It is by many standards flawed. This has spent some quality time with brettanomyces. This means the nose has prominent notes of horse barn. But nestled in that aroma are beguiling cranberry and cherry. Herbal and floral. Anise. Palate has ample acid supporting freshness of fruit. Long mineral finish. Tannins there.
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Distinct aromas, almost like oxidative. A bit strange. A lot of sediments, unfiltered, I believe. Good, but special taste. Not entirely convinced that this one was perfect. Excited to taste the next bottle.
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Bright purple color with a garnet rim. Super funky, geranium scented Gamay wine unlike any other I have tasted. Not as funky in the mouth, but still geranium flavors and some hard, but mostly ripe tannins on the finish. Could be ok with the right food, but why bother. Very little pleasure here. Rated 79 at best on opening.
So I left the stoppered bottle on the counter for two days. And the wine has transformed dramatically for the better. The funk is gone as is most of the geranium scent. Sweet but taut fruit has been revealed. Fully ripe tannins on the medium length finish. Very nice now. I now rate this a 90 after the long air time. Decant for at least several hours before drinking. I’ve never seen a wine improve so dramatically with extended air time.
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If you like gamay, in a natural setting, then here you go. Enjoyed with a Deborah Madison dinner of lentils and spinach on toasted homemade sourdough bread. Nice.
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Oh my. Give this one hour to breathe if you are to drink now, and you will be rewarded. Beautiful red fruits along with leather, spices and smokiness, and this just sings out of the glass. As of now, the nose overwhelms the palate, but the nose is quite fabulous. After about 2 hours, this wine reminded me of the wines of Prieure Roch on nose, and if you know how the Roch wines smell, you ought to know I am loving this. Great wine with character, and I think this is better than Herve Souhauts syrah or whites in some aspects.
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Juicy red fruited and some spice I associate with carbonic Gamay. With air there is quite a bit of funk/Brett. Didn’t notice obvious reduction mentioned in other notes. Don’t love the funk, it’s more then just background in this bottle tonight.
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Another killer vintage of this wine. Spicy, meaty, funky nose with leather, goat meat on top of red cherries and roses. Solid dose of tannins, refreshing acidity, but the wine feels smooth and fresh. Funky and pepper and beefy with juicy raspberries and cherries, roses, pepper. Love this. I'll try to hold my other bottle for a year or two.
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Wine Tasting Group - Theme: Northern Rhone - May 6, 2018 (Michael's home): Opened for ~30 min before tasting. From gamay. Aromas of mild brett - just enough to add interest, band-aid, black cherries, herbs, minerals and that hint of bubblegum. Palate has nice black fruits and cherries, herbs, minerals, and a bit of bubblegum. The textural differences between this and 2016 were pronounced. The 2016 was lithe and supple with black veering toward red fruits whereas the 2015 was dense, concentrated and powerful with fruits solidly in the black, veering toward blue. Many preferred the 2016 over 2015 and I would have to agree, by a small margin. We were all fascinated to see the differences between the 2 vintages so markedly reflected in these wines.
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Extremely reductive upon first opening. Didn't blow off after 2 days at room temp. Put the bottle in the fridge for a week, and it finally came to life.
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Pop and poured with lunch. Lots of burnt matchstick and some barnyard aromas that completely mask anything else. Recorked the bottle and gave it a good shake. The sulfur and barnyard aromas receded but not completely gone with hints of ripe cherries underneath. Palate is better with red fruits, minerals, some herbs and a firm texture with tannins coming on in the midpalate. A hint of barnyard flavors that's present but not distracting.
6 hr later with dinner, the reductive and barnyard aromas have receded somewhat but still very present. More fruit on palate than earlier today but still with firm texture. Slightly improved from this afternoon.
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Smoky and somewhat syrah-like aromatics, but on palate it's pure gorgeous gamay. Even a notch better than Hervé Souhaut's Syrah from the same fine fintage.
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3/2/2023 - lake.vino Likes this wine: 90 Points
It is by many standards flawed. This has spent some quality time with brettanomyces. This means the nose has prominent notes of horse barn. But nestled in that aroma are beguiling cranberry and cherry. Herbal and floral. Anise. Palate has ample acid supporting freshness of fruit. Long mineral finish. Tannins there.
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11/5/2022 - Antoniusyh wrote: 86 Points
Distinct aromas, almost like oxidative. A bit strange. A lot of sediments, unfiltered, I believe. Good, but special taste. Not entirely convinced that this one was perfect. Excited to taste the next bottle.
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9/27/2021 - Pinotfanbg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bright purple color with a garnet rim. Super funky, geranium scented Gamay wine unlike any other I have tasted. Not as funky in the mouth, but still geranium flavors and some hard, but mostly ripe tannins on the finish. Could be ok with the right food, but why bother. Very little pleasure here. Rated 79 at best on opening.
So I left the stoppered bottle on the counter for two days. And the wine has transformed dramatically for the better. The funk is gone as is most of the geranium scent. Sweet but taut fruit has been revealed. Fully ripe tannins on the medium length finish. Very nice now. I now rate this a 90 after the long air time. Decant for at least several hours before drinking. I’ve never seen a wine improve so dramatically with extended air time.
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9/15/2021 - zinfandel601 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Funky, barnyard aromas on opening. Bright, juicy fruit flavors. Enjoyable.
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1/17/2021 - Brain Capers Likes this wine:
If you like gamay, in a natural setting, then here you go. Enjoyed with a Deborah Madison dinner of lentils and spinach on toasted homemade sourdough bread. Nice.
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11/9/2020 - LW31 Likes this wine:
Bright, energetic gamay. This wine always has a special mineral edge, perhaps a touch warmer in this year. Great with roast chicken.
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4/27/2019 - jmw17 wrote:
A bit of funk blew off quickly and then a whole lotta sour cherry. Settled down a bit on day 2 but solar still.
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9/21/2018 - Timothy Sung Likes this wine: 90 Points
Smells and Tastes like a hybrid of Rhone, Pinot Noir, and Gamay.
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9/20/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote:
Consumed with family - no formal notes but it was firing.
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9/11/2018 - Timothy Sung wrote: 91 Points
Oh my.
Give this one hour to breathe if you are to drink now, and you will be rewarded.
Beautiful red fruits along with leather, spices and smokiness, and this just sings out of the glass.
As of now, the nose overwhelms the palate, but the nose is quite fabulous.
After about 2 hours, this wine reminded me of the wines of Prieure Roch on nose, and if you know how the Roch wines smell, you ought to know I am loving this.
Great wine with character, and I think this is better than Herve Souhauts syrah or whites in some aspects.
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7/31/2018 - marc d wrote:
Juicy red fruited and some spice I associate with carbonic Gamay. With air there is quite a bit of funk/Brett. Didn’t notice obvious reduction mentioned in other notes. Don’t love the funk, it’s more then just background in this bottle tonight.
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7/18/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 90 Points
Another killer vintage of this wine. Spicy, meaty, funky nose with leather, goat meat on top of red cherries and roses. Solid dose of tannins, refreshing acidity, but the wine feels smooth and fresh. Funky and pepper and beefy with juicy raspberries and cherries, roses, pepper. Love this. I'll try to hold my other bottle for a year or two.
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5/6/2018 - James Kim Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wine Tasting Group - Theme: Northern Rhone - May 6, 2018 (Michael's home): Opened for ~30 min before tasting. From gamay. Aromas of mild brett - just enough to add interest, band-aid, black cherries, herbs, minerals and that hint of bubblegum. Palate has nice black fruits and cherries, herbs, minerals, and a bit of bubblegum. The textural differences between this and 2016 were pronounced. The 2016 was lithe and supple with black veering toward red fruits whereas the 2015 was dense, concentrated and powerful with fruits solidly in the black, veering toward blue. Many preferred the 2016 over 2015 and I would have to agree, by a small margin. We were all fascinated to see the differences between the 2 vintages so markedly reflected in these wines.
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1/30/2018 - tlangle wrote:
Extremely reductive upon first opening. Didn't blow off after 2 days at room temp. Put the bottle in the fridge for a week, and it finally came to life.
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12/30/2017 - James Kim wrote: 88 Points
Pop and poured with lunch. Lots of burnt matchstick and some barnyard aromas that completely mask anything else. Recorked the bottle and gave it a good shake. The sulfur and barnyard aromas receded but not completely gone with hints of ripe cherries underneath. Palate is better with red fruits, minerals, some herbs and a firm texture with tannins coming on in the midpalate. A hint of barnyard flavors that's present but not distracting.
6 hr later with dinner, the reductive and barnyard aromas have receded somewhat but still very present. More fruit on palate than earlier today but still with firm texture. Slightly improved from this afternoon.
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12/11/2017 - Finare Vinare wrote: 91 Points
Smoky and somewhat syrah-like aromatics, but on palate it's pure gorgeous gamay. Even a notch better than Hervé Souhaut's Syrah from the same fine fintage.
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