Beautiful champagne in full maturity. Scented with jasmine and citrus blossom, the mid notes show hay, quince and base notes of apple, bitter orange, brioche, sweet spices, and earth. Good acid balance. Wonderful complexity and although this is fully mature I don’t see it going downhill for years.
I tried this in three different glasses.
The Darsonville glass again shows the wine at its best, emphasizing the floral top notes into a heady perfume without losing the mid and base. My Baccarat Perfection flutes are the least flattering which isn’t a surprise given the shape. Limited aromatic top notes with emphasis on the apple, bread and earth. The Jancis Robinson glass performed well across the flavor range but couldn’t match that top note perfume. Interesting glass matchup.
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Deep gold, mature flavors but good acidity to freshen it. White flowers and almond. The cork was very compressed so this may get not have been the best bottle.
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A lovely golden yellow. This had nuts, honey, some citrus, white flowers and was still very fresh thanks to the zippy acidity. Only one bottle left now...
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Golden color with a bouquet and flavor typical of very good old Champagne with notes of petrol, dilute balsamic vinegar, and dry toast. Very good definition with excellent balance and a long finish. Evanescent bubbles, expected for a wine of this age. The perfect wine to start a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on a glorious day North of New Orleans in the piney woods of Louisiana. I must complement all of our cooks on the excellent turkey, brazil nut stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes), rich turkey gravy, corn pudding, brussel sprouts hash, cranberry relish, and the super pumpkin pie with whipped cream. The food and wine were both WOWs.
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Impeccably well stored in great shape old champagne - the formula, short on bubbles, long on complexity. Very much on the pinot noir side, and I thought 1996 a particularly great year for pinot noir champagnes. Eyeopeningly juicy and mouth filling with length I have rarely, almost ever, seen in a champagne, Last bottle. Au revoir.
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Gold color, on the nose I got brown apple, pear, honey with some sourdough/brioche notes as it opened up a bit. On the palette there was a strong nutty/savory note that turned to a heavy green apple/citrus tartness towards the back-end.
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Mid gold. Fairly fine and persistent stream of bubbles. Mature with toasty brioche and hazelnut aromas. Similar on palate. Good depth and a positive finish. Lovely. ****
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Year 3 - Super Tasting 2 of 5 - Andrew does 96 Chamapgne (Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON): This is really my style. I think it liked it more than anyone else in the group. Quite a nice rich nose on this wine wafting notes of light roast coffee, honey, sautéed apple, saffron, coriander seed, chamomile tea, brown sugar, chinese five spice, smoked meat and pastry dough. The palate has fairly high acid but it is rounded off and feels like this wine has perhaps been through malolactic. the dosage comes across as a pinch above moderate (perhaps 10 g/l), which works nicely for me. The finish is medium plus repeating many of the rich notes shown on the nose. In my opinion this was flat out awesome.
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Second Sunday Group: 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Barb's): L60224 11710, courtesy of Neil's cold cellar. Light golden yellow color feayuring aromas of marshmallow, toasted walnuts, apple, roasted pear and hints of caramel. Fine bead with hints of melon, apple, vanilla custard, citrus and stone. Long finish. 94-95 pts.
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Only a slight pop, cork small and compact. Feels a little jaded and faded cf previous bottle. Quite a nice rich flavour but lacks verve and complexity. Good, but not great. ***
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Tasted against the 1996 Dom Perignon, this champagne surprised me as clearly superior. It remains austere, not particularly generous, but it has remarkable extract, weight and finish. Still a bit cutrusy. It basically just cut through the Dom. A reminder that it is one thing to evaluate a wine by itself, quite another to evaluate it against for want of a better term, the big boys. I rated the 1988 Krug as my only ever 100 point champagne. This is my second highest ever rated champagne. If you can find a well stored bottle of this, pay up.
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Taking on a deeper color suggesting plenty of pinot noir, however that is not at this point reflected on the palate. Bubbles diminish relatively quickly. Nutty notes creeping into the nose but citrus notes remain. Really impressive length remains but it is dryer, less generous than I recall. I'm thinking a champagne that has many years ahead and will always show well, but just maybe it was more impressively overwhelming when young.
24 hours in remains in fine shape. The finish remains impressively long, but still very much on the austere side.
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Nothing beats this, even the finest Krug or Cristal will be seriously challenged. An explosion of flavours with superior length, complexity and freshness. Intensely mineral. Drinking well now but will hold for many decades.
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In excellent condition with and amazing nose of baked croissants, brioche and vanilla. Very good mouth feel with a long toasty finish but plenty of acidity to keep things together.
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This will be a polarizing Champagne. So rich and extroverted and over the top, like Russell Brand's personality. Brioche, citrus, orange marmalade and honey notes just explode from the glass and repeat on the palate. The finish is vanilla-laden, almost like white chocolate or a vanilla pastry. Chewy and vinous - but energized by the citric-acidic cut on the finish.
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Work Wine Tasting - Vintage Pairs (Home): Paired with 08 disgorgement NV. Initiially a little less flamboyant and showy, but with a bit of air this shows it's class and demonstrates finer bubbles and mousse, more mid-palate depth and complexity and more finesse on the length. Very nice indeed. **** After 48hours, this has faded more than the NV which is now showing better.
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Excellent as usual. Brioche and citrus (see previous note) but this time there were moments when I noticed some red apple. I suspect that this deserves more than a 93.
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There is a certain sublime quality to this wine that drinking a bottle of 96 Dom a night later made me appreciate. Both wines are wonderfully extracted and rich, but the Dom is bigger and more obvious in a very positive way. The Heidsieck has plenty of brioche, a bit of citrus, and a certain elegance that the Dom just might lack. A you like Lafitte, I like Latour kind of thing I think. Two great wines - a matter of preference not quality.
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(Possibly a 95 if I'm honest but I want to do my bit to tackle score inflation.)
More of a hiss than a pop on opening. Nice slightly golden colour. The nose was excellent and restrained but what stood out was the palate: Lots and lots of brioche and freshly made croissants. (I know those descriptors are used often, but here it's the real thing.) What was amazing was how refined and integrated this all tasted. The doughy notes were all balanced by a lovely backbone lemony (think lemon tart not fresh lemon) acidity. Excellent QPR. Have already bought more.
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Dinner at Ray's: Drunk this rather too quickly and didn't take a proper note, but very open and round in the mouth. Very easy and works well on its own without food.
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Unquestionably an immensely impressive champage. A bit dryer than I might like, but wonderfully extracted with what I refer to as the Daniel Thibault toasty dosage. White flower brioche on the nose. Show stopping vinosity. I'm confident that in a comparative tasting of the best 1996 champagnes - Dom, Crystal, Grand Dame, Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee, etc. this would win, but that doesn't mean it is a better champagne. Just means it is more overwhelming.
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Slightly deeper colour and far richer and more rounded than the 95 Celebris that preceeded this. All nuttiness and brioche with a nice minerality and positive finish. More obvious and exuberant than the Celebris that is currently a little more introverted and cerebral. Really lovely now ****
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Bright lemon yellow. Rich, maturing nose of butter, brioche and hot toast. Fresh entry, lemon, brioche and a positive finish. Starting to show some maturity but more to development. Acidity seems to be balanced. Lovely wine. ****
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This wine needs to settle down, integrate. But it already has an incredibly long finish. Chardonnay dominates. White gold in color as opposed to the darker gold color of a pinot noir dominated champagne. Nose of white flowers, brioche and minerality. On the palate citrus wrapped around a sweet pure chardonnay mineral core with a touch of toast. I can see this as being built on quality Avize grapes. That said, the wine has an off putting raw acid note across the palate to the finish. When time allows this to clear, and the wine becomes better integrated, the score on this wine is going way up.
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Nice and dry, a bit of yeast on the nose initially, but it faded quickly, a straight cut wine, from what I can remember there is a lot of Pinot in this blend, but to me it tastes more like chardonnay. Think I'll rate this wine higher in a few years.
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1/1/2024 - acidqueen wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful champagne in full maturity. Scented with jasmine and citrus blossom, the mid notes show hay, quince and base notes of apple, bitter orange, brioche, sweet spices, and earth. Good acid balance. Wonderful complexity and although this is fully mature I don’t see it going downhill for years.
I tried this in three different glasses.
The Darsonville glass again shows the wine at its best, emphasizing the floral top notes into a heady perfume without losing the mid and base. My Baccarat Perfection flutes are the least flattering which isn’t a surprise given the shape. Limited aromatic top notes with emphasis on the apple, bread and earth. The Jancis Robinson glass performed well across the flavor range but couldn’t match that top note perfume. Interesting glass matchup.
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6/10/2023 - acidqueen wrote: 90 Points
Deep gold, mature flavors but good acidity to freshen it. White flowers and almond. The cork was very compressed so this may get not have been the best bottle.
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9/7/2021 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Darker colour than the 95 BdM alongside. So refreshing.
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5/26/2021 - asparagus Likes this wine: 93 Points
My last bottle of 12... what a gloriously mature champagne. Golden yellow, honey, almonds and some white flowers. Loved the acid and the finish.
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1/25/2020 - asparagus Likes this wine: 94 Points
A lovely golden yellow. This had nuts, honey, some citrus, white flowers and was still very fresh thanks to the zippy acidity. Only one bottle left now...
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11/28/2019 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 97 Points
Golden color with a bouquet and flavor typical of very good old Champagne with notes of petrol, dilute balsamic vinegar, and dry toast.
Very good definition with excellent balance and a long finish. Evanescent bubbles, expected for a wine of this age. The perfect wine to start a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on a glorious day North of New Orleans in the piney woods of Louisiana. I must complement all of our cooks on the excellent turkey, brazil nut stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes), rich turkey gravy, corn pudding, brussel sprouts hash, cranberry relish, and the super pumpkin pie with whipped cream. The food and wine were both WOWs.
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8/1/2019 - theusualsuspect wrote: 97 Points
Impeccably well stored in great shape old champagne - the formula, short on bubbles, long on complexity. Very much on the pinot noir side, and I thought 1996 a particularly great year for pinot noir champagnes. Eyeopeningly juicy and mouth filling with length I have rarely, almost ever, seen in a champagne, Last bottle. Au revoir.
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6/3/2019 - DAN BAILEY Likes this wine:
Slightly darker colour than the 95 BdM. Much more generous, rich and honeyed.
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10/28/2017 - asparagus Likes this wine: 93 Points
Once again - honey and nuts with lovelu acidic spine to hold everything together
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7/12/2017 - asparagus Likes this wine: 91 Points
This screamed honey and nuts. Very fine bubbles, good acidity (present but not overbearing)
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3/28/2017 - asparagus Likes this wine: 90 Points
Have had this several time. A really decent champagne. Tasty, with a fine nose. But not as fresh as I had hoped and not worth the price...
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1/7/2017 - asparagus Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow. Best bottle of this i have had. All refinement ad nuttiness. Much love
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1/1/2017 - flatlandfarmer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Gold color, on the nose I got brown apple, pear, honey with some sourdough/brioche notes as it opened up a bit. On the palette there was a strong nutty/savory note that turned to a heavy green apple/citrus tartness towards the back-end.
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5/16/2016 - asparagus wrote:
Very good, pinot noir-heavy wine. Should last for years
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11/8/2015 - SimonG wrote: 92 Points
Mid gold. Fairly fine and persistent stream of bubbles. Mature with toasty brioche and hazelnut aromas. Similar on palate. Good depth and a positive finish. Lovely. ****
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9/20/2015 - Atreyu wrote: 97 Points
full bodied, dried meats and intense mineral. Mindblowing.
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8/26/2015 - asparagus Likes this wine: 92 Points
An amazing nose, good balance. I really liked this.
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7/18/2015 - Wine Canuck wrote: 94 Points
Year 3 - Super Tasting 2 of 5 - Andrew does 96 Chamapgne (Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON): This is really my style. I think it liked it more than anyone else in the group. Quite a nice rich nose on this wine wafting notes of light roast coffee, honey, sautéed apple, saffron, coriander seed, chamomile tea, brown sugar, chinese five spice, smoked meat and pastry dough. The palate has fairly high acid but it is rounded off and feels like this wine has perhaps been through malolactic. the dosage comes across as a pinch above moderate (perhaps 10 g/l), which works nicely for me. The finish is medium plus repeating many of the rich notes shown on the nose. In my opinion this was flat out awesome.
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7/18/2015 - Dave Canada wrote: 92 Points
Year 3 - Super Tasting 2 of 5 - Andrew does 1996 Champagne (Langdon Hall - Andrew Little's Rooom (Also known as the Red Room)): Pretty champagne...nose of asian 5 spice, spiced pork butt, star anise, smoke, white flowers, citrus and minerals.
The palate presents pure lemon and lime, minerals, honey, acacia flowers, biscuit and a whiff of lightly roasted coffee.
Finish is medium+ and quite complex. Great showing.
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6/7/2015 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points
Second Sunday Group: 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Barb's): L60224 11710, courtesy of Neil's cold cellar. Light golden yellow color feayuring aromas of marshmallow, toasted walnuts, apple, roasted pear and hints of caramel. Fine bead with hints of melon, apple, vanilla custard, citrus and stone. Long finish. 94-95 pts.
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12/15/2014 - SimonG wrote: 88 Points
Only a slight pop, cork small and compact. Feels a little jaded and faded cf previous bottle. Quite a nice rich flavour but lacks verve and complexity. Good, but not great. ***
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10/26/2014 - theusualsuspect wrote: 98 Points
Tasted against the 1996 Dom Perignon, this champagne surprised me as clearly superior. It remains austere, not particularly generous, but it has remarkable extract, weight and finish. Still a bit cutrusy. It basically just cut through the Dom. A reminder that it is one thing to evaluate a wine by itself, quite another to evaluate it against for want of a better term, the big boys.
I rated the 1988 Krug as my only ever 100 point champagne. This is my second highest ever rated champagne. If you can find a well stored bottle of this, pay up.
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12/23/2013 - theusualsuspect wrote: 94 Points
Taking on a deeper color suggesting plenty of pinot noir, however that is not at this point reflected on the palate. Bubbles diminish relatively quickly. Nutty notes creeping into the nose but citrus notes remain. Really impressive length remains but it is dryer, less generous than I recall. I'm thinking a champagne that has many years ahead and will always show well, but just maybe it was more impressively overwhelming when young.
24 hours in remains in fine shape. The finish remains impressively long, but still very much on the austere side.
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5/5/2013 - Atreyu wrote: 99 Points
Nothing beats this, even the finest Krug or Cristal will be seriously challenged. An explosion of flavours with superior length, complexity and freshness. Intensely mineral. Drinking well now but will hold for many decades.
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2/24/2013 - Atreyu wrote: 92 Points
less fruit than previous bottles, but improved greatly with air
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7/1/2012 - SLIMES wrote: 93 Points
In excellent condition with and amazing nose of baked croissants, brioche and vanilla. Very good mouth feel with a long toasty finish but plenty of acidity to keep things together.
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2/28/2012 - SLIMES wrote:
No notes at the time, but still awesome.
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1/10/2012 - SteveG wrote: 88 Points
From memory. Mature and enjoyable, surprisingly light and a little undistinguished.
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12/28/2011 - SLIMES wrote: 92 Points
Not as expressive as previous bottles but acidity and orange notes were still there.
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12/27/2011 - spacewrangler wrote: 96 Points
This will be a polarizing Champagne. So rich and extroverted and over the top, like Russell Brand's personality. Brioche, citrus, orange marmalade and honey notes just explode from the glass and repeat on the palate. The finish is vanilla-laden, almost like white chocolate or a vanilla pastry. Chewy and vinous - but energized by the citric-acidic cut on the finish.
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12/15/2011 - SimonG wrote:
Work Wine Tasting - Vintage Pairs (Home): Paired with 08 disgorgement NV. Initiially a little less flamboyant and showy, but with a bit of air this shows it's class and demonstrates finer bubbles and mousse, more mid-palate depth and complexity and more finesse on the length. Very nice indeed. **** After 48hours, this has faded more than the NV which is now showing better.
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11/24/2011 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Light medium yellow color with medium-sized bubbles; lemon peel, yeasty, hazelnut nose; mature, poised, mineral, lemon, lemon peel, light nuts nose; medium-plus finish 92+ points
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8/14/2011 - SLIMES wrote: 93 Points
Excellent as usual. Brioche and citrus (see previous note) but this time there were moments when I noticed some red apple. I suspect that this deserves more than a 93.
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5/25/2011 - theusualsuspect wrote: 96 Points
There is a certain sublime quality to this wine that drinking a bottle of 96 Dom a night later made me appreciate. Both wines are wonderfully extracted and rich, but the Dom is bigger and more obvious in a very positive way. The Heidsieck has plenty of brioche, a bit of citrus, and a certain elegance that the Dom just might lack. A you like Lafitte, I like Latour kind of thing I think. Two great wines - a matter of preference not quality.
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3/15/2011 - SLIMES wrote: 94 Points
(Possibly a 95 if I'm honest but I want to do my bit to tackle score inflation.)
More of a hiss than a pop on opening. Nice slightly golden colour. The nose was excellent and restrained but what stood out was the palate: Lots and lots of brioche and freshly made croissants. (I know those descriptors are used often, but here it's the real thing.) What was amazing was how refined and integrated this all tasted. The doughy notes were all balanced by a lovely backbone lemony (think lemon tart not fresh lemon) acidity. Excellent QPR. Have already bought more.
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1/25/2011 - wmeznarich wrote: 91 Points
Deep rich gold, tart candied lemon, sourdough yeast, massive structure, classic CH smokiness, lots of life left.
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12/19/2010 - Atreyu wrote: 93 Points
Even better than my last bottle.
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9/3/2010 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 89 Points
Dinner at Ray's: Drunk this rather too quickly and didn't take a proper note, but very open and round in the mouth. Very easy and works well on its own without food.
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8/23/2010 - theusualsuspect wrote: 96 Points
Unquestionably an immensely impressive champage. A bit dryer than I might like, but wonderfully extracted with what I refer to as the Daniel Thibault toasty dosage. White flower brioche on the nose. Show stopping vinosity. I'm confident that in a comparative tasting of the best 1996 champagnes - Dom, Crystal, Grand Dame, Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee, etc. this would win, but that doesn't mean it is a better champagne. Just means it is more overwhelming.
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7/19/2010 - Caudalie wrote:
Très bien, mais à mon goût, pas au niveau d'henriot 96, même si c'est proche
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6/20/2010 - Atreyu wrote: 92 Points
classic bread and yeast with lemon confit and massive minerals and a very long finish. Elegant but substantial. Superb!
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9/20/2009 - HappyEndingChateau wrote: 100 Points
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
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7/23/2009 - paha wrote: 90 Points
Incredible nose full of brioche and cola!
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6/8/2009 - Caudalie wrote:
c'était très bon!
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5/8/2009 - SimonG wrote:
Slightly deeper colour and far richer and more rounded than the 95 Celebris that preceeded this. All nuttiness and brioche with a nice minerality and positive finish. More obvious and exuberant than the Celebris that is currently a little more introverted and cerebral. Really lovely now ****
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3/22/2009 - SimonG wrote:
Bright lemon yellow. Rich, maturing nose of butter, brioche and hot toast. Fresh entry, lemon, brioche and a positive finish. Starting to show some maturity but more to development. Acidity seems to be balanced. Lovely wine. ****
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2/9/2008 - theusualsuspect wrote: 92 Points
This wine needs to settle down, integrate. But it already has an incredibly long finish. Chardonnay dominates. White gold in color as opposed to the darker gold color of a pinot noir dominated champagne. Nose of white flowers, brioche and minerality. On the palate citrus wrapped around a sweet pure chardonnay mineral core with a touch of toast. I can see this as being built on quality Avize grapes. That said, the wine has an off putting raw acid note across the palate to the finish. When time allows this to clear, and the wine becomes better integrated, the score on this wine is going way up.
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12/27/2007 - PatrikO wrote: 91 Points
Nice and dry, a bit of yeast on the nose initially, but it faded quickly, a straight cut wine, from what I can remember there is a lot of Pinot in this
blend, but to me it tastes more like chardonnay. Think I'll rate this wine higher in a few years.
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