"Odedi"

9.3

#AgedWineTuesday

Very pretty color of peach with a salmon hue.

Strong nose of apples, citrus, peaches, yeast, light bread and minerals.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and tiny bubbles.

Dry on the palate with raspberries, over ripen strawberries, apples, limes, yeast, sea salt, brioche, spices, minerals, light earth and cardamom.

Long spicy finish with limes and grapefruits.

This 14 year old Rosé Champagne is drinking beautifully already, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years. Elegant, spicy and rich. Fruity and nicely balanced, complex and engaging.

Wine Spectator 96 points. Wine Advocate 95 points.

Good right out of the bottle, and better when not too cold.

A great sipping wine that paired beautifully with my Tuna Avocado Tartare.

A blend of 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay, with 5% red wine. Disgorged in 2020.

12% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$200. — 24 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed from red Solo cups over the course of an hour. No formal notes. At this stage, the 2015 is more than giving, full of delicious ripe orchard fruits, tiny bubbles, racy acidity and minerals. I imagine this vintage will be really easy to love over the next 20 years or so. — 7 months ago

Vanessa

9.5

Prior notes continue to apply…

When we visited Billecart-Salmon in October of 2021, we received a tour of the stunning estate. Along the way, our guide, Jerome, paused near a traditional “Clos” (a single vineyard, enclosed by a wall) on the property. 

We could see a beautiful stone wall, surrounding a tiny 1 hectare parcel of “Clos Saint-Hilaire,” named after the Patron Saint & local church in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, where Billecart-Salmon is located. 

Although we didn’t go into the Clos, we learned about how special this parcel is to the family; how it’s exclusively planted to Pinot Noir with vines dating back to 1964; how work in the vineyard is performed by hand and horse-drawn plows; how this parcel is farmed according to an age-old savoir-faire, adhering to principles of sustainable viticulture.

The wine is pale gold with a prominent bouquet of yellow apple, Anjou pear, raspberry, lemon curd, white peach, white blossom, desiccated white rose, wet stones, biscuit, brioche, almond paste, marzipan, crusty croissant, pie crust, toast, creamy texture and persistent, fine-beaded mousse and long elegant finish.

This is a 2005 “Blanc de Noirs” Champagne, comprised of 100% Pinot Noir, all coming from Le Clos Saint Hilaire, vinified entirely in oak casks to lend texture and body, and aged over 13 years sur lie prior to its recent release.  Due to the vineyard’s small size, production is very limited, and wine only produced in the best vintages.

Cheers to beautiful wines expressing a singularity of time and place!

Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire (2005).  — 10 months ago

with Deked1

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Sourced from over 70 tiny parcels of old-vine, head-pruned Tempranillo blended with a small percentage of Graciano, aged 15 months in French oak. Deep Ruby with aromas of dark berry fruits, sweet spice and herb notes. On the palate flavors of blackberry and ripe plum with notes of vanilla, spice, tobacco and floral herbs. Fine firm tannins, long finish ending with fruit, oak and earthy character. Very nice! — 2 months ago

Jayna Fontenot

9.0

Delicate old gold, frothy mousse, tiny bubbles. Nose gives me crisp apple, honey, toast. Fresh, not overstated, yummy. — 5 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Big time raspberry spice cake. Decadent aromas with gorgeous limestone and complicating aromas of pulverized rock dust. Big jelly donut vibes. Palate is just stunning. Young and a bit inverted but huge chewy depth, raspberry intensity, black cherry intensity and gorgeous, virile tannins. Juicy and so explosive with tiny berry fruit intensity that is a knockout. So complex and juicy and obviously young but in 3-4 hours this will get to 9.8. I know it will. Amazing acidity and it’s insane how much it’s changed since barrel last summer. My god it’s so juicy and decadent. The fruit clarity is off the charts. Unreal purity and density and so so so god damn juicy. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.7

Presented double-blind. The wine appears straw in color with medium viscosity and, apparently, there lots of tiny bubbles so there are signs of gas, LOL. On the nose, the wine is developing with heady notes of ripe orchard fruit, red forest berries, marzipan, lemon curd, fresh brioche. On the palate, the wine is dry with high acidity. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish lasts for an eternity. The texture is ever so creamy. Wow…well, I was drinking something special. Had to be Champagne. Maybe vintage? Maybe a tête de cuvée? The style was similar to Krug. Called Champagne from a producer like Krug. OMG…the 1996 Vintage Brut?! Sheesh…someone was feeling generous! Admitted, I don’t often get to drink vintage Krug (for many hundreds of reasons!) so my experience is obviously limited. However, there’s clearly no question in this being true to house style and, now that I know the vintage, this is showing why 1996 is so special. As others have noted, this is fresher than the 1995 I had some months ago (though, that was very special too) and had greater acid. I would like to think this provides a crystal ball for the 2008 vintage that is sure to follow a similar trajectory. Drinking very fine indeed, right now and should continue to do so through 2046…depending on how you like to drink your Champagne. — a year ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

I have not had in 6 years. Nose is gorgeous and brambly with huge sous bois, tiny whiff of oak, stunning spice and stoned along with some nice florals. Palate is a bit closed but super silky and not “tannin closed” like it was 6 years ago. Unreal fruit clarity and length. Air will help but great guts so far. Really classed up overnight. 9.5 to 9.6. So elegant and deep. Insanely clear fruit. — 3 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday.

Reddish in color with medium plus intensity and a wide reddish rim.

Strong nose of red fruits with light cedar, earth, tobacco leaf, black pepper, herbs and black tea.

Medium plus in body with medium plus acidity.

Dry on the palate with cherries, plums, light oak, spices, chocolates, licorice, tobacco leaf, herbs and peppercorn.

Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a delicious Merlot from Napa Valley. Fruity and rich. Complex and entertaining.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 90 minutes of airtime.

This Single Vineyard Merlot is elegant and nicely balanced. Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

I had different vintages of this wine and it is very consistent.

Easy drinking and good by itself as a sipping wine.

100% Merlot grapes were aged in French oak barrels. A tiny production of only 300 bottles.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$100. — 4 months ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Neon pink in color with a peach hue.

Fruity nose and dry on the palate with mild complexity.

Light to medium in body with medium plus acidity.

Showing dark cherries, raspberries, strawberries, limes, green apples and light spices.

Tangy finish with limes and light almonds.

This is a tasty Rosé from Sonoma County. Crisp and refreshing. Easy drinking and a good food wine.

100% Pinot Noir grapes. A tiny production of only 720 bottles.

13.1% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$28. — 9 months ago