Matt Trader

9.3

What a fantastic wine. Wow. Though these guys are known pioneers in the upcoming Natural Wine world, this particular vintage was a hard year in a number of ways, resulting in a unfamiliar territory for the family. However, this wine was out-freaking-standing.
Slightly funky on the nose, but beautiful red fruit and luscious velvet tannin on the palate. Absolutely my favorite pizza wine now. — 7 years ago

Erik Nordman

8.9

A new first for me! Slovenian Sauvignon Blanc. Clean, fresh juicy, not veering too far into the super-pungent unripe gooseberry and blackcurrant territory. Pours a very pale green-tinged straw hue. Moderate concentration of aromatics of lime juice and zest, grapefruit pith and pulp, guava, wet stone, tarragon, and a lager-y leesy undercurrent. On the palate, the fruit character is riper and more guava-oriented, alongside more wet stone, tarragon + a bit of cilantro, and slightly lagery lees influence. Acid is medium (+) to high, dry, light body but with supple texture. Alcohol is medium (+ and ever so slightly hot on the palate but definitely at a tolerable level. Pretty solid stuff. — 8 years ago

Daragh Hoey

9.0

A lithe and mineral Pinot Blanc, with all the sweet balance you would expect from great Riesling territory. — 9 years ago

Ryan Sims

9.4

Dynamite stuff. Big, big acidity backing up grapefruit and soft herbal greenness. Talcy minerality closes things out. Seek it out. Wonderful expression of new world Sauvignon Blanc without getting into overripe and overly alcoholic territory. — 9 years ago

Michael Gilbert

9.0

A Belgian style unfiltered wheat beer. Heavy with a hint of orange / citrus. Almost in IPA territory — 10 years ago

John Behrens

8.9

Aroma in the strawberry/cherry direction, with sun-dried tomatoes and an almost grassy herbyness. Cedar and meadow earth. Really engaging nose! Smooth full body with well balanced acid and fully present angular tannins that get grippy and chewy. A hot rush of cinnamon, baking spices and cherry go up the nose, ending in an astringent finish with little lingering flavor. This pairs hand-in-glove with smoky, heavily-seasoned BBQ pork. Fascinating and engrossing, but the lack of rich aftertaste keeps it out of 9+ territory for me. I need to age a bottle of this. Worth $15 for sure. — 10 years ago

Keith Levenberg

9.3

This is really a terrific, even stunning, bottle of Savoyarde bubbly and a pretty nice name to know now that Belluard has gotten trendy and well into Champagne pricing territory. This was $16. Like Belluard it is not a Champagne wannabe at all. It just happens to have bubbles but the flavors are classic Savoie, that bright, pure fruit that seems infused with spring flowers and cool sunshine, seasoned with a bit of flint and toastiness from the bubbles. And so full of life. Need to get a bunch of these to keep around because this is pretty much exactly what you are the mood for when your mouth is watering for a fresh bubbly on ice. — 10 years ago

Jamie McCreary

9.0

Love the territory. Beautiful fruit. — 11 years ago

Zoran Korencan

8.9

This is Cotar's cabernet sauvignon, wine from Kras (Carso italian & Karst german) special territory in Slovenia,. Soil in Kras is red and makes special flavour to wine . Good wine, well combined with prosciutto and red meat — 11 years ago

Rubychick

9.2

Re-rating, loving this more and more. Scholium territory Sauv Blanc. — 11 years ago

Hannah Greensmith

9.8

Located in Cote de Beaune, south of Volnay and north of Puligny Montrachet. Meursault ("Murr-so") has historically been Burgundy's center for white wine production. In fact, nearly all of the 2.5 million bottles produced from 440 ha (1,090 acres) are whites. The soil is a mixture of marl and chalk and is perfectly suited to the production of chardonnay. Meursault wines are known for aromas of hazelnuts, honey and vanilla for its aromas and creamy, almost olive oilllike texture. There are no grand crus in Meursault, though Les Perrières, Les Genevrières and Les Charmes produce remarkable wines. Further, some of the most well-known vineyards of Meursault such as Narvaux and Limozin are not premier cru but Villages-classified vineyards. Recent top vintages include 2008, 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999, 1996, 1993, 1990.


With 437ha. of vineyards dedicated to Villages wine or Premier Cru, Meursault has the largest area permitted to be planted in white wine in the Cote-d'Or. Furthermore, despite the fact that the village lacks even one grand cru, Meursault has historically been Burgundy's center for white wine production, in the past even more so than Puligny-Montrachet or Chassagne-Montrachet. While much of those two villages had in the past been planted to red grapes, Meursault has always been white wine territory. In fact, the modern day vineyard of Les Combettes in Puligny-Montrachet, which forms a continuous chain with the premier crus of Meursault, was once considered part of Meursault and not Puligny, where the many nearby vineyards produced red wine. There are several important factors that determine the reputation of Meursault. Primarily, the soil throughout most of Meursault is perfectly suited to the production of chardonnay; it is a mixture of marl and chalk, that when combined with a largely east or southeast exposure creates healthy grapes that are full of character. Another factor correlates to geology, though in a very different way. Meursault's high water table allows its residents to carve deep, cold cellars "perfect for the production of wine" into the chalky, stony soil. So, while large negociants from Beaune dominated the production and marketing of Burgundy throughout time, Meursault remained a wine of its own citizens. Contributing to this, since red wine has been more prized throughout time, these same negociants looked elsewhere for sources because the wine of Meursault has always been white.

What makes the wine so special? The most common descriptors attached to Meursault are hazelnuts, honey and vanilla for its aromas and creamy for its texture. However, this simplifies things quite a bit. In most cases, Meursault despite an almost olive-oil texture is countered by a precise mineral character, stoniness and a more refined overall palate than, for instance, Chassagne-Montrachet. It's the unique stony/mineral character that often gets lost when tasting Meursault, as many concentrate on the ripe, hedonistic primary flavors and aromas. It's the bipolarity of the wine, the interplay of both factors, that makes Meursault one of the most sought after white wines in the world. As mentioned above, there are no grand crus in Meursault, though many would argue that Perrieres, Genevrieres and Charmes can attain these lofty heights in the hands of the best producers. Further, some of the most well-known vineyards of Meursault such as Narvaux and Limozin are not premier cru but Villages-classified vineyards, though again, the best examples are clearly of higher quality. source: http://www.burgundywinecompany.com/wines/display.php?subregion=Meursault — 12 years ago

Ted Corvey

9.5

Amazing how young this still is, but after it opened up I found myself just kept smelling it. In tertiary flavor territory. Rose, cherry, light tar, and rich wood notes on the nose almost perfectly mirrored on the palate followed by a crazy long finish. Beautiful wine, that once again I drank way to soon. Patience is a New Years resolution. — 8 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.1

I've been on the hunt for this for a while now, and I'm happy to finally get some in my glass. The juicy cab franc with its spicy and peppery undertones does take in a Loire direction, but then the zweigelt adds a different sort of funk that pushes it into new territory. A lot going on here for such a quaffable wine, and it comes across as dynamic, alive and idiosyncratic. It also pushes all my happy buttons. Yum. Holla @Phil Ashton! — 9 years ago

James Shamas

8.9

New territory for me but very nice weeknight wine with weeknight roasted chicken. Lovely acidity. — 9 years ago

Robert McMurry

10

Great wine. Woody oak and Pine notes with earthy territory yumdrops. — 9 years ago

David Kline

9.1

Wow! Amazing wine! You won't miss the barrel on this beauty. As the fruit tannins are omnipresent. Spicy with red currant and caperberry playing alongside gooseberry, blackberry and boisenberry seamlessly. Your first thought is grape-y, but that would be an abecedarian conclusion. This is wine with depth, unlike pretenders in unoaked territory, and entirely satisfying in every sense! Brava! Abrigado! — 10 years ago

with Courtney

David Kline

9.1

Zombie dust! Black pepper and grapefruit, orange blossom and honeysuckle and ruby red juice mark their territory. Clementine, white grapefruit pith, tart cherry, ginger chews, then ruby grapefruit pith that lingers endlessly. Real depth here. — 10 years ago

with Courtney

Keith Levenberg

9.5

I've been hesitant to open this because the Tre Stelle was so challenging and this is supposedly the more structured of the two, but I shouldn't have been, as this is a wonderful and phenomenally easy-to-drink wine, about as friendly as young nebbiolo ever gets. If it is indeed more tannic than the Tre Stelle, that is only the case on paper as the structure is smoothed over by rich, very polished fruit that still has the gloss of youthfulness but whose flavors are well past the primary into savory and earthy territory with a sticky grip. It opens with a dazzlingly complex aromatic punch of herbs and a succulent meatiness, which quiets down soon enough but the wine never shuts down. The fruit is in crimson tones, plummy at first and then more towards apple skin hours later as it backs down from that initial generosity, but throughout the bottle it is full and plump, finishing with stony earth. I'm slightly tempted to call it autumnal just on account of the complexion but that doesn't seem to work because there is a very clear sense of freshness here. No leatheriness or other badges of oxidative aging that surface fairly often even in nebbiolos that I *like*: this bottle captured everything in pristine condition, making an exceptionally delicious wine with a robust inner core but a flawless veneer with no rough edges, brimming with generous, richly constituted nebbiolo goodness. — 10 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.0

Soft velvet mineral cut sugar free cherry pie. This totally reaffirms my liking of Loire red and firmly establishes Saumur is white wine territory. My apologies for blowing the spot on the free flowing sheets of Chenin acid. This is totally enjoyable for sipping with nothing else in the way of your perception...or to ironically balance out the glass of Saumur blanc in your other hand. — 11 years ago

with Arturo and

Charles Rezoagli

9.2

Venturing into French territory. Very new to me. Oaky & Nutty with Blackberry and Vanilla. — 13 years ago

Tom Dare

9.3

2012 is lovely red fruits, needs a few more years, but delightful now. Maggie is on top of her game, in serious territory, — 8 years ago

Barb Anderson

9.0

Perfumed brightness, tangy red fruit and a rich lingering finish. — 8 years ago

Matt Franco

9.0

Super cool in many ways. The ripest by far. Getting into ripe old Nebbiolo territory. But still delicious. — 9 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

I'm not sure if I wasn't expecting it, but this was so good, so immediately, I think it did surprise me. The perfume is laden with lavender and rich cherry that frequently ventures into kirsch territory. Heavily seasoned with Asian spice, orange peel, licorice, and sautéed herbs. Everything translates though and is heightened in the mouth, notably the lively sweet and sour cherry. The lengthy follow through adds stone-based minerality to an already complex and beautiful wine. But don't be mislead, this leans towards hedonistic in style. 94+ — 9 years ago

Leo Hernández Téllez

8.9

Biggest wine of the night. Lots of dried fruits, prunes and in the jammy territory. — 9 years ago

with Leigh and Jonathan

Keith Levenberg

9.0

First wine I've had from this producer I've been intensely curious about. Extremely gassy, even past Badoit territory, needed some serious Mollydooker shaking and decanting to get into drinkable territory and then a bit more time beyond that to get its composure. It's got pure red-fruited flavors and aromas in the same tone, but instead of fruity the scents are intensely floral, very rosy along with something else underneath like rhubarb or some other member of the root family. Unfortunately I think there is also a nick of volatile acidity. The texture is lean and refined, perhaps not to the extent of some of the Eyrie wines but not so far off. — 10 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.0

12.5% alc.
Beautiful bubbly from Loire and a great QPR at $15.99!
Lacks a little crispness and yeast notes to bring it into serious territory for me but a very good wine nonetheless.

Tasting this again after 24 hours it has actually improved so I'll add an extra point to my initial rating. — 10 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.2

Best domestic Grüner I've ever had. Lots of green, ripe citrus and orchard fruits, lees influence, and varietal savories (lentil, radish, parsnip, pea purée). 12.7% alcohol puts this in ripe, clean federspiel territory. Similar to Prager or FX in style. There's something special in the Columbia Gorge, I think. Anyone know if this is loess over decomposed basalt in the vineyard? — 11 years ago

John Skupny - Lang & Reed Wine Company

9.5

2012 Rutherford - nice example of a great SB vineyard in the heart of CS territory. Rangpur lime, vanillin , kiss of herb - fresh & dried. Nice length no screech or burn. — 11 years ago

Cathy Corison

Owner/Winemaker Corison Winery

9.0

New territory for me with lemon panna cotta.@thepigchicago. . — 12 years ago