March 10, 2024 - In a very good state now, slightly maturing fruits, lemons, green apple, touch of tropical, toast, yesat, salt and sea. Good acid, perfecymt balance. A true joy.
March 19, 2022 - Initially the flaw here was more difficult to detect, with an herbal note that seemed to add interest on the first pull of the cork. The nose was completely muted. With air, an alkaline note emerged and the finish became extremely sharp and bitter. The “fruit” became stomped on by the metallic spike on the tail that numbed the tip of the tongue. Off-bottle indeed.
September 25, 2021 - My greatest day of wine (over)consumption. Ever. (Aaron and Tiffany's pad): Yet another csimm contribution (I'm going to have to learn more languages to say thank you in), this and most following notes will be shorter if only because I don't want to be here for the next 24 hours, which I'm on pace for. Light golden beige, medium+ bodied, bang on acidity, no heat. Tremendous intensity, very good persistence, moderate+ complexity. Ok, so we had this wine with caviar which Brian brought (thank you, thank you, thank you, Brian), which I probably would have eaten more than my fair share of but for concerns that it might be on the verboten side of my current food ledger, and the pairing was a 98-99. This isn't one of your BdBs that actually tastes kind of sweet, and really works mostly on its own or with dessert. This is great on its own, but hits another gear when paired with the right savory foods (said caviar, raw oysters, soosh). Savory and delicious, with pinpoint nerviness and tension. I volunteered to bring a '05 Taittinger CdC and was talked out of it; good thing, as it likely would not have been better than this and probably not as good, at a far higher price point (who knew csimm was a man of value as well as outright excellence?). Against, one day removed, a Moet I had last night, the Moet looked like me running against Carl Lewis in our respective primes. If you can find this anywhere near the WS price, buy it, unless my hand is on the bottle. 94-95+, with the likelihood it will get better, maybe a lot, before it gets worse, thanks to that acidity.
September 18, 2021 - Found this to be on the tart side of the champagne spectrum. Not a knock, just a style note. Very well made.
June 17, 2021 - sleek sweet citrus and honeysuckle on the nose, cream already evident, on the palate lush fruit, citrus and melon notes leading into a vibrant lime acid finish, very lively and diverse, as with the 2014 Suenen "Robarts" recently tasted- this points to 2014 being a very fresh, lively and exciting vintage.
**(**), now to 2028+
March 12, 2021 - Big rich elegant creamy smooth long finish grapefruit round acid long finish mouth-filling. Second day: more red fruit, velvety, creamy, acidity tamed
March 7, 2021 - Bolognese, Brovias, and more (My place, Chicago IL): Nose: The nose is open-knit and balanced with quince, red apples, pears, peaches, creams, vanilla, saline, crushed rocks, biscuits, pastry notes, and warm dough.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with tart, high acidity. The feel is refined and elegant with the acidity providing a nice spine for the tones of quince, red apples, pears, vanilla, crushed rocks, warm dough, biscuits, and pastry notes.
Overall: While this can certainly age for years to come, it’s also really lovely now. This could likely benefit from another 3 years of aging to see if there is another level it can hit.
March 2, 2021 - Lemon, chalk, almond slivers, white melon, and white flowers cascade openly in an accessible and full delivery of flavor and succulence. Less of a steely or chiseled stature, and instead more of an open and ready for party fun profile. Effervescence was a bit strong at first, but it blew off in the glass with a little air. Traditionalists may want for more acidic tension here, but it makes up for it in pure mouthwatering delight. An open knit and expansive style that isn’t too round at all; this still delivers the proper academics and focus needed to elevate the complexity of flavor. A nice buy at $65. 94++ points.
February 27, 2021 - 100% chardonnay from old (1961) vines in small plot in PN dominated territory from the talented young Paillard brothers, low 2.7gr/l dosage. Pale yellow, fine mousse. Opening up w saline, oyster shell, lemon, green apple aromas. Tight, crisp yet ripe fruit, concentrated, mineral, precise and real length ... young and will develop over at least 5-8 yrs. hats off to Quentin & Antoine!
July 11, 2020 - Big blanc de blancs. Great balance, not super high acid, richer body and mouth feel . Saline, minerals, oyster shells, are all on the palate, more savory than fruit. Easy to drink with and without food.