Clean deep gold colour. Matured off-dry chenin offering a perfect pairing with a mi-cuit foie gras. Honey, clove, pineapple aromas. Lingering in mouth but good acidity cleansing the palate in aftertaste.
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Nice, rich, balanced. Probably about peak. Got a slight bit of that tart cotton candy chenin thing, but not too much, but enough to be interesting. Wish I had more.
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Lovely Chenin Blanc, and I'd say it's about at peak now. Beautifully balanced, with tropical fruits, body and acidity, long finish, wonderful mouthfeel. Very nice with an informal, pick up dinner with friends - a table full of small plates, cheeses, charcuterie. Terrific.
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Deep gold. Delicious, delicate honeyed nose with mineral nose. Fruity honeyed sweetness, refreshing acidity, altogether a delicious demi-sec wine with a long finish.
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An ok but not spectacular bottle. Disjointed with a weird vegetal bitter element when first poured, but after about 20mins of air, everything seemed to resolve. Slight sweetness, with a nice herby/wooly element to the fruit. Not a flabby wine, but this doesn't really have the acidity and lift that I like in my Loire Chenin Blanc. This seems to have come together quite a bit since the last bottle consumed a few years ago. I would say this is entering a it's drinking window with some room for improvement. Probably would not buy again.
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Obvious Chenin with some sweetness, this wine has lemon, quince and peach in the nose with a golden yellow hue. Moderate sweetness with a little zip that could be acid in the wine. It was not particularly expressive, somewhat muted with lime, Douglas Fir leaf and baked molasses notes. Never a good buy.
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belle robe cuivre, nez de coing confit, qq notes herbacées, en bouche notes de miel et de fruits confits bonne acidité qui permet de supporter une sucrosité bien présente; bonne longueur sur qq notes d'oranges amère
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I actually liked this. Starting to come into its own, and has some delineation. Not a food wine and could use more cut. But as a starter, a finisher, or by itself, it’s got some chutzpah. These Loire Chenins with this much sweet and heat need lots of time, like decades, or at least a day or three open in bottle. At first they are bulky, hot and imbalanced, but then emerge with glory. Glad I gave this a chance.
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It practically glows in the glass, coming across like a golden honey colored piece of clear amber. The slightly reticent nose reveals hints of apricots and nectarines, backed by a floral component with just a touch of a mushroom/fungal note. On the palate, the full bodied liquid brings everything the nose promised and more. While being almost dry, the apricot and nectarine flavors comes across so strongly you'd swear there was more residual sugar. Add a touch of wet granite and enough acid to make you love the slightly bitter fungal note, and you know someone cared about this wine.
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Pretty much another whiff, the '05 offerings from Belliviere by the G's in Seattle where, at best, mediocre, at worst horribly flawed. Almost orange in color with carmelized, oxidized notes in the nose. Slightly sweet with moldy dishrag notes. Some bitterness and oxidized marmalade. Not totally a waste except that I paid money for this bottle.
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Medium yellow. Sweet pear nose is made prickly by spice, but altogether is relatively simplistic. Sweet again in the mouth, conveying a dominant impression of ripeness with echoes of exotica, managing to stay lively off the latter despite lowish acidity and rather heavy body. This Chenin has a sultry swank but offers no depth of meaning or sustained excitement.
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Better than the Jansnieres, more overtly sweet than I remember, lacking zip or verve of many a Chenin, would skip all Dom. Belliviere in the future. Don't buy from this producer. Drinkable, not worth $20 and a poor example, maybe Demi-Sec level.
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Aromatiquement intéressant, sur le chenin avec un poil de végétal (herbes coupées). Il manque cependant d'acidité, et il est tenu par l'alcool et le sucre résiduel, trop présent pour un vin "sec". Impression globale bonne malgré tout, mais il ne serait pas allé plus loin je pense.
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This is quite a step up from the "Les Rosiers", which I have been working off. That wine was flabby and oxidized, but this is much better. Still, I think it saw a bit too much heat or oxygen somewhere in its life. Nose of gardenia, hints of alcohol and something just a bit sticky sweet, the wine has a bit of residual sugar but not much. With air it improves but it sure could use a little more zip to make it sing instead of cloy, which seems to be its MO right now. Flavors of melon, stone fruit with just a hint of citrus acidity, which mostly ends up on the finish. Not great, probably less than a $20 wine, which makes it a mediocre deal. I like Chenin, but this could be better. I don't see it improving either.
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Artisan Wines Biodynamic Tasting (St James's Club, Manchester): Heavy green fruit on the nose with some sweetness. Curious palate. There's clearly some sweetness, but it also feels rather clunky, out of balance and really not at all typical of chenin blanc. If this is what 70-90 year old Chenin vines produce, I'd not argue too strongly with anyone arguing they should be ripped out and replanted. Intriguing. It's not something you'd want much of, but it's an interesting glass.
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I really did not like this when it was opened, but some air took away the alcoholic heat and it became more Chenin like. Still, I am not sold on the wiine, even at $20.
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Light yellow color leads to a nose of petrol, honey, and lemon. Wine goes down easy with notes of petrol, citus fruit, and good acidity. Great wine for $29.
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In which Sharon Bowman cooks dinner for me: Huet, Palmer, Montevertine & more. (My place.): Sharon had put this in my fridge at an earlier dinner in February and it somehow went unopened. I always find this wine oddly intriguing. Made from 50-80 year old Chenin vines, for some reason the minerality of this wine always manifests itself to me in a bizarre moldy cheese rind-like way. I find it oddly attractive, but with certain fish/shellfish dishes, I find it repulsive. Since there is no fish tonight, I'm enjoying it. Quite rich and maybe a touch hot on the finish, with quince and stone fruit flavors, I guess the sweetness level is in the upper range of demi-sec to moelleux, which kicks off a bet between Sharon and Joe about rs level. Sharon guesses 17 and Joe 12. Turns out it's 20. A-/B+.
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So there is a defining element to the terroir that Bellivere is working with here. And to me, it is medicinal Douglass Fir pine. Like the 2004, this wine is bursting with it. As per the vintage, this wine is fuller and thicker than the 2004, and I don't think that is a good thing in this case - the lithe intensity of the 04 made more sense to me. decent acidity, a smoky herbal finish, this paired beautifully with out roast pork shoulder with lemon rind and capers.
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Brought to the Kane Jeebus in Seattle. Really pure nose that is the essence of Chenin. Quince, honey, acacia flower, lots of richness, demisec sweet, high glycerin and mouth coating. The structure is buried right now under the baby fat. How will these age? There is plenty of material but the alcohol is high and I wonder if there is enough acidic backbone.
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12/31/2023 - penmoalic Does not like this wine: 89 Points
Clean deep gold colour. Matured off-dry chenin offering a perfect pairing with a mi-cuit foie gras.
Honey, clove, pineapple aromas. Lingering in mouth but good acidity cleansing the palate in aftertaste.
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1/6/2019 - cab wrote:
In contrast to last bottle, this one, while drinkable, was clearly past the best-consumed-by date.
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11/28/2018 - cab Likes this wine:
Nice, rich, balanced. Probably about peak. Got a slight bit of that tart cotton candy chenin thing, but not too much, but enough to be interesting. Wish I had more.
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4/15/2017 - SteveHyde Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely Chenin Blanc, and I'd say it's about at peak now. Beautifully balanced, with tropical fruits, body and acidity, long finish, wonderful mouthfeel. Very nice with an informal, pick up dinner with friends - a table full of small plates, cheeses, charcuterie. Terrific.
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5/31/2015 - tendring Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep gold.
Delicious, delicate honeyed nose with mineral nose.
Fruity honeyed sweetness, refreshing acidity, altogether a delicious demi-sec wine with a long finish.
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4/24/2015 - zarped wrote: 88 Points
robe cuivre nez de coing et fleurs blanches en bouche leègre sucrosité bien porté par acidité, nez de melon confit belle longueur
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12/20/2013 - flashvictor wrote: flawed
Christmas (and birthday) party (Our house): Corked
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3/20/2013 - Chris Newport wrote:
An ok but not spectacular bottle. Disjointed with a weird vegetal bitter element when first poured, but after about 20mins of air, everything seemed to resolve. Slight sweetness, with a nice herby/wooly element to the fruit. Not a flabby wine, but this doesn't really have the acidity and lift that I like in my Loire Chenin Blanc. This seems to have come together quite a bit since the last bottle consumed a few years ago. I would say this is entering a it's drinking window with some room for improvement. Probably would not buy again.
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2/20/2013 - guitarguy wrote: 84 Points
A bit flabby, flaccid, unfocused and oxidized. About average for the group of Belliviere '05's I purchased.
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1/14/2013 - guitarguy wrote: 83 Points
Obvious Chenin with some sweetness, this wine has lemon, quince and peach in the nose with a golden yellow hue. Moderate sweetness with a little zip that could be acid in the wine. It was not particularly expressive, somewhat muted with lime, Douglas Fir leaf and baked molasses notes. Never a good buy.
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10/23/2012 - tendring Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fabulous sweet fruit and honey, barley sugar and a dry finish.
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10/23/2012 - tendring Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fabulous sweet fruit and honey.
Barley sugar and a dry finish.
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10/12/2012 - zarped wrote: 88 Points
belle robe cuivre, nez de coing confit, qq notes herbacées, en bouche notes de miel et de fruits confits bonne acidité qui permet de supporter une sucrosité bien présente; bonne longueur sur qq notes d'oranges amère
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3/2/2012 - sawira wrote: 87 Points
I actually liked this. Starting to come into its own, and has some delineation. Not a food wine and could use more cut. But as a starter, a finisher, or by itself, it’s got some chutzpah. These Loire Chenins with this much sweet and heat need lots of time, like decades, or at least a day or three open in bottle. At first they are bulky, hot and imbalanced, but then emerge with glory. Glad I gave this a chance.
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2/17/2012 - PDX-S wrote: 89 Points
It practically glows in the glass, coming across like a golden honey colored piece of clear amber. The slightly reticent nose reveals hints of apricots and nectarines, backed by a floral component with just a touch of a mushroom/fungal note.
On the palate, the full bodied liquid brings everything the nose promised and more. While being almost dry, the apricot and nectarine flavors comes across so strongly you'd swear there was more residual sugar. Add a touch of wet granite and enough acid to make you love the slightly bitter fungal note, and you know someone cared about this wine.
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10/7/2011 - sebastienjm wrote: 75 Points
très mauvaise évolution avec un coté herbacé franchement désagréable.
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6/16/2011 - guitarguy wrote: 80 Points
Pretty much another whiff, the '05 offerings from Belliviere by the G's in Seattle where, at best, mediocre, at worst horribly flawed. Almost orange in color with carmelized, oxidized notes in the nose. Slightly sweet with moldy dishrag notes. Some bitterness and oxidized marmalade. Not totally a waste except that I paid money for this bottle.
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6/15/2011 - tcfishler wrote:
Medium yellow. Sweet pear nose is made prickly by spice, but altogether is relatively simplistic. Sweet again in the mouth, conveying a dominant impression of ripeness with echoes of exotica, managing to stay lively off the latter despite lowish acidity and rather heavy body. This Chenin has a sultry swank but offers no depth of meaning or sustained excitement.
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2/21/2011 - guitarguy wrote: 82 Points
Better than the Jansnieres, more overtly sweet than I remember, lacking zip or verve of many a Chenin, would skip all Dom. Belliviere in the future. Don't buy from this producer. Drinkable, not worth $20 and a poor example, maybe Demi-Sec level.
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7/31/2010 - vinum bonum wrote:
Aromatiquement intéressant, sur le chenin avec un poil de végétal (herbes coupées). Il manque cependant d'acidité, et il est tenu par l'alcool et le sucre résiduel, trop présent pour un vin "sec". Impression globale bonne malgré tout, mais il ne serait pas allé plus loin je pense.
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7/27/2010 - guitarguy wrote: 85 Points
This is quite a step up from the "Les Rosiers", which I have been working off. That wine was flabby and oxidized, but this is much better. Still, I think it saw a bit too much heat or oxygen somewhere in its life. Nose of gardenia, hints of alcohol and something just a bit sticky sweet, the wine has a bit of residual sugar but not much. With air it improves but it sure could use a little more zip to make it sing instead of cloy, which seems to be its MO right now. Flavors of melon, stone fruit with just a hint of citrus acidity, which mostly ends up on the finish. Not great, probably less than a $20 wine, which makes it a mediocre deal. I like Chenin, but this could be better. I don't see it improving either.
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6/1/2010 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 86 Points
Artisan Wines Biodynamic Tasting (St James's Club, Manchester): Heavy green fruit on the nose with some sweetness. Curious palate. There's clearly some sweetness, but it also feels rather clunky, out of balance and really not at all typical of chenin blanc.
If this is what 70-90 year old Chenin vines produce, I'd not argue too strongly with anyone arguing they should be ripped out and replanted.
Intriguing.
It's not something you'd want much of, but it's an interesting glass.
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12/30/2009 - guitarguy wrote: 86 Points
I really did not like this when it was opened, but some air took away the alcoholic heat and it became more Chenin like. Still, I am not sold on the wiine, even at $20.
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12/25/2009 - br wrote: flawed
doa
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7/12/2009 - flashvictor wrote: 90 Points
Light yellow color leads to a nose of petrol, honey, and lemon. Wine goes down easy with notes of petrol, citus fruit, and good acidity. Great wine for $29.
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4/24/2009 - BradKNYC wrote:
In which Sharon Bowman cooks dinner for me: Huet, Palmer, Montevertine & more. (My place.): Sharon had put this in my fridge at an earlier dinner in February and it somehow went unopened. I always find this wine oddly intriguing. Made from 50-80 year old Chenin vines, for some reason the minerality of this wine always manifests itself to me in a bizarre moldy cheese rind-like way. I find it oddly attractive, but with certain fish/shellfish dishes, I find it repulsive. Since there is no fish tonight, I'm enjoying it. Quite rich and maybe a touch hot on the finish, with quince and stone fruit flavors, I guess the sweetness level is in the upper range of demi-sec to moelleux, which kicks off a bet between Sharon and Joe about rs level. Sharon guesses 17 and Joe 12. Turns out it's 20. A-/B+.
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1/5/2009 - brooklynguy wrote: 88 Points
So there is a defining element to the terroir that Bellivere is working with here. And to me, it is medicinal Douglass Fir pine. Like the 2004, this wine is bursting with it. As per the vintage, this wine is fuller and thicker than the 2004, and I don't think that is a good thing in this case - the lithe intensity of the 04 made more sense to me. decent acidity, a smoky herbal finish, this paired beautifully with out roast pork shoulder with lemon rind and capers.
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7/20/2007 - marc d wrote:
Brought to the Kane Jeebus in Seattle.
Really pure nose that is the essence of Chenin. Quince, honey, acacia flower, lots of richness, demisec sweet, high glycerin and mouth coating. The structure is buried right now under the baby fat. How will these age? There is plenty of material but the alcohol is high and I wonder if there is enough acidic backbone.
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