vineyard, a very old vine which, I would say is 60 plus years old, Winemaker-Charles Hendricks willing to still do the heavy lifting and one of my favorite paintings that used to be in the Hope & Grace tasting room but, now is in Charles house. — 5 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

Vintage 2015 | Multi blend from Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Chenin Blanc. Lovely effort! I gave the wine 4 hours in decanter and afterwards it had a velvety taste. Good concentration, berries in smell. Paired with Côte de Boeuf from the grill, morels and sweet potato. The only point that I don’t like is high alcohol. With the food the wine gets a nice impression of chocolate and cacao. — 3 years ago

A. R.

9.3

After drinking a few of these in a short period of time I’m getting more of the sense of the “Montebello” house style. This one is more restrained and slightly more austere than the 2010. On the nose, tobacco, cassis and earl grey tea. In the mouth, grippy tannins, dark fruit, black tea, acid. Long finish. Like all MB, needs time, but totally accessible now. Yum. — 4 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

8.9

Some nice oxidative appley aromas. Palate is deep and hits the right notes. Well made, if not much verve.

After being spoiled by great grower champagne all through quarantine, it’s actually surprising to try a bottle of big house bubbles I used to love and find it enjoyable but kinda boring. — 4 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

WNH Zoom tasting #3 on 4/5/20. The theme was “10 years old or more” and I opened this after what I’d call a false start with a ‘96 Dominus Napanook. The cork was a bit soggy and difficult to extract and a sour nose greeted me as I decanted to remove a fair amount of sediment. But once the air hit it this wine spread its wings. It comes off as a hypothetical Volnay/Rioja blend as if there were such a thing. Mature warm red fruit, strong notes of rhubarb, cranberry preserves and sour raspberry mash. Very slight green notes but not in a negative sense. There’s still youthful exuberance here. This isn’t one of those “it’s drinking great for its age” wines it’s straight up exceptional. Great house. Great wine. Hell yes. Happy Bicentennial 🇺🇸🍷 — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Quite delicious for its price point. I would say it slightly over delivers. Just misses 92.

Nice mousse, green apple, golden apple, lemon, lime zest, grapefruit, pineapple, guava, lychees, cream soda, bread dough, soft, moist chalkiness and powdery, soft chalkiness, jasmine, white spring flowers, nice acidity and a rich, polished and well balanced finish.

Good pair with our Brie and goats cheese.

Photos of; the House of Laurent Perrier, branded iron gates, their storage caves with bottles on A-frames and one of their Grand Cru vineyards. — 5 years ago

Brad Hemmer

9.3

Citrus, lemon zest, apple, floral and touch of creaminess. — 6 years ago

with Jenny

Ellen Clifford

9.6

Oh yes yes yes Krug. Again with the buttered toast sensation that turns me on to the big house bubblies. Undercurrents of marzipan but this marzipan is vacationing somewhere tropical. — 6 years ago