2/2/2024 - grizzlywine Likes this wine:

This bottle is right on point tonight. Toasty lemon curd and crushed white rock, both rich and generous on the nose. Zero austerity here, the palate again reflects sweet yellow citrus following to a medium chalky finish. Great.

4/27/2023 - Kevin Mak Likes this wine:

Pale Ruby

Medium (+) Acidity
Medium Tannin
High Alcohol
Medium Bodied
Medium Finish

Medium (+) Intensity
- Stawberry, Raspberry, Red Cherry, Red Plum, Blueberry, Blackberry, Earth, Vanilla, Coconut, Liquorice, Cigar box

A candy fruit bomb right after opening, jammy, ripe, sweet red and black berries, the fruit toned down after some breathing, sweet spices and smoke starts to show, together with some earthiness and minerality. Not an exceptionally complex wine, but got that intensity and concentration going, very enjoyable and easy drinking. Drink or hold.

11/16/2022 - Vino Me wrote:

Opened a 750ml at an offline. 5th time I have had this wine and the best bottle yet. This is really coming into it's own. Beautiful golden color. Notes of salty pear, honey, carmel and butter. Wonderful acidity that holds all the sweetness in check. Long spicy finish. I have 2 more bottle and am in no rush to drink them. 98 points.

11/11/2022 - AllRed wrote:

I did not spend nearly enough time with this and my notes were dwindling by this point, but I remember being smitten with this. Abundant black fruit with a beguiling perfumey/floral quality. Apparently I was too busy enjoying it to jot down anything else. Lovely. Courtesy of blueoval.

11/11/2022 - AllRed wrote:

Courtesy of blueoval. Dark cherry, raspberry and hints of plum with a nice underlying earthiness. Firm and full. Excellent.

11/6/2022 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine:

Retail $50. 100% Bouzy Grand Cru Pinot Noir. Zero Dosage. I bought this bottle back in 2020 and the extra time in the bottle/cellar has done it well. As with all white wines that are given time to age, this has added a bit of color and the acidity seems to have mellowed a bit. Intense brioche, hazelnut, and lemon curd notes on the nose along with salinity and minerality. I dare to say that my absolute favorite Blanc de Noirs come from Bouzy (although Mailly is a close second)--the richness of the Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru village is, at least in my mind, unrivaled. Whoa. The palate is, as expected, completely dry with both the acidity and sparkle well into the "intense" neighborhood. Citrus is the dominant fruit influence, which pairs well with all that yeasty goodness. Whoa. Yeah, I am going to need to buy a few more bottles of this wine and try my darnedest to hold on to the for a longer period, say 5-10 years?

www.thedrunkencyclist.com

8/20/2022 - thelostverse wrote:

Tasted blind on the screen porch during the pouring rain. Lovely floral notes, green apple and pear. Palate follows and the mouthfeel is creamy and round. Beautiful.

8/13/2022 - 3daywinereview.com wrote:

So as the for most expert on this wine in the world here is my 100th tasting note. This is the best sparking wine out there for under $30. I get it for $20. Pear, sour apple, dough, minerals, chalk and tropical fruit. Another example of the greatness of this wine and how Champagne is over priced. 92 points

3/8/2022 - johlie wrote:

Bought in Freb. 2020.

Label:
BRUT – ”CUIS 1er Cru”
1er Cru – Blanc de Blans

Terroirs : Côtes des Blancs
Blend : 100 % Chardonnay from 7 vintages.
73% 2017, 27% 2015–2010
disgorgement : July 2020
dosage : 6 g/l

12,5 % alc.

3/2/2022 - AllRed wrote:

Our last of a $15 bin end lot purchased in the summer of 2017. Apple, dried peach and crab apple blossoms in the bouquet. Medium bead. Ripe but not sweet orchard fruit qualities on the palate, along with dried dough and almond. A delightful bottle that’s in a really nice place right now.

3/2/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote:

Post-Tasting Bordeaux and Stag's Leap Dinner (Portofino - Chicago IL): This had been opened 4 hours earlier and given a quick double decant. This never fully opened up, still just hinting at its full potential, but there was a considerable amount of power and concentration. Aromas never really provided much pleasure, but the substance is there, while the palate gave us greater hints of possibility. Better 2030 forward.

12/20/2021 - g-man Likes this wine:

Has shut down slightly over the last year but shows that Beaucastel typicity of garrigue and rustic notes from a 375ml.

11/27/2021 - Mojosmith wrote:

Given to Phil Cammarano in exchange for his award winning Kolsch beer recipe.

10/23/2021 - AllRed wrote:

4th Saturday Group: Uptown Brown Bag (MM’s): Double blind. Opens with black fruit, tree resin and something woody/stemmy that doesn't seem quite right. With air it becomes obvious as the fault gets worse- this is clearly corked. Too bad. (R)

8/5/2021 - RayT Likes this wine:

I was a bit disappointed with this bottle. When I last drank this a year ago it was the classic iron fist in a velvet glove and I scored it a 96. This time it still had a velvety texture but the fruit was missing that oomph. It still had a nice profile of blackberry, cassis, mocha and graphite. I decanted this 2 hours based on my last tasting but the wine did not need the extra air. This bottle confused me. Based on my last tasting of the 2012 I went out and bought 3 bottles of the 2016. Not sure now if I should hold those bottles till they hit the 10 year mark which seems to be a consensus of long time Insignia drinkers or pop them a little earlier while there is more fruit. This was easily bested by a 2016 Bevan EE which we also drank the same night. 93+

1/8/2021 - Vino Me wrote:

A blend of 50% Chenin Blanc, 30% Pinot Gris and 20% Albariño aged on the skins for 7 days. 7.1% alcohol. Creamy white yellow color. Plenty of citrus notes with almost a cider like quality. Moderate fizz.Some tinny notes on the finish. Crisp and refreshing. Nice Summer sipper. 86 points.

12/6/2020 - Sleepy Dave wrote:

Produced by master somm Raj Parr, one of my go to new world Pinot. Most of the time, friends will guess this as a Burg. Lovely lifted nose with ripe red and blue fruits, a tad of spice, earth and iron, could have mistaken this as a Gevrey very easily. Fresh, rich mid palate and well structured. Cali Pinot could be good, such as this one.

12/1/2020 - randyjc wrote:

I was in the presence of greatness with this wine. With a friend we drank this and the 2010 Janasse Chaupin side by side and spent over an hour with them. Fabulous. This wine is particularly spectacular and has many years ahead. I wrote in my notes that the wine “does not have an expiration date in my lifetime.” The nose is sweet flowers, spice and black currant. On the front end it is smooth black fruit, a blackberry compote sort of thing. There is a remarkable lushness and depth to the black fruit, earth and charcoal. On the finish, the wine is dark, dark, dark - chocolate, Turkish coffee, tar and charcoal. The tannins are long and chalky. Truly an exceptional wine.

11/25/2020 - Barolo Freak wrote:

I have been sitting on two 375ml bottles of Chateau Rieussec for 15 years. I decided to drink one recently. I was somewhat dissapointed with this one. The wine press touted the 2001 Rieussec as a great creation. I cannot say that it is. This wine is more Tokaj like, than Sauternes like. It is heavy and maple syrupy. Perhaps a few more years of aging will do it good.

10/11/2020 - AllRed wrote:

Second Sunday Group: 2010 Bordeaux (aka Bal Masqué) (R&D's): Double blind. Inital bouquet of black fruit- currants- and something along the lines of a cedar chest. Medium-bodied, with softer tannins than the others in the flight and flavors of black fruit and raspberry with a peppery spice note in the finish. Picks up a tobacco note with time in the glass. Good, but lacking a little something compared to most of the others.

My #6, Domino's #2
Group #5, 37 pts

9/23/2020 - sung251 wrote:

oaky with black berries and spices but with some decant the oak blows off more and you get a nice streak of acid which I enjoyed. Personally the wine at the moment is not very well integrated and really needs sometime. The oak i think is a bit obtrusive at first but with time I don't really see it being a big deal. A pretty wine that you come to expect quality and style wise from guigal's ampuis but in my opinion the price is too high when there are other exciting cote rotie made by producers like Rene Rostaing, Clusel Roch, Domaine Barge, Bernard Levet, etc. For those who already have several bottles of this I would look forward to trying this 5-10 years later.

9/14/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote:

Lush and very tasty ripe black fruit with good balance. So tasty now. Identical to last week's bottle.

8/12/2020 - sdrum Likes this wine:

A little less grapefruit and more body than most NZ SBs. High acid. Tart but almost a hint of sweetness as an aftertaste (sounds contradictory, I know). Recommend not serving too cold to bring out the complex flavors.

7/19/2020 - AllRed wrote:

Moules Frites w/Friends (Eagle Brook Country Club): Courtesy of R&D, popped, poured and enjoyed between the moules frites/rosé and chocolate mousse/Sauternes. If memory serves, this vintage contains 10% petit verdot, which explains the impenetrable inky color, showing just a bit of crimson/purple at the meniscus. Classic Insignia bouquet with cassis, black currant liqueur and chocolate. Adds floral and blue fruit tones as it sits. Tannins are still quite firm, though are incredibly fine and not obtrusive. Impeccable balance and presence across the palate, displaying black fruit and chocolate. Long finish. Still just a pup, this really needs another seven years, but if you like 'em primary, it is absolutely a lot of fun right now...throw a ribeye on the grill and pull the cork. 93/94 now (Domino was at 94/95), probably 96/97 potential at peak maturity.

7/4/2020 - bomba503 wrote:

Great from 375 with cheesecake. Agree with racer. He should've been here for this anyway

6/2/2020 - Comte Flaneur wrote:

Big Boy, warmer vintage, not so clearly Leoville Barton, and you can detect the higher alcohol. Riper and hotter, much more heft, big tannins, big structure, but with some tertiary aromas starting to emerge...but it really needs at least a decade - difficult to score, but I would say 92+ with the potential for higher but right now the first four - 99, 01, 02 and 07 - are more pleasurable.

5/28/2020 - Les Kangas Likes this wine:

Drank from Reidel Chianti/Zin glass and I thought it was very good, especially for the price. Gave it about 1/2 air and had with pizza.

5/19/2020 - East of Napa wrote:

First taste of this spectacular port. Opened with some port aficionados and they did not want me to open it. Should wait several more years. No way, had to taste. Did not really let it decant for more than a half hour which is not really fair. It was exceptional! Maybe the best port I ever tasted. Have two bottles left and will wait for many years to open next one. Should only get better.

5/9/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:

It's not hard to polish off a wine like this at one time, but I managed to spread it over two days. Disgorged June 2017, with the consistent composition of 80% Chard / 20% PN, with around 7 g/l dosage and just under 4 years on the lees, all the usual inputs for Grand Cellier d'Or. This drinks great chilled or warm. Green apple, a richness that seems honeyed when warm, with tangerine and a little bit of red berry. Like many Vilmart I have written about in the past, this bottle too shows the requisite bright acidity and freshness. It's these two qualities, along with the richness and fruit balance, that makes Vilmart one of my absolute favorites from Champagne. It finishes with some structure that suggests the wine will be ageworthy, yet I found no guilt in finishing this wine now, as it drinks so good. Beautiful.

4/25/2020 - aknot13 wrote:

Corked !

3/11/2020 - Pour Boy Likes this wine:

Beautiful CDP from the highly rated 2010 vintage. My first of 4 bottles. Nose of olives and spice, slight barnyard initially. After about 45 minutes, this bottle transformed into a well-balanced and silky example of Southern Rhone at its finest. Not quite at peak yet, but ready to drink, especially if you can allow it to open up for a bit.

1/25/2020 - AllRed wrote:

4th Saturday Brown Bagger (Sue's): Double blind. Opens with a tobacco note followed by an unexpected buttered popcorn aroma, all with dark fruit underneath. Much better on the palate, showing black fruits galore along with nice spice elements. Lengthy finish. With air the popcorn note faded, all but disappearing, and it added more red fruit and pepper nuances as well. I guessed syrah-dominant Rhone blend.

2/7/2020 - AllRed wrote:

Impromptu Dinner w/Friends (Pa Lian Burmese, Wheaton, IL): Half bottle. Lavender, tea, honey, orange blossom and ripe stone fruit notes. Rich texture. Stone fruit dominates, though there are tropical elements as well, along with a nice spice undertone. The acidity is softening just a bit, not enough to make this cloying or heavy by any stretch, it's just not quite as lively/bright as it once was.

1/16/2020 - chitowncdpguy wrote:

Nice. In a good place. This is a little bit more ripe than I like in a wine - red berries and dark fruit. Some mineral and wild spice. Smooth, well balanced. There is a little smoke on the nose, but it is mostly dominated by wild spice.

12/4/2019 - Motz wrote:

I can think of no better way to conclude a spectacular tasting with great friends than opening a bottle of this transcendent potion, to my mind the benchmark of mainstream 2011 Vintage Port...alongside the same vintage 2011 Graham's The Stone Terraces, no less!

This wine had been decanted for about three hours when I poured it...not nearly long enough. The volume of layered substance it encapsulates bends the mind. Concentrated, seemingly naturally sweetened, blueberry, boysenberry, huckleberry, blackberry, and blackcurrant, lightly sweetened, very dark coco nibs, whole espresso beans, lightly sweetened black molasses, and a suspension Obsidian and Pāhoehoe lava envelope a core of dark chocolate ganache, granite, and mineral ores. Indescribably complex!

Poured blind to several experienced tasters, opinions were split as to whether this was the Dow's or the Graham's, which was the more rustic, and which was the prettiest. To me, this was the King, whereas the Graham's showed as a profoundly perfumed, ethereal 'other'. The Queen perhaps, though probably better described as an unequivocally stately, deeply beguiling, consul from afar.

Both wines held form on the second day, with this revealing more of its bewildering depth and frame. Sheer delight! My time on earth will pass long before this fades. 98-99!

11/30/2019 - AllRed wrote:

Retailer tasting. 2016 base. Dirty. Clay, cotton and apple with a dominant dirty animal fur overtone. Small bead. Light on fruit; short finish.

11/24/2019 - Mrav8 wrote:

Some good potential to age into solid bottle.

11/22/2019 - AllRed wrote:

Black cherry, sage, warm spice and mineral notes. Gorgeous cherry and mineral and spice. Long finish. Balanced. Great acidity.

11/11/2019 - Racer117 Likes this wine:

My first one of these in a while. I missed you.

Wonderful again though this is as dark as bourbon!?

Complex with loads of aromas and flavors (Burnt sugar/caramel, marshmallow, stone fruit, apple). And with substantial acidity, its borderline fantastic.

10/12/2019 - thelostverse wrote:

Brought to dinner at Anvil by Chip and Robin. General impression only - very young, but seemed like the right stuff will be there in the end.

8/12/2019 - Mountster27 Likes this wine:

Amazing.
Depth of fruit. Complex smoke and tea and meat notes.
Everything I want from Syrah.
Will drink my other within a year or so.

Held up well with chicken satay and sesame veggies and garlic noodles.

3/29/2019 - Hanibal wrote:

i don't know what to say....looking at average rating here of 96. Either the bottle was not in good shape or my taste buds are completely off with the average CT drinker.

6/7/2019 - vfccpa123 Likes this wine:

Very nice wine to drink with dinner. Aromas of cherry and earth with notes of leather and picked up just a hint of floral.Smooth on the palette and well balanced tannins with a lovely dryness that lingered on the finish. Consistent with prior bottle.

7/1/2019 - snarfglk Likes this wine:

kind of fake

6/21/2019 - chitowncdpguy wrote:

Lovely bottle. Juicy dark fruit with a touch of tartness on the attack. Some spice, perhaps a little tobacco (my wife thought so anyway), smooth finish. Popped and poured.

6/14/2019 - NickA Likes this wine:

Slightly surprised to see the scores so high for this one: yes, it is delicious, and incredibly smooth despite its relative youth, but it's also a little bit too confected and one-dimensional. Less than perfect sample perhaps?

8/13/2017 - AllRed wrote:

Second Sunday Group: 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet (Neil's): Vanilla, cherry and sour red berry fruit aromas. Medium-bodied, with red fruit on the palate. Medium finish. Good.

3/5/2019 - Artbreadman wrote:

I’m not sure about this CDP. Decent upfront red fruit but then flat mid range. Faint floral notes and finishes with a lingering tartness. Maybe a bit above average. I don’t think this will improve much with cellaring.

2/22/2019 - Beancounter55 Does not like this wine:

Astringent and tannic without the fruit to offset. Decanted and waited an hour, no real change. But too light to drink with heartier meat dishes. Inexpensive but not worth the price. Much better light pinots out there.

2/4/2019 - GlenviewGSW Likes this wine:

Classic CDP from a stellar year. Dark purple - black with slightly clearing rim. Nose is classic black and blue fruits with white pepper. Mid palate has certain richness but cut with good acidity and earthiness that follows to very present tannins that meld after a couple of hours of air. Wine is going to last a long time.