Nose: The nose is fresh with red berries, cherries, pears, roses, tropical citrus, peaches, red apples, and a touch of minerals. The aromatics are fresh and lean towards the upper register.
Taste: Medium bodied with high acidity. The acidity is refreshing and crisp with red berries, cherries, roses, peaches, mineral tones, and some apples.
Overall: This shows off a lot of promise for a few years down the road. A little more depth and this could really sing. Still, this is a top notch sparkling wine that shows off a lot of promise for sparkling wine in California.
Nose: The nose is fresh and balanced with biscuits, red apples, pears, red fruits, white fruits, saline, and mineral tones.
Taste: Medium bodied with high acidity. The acidity is fresh and lively with the feel showing an elegant side along with biscuits, red apples, pears, red fruits, saline, and mineral tones.
Overall: This is from a 2012 base. It is showing beautifully with a real freshness across the nose and palate.
Nose: The nose is aromatic and classic with black pepper, bacon fat, smoke, violets, earth tones, black cherries, and raspberries. There is excellent balance and depth with everything being wide open for business.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The structure still has some youth to it, but it has principally receded into more of a supporting role. The feel is silky and refined with black pepper, bacon fat, smoke tones, black cherries, tobacco, and raspberries.
Overall: This is in a great spot. It's well balanced and with a good dose of pepper notes on the nose and palate.
Nose: The nose is wide open and mature with black cherries, black olives, roses, pepper notes, tobacco, and earth. There is excellent balance with good depth.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ tannins and medium+ acidity. The tannins are fine grained and more in a supporting role. The feel is refined and mature with black cherries, black olives, roses, pepper, and earth tones.
Overall: This is an excellent and mature Cote-Rotie. It feels like it's right at its peak and is highly enjoyable right now.
Nose: The nose is powerful and intense with black cherries, spice tones, black pepper, licorice, violets, herbs, and wood tones. There is excellent depth, but the wood note permeates a little too much.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and medium tannins. The tannins are a little bit woody and are also in more of a supporting role. There is some extraction and intensity to the feel with black cherries, black tea, black pepper, violets, liqueur, and wood notes.
Overall: The intensity is a bit too much in some ways. This is a well made Hermitage, it feels a bit forced. The wood, while not the driving force, is a bit too noticeable and isn't in balance with the rest of the wine.
Nose: The nose shows intensity and some extraction with licorice, wood, vanilla, liqueur tones, black cherries, black tea, and black raspberries. There is good depth here, but the wood and extraction are a bit too noticeable.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are a bit woody with the feel showing some extraction and intensity along with licorice, black cherries, wood, vanilla, liqueur, and black tea.
Overall: The oak and extraction on this is certainly noticeable. The wine feels a bit forced and lacks elegance. This is drinking fine right now as it's hard to see the oak integrating with more time.
Nose: The nose is deep and robust with black cherries, leather, black pepper, tobacco, leather, violets, animale, and roasted meats. The nose really draws you in with a savoriness and balance.
Taste: Full bodied with medium+ acidity and high tannins. The tannins are youthful and chewy with the feel showing some reigned in power with black cherries, leather, tobacco, leather, violets, and roasted meats.
Overall: While this is still quite young, it's also extremely good. It's showing off poise and balance with a classic Cornas profile and style.
Nose: The nose is pretty and perfumed with black cherries, violets, tobacco notes, black pepper, black olives, crushed rocks, and a good dose of bacon fat. There is excellent depth with a more feminine style to the nose.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are silky and refined with the feel being more demure and backed up with black cherries, violets, bacon fat, crushed rocks, and some tobacco tones.
Overall: This is a beautiful and elegant Cote-Rotie. This favors the more feminine and traditional style with an aromatic nose and elegant feel.
Nose: The nose is a bit simple and straight forward with raspberries, red cherries, black pepper, and crushed rocks. There seems to lack the expression this can bring and the nose never woke up.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The structure is fairly resolved here with silky tannins. The feel is elegant, but like the nose is lacking depth with raspberries, black pepper, crushed rocks, and some red cherries.
Overall: This was sadly boring. It never seemed to fully rev up and reveal itself. Instead it was simple and not all that exciting.
Nose: The nose is flowing, deep, and unctuous with nectarines, peaches, apricots, caramel, fresh honey, and red apples.
Taste: Full bodied with medium+ acidity. The acidity is refreshing with the feel being poised and layered with nectarines, peaches, apricots, caramel, and red apples.
Overall: This is fantastic. It is fully mature and shows off the class that one expects from a top-class sauternes.
2012 Ultramarine Blanc de Noirs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Nose: The nose is fresh with red berries, cherries, pears, roses, tropical citrus, peaches, red apples, and a touch of minerals. The aromatics are fresh and lean towards the upper register.
Taste: Medium bodied with high acidity. The acidity is refreshing and crisp with red berries, cherries, roses, peaches, mineral tones, and some apples.
Overall: This shows off a lot of promise for a few years down the road. A little more depth and this could really sing. Still, this is a top notch sparkling wine that shows off a lot of promise for sparkling wine in California.
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NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Les Maillons 92 Points
France, Champagne
Nose: The nose is fresh and balanced with biscuits, red apples, pears, red fruits, white fruits, saline, and mineral tones.
Taste: Medium bodied with high acidity. The acidity is fresh and lively with the feel showing an elegant side along with biscuits, red apples, pears, red fruits, saline, and mineral tones.
Overall: This is from a 2012 base. It is showing beautifully with a real freshness across the nose and palate.
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2004 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Nose: The nose is aromatic and classic with black pepper, bacon fat, smoke, violets, earth tones, black cherries, and raspberries. There is excellent balance and depth with everything being wide open for business.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The structure still has some youth to it, but it has principally receded into more of a supporting role. The feel is silky and refined with black pepper, bacon fat, smoke tones, black cherries, tobacco, and raspberries.
Overall: This is in a great spot. It's well balanced and with a good dose of pepper notes on the nose and palate.
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1995 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This came off as past it and didn't feel like a representative bottle.
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1997 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Nose: The nose is wide open and mature with black cherries, black olives, roses, pepper notes, tobacco, and earth. There is excellent balance with good depth.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ tannins and medium+ acidity. The tannins are fine grained and more in a supporting role. The feel is refined and mature with black cherries, black olives, roses, pepper, and earth tones.
Overall: This is an excellent and mature Cote-Rotie. It feels like it's right at its peak and is highly enjoyable right now.
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2001 E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto 89 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Nose: The nose is powerful and intense with black cherries, spice tones, black pepper, licorice, violets, herbs, and wood tones. There is excellent depth, but the wood note permeates a little too much.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and medium tannins. The tannins are a little bit woody and are also in more of a supporting role. There is some extraction and intensity to the feel with black cherries, black tea, black pepper, violets, liqueur, and wood notes.
Overall: The intensity is a bit too much in some ways. This is a well made Hermitage, it feels a bit forced. The wood, while not the driving force, is a bit too noticeable and isn't in balance with the rest of the wine.
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2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite 86 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Nose: The nose shows intensity and some extraction with licorice, wood, vanilla, liqueur tones, black cherries, black tea, and black raspberries. There is good depth here, but the wood and extraction are a bit too noticeable.
Taste: Full bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are a bit woody with the feel showing some extraction and intensity along with licorice, black cherries, wood, vanilla, liqueur, and black tea.
Overall: The oak and extraction on this is certainly noticeable. The wine feels a bit forced and lacks elegance. This is drinking fine right now as it's hard to see the oak integrating with more time.
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1999 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
unfortunately this was corked
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2005 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Nose: The nose is deep and robust with black cherries, leather, black pepper, tobacco, leather, violets, animale, and roasted meats. The nose really draws you in with a savoriness and balance.
Taste: Full bodied with medium+ acidity and high tannins. The tannins are youthful and chewy with the feel showing some reigned in power with black cherries, leather, tobacco, leather, violets, and roasted meats.
Overall: While this is still quite young, it's also extremely good. It's showing off poise and balance with a classic Cornas profile and style.
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2007 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Nose: The nose is pretty and perfumed with black cherries, violets, tobacco notes, black pepper, black olives, crushed rocks, and a good dose of bacon fat. There is excellent depth with a more feminine style to the nose.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are silky and refined with the feel being more demure and backed up with black cherries, violets, bacon fat, crushed rocks, and some tobacco tones.
Overall: This is a beautiful and elegant Cote-Rotie. This favors the more feminine and traditional style with an aromatic nose and elegant feel.
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2004 Patrick Jasmin Côte-Rôtie 85 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Nose: The nose is a bit simple and straight forward with raspberries, red cherries, black pepper, and crushed rocks. There seems to lack the expression this can bring and the nose never woke up.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The structure is fairly resolved here with silky tannins. The feel is elegant, but like the nose is lacking depth with raspberries, black pepper, crushed rocks, and some red cherries.
Overall: This was sadly boring. It never seemed to fully rev up and reveal itself. Instead it was simple and not all that exciting.
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1988 Château Climens 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: The nose is flowing, deep, and unctuous with nectarines, peaches, apricots, caramel, fresh honey, and red apples.
Taste: Full bodied with medium+ acidity. The acidity is refreshing with the feel being poised and layered with nectarines, peaches, apricots, caramel, and red apples.
Overall: This is fantastic. It is fully mature and shows off the class that one expects from a top-class sauternes.
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