Blind: guessed Pinot noir and thought it might be a Vilmart.
The nose was muted on this but there was an unusual herb note, not in a bad way, just not something you'd associate with a champagne. The pallet also showed a touch of anise and the bubbles were super fine. The finish was strong Red Berry which led me to believe that it was predominantly Pinot noir. This is a fan favorite.
This is a binary wine, you're going to either enjoy it or just like it. On this occasion I was not a fan because the fruit was light, the wine is very lean and quite angular. There's a great mineral note to it but that wasn't enough to keep me intrigued.
Blind: thought it was chardonnay but flopped around regarding the producer.
The nose is lemony and citrus. There was a smell that I just couldn't get my finger on until Ramon said "are you getting any rose petal?". Perfect it's rose petal.
The pallet had a strong lemon flavor combined with the tarte rind. The mouth feel was a bit fluffy, not in a bad way, just bounced around in my mouth.
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire
Blind: guessed chenin.
Wasn't sure on the age of this wine but it was pretty dark so based on the variety I assumed that it was more than 10 years old. There's a very strong applesauce note throughout the palate with a bit of Honey on the back end. Not surprising that it's a demi-sec wine. Probably time to drink these up and an excellent pairing with spicy food.
Blind: Paul and I immediately called this a Kutch Chardonnay but which one? I thought it might be a trout gulch.
Frank! I didn't know he was still hiding one of these in the cellar, I still have one in mind so it's certainly going to show up in a blind tasting at some point in the future. This is a white burgundy killer. Another popular guess at the table was a puligny. I don't even know what that is. LOL
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Blind: I originally suspected that this was Pinot noir but a number of people at the table thought it might be syrah. It could be, but I came back around to pinot noir and called it Pisoni Estate.
This is super dark in the glass which was a little bit surprising that the nose was muted. There's dark fruit and the oak showing in the form of a spicey bite. Could it be a Rhys Hillside?
Blind: I knew this was Pinot but after 35 guesses I finally hit Rivers Marie.
I've had this one once before blind with Paul and Frank and I had the same impressions. This is very atypical for this particular bottling. It's lightly colored and not nearly as jammy and doesn't show any Orange or the strong strawberry. There is a strawberry note and the wine is lightly colored. It's a feminine wine and very enjoyable.
2012 Famille Moussé Champagne Terre d'illite Blanc de Noirs
France, Champagne
Blind: couldn't really get a handle on this one wasn't sure so I went with some blend.
The fruit is ripe and it has a round feel to the mouth. The back end is citrus and is strong pineapple flavor. Finishes with a tart chalky note.
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2006 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Blind: guessed Pinot noir and thought it might be a Vilmart.
The nose was muted on this but there was an unusual herb note, not in a bad way, just not something you'd associate with a champagne. The pallet also showed a touch of anise and the bubbles were super fine. The finish was strong Red Berry which led me to believe that it was predominantly Pinot noir. This is a fan favorite.
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2015 Marie Courtin Champagne Eloquence Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
France, Champagne
Blind: figured it was chardonnay.
This is a binary wine, you're going to either enjoy it or just like it. On this occasion I was not a fan because the fruit was light, the wine is very lean and quite angular. There's a great mineral note to it but that wasn't enough to keep me intrigued.
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2016 Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Grandes Crayères
France, Champagne
Blind: thought it was chardonnay but flopped around regarding the producer.
The nose is lemony and citrus. There was a smell that I just couldn't get my finger on until Ramon said "are you getting any rose petal?". Perfect it's rose petal.
The pallet had a strong lemon flavor combined with the tarte rind. The mouth feel was a bit fluffy, not in a bad way, just bounced around in my mouth.
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2008 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Tuffeaux
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire
Blind: guessed chenin.
Wasn't sure on the age of this wine but it was pretty dark so based on the variety I assumed that it was more than 10 years old. There's a very strong applesauce note throughout the palate with a bit of Honey on the back end. Not surprising that it's a demi-sec wine. Probably time to drink these up and an excellent pairing with spicy food.
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2014 Kutch Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Blind: Paul and I immediately called this a Kutch Chardonnay but which one? I thought it might be a trout gulch.
Frank! I didn't know he was still hiding one of these in the cellar, I still have one in mind so it's certainly going to show up in a blind tasting at some point in the future. This is a white burgundy killer. Another popular guess at the table was a puligny. I don't even know what that is. LOL
Just the perfect Chardonnay.
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2012 Pisoni Pinot Noir Estate
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Blind: I originally suspected that this was Pinot noir but a number of people at the table thought it might be syrah. It could be, but I came back around to pinot noir and called it Pisoni Estate.
This is super dark in the glass which was a little bit surprising that the nose was muted. There's dark fruit and the oak showing in the form of a spicey bite. Could it be a Rhys Hillside?
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2018 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Old Vines
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Blind: I knew this was Pinot but after 35 guesses I finally hit Rivers Marie.
I've had this one once before blind with Paul and Frank and I had the same impressions. This is very atypical for this particular bottling. It's lightly colored and not nearly as jammy and doesn't show any Orange or the strong strawberry. There is a strawberry note and the wine is lightly colored. It's a feminine wine and very enjoyable.
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