From magnum and finally coming together. Color still pale, still crisp on the attack, but now the fruit is joining the party and producing a lengthy finish. Inventory says two more magnums in reserve. These should prove even better. Delicious now but no hurry. Potential (93+).
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Quite remarkable: it opened kind of flat. While it improved a bit over the course of an hour or so, it blossomed on day three. I left half the bottle in the fridge with a cork in it -- I didn't have the forethought to decant into a 375 at the outset, just the regular bottle it was in -- and it was great. All the more so for the $11.69 delivered! I refuse to count the storage costs.
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Off the list at Racines, their last bottle in stock. Has held up, but perhaps not perfectly pristine, just a hint of that apple cidery/VA character has snuck in, and there's a noticeable nutty almond element. Still plenty of minerals and acid, and better with food. But far off from a beautiful 2005 Briords I drank at Racines a couple years ago.
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This was good; it was somewhat different from the wine when young with less nervosity and a bit more creaminess, but still an acidic backbone and with lemony fruit. But there's no special reason to age wines such as this becasue they provide so much pleasure when young. No rush to drink, though. Cellared since release.
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This was singing. Showing some age as the acidity has rounded a bit. Lemon curd, slightly nutty and herbal, the flavors changed over time at times more herbal and then becoming more lemon citrus. Served blind most thought this was CdB Burg. In a flight with '04 Droin Clos. Paired with spring vegetables, preserved lemon, potato, vadouvan oil.
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For SFJoe (Josefa & Mark's House - Chicago, IL): Another great bottle of this. If there's a lesson that can be learned about Ollivier's Briords is that air is really needed to make these wines comes alive. This was a bit muted when we cracked it open, but it blossomed beautifully with time. Lots of citrus, and minerals. Great cut and acidity too...so it can go longer, but it's delicious right now!
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Loire Night at Racines (Racines NY - New York, NY): Touch of heat on the nose at first, but that blew off. Talk about a mineral-laden wine, this is from rocks. Palate fleshed out with air (as most Briords do) and produced a perfectly balanced, elegant middle-age muscadet.
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A Long Weekend of Burgs and a Few Others; 5/17/2012-5/20/2012 (Scottsdale, AZ): Very pale color - looks just like it did at purchase. Reticent nose leads to classic mineral and saline flavors with a little roundness from the bottle aging. Delicious. My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor
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Just keeps improving. Nose has blossomed; liquid minerals wrapped in satin on the palate; length developing. Boggles the mind that such lovely wines can (could until recently) be acquired for so little. Room for further evolution. Two remaining 750 bottles to go before approaching the first of the magnums. Wish I had ten cases.
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Was this the Muscadet that broke the $10 barrier? In any event, it remains beautiful: broad on the palate, this is a superlative example. Tons of life.
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From 750. First bottle in 18 months and still an infant, too young to rate. Same youthful color as when released. Opens very slowly. Better on second day, left uncorked in fridge. Will last and improve indefinitely. A colossal value. Magnums in deep cave storage will outlast anyone now over 30.
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very nice; pale color; nice acid; more mineral than fruit but frutier than expected; tried again after in fridge for2wk and still held up well; overall a surprise
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As noted by others, this is beginning to awaken, showing greater weight and depth than a year ago. Should improve indefinitely, espepecially in magnum. Opening a day ahead seems an excellent idea. There can't be many greater bargains in the entire marketplace of wines.
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The recent tips that this is showing well are right on. Here, too, I'm shocked how open this is. It seems to be on an opposite evolutionary path from the 2006 at the moment, converging in a (very) broadly similar place: wide open, great minerality, everything I look for in Briords.
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I'm not the first person to note this but there's a trick to getting the best out of this wine: open it the day before you plan to drink it. On day one it is certainly pleasant--briny, minerally, and characteristically Melon de Bourgogne-ish. But on day two there suddenly appear depths and power that nothing on day one really prepared you for. This is not a simple sipper--this is big deal wine. The minerality and brininess are are seasonings, the guts of this wine are all about this grape variety that no one really thinks about or expects much from.
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At a nice point now, curious to see where it goes; light, fresh nose after some funk blew off, and then a surprisingly (to me) hefty mid-palate; wonderfully light crispy and citrusy finish
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The nose is tight and not giving up much right now. In the mouth the wine has balance and poise, lemony rocks with a great persistant finish. It shows more after a couple of days open in the fridge, but I'm not opening any more of these soon.
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Had with fresh oysters and grilled halibut. Minerally, good body, lots of acidity, fruit. Great sipping, worked very nicely with the food too. We finished the bottle easily, something that doesn't always happen... low alc. level.. 12% helped.
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All I can say is, why in the hell didn't I buy more. OK, now that that's out of the way, this is just delicious juice. Lemon liquid stones. Crisp, clean and refreshing with minerality to spare. There also seems to be the essence of the sea in this bottle...not sure if that is related to the minerality but it is refreshing and adds character. This wine paired perfectly with the Hamachi carpaccio with yuzu and citrus gastrique. They say this wine will last a long time and age well...unfortunately none of mine stand a chance.
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Wow! Liquid rocks. Less round than 2002, for example. Really penetrating minerality. Paired with boiled lobster and cold king crab legs; good match with the lobster, the crab was a little too rich for it.
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Prodigious stuff. The essence of Muscadet, intense and weightless at the same time. This will last a very long time and get much better, but it is damn fine today.
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8/19/2022 - coremill wrote: flawed
This bottle was shot and well past it. Dumped.
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12/20/2021 - jmht wrote: 91 Points
Enticing nose of lemon pith, citrus oil, and palate of bittersweet lemon, minerals and beeswax. Drink up!
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7/9/2021 - DaleW wrote:
Still lively, saline/seashell, tangy citrus fruit, long and complex. A-
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12/4/2019 - cweiss wrote:
A little tired, which has become somewhat consistent for this vintage, which surprises me.
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11/15/2019 - Beachfan Likes this wine: 89 Points
Lost the acid spine which I love so much
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7/8/2019 - DaleW wrote:
Softer vintage of Briords, quite tasty but not going to hold my remaining, broad lemon and oyster shell flavors, good length. B+
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12/22/2018 - Beachfan Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking like a pc Chablis!
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10/29/2017 - Vinomane wrote: 93 Points
From magnum and finally coming together. Color still pale, still crisp on the attack, but now the fruit is joining the party and producing a lengthy finish. Inventory says two more magnums in reserve. These should prove even better. Delicious now but no hurry. Potential (93+).
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12/28/2016 - cfk49 wrote: flawed
Mildly corked.
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12/3/2016 - 14frimaire Likes this wine:
Quite remarkable: it opened kind of flat. While it improved a bit over the course of an hour or so, it blossomed on day three. I left half the bottle in the fridge with a cork in it -- I didn't have the forethought to decant into a 375 at the outset, just the regular bottle it was in -- and it was great. All the more so for the $11.69 delivered! I refuse to count the storage costs.
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11/13/2016 - ctbob Likes this wine:
Beautiful. Secondary flavors just starting to emerge, lots of crispness left.
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8/13/2016 - coremill wrote: 87 Points
Off the list at Racines, their last bottle in stock. Has held up, but perhaps not perfectly pristine, just a hint of that apple cidery/VA character has snuck in, and there's a noticeable nutty almond element. Still plenty of minerals and acid, and better with food. But far off from a beautiful 2005 Briords I drank at Racines a couple years ago.
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7/28/2016 - cfk49 wrote: 89 Points
This was good; it was somewhat different from the wine when young with less nervosity and a bit more creaminess, but still an acidic backbone and with lemony fruit. But there's no special reason to age wines such as this becasue they provide so much pleasure when young. No rush to drink, though. Cellared since release.
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4/18/2015 - gregg g wrote:
This was singing. Showing some age as the acidity has rounded a bit. Lemon curd, slightly nutty and herbal, the flavors changed over time at times more herbal and then becoming more lemon citrus. Served blind most thought this was CdB Burg. In a flight with '04 Droin Clos. Paired with spring vegetables, preserved lemon, potato, vadouvan oil.
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9/20/2014 - tooch wrote: 94 Points
For SFJoe (Josefa & Mark's House - Chicago, IL): Another great bottle of this. If there's a lesson that can be learned about Ollivier's Briords is that air is really needed to make these wines comes alive. This was a bit muted when we cracked it open, but it blossomed beautifully with time. Lots of citrus, and minerals. Great cut and acidity too...so it can go longer, but it's delicious right now!
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5/14/2014 - tooch wrote: 92 Points
Loire Night at Racines (Racines NY - New York, NY): Touch of heat on the nose at first, but that blew off. Talk about a mineral-laden wine, this is from rocks. Palate fleshed out with air (as most Briords do) and produced a perfectly balanced, elegant middle-age muscadet.
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5/5/2014 - pape du neuf wrote:
Still fresh and delicious. Citrus, saline, too bad I don't have any oysters on hand.
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2/24/2013 - cweiss wrote: flawed
This bottle disappointingly tired.
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2/12/2013 - DaleW wrote:
Balanced acids, saline, apple and lemon, excellent length, in a good place. A-
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10/20/2012 - 14frimaire wrote:
Not the best showing, but still excellent. It paled, however, in comparison to the 1997 Buster.
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9/3/2012 - flwino wrote: 89 Points
light gold. Fruity but not over powereing.
Nice surprise for this bottle.
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5/18/2012 - joe d wrote: 85 Points
A Long Weekend of Burgs and a Few Others; 5/17/2012-5/20/2012 (Scottsdale, AZ): Very pale color - looks just like it did at purchase. Reticent nose leads to classic mineral and saline flavors with a little roundness from the bottle aging. Delicious. My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor
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4/30/2012 - marc d wrote:
Starts out a little slow but with an hour of air this was stunning.
Just fabulous, everything in harmony.
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7/13/2011 - 14frimaire wrote: flawed
Corked. Damnation!
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6/26/2011 - Vinomane wrote: 92 Points
Just keeps improving. Nose has blossomed; liquid minerals wrapped in satin on the palate; length developing. Boggles the mind that such lovely wines can (could until recently) be acquired for so little. Room for further evolution. Two remaining 750 bottles to go before approaching the first of the magnums. Wish I had ten cases.
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4/14/2011 - 14frimaire wrote:
Great.
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2/26/2011 - 14frimaire wrote:
Was this the Muscadet that broke the $10 barrier? In any event, it remains beautiful: broad on the palate, this is a superlative example. Tons of life.
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2/25/2011 - cweiss wrote:
Not as good as other bottles.. Sharp rather than crisp Still, none left to retaste he next day.
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1/17/2011 - Vinomane wrote:
From 750. First bottle in 18 months and still an infant, too young to rate. Same youthful color as when released. Opens very slowly. Better on second day, left uncorked in fridge. Will last and improve indefinitely. A colossal value. Magnums in deep cave storage will outlast anyone now over 30.
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12/31/2010 - mdavis wrote:
Drinking very very well right now...Great wine.
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10/17/2009 - cgfrendly wrote: 88 Points
very nice; pale color; nice acid; more mineral than fruit but frutier than expected; tried again after in fridge for2wk and still held up well; overall a surprise
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8/30/2009 - hutch wrote: 88 Points
Dinner at Green Hill (Chez Hutchins): Showing well. Clean, bright fruit. Aging glacially.
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4/23/2009 - Vinomane wrote: 91 Points
As noted by others, this is beginning to awaken, showing greater weight and depth than a year ago. Should improve
indefinitely, espepecially in magnum. Opening a day ahead seems an excellent idea. There can't be many greater
bargains in the entire marketplace of wines.
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12/9/2008 - 14frimaire wrote:
The recent tips that this is showing well are right on. Here, too, I'm shocked how open this is. It seems to be on an opposite evolutionary path from the 2006 at the moment, converging in a (very) broadly similar place: wide open, great minerality, everything I look for in Briords.
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11/22/2008 - slanum wrote:
I'm not the first person to note this but there's a trick to getting the best out of this wine: open it the day before you plan to drink it. On day one it is certainly pleasant--briny, minerally, and characteristically Melon de Bourgogne-ish. But on day two there suddenly appear depths and power that nothing on day one really prepared you for. This is not a simple sipper--this is big deal wine. The minerality and brininess are are seasonings, the guts of this wine are all about this grape variety that no one really thinks about or expects much from.
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8/19/2008 - thomaskeil wrote: 88 Points
Crisp, chalky and with a 'just right' dose of citrus.
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7/3/2008 - ctbob wrote:
Secondary, sulphury flavors emerging on this bottle; still wonderfully crisp underneath
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2/3/2008 - ctbob wrote: 89 Points
At a nice point now, curious to see where it goes; light, fresh nose after some funk blew off, and then a surprisingly (to me) hefty mid-palate; wonderfully light crispy and citrusy finish
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9/3/2007 - Diane (LI) wrote:
Was going to drink this with seared scallops, but we drank most of it before dinner with prosciutto and Parmigiana and it was a good pairing.
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8/31/2007 - marc d wrote:
Quiet and stony, very strong through the mid palate. Seems a little closed, but still the quality is obvious.
Added:
On the second day this too is much more open and really is tremendous with great definition, acidity and length. Excellent.
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5/17/2007 - Diane (LI) wrote:
Vibrant, crisp, and mouth coating with a hint of lime.
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5/15/2007 - marc d wrote:
The nose is tight and not giving up much right now. In the mouth the wine has balance and poise, lemony rocks with a great persistant finish. It shows more after a couple of days open in the fridge, but I'm not opening any more of these soon.
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11/6/2006 - spass wrote: 87 Points
pleasant very slightly minerally taste, probably needed to be chilled furtherthan I had it.
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10/2/2006 - Colima74 wrote: 90 Points
Had with fresh oysters and grilled halibut. Minerally, good body, lots of acidity, fruit. Great sipping, worked very nicely with the food too. We finished the bottle easily, something that doesn't always happen... low alc. level.. 12% helped.
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8/31/2006 - mdefreitas wrote: 87 Points
Nice minerally/saline quality. Lime, seashells on the palate. Delightful.
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8/19/2006 - cweiss wrote:
As part of mini-vertical. High acid, but less than 2005. Wonderfully stony. More approachable and rounder than on release. Really good.
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5/27/2006 - gregg g wrote:
All I can say is, why in the hell didn't I buy more. OK, now that that's out of the way, this is just delicious juice. Lemon liquid stones. Crisp, clean and refreshing with minerality to spare. There also seems to be the essence of the sea in this bottle...not sure if that is related to the minerality but it is refreshing and adds character. This wine paired perfectly with the Hamachi carpaccio with yuzu and citrus gastrique. They say this wine will last a long time and age well...unfortunately none of mine stand a chance.
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1/22/2006 - boss wrote:
Wonderful - fruity & delicious - will be buying a case
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9/7/2005 - cweiss wrote:
Wow! Liquid rocks. Less round than 2002, for example. Really penetrating minerality. Paired with boiled lobster and cold king crab legs; good match with the lobster, the crab was a little too rich for it.
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7/8/2005 - 14frimaire wrote:
Prodigious stuff. The essence of Muscadet, intense and weightless at the same time. This will last a very long time and get much better, but it is damn fine today.
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