Best bottle yet from my case - aromas of fresh tropical fruits with a light on its feet palate composed of light honey, tropical fruits and a lifted finish with tension - everything in balance and downright superb
At its absolute peak and don’t believe it will improve further from here but will definitely keep for a few more years
But, why wait?
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October 2023 Loire Dinner (Mathilde - SF): What a kaleidoscope of citrus, minerals, and salinity on the palate -- unbelievable elegance and delicacy on the palate. So sad I missed the boat on these wines!
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Loire Tasting (Mathilda Bistro, San Francisco): Absolutely wonderful nose with nice complexity and richness, showing notes of lemon, peach, flowers, and some tropical fruit. Good acidity on the palate and overall really well balanced and put together. Flavors of ripe fruit, peach, lemon, lemon zest, and minerals. Long finish. An outstanding Chening Blanc. This has really evolved beautifully since tasting it first a couple of years ago.
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Berserker Offline (Mathilde Bistro - SF): Wow, an exotic chenin blanc that is 180 degrees from the Baumard! An incredible nose of passion fruit, white flowers, and honey - focused and incisive. It immediately evokes two distinct sense-memories. The first is opening a ripe pomelo, which first hits with a profuse cloud of citrus oil, followed by the bitter pith and delicate mild citrus flavor. The second is the grapefruit creme brulee at Friday Saturday Sunday in Philly, still perhaps one of the top 3 desserts I've ever eaten, with its more assertive grapefruit bitterness, a hint of tarragon and hay, perfectly interwoven with a rich creaminess. Beyond this, there's a mix of racy acid, salty minerals, and delicate flowers, leading to a long finish. Very elegant, but has plenty of heft and I suspect will get even better with time.
A real treat to try, a completely new dimension to chenin for me & something I'd like to find more of... Thanks Andy.
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Another impressive bottle from Bernaudeau. This is without a doubt my favorite producer of Chenin Blanc. The wines have a purity and transparency without any discernible makeup or stylistic overlay.
This 2018 Les Onglés soars from the glass, dripping with honey and honeysuckle nectar. It oozes ripe, tropical fruits like papaya and pineapple along with sweet anjou pear and is packed with concentration. The finish lingers on and on. In a lineup of about 15 top Loire Chenins, this was my favorite and it wasn’t particularly close.
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Vraiment déroutant et complexe comme vin. Sur les agrumes et le silex avec un peu de noix et une belle trame minérale. La finale bien longue nous laisse sur une belle fraicheur. Super bon et délicieux.
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Ripe citrus notes, grapefruit, peach, melon, passion fruit, and minerals on the nose. Great acidity that keeps it balanced with more peach flavors, lemon, grapefruit, and minerals on the palate. Nice finish. Lovely wine that is drinking very well right now. Definitely on the larger scaled / riper side.
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A whole lot is going on here, but it’s quite well balanced. Big, rich, round, and complex with loads of acidity. Great wine, but I prefer Coqueries, which is a bit lighter and leaner by comparison.
Quite an experience for a chenin blanc. We had different calls on this one, from Riesling to sauvignon blanc. It was fat, round but so complex and enjoyable. Tropical notes, petroleum, apples, peaches, you name it. A truly great wine.
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Yvelin's birthday; 9/5/2021-9/6/2021: I had to double check that I brought the correct bottle, this showed like a Riesling instead of a Chenin. Some petrol on the nose, very overt tropical fruit but still had a good backbone of acidity. Some hints of botrytis. Good, but confusing. Not sure if this is worth the ridiculous secondary market price.
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pure and beautiful expression of Chenin from a ripe year. Very floral, precise and nimble. Gains a bit of weight in glass and a touch of honey on finish but overall a lovely. Don’t see this going for years and years though.
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Initially slightly muted. It's got the nutty/natty note. With air, it explodes with intense honied orchard fruit. I mean it's so fruit driven it almost isn't Chenin like. Shows the vintage ripeness and definitely could use a touch more acidity, but dang it is delish juice.
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Ripe nose of tropical fruit, lime, saline notes, citrus, and lots of depth. The ripeness is very well carried by the acidity on the palate. More saline and mineral flavors along with guava round it out. Long finish. Excellent wine, drinking really well already. Shows the ripeness of the vintage, but perfectly balanced.
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Losing my mind trying to describe this. The closest I can get is maybe prosciutto with melon, some green apple, but really there's a musky meaty note that makes it pair beautifully with the pork belly and the lotus banchan at Atoboy.
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What a spectacular young chenin blanc. This is at once mineral and ripe, with great depth and persistence. The nose is honeyed, rich and inviting. The palate is cooler, with donut peaches, wool, green pears and fennel. There is a lovely herbal quality here that helps the wine maintain a sense of freshness. The back of the palate is expansive, structured and mouth-coating. This is not one for acid freaks, but it is a wonderfully balanced wine in its own right and has the stuffing to age for quite a long time.
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Tons going on here, even some botrytis I think. Definitely less fresh and elegant than other Bernaudeaus I've had. Going to bury the rest in the cellar and hope all that intensity resolves into something delicious
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An expressive nose of apple, honey, flint and freshly cut pear. It is intense and voluminous, with some fruit sweetness cut by chalky acidity. It has power and finesse and serious length. It should live forever.
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4/7/2024 - Smooth Jazz Likes this wine: 96 Points
Best bottle yet from my case - aromas of fresh tropical fruits with a light on its feet palate composed of light honey, tropical fruits and a lifted finish with tension - everything in balance and downright superb
At its absolute peak and don’t believe it will improve further from here but will definitely keep for a few more years
But, why wait?
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10/7/2023 - ylkim30 Likes this wine:
October 2023 Loire Dinner (Mathilde - SF): What a kaleidoscope of citrus, minerals, and salinity on the palate -- unbelievable elegance and delicacy on the palate. So sad I missed the boat on these wines!
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10/7/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 95 Points
Loire Tasting (Mathilda Bistro, San Francisco): Absolutely wonderful nose with nice complexity and richness, showing notes of lemon, peach, flowers, and some tropical fruit. Good acidity on the palate and overall really well balanced and put together. Flavors of ripe fruit, peach, lemon, lemon zest, and minerals. Long finish. An outstanding Chening Blanc. This has really evolved beautifully since tasting it first a couple of years ago.
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10/7/2023 - ohne_musik wrote: 95 Points
Berserker Offline (Mathilde Bistro - SF): Wow, an exotic chenin blanc that is 180 degrees from the Baumard! An incredible nose of passion fruit, white flowers, and honey - focused and incisive. It immediately evokes two distinct sense-memories. The first is opening a ripe pomelo, which first hits with a profuse cloud of citrus oil, followed by the bitter pith and delicate mild citrus flavor. The second is the grapefruit creme brulee at Friday Saturday Sunday in Philly, still perhaps one of the top 3 desserts I've ever eaten, with its more assertive grapefruit bitterness, a hint of tarragon and hay, perfectly interwoven with a rich creaminess. Beyond this, there's a mix of racy acid, salty minerals, and delicate flowers, leading to a long finish. Very elegant, but has plenty of heft and I suspect will get even better with time.
A real treat to try, a completely new dimension to chenin for me & something I'd like to find more of... Thanks Andy.
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5/22/2023 - jviz wrote: 97 Points
Another impressive bottle from Bernaudeau. This is without a doubt my favorite producer of Chenin Blanc. The wines have a purity and transparency without any discernible makeup or stylistic overlay.
This 2018 Les Onglés soars from the glass, dripping with honey and honeysuckle nectar. It oozes ripe, tropical fruits like papaya and pineapple along with sweet anjou pear and is packed with concentration. The finish lingers on and on. In a lineup of about 15 top Loire Chenins, this was my favorite and it wasn’t particularly close.
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5/3/2023 - François1986 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Robe jaune d'intensité moyennement pâle -
Nez intense tout en étant très précis de fruits exotiques, gousse de vanille subtile et exceptionnel en arrière-plan.
La bouche était gourmande, ronde, large.
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2/8/2023 - maxima wrote: 91 Points
Vraiment déroutant et complexe comme vin.
Sur les agrumes et le silex avec un
peu de noix et une belle trame minérale.
La finale bien longue nous laisse sur une belle fraicheur.
Super bon et délicieux.
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9/15/2022 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
Very out of character wine with Botrytis, off-dry aromatics and super waxy.
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9/5/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ripe citrus notes, grapefruit, peach, melon, passion fruit, and minerals on the nose. Great acidity that keeps it balanced with more peach flavors, lemon, grapefruit, and minerals on the palate. Nice finish. Lovely wine that is drinking very well right now. Definitely on the larger scaled / riper side.
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9/4/2022 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 93 Points
A whole lot is going on here, but it’s quite well balanced. Big, rich, round, and complex with loads of acidity. Great wine, but I prefer Coqueries, which is a bit lighter and leaner by comparison.
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6/17/2022 - EvoPeteMTL Likes this wine: 93 Points
Quite an experience for a chenin blanc. We had different calls on this one, from Riesling to sauvignon blanc. It was fat, round but so complex and enjoyable. Tropical notes, petroleum, apples, peaches, you name it. A truly great wine.
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9/5/2021 - melvinyeowq Likes this wine:
Yvelin's birthday; 9/5/2021-9/6/2021: I had to double check that I brought the correct bottle, this showed like a Riesling instead of a Chenin. Some petrol on the nose, very overt tropical fruit but still had a good backbone of acidity. Some hints of botrytis. Good, but confusing. Not sure if this is worth the ridiculous secondary market price.
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8/17/2021 - LW31 Likes this wine:
pure and beautiful expression of Chenin from a ripe year. Very floral, precise and nimble. Gains a bit of weight in glass and a touch of honey on finish but overall a lovely. Don’t see this going for years and years though.
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8/1/2021 - mye wrote:
Initially slightly muted. It's got the nutty/natty note. With air, it explodes with intense honied orchard fruit. I mean it's so fruit driven it almost isn't Chenin like. Shows the vintage ripeness and definitely could use a touch more acidity, but dang it is delish juice.
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7/15/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ripe nose of tropical fruit, lime, saline notes, citrus, and lots of depth. The ripeness is very well carried by the acidity on the palate. More saline and mineral flavors along with guava round it out. Long finish. Excellent wine, drinking really well already. Shows the ripeness of the vintage, but perfectly balanced.
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6/11/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine:
No formal notes, but I loved it. Great balance between acidity, fruit, richness, and saline notes. Awesome wine!
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6/7/2021 - midiprincess wrote: 98 Points
Losing my mind trying to describe this. The closest I can get is maybe prosciutto with melon, some green apple, but really there's a musky meaty note that makes it pair beautifully with the pork belly and the lotus banchan at Atoboy.
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1/30/2021 - B Paul wrote:
Really good, interesting wine with lots going on. Had good richness with honey and sweet fruit, but there’s also good cut to balance it all.
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1/26/2021 - Jason Stein wrote: 91 Points
What a spectacular young chenin blanc. This is at once mineral and ripe, with great depth and persistence. The nose is honeyed, rich and inviting. The palate is cooler, with donut peaches, wool, green pears and fennel. There is a lovely herbal quality here that helps the wine maintain a sense of freshness. The back of the palate is expansive, structured and mouth-coating. This is not one for acid freaks, but it is a wonderfully balanced wine in its own right and has the stuffing to age for quite a long time.
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1/19/2021 - Vas19 wrote: 90 Points
Tons going on here, even some botrytis I think. Definitely less fresh and elegant than other Bernaudeaus I've had. Going to bury the rest in the cellar and hope all that intensity resolves into something delicious
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8/9/2020 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
An expressive nose of apple, honey, flint and freshly cut pear. It is intense and voluminous, with some fruit sweetness cut by chalky acidity. It has power and finesse and serious length. It should live forever.
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6/10/2020 - Vertigo wrote: 92 Points
White flowers, white peaches, pears, smooth texture with great minerality. Medium acidity and good length.
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