1/27/2024 - paintinginacave Likes this wine:

Bottle No: 1243674. Base year of the blend: 2020. Disgorgement date: 13/04/2023. 40% reserve wine composed of Chardonnay from Grand Cru villages in the Côte des Blancs. Dosage: 6 to 7 g / L.

Opened a hour in advance. Pours a pale gold. Opens up with mayor lemon, freshly foraged white flowers, polished steel, and blanched almonds. The palate is pitch perfect; expertly oscillating between tartness and salinity.

10/28/2023 - VinVet Likes this wine:

Black cherry nose. Red berry fruit balanced acidity and soft tannins with a medium length tart cherry finish.

8/10/2023 - CRL Stc Likes this wine:

At a nice place now but has more time. Red fruit, and a long finish. Beautiful minerality. Cork pulled and at about an hour later the wine drank beautifully. Continued to open over the next hour and then finally faded at about 2 1/2 hours. Let this breathe and you will be rewarded.

2/21/2023 - dalemosier Likes this wine:

I amnot used to rose Champagnes and this was on the sweet side for me. I prefer less expensive white Champagne.

9/21/2022 - Brendel Does not like this wine:

Seems overpriced for what it is: the acidity came off as a bit harsh, gravely, and there wasn’t enough fruit or brioche to balance that. This is $15-20 more than other champagnes that are of comparable or better quality in our opinion.

4/25/2021 - Nojomoschwa Likes this wine:

Tasted side-by-side with Bergström Gregory Ranch 2016 and Coriolis 2016 (Antica Terra cuvée). This was by far the most complex and complete wine of the three—definitely more 'serious,' savory and spicy. It is just entering its drinking window (all three were opened 4-5 hours ahead of serving, fyi) and will make good old bones, no doubt. The tannin management is quite sublime, as it is seamless yet powerful yet fresh and multi-layered. A truly special bottle and worth looking out for as I believe this was her final year of making a wine from Momtazi family's biodynamic vineyard.

11/7/2020 - hutch Likes this wine:

I understand the reasoning but I wish this wasn't in screw cap. Anyway, unsurprisingly this is incredibly pretty. So light and delicate seeming, but with intense fruit flavors. Lots of cherry and even more so strawberry. Its a little difficult to write a note because I keep thinking about how pretty it is. Incredibly pure, as in it feels like every grape in this wine was carried around on pillows. I am not familiar enough with Ms. Fox's wines to compare it to other price points available, but this is a special bottle. There are not a lot of American bottlings of the grape that I can think of which offer such an etheral take on Pinot Noir.

10/30/2020 - Andice wrote:

Not getting the raves and scores here. It's quite simple juice really. Good surface floral notes, high acid (bordering VA) and reasonably long finish. A decent weekday wine maybe

10/30/2020 - rc@ughey wrote:

No bueno. Decent fruit but the acids are volatile and this deteriorated with air. Did not finish the bottle.

Such a terrible shame. This has absolutely nothing in common with the brilliant '10-13 Cordeloux, which are ageing phenomenally.

7/2/2020 - aagrawal wrote:

Zoom tasting with the wine group - Northern Rhone: When decanting this seemed almost light colored, but in the glass it’s a more normal medium ruby-purple appropriate for syrah; this nose though, very high toned, almost acetone or chemical in nature, very odd; palate is medium bodied, medium alcohol which almost veers towards warm despite 12.5% on the label, again chemical flavors with virtually no fruit, hollow midpalate; finish is medium-minus. Acceptable maybe only in comparison to <$10 Syrah, certainly orders of magnitude worse than the 2012 Faury next to it. This is a highly controversial wine, and I’m decidedly negative on it. 70-
Tasted in the evening, the plasticky smell has blown off and some fruit is visible, but it lacks depth and flavor for me. 80 now.

5/15/2020 - SARED wrote:

My first Thomas. I would say this is a quaffable, slightly ripe and hard candied red cherry, raspberry and cranberry styled wine. 93+ if it was less candied.

PNP of a winebid bottle..
Nose: funky as if it is bad? with swirling there is a lot of black cherry, and was less funky with air.
Palate: a little spritz? co2 or re-fermented in bottle? I think it can shake it out of the glass. medium+ concentration of forward sweet red fruit, candied with overripeness. leather tones. balanced acidity but a little overripe/too candied.

Gave it more air and really had to shake out the spritz... less sweet and more raspberry coulis..

12/29/2019 - Kirk Grant wrote:

Reading my note on the 2017 prompted me to want to compare the 2016 while the 2017 was still fresh in my mind. I don't know if there was a stylistic shift, but for me the 2013 - 2017 are quite different compared to the 2010, 2011, and even the 2012's from this producer. These later vintages seem to be deeper in color, and with that (for me) there's a perceived loss of elegance) that I really loved in the earlier vintages. Please don't think this is my taking away from the complexity of these lovely wines...it's just different. I'd be curious to hear what others that have been drinking the wines longer than I have think about this or if they too think there's been a stylistic shift since the 2014 vintage. Outstanding!!

9/13/2019 - Bob H wrote:

You know, I was very positive on this wine with my last note a few months ago. And while this is nice, I just had a glass of the '10 Castell 'in Villa CC that at least IMO blows this wine away. My better half doesn't think there is as much of a difference in the two wines as I've indicated, and I have liked this in the past, but tonight it doesn't seem to have the same palate presence as the first wine.

5/23/2019 - AJ72 wrote:

So bad it's not funny. Horribly affected by Brettanomyces and a dead duck. Undrinkable and it was unanimous.

Edit: Looking at the other comments I'm in the minority (again). Oh well..

2/20/2019 - TallMikeWine Likes this wine:

There was a vintage, characterized by some in the wine writing community as being a "bad year". But if course people working in that community need things about which to concoct stories. The stories of 2011 being a "bad year" have been greatly exaggerated. Know this.

Beautiful wine. Dark, rich, ripe fruit. Loads of spice, and a fi dish for days. And this is good to go now, or hold for a other 5! The Smith brothers know a thing or two. They will not let you down.

10/11/2018 - Poujeaux Likes this wine:

Nose: Humid forest floor, oak, vanilla

Palate: Raspberries, cherries, "burned" taste somewhat similar to a white Meursault

Acidic, austere, precise. Enjoyable, would drink again.

5/9/2016 - gotfunk wrote:

Just an unbelievable quantity of CO2 that no amount of shaking seemed to get rid of. After a night on the counter, the gas now fully dissipated, it has the typical charm and grace, but it's so tightly wound and structured that patience will be required.

9/12/2017 - agnorger wrote:

I expect more from a $45 bottle of wine. Scott Paul is no longer involved and it shows. I am off the list.

2/20/2016 - Gargantua wrote:

Hmm, that's odd. This first bottle from the last shipment has a super buttery (diacetyl?) character that had nothing to do with the first batch we'd received. Will check another bottle to ensure it is high-toned and bitey as it should be.

8/6/2015 - gotfunk Likes this wine:

Strawberry, cherry and earthen funk with faint spice notes. Good energy and balance. Supple texture with pleasantly chalky tannins on the finish. Lacking just a bit of concentration perhaps, but easy-going and eminently enjoyable.