Last bottle. At 10 years this one is still going strong. Cork was in excellent condition. We had with seared scallops and didn't disappoint.
My previous note from 2021 and still inline: Consistent with previous notes. Still going strong at 8 years. Had with Sushi this time around....
Earlier note:Lemon, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Good balance with medium acidity. Oak has integrated very well. Wine is in a really good spot and can easily age another 3-5 years. Served with a Chicken Dijon dish.
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Dinner with Herwig (Heirloom Cafe, SF): Golden pear, kiwi, lychee, high intensity aromatics, some floral; palate is full bodied, richly textured, medium-plus acidity, a bit short through the midpalate, white fruited; finish is medium length. Good but lacking the depth in the palate. Aromatics are phenomenal. 90
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PnP. Cork wet about 1/4 up. Medium gold. Complex nose dominated by tropical fruits, marzipan, some butter. On the palate more citrus flavors but with a lovely roundness/viscosity to it. Perhaps not as good as the last bottle but still a wonderful rendition of Chardonnay.
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Bursts from the glass with sweet apple and peach fruit with spice and mineral. Rich and voluptuous fruit awash with fresh acidity. Drinking splendidly and hitting all the right notes.
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Consistent with previous notes. Still going strong at 8 years. Had with Sushi this time around....
Earlier note:Lemon, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Good balance with medium acidity. Oak has integrated very well. Wine is in a really good spot and can easily age another 3-5 years. Served with a Chicken Dijon dish.
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On the nose—pickling juice, lemon, tropical notes, cantaloupe, pear. On the mouth—buttery, sharp acidity with a long finish. The acidity does mellow out over time. Paired with roast chicken and carrots/potatoes. It didn’t enhance the wine nor was this a bad pairing. It’s a big bold wine that’s not very balanced and for the price, I wouldn’t purchase it again. 89
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We had the last of this bottle a few days after it was opened. I found it better on day 3. Full lemony Heintz fruit with the acid still in balance. Really nice wine.
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PnP. Medium light greenish gold. Lovely nose of tropical fruits balanced with some citrus and marzipan. Heintz often has this exotic quality. On the palate this is gorgeous - Medium body, rich fruit and marzipan, citrus and acid on the finish which lasts for at least 30 seconds. A superb showing at age 8 for my favorite Littorai vineyard.
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Outstanding Littorai Chardonnay. Very balanced, still showing good acidity 8 years on. Excellent food wine, great with sautéed Salmon with pine nuts and truffle butter.
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At Longhi's Wailea for Thanksgiving dinner. Had a 1987 Drouhin Le Montrachet on the wine list for a fantastic price, but significant ullage and brownish tint made it too high a risk. This was the sommelier's alternate recommendation. Really enjoyable, balanced, subtle. Touch of oak and butter, but not overwhelming, lemon and stone fruit also present and fresh. Drinking perfectly, and enjoyed with my favorite people in the world - Eileen and Julia also really liked! Many thanks for a Maui holiday in this covid year.
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Lemon, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Good balance with medium acidity. Oak has integrated very well. Wine is in a really good spot and can easily age another 3-5 years. Served with a Chicken Dijon dish.
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Apples, vanilla, white flowers, wood, and a hint of citrus on the nose. Medium- acidity with vanilla, butter, orange, and ripe apple flavors on the palate. Medium finish. I usually love Littorai Chardonnays, but this is a disappointment. Way too much oak and lacks acidity. A well made wine, yet indistinguishable from all the other well made oaky CA Chardonnays. Not what I expect from Littorai. It did get better over time, though.
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I failed to post notes when I last drank this vintage - at least a year ago - but I remember I found it unremarkable. This time, a completely different animal.
Perhaps the wine was in dumb/ sleep mode; now it has awakened. The flavor profile is a balance of new and old world - the best of both. The richness of California chardonnay - without the fat, and with only trace vanilla/ wood - and the suggestion of the austerity of French Burgundies. I imagine there were several years of additional development that I terminated, but no regrets.
Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3. For the patient, the rating will probably increase.
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Edged out Amici in the fact that this one is very bright and acidic from the top and keeps on developing. Bright, bright front of lemon and limestone. Middle is dense and almost has a tangerine, lemon, pineapple kind of line to it. Finish was less expressive and while the 14 Amici is weighted to the back, this is weighted to the front. This will continue to develop over the next 3 to 5 years.
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Opened and poured a glass, let stand an hour. Light lemon oak and vanilla on the nose, nicely rich palate with good balance and tartness, but lacking complexity. Somewhat disappointing.
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The bottle tonight was outstanding. Opened and let breathe for about 30 minutes. Drank over the next 2 hours. Everything in the right place. Depth and balance are really good. This should easily hold up for another 5-10 years.
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Lemon rind, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Rich taste of pear nectar and lemon creme, moderately sweet and well balanced by acidity with a moderate touch of oak. Lengthy finish with wet gravel and lemon oil. Delicious now, but can still age a few years longer. I think this would pair well with baked chicken, rubbed with lemon, with rosemary and garlic under the skin. I hope that will be the fate of my next bottle ... Or maybe a rich risotto with a touch of lemon.
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A little on the creamy side from the oak, but good acidity and a touch of mineral to complement the tree fruit. Very nice, but I think I would have liked it better with a little less oak.
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Not our jam. Some nice lemon notes but then just a bit too much cream and oak for our taste. It's not excessive by any means, we just prefer that crisper, leaner style.
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Smells like cool climate CA chard - brisk and clean. On the palate it's light and lemony. Seems well made, but the quality of the fruit does not blow me away.
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Steak & Wine (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Clearly New World Chardonnay with lots of stuffing, but for right now I found it a bit too fleshy and vanilla. Needs several years in the cellar.
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Nose (and color) shows a Burgundian style of minerals, peach skin, Meyer lemon, crisp floral note. Palate matches but with more body, layers of citrus and tangy stone fruit, wet stone, slight white pepper, medium plus acidity, and medium plus to long finish that only then hints at it's CA origin about 15 seconds in. Sublime balance and structure. A special wine, and I don't even like Chardonnay.
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Dinner at AG with Ted Lemon (AG, stockholm): fantastic chardonnay. One of the best from this vineyard I have tried. While always racy and mineral-laden and elegant, this rendering of the CH chard by Littorai already offers a mysterious sexy complexity. likely to be even better in a few years but a killer chard from day 1. Go get it wherever you can!
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{winery visit} I had more questions after tasting than I did before it - this one is a head-scratcher in that it's keeping the secrets deep inside for now. A rich display of minerals, orchard fruits, loam, sweet hay and even some spice and nut tones weaving in and out; with the amount of raw material here, give this another 18-24 months in bottle, it's going to be great. highly recommended
Served non-blind; slow-ox 1 hr.
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Served cold, off a pop and pour, this showed pretty clumsy. However, after letting the wine warm up it started drinking much better, a complete turn around actually. At 55+, it's almost salty, very saline, mineral, even if a little more butter and cream than ideal, it's showing some real good stripes. Tasty meyer lemon, solid acidity, and a nice mineral driven, persistent finish.
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Outstanding. The aroma and mouth feel are profound yet well balanced: Citrus oil and blossom, apple, pear, bright acidity and long finish. Worth aging. Fun anecdote: right after the pick-up event at Littorai, we tasted another Chards from Radio Coteau, who also sourced the fruits from Charles Heintz. One can certainly tell the similarity between these two. I take it as genuine expression of the terror.
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Littorai visit (Littorai, Sonoma, CA): Now here's a nice Chard that has it all. Fresh minerals, fruit, some oak on the background, well balanced (not too heavy on the palate), and the taste does reflect the vineyard and its unique smell and soil. I think this one did very well and will be enjoyable for years to come. At the moment, 93. But can go up. Voted with the wallet
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Stunningly beautiful Chard -- actually gave me goosebumps. Supreme clarity in the expression of fruit with a backbone of what seemed to me like minerality and earth. A substantial mid-palate burst of flavor.
11/8/2023 - gsiokis Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last bottle. At 10 years this one is still going strong. Cork was in excellent condition. We had with seared scallops and didn't disappoint.
My previous note from 2021 and still inline:
Consistent with previous notes. Still going strong at 8 years. Had with Sushi this time around....
Earlier note:Lemon, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Good balance with medium acidity. Oak has integrated very well. Wine is in a really good spot and can easily age another 3-5 years. Served with a Chicken Dijon dish.
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9/25/2023 - curtr Likes this wine: 90 Points
I prefer drinking at a younger stage.
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1/10/2023 - aagrawal wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with Herwig (Heirloom Cafe, SF): Golden pear, kiwi, lychee, high intensity aromatics, some floral; palate is full bodied, richly textured, medium-plus acidity, a bit short through the midpalate, white fruited; finish is medium length. Good but lacking the depth in the palate. Aromatics are phenomenal. 90
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8/26/2022 - rosenst1 wrote: 92 Points
PnP. Cork wet about 1/4 up. Medium gold. Complex nose dominated by tropical fruits, marzipan, some butter. On the palate more citrus flavors but with a lovely roundness/viscosity to it. Perhaps not as good as the last bottle but still a wonderful rendition of Chardonnay.
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10/27/2021 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Bursts from the glass with sweet apple and peach fruit with spice and mineral. Rich and voluptuous fruit awash with fresh acidity. Drinking splendidly and hitting all the right notes.
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7/26/2021 - gsiokis Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with previous notes. Still going strong at 8 years. Had with Sushi this time around....
Earlier note:Lemon, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Good balance with medium acidity. Oak has integrated very well. Wine is in a really good spot and can easily age another 3-5 years. Served with a Chicken Dijon dish.
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7/9/2021 - silhouette88 wrote: 89 Points
On the nose—pickling juice, lemon, tropical notes, cantaloupe, pear.
On the mouth—buttery, sharp acidity with a long finish. The acidity does mellow out over time. Paired with roast chicken and carrots/potatoes. It didn’t enhance the wine nor was this a bad pairing. It’s a big bold wine that’s not very balanced and for the price, I wouldn’t purchase it again. 89
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6/19/2021 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 93 Points
We had the last of this bottle a few days after it was opened. I found it better on day 3. Full lemony Heintz fruit with the acid still in balance. Really nice wine.
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6/13/2021 - rosenst1 wrote: 95 Points
PnP. Medium light greenish gold. Lovely nose of tropical fruits balanced with some citrus and marzipan. Heintz often has this exotic quality. On the palate this is gorgeous - Medium body, rich fruit and marzipan, citrus and acid on the finish which lasts for at least 30 seconds. A superb showing at age 8 for my favorite Littorai vineyard.
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5/28/2021 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Another great bottle. Well balanced, delicious Heintz fruit with some acid zip.
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4/15/2021 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Paired with ahi tuna and Caesar salad. Really nice, corners have started to round out. Not sure this will get better, but plenty of time to drink.
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4/14/2021 - sfwineguy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Outstanding Littorai Chardonnay. Very balanced, still showing good acidity 8 years on. Excellent food wine, great with sautéed Salmon with pine nuts and truffle butter.
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11/29/2020 - Atwellian wrote: 92 Points
At Longhi's Wailea for Thanksgiving dinner. Had a 1987 Drouhin Le Montrachet on the wine list for a fantastic price, but significant ullage and brownish tint made it too high a risk. This was the sommelier's alternate recommendation. Really enjoyable, balanced, subtle. Touch of oak and butter, but not overwhelming, lemon and stone fruit also present and fresh. Drinking perfectly, and enjoyed with my favorite people in the world - Eileen and Julia also really liked! Many thanks for a Maui holiday in this covid year.
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10/30/2020 - gsiokis Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lemon, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Good balance with medium acidity. Oak has integrated very well. Wine is in a really good spot and can easily age another 3-5 years. Served with a Chicken Dijon dish.
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12/14/2019 - glou.sf wrote: 90 Points
Apples, vanilla, white flowers, wood, and a hint of citrus on the nose. Medium- acidity with vanilla, butter, orange, and ripe apple flavors on the palate. Medium finish. I usually love Littorai Chardonnays, but this is a disappointment. Way too much oak and lacks acidity. A well made wine, yet indistinguishable from all the other well made oaky CA Chardonnays. Not what I expect from Littorai. It did get better over time, though.
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9/29/2019 - JC Wine Lover wrote: 97 Points
This was one of the best Chardonnay wines that I have had in a long time!
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4/7/2019 - IJC Likes this wine:
A very nice bottle/ drinking experience.
I failed to post notes when I last drank this vintage - at least a year ago - but I remember I found it unremarkable. This time, a completely different animal.
Perhaps the wine was in dumb/ sleep mode; now it has awakened. The flavor profile is a balance of new and old world - the best of both. The richness of California chardonnay - without the fat, and with only trace vanilla/ wood - and the suggestion of the austerity of French Burgundies. I imagine there were several years of additional development that I terminated, but no regrets.
Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3. For the patient, the rating will probably increase.
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10/12/2018 - mflesh wrote: 94 Points
Edged out Amici in the fact that this one is very bright and acidic from the top and keeps on developing. Bright, bright front of lemon and limestone. Middle is dense and almost has a tangerine, lemon, pineapple kind of line to it. Finish was less expressive and while the 14 Amici is weighted to the back, this is weighted to the front. This will continue to develop over the next 3 to 5 years.
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3/21/2018 - Richard P Howden Likes this wine: 89 Points
Opened and poured a glass, let stand an hour. Light lemon oak and vanilla on the nose, nicely rich palate with good balance and tartness, but lacking complexity. Somewhat disappointing.
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3/3/2018 - Oskiwawa wrote: 94 Points
The bottle tonight was outstanding. Opened and let breathe for about 30 minutes. Drank over the next 2 hours. Everything in the right place. Depth and balance are really good. This should easily hold up for another 5-10 years.
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2/2/2018 - Nanda wrote: flawed
Corked. My first corked Littorai bottle.
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1/11/2018 - beerenauslese Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lemon rind, pear, and light brioche on the nose. Rich taste of pear nectar and lemon creme, moderately sweet and well balanced by acidity with a moderate touch of oak. Lengthy finish with wet gravel and lemon oil. Delicious now, but can still age a few years longer. I think this would pair well with baked chicken, rubbed with lemon, with rosemary and garlic under the skin. I hope that will be the fate of my next bottle ... Or maybe a rich risotto with a touch of lemon.
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8/12/2017 - kosdogger Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great color, minerality, and acid profile. Get lots of lemon and citrus on the taste and maybe a touch too creamy. Just a great producer.
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4/8/2017 - coremill wrote: 89 Points
A little on the creamy side from the oak, but good acidity and a touch of mineral to complement the tree fruit. Very nice, but I think I would have liked it better with a little less oak.
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3/11/2017 - lzelman Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent Chardonnay. Great flavors. Always a great wine from Littorai.
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12/31/2016 - hsveen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Outstanding!
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10/25/2016 - domco wrote:
Not our jam. Some nice lemon notes but then just a bit too much cream and oak for our taste. It's not excessive by any means, we just prefer that crisper, leaner style.
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9/10/2016 - Bbaldinger wrote:
- Yellow color. It's balanced and has flavours of lemon and honey with a medium body. Satin-Like texture with a medium finish.
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7/20/2016 - Philip67 Does not like this wine: 89 Points
Ok but some excess acidity, won't be buying any more. Lemon and honey tones but not especially appealing.
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5/4/2016 - christyler wrote:
Smells like cool climate CA chard - brisk and clean. On the palate it's light and lemony. Seems well made, but the quality of the fruit does not blow me away.
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1/30/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Steak & Wine (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Clearly New World Chardonnay with lots of stuffing, but for right now I found it a bit too fleshy and vanilla. Needs several years in the cellar.
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9/22/2015 - GTFreek wrote:
Nose (and color) shows a Burgundian style of minerals, peach skin, Meyer lemon, crisp floral note. Palate matches but with more body, layers of citrus and tangy stone fruit, wet stone, slight white pepper, medium plus acidity, and medium plus to long finish that only then hints at it's CA origin about 15 seconds in. Sublime balance and structure. A special wine, and I don't even like Chardonnay.
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6/26/2015 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dinner at AG with Ted Lemon (AG, stockholm): fantastic chardonnay. One of the best from this vineyard I have tried. While always racy and mineral-laden and elegant, this rendering of the CH chard by Littorai already offers a mysterious sexy complexity. likely to be even better in a few years but a killer chard from day 1. Go get it wherever you can!
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5/8/2015 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
{winery visit} I had more questions after tasting than I did before it - this one is a head-scratcher in that it's keeping the secrets deep inside for now. A rich display of minerals, orchard fruits, loam, sweet hay and even some spice and nut tones weaving in and out; with the amount of raw material here, give this another 18-24 months in bottle, it's going to be great. highly recommended
Served non-blind; slow-ox 1 hr.
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5/8/2015 - Robert Pavlovich Likes this wine:
Served cold, off a pop and pour, this showed pretty clumsy. However, after letting the wine warm up it started drinking much better, a complete turn around actually. At 55+, it's almost salty, very saline, mineral, even if a little more butter and cream than ideal, it's showing some real good stripes. Tasty meyer lemon, solid acidity, and a nice mineral driven, persistent finish.
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4/25/2015 - XYTD Likes this wine: 94 Points
Outstanding. The aroma and mouth feel are profound yet well balanced: Citrus oil and blossom, apple, pear, bright acidity and long finish. Worth aging.
Fun anecdote: right after the pick-up event at Littorai, we tasted another Chards from Radio Coteau, who also sourced the fruits from Charles Heintz. One can certainly tell the similarity between these two. I take it as genuine expression of the terror.
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4/3/2015 - odds Likes this wine: 93 Points
Littorai visit (Littorai, Sonoma, CA): Now here's a nice Chard that has it all. Fresh minerals, fruit, some oak on the background, well balanced (not too heavy on the palate), and the taste does reflect the vineyard and its unique smell and soil. I think this one did very well and will be enjoyable for years to come. At the moment, 93. But can go up. Voted with the wallet
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3/19/2015 - MattMauldin Likes this wine:
IPOB in SF 3/16 - Quick Impressions: Showing notes of Meyer lemon, slate, and rose hips along a creamy rich texture. Excellent.
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1/26/2015 - A6Rover wrote: 97 Points
Stunningly beautiful Chard -- actually gave me goosebumps. Supreme clarity in the expression of fruit with a backbone of what seemed to me like minerality and earth. A substantial mid-palate burst of flavor.
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