3/5/2024 - kaush Likes this wine:

A good rose with bold fruit, good tannic structure, and pretty good acidity (I didn't feel the relatively high dosage). Probably not a wine that will wow the crowd, but a very pleasing companion to food that you can enjoy over days. Worked with everything I tried from Indian curries to pistachios, to tortillas (the guidance on drinking window for this wine seems off).

This was a 100% Pinot Noir using traditional saignee method; disgorged in 2016. 10 grams of dosage.

11/12/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

This was a lovely bottle. It had everything in perfect harmony - emerging tertiary flavors that are still somewhat in the background to the fruit, and well-integrated acidity, and oak. They dont come together like this often for me. I had half a dozen bottles of white burgundy in 2023 that were at 10 years or older. This was the lowest cost, but the one that I savored the most.

2/3/2024 - kaush Likes this wine:

terrific oxidative wine; nice mouthful of lemon, salt, and nuts. great balance, and acidity. Coravined (with difficulty!), and drank over 3 weeks.

On a different note, this was my first Vin Jaune; I loved it. But as a (sometimes) sherry drinker, I can see how the price point difference with other oxidative drinks can be a bit jarring to those coming to this from sherry. But the scarcity, cost for aging, and consumer demands are very different between much smaller Jura, and Cadiz/Jerez sherry triangle. if anything, most people lament that great sherry should cost more!

2/15/2024 - kaush Likes this wine:

A pretty, and vibrant Volnay. tannins resolved, but still with plenty of fruit; tertiary flavors not yet dominant. My only bottle bought from the secondary market. I liked it very much.

12/31/2023 - kaush wrote:

I usually love this champagne, and love this producer. But I should never have opened it after Bollinger La Grand Annee. It was anticlimactic. The third and last of my current lot.

11/23/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

Good champagne. Dry, creamy, and rich. Somehow more powerful than elegant at this point. As someone else said down thread - appears to have traded some energy for complexity.

2/10/2024 - kaush Likes this wine:

Very good aged Macon. It started out rich, and honeyed (as others also said below), and frankly. it seemed a bit long in the tooth initially. After an hour or so, it acquired more acidity, and minerality. The sweetness almost disappeared. It had a chalky, minerally backbone, and a bit of a tannic grip that I wouldn't have believed possible after my first sip. Insanely good burgundy for the price!

This was my third, and last bottle.

9/12/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

Terrific champagne. I didn't keep any notes. But as someone down thread said, it was generous, and creamy; but perfectly balanced by the acidity. Nothing was overstated. One of the top 3 champagnes I had in 2023

12/31/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

Absolutely gorgeous bottle of champagne. Incredible concentration, balance, and finish. Can't say anything others haven't said already. Best champagne I had in 2023.

12/9/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

I found this easy to drink, and very good match for everything from pasta, to pizza, to light Indian appetizers. Its a very pretty wine, still rich with fruit, and acidity. For my palate, it didn't have any hard edges, or rusticity; but the wine did continue to evolve in the bottle over the next few days.

1/7/2024 - kaush wrote:

What others said already - A very gulpable wine. Bright ripe fruit, moderate acidity, light velvety tannin. Don't look for complexity here; but this was a highly drinkable, super food-friendly wine. (Logged drink date not applicable. I drank both my bottles in the summer of 2023)

6/3/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

For my palate, the best value BdB out there. Consistently good. Just right.

7/8/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

Brilliant wine. I wanted to open the NV BdB for friends; I was horrified to realize that that I had accidentally opened this one as the second bottle of the evening. No notes kept .. but much loved.

5/20/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

Others described it correctly. Easy to drink, crowd-pleaser, not as interesting as Marc Hebrart's other wines, probably not one to age.

5/21/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Still a great sparkler. Rich,oxidative, toasty; has a unique personality. Liked this a lot. But I enjoyed the one that I had in 2019 more.

8/27/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Drank both my 375 ml bottles last summer within a few months of each other. I didn't keep any notes. But the second one was absolutely gorgeous. I can be skeptical of the value of roses; but this was a wine that could restore one's faith in roses. It was refreshing, elegant, complex, mouth-filling - certainly the best sparkling rose that I had last year.

1/15/2023 - kaush Likes this wine:

This was such a seductive bottle of wife. Racy acidity, a mineral backbone, tons of limy fruit; has a hint of spicy tropical fruit that comes out when you are having it on its own. Got a bit richer the next day. Very good both with food and on its own.

11/21/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Still a great rose'. But I am with Monkeybiz101 on this one - this one somehow seemed brighter, with a bit more sugar, and a little less character than the bottle that I had a few months. Still fresh, well balanced, goes well with with food. But I would wait before opening another one.

8/6/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Pretty decent rose champagne; strawberry and orange peel on the palate, foamy, has a mineral backbone now.

I think liked this more after a year's rest. Certainly an awesome value at the price; nevertheless, I love the blanc de blancs from this producer, I dont think I can say the same for the rose.

11/19/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

I should have paid attention to the prior notes. This was infanticide.

Brilliant acidity, but a bit too much of it to have this on its own right now. I didn't find any tertiary notes; this is all under ripe lemon squeezed into a wine bottle at this time. Kind of worked with Indian food.

11/17/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Lovely wine. Easy-going, but with enough backbone, and acidity to age well.

I had some left over on the fridge from a week back (!); it was well-balanced, light on its feet, and almost ethereal. Shows you that magic can happen even on a $26 bottle from Burgundy.

10/30/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Juicy black fruit, inviting bretty aromas, smooth and gulpable. The acidity comes through on the second or third day which makes me feel that this may last longer than we are giving it credit for. I polished off both my bottles this year.

8/6/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Great rose. Drank well, but has structure to go the long haul.

10/29/2022 - kaush wrote:

Prior notes described this well. Took 30-40 minutes to open up. Nice tropical fruit, a bit more residual sugar than I expected, but pretty well-balanced. Good food wine. Wasn't very excited by it, but it is well-made, carries its age very well; and can't deny that this was a solid value.

11/6/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Very nice earthy aromas; a hint of black coffee there. A well-integrated, well-balanced wine at this point with resolved tannins, ripe red fruit, and some acidity. Drunk with sauteed mushrooms (brought out the wine best), smoked gouda, and some sausages. Was a very satisfying wine on a fall evening.

6/27/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

These were awesome! Dark fruit, smoothed out tannin, wit lh an underlying core of acidity. I polished off both my remaining bottles this summer. I now regret that I stopped buying Rivers-Marie

8/20/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Crunchy red fruit, savory, with a lot structure. Very good acidity on the first bottle after a day. I loved the first bottle so much I opened another one in 3 months again (this month). I thought this one was relatively closed and not as cheerful right out of the gate. Both wines came into their own with food. Great value for money; can’t expect more for $20! I hope to forget my last bottle for a few years.

5/1/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Pop n pour with friends last evening. Rich dark fruit with good acidity that receded somewhat with air. I hadn't liked the 2018 Sonoma that I had opened early last year; but this was much better; easy to drink, and not as brooding.

5/1/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Needed a some air for the spicy red Fixin fruit to come out. the oak is well-integrated at this time. Had this about a month back.

Tardy has better village plots elsewhere in Nuit - but as others noted, at a $20 discounted price its an incredible value.

4/30/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Rich, precise, and very well integrated bright red fruit. Beautiful acidity kept this in perfect balance. As a 2012 Village Volnay, I expected this to be somewhat more developed at this point, but its drinking very well now.

1/21/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Consumed last Dec.. As others noted, this had somewhat deeper, darker fruit; but with enough acidity to pull it off. Great value for $20. But I had liked the 2013s of this Bourgogne (consumed in 2020) way more. 2013s had seemed lighter on their feet, with savory sous bois. While this may had been vintage, (and age) coming through, I think it is partly also that Heresztyn is still experimenting with the personality of his wines.

1/9/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Very pretty. Understated red fruit, good mouth-filling acidity, sous bois. Overdelivers for a bourgogne.

1/20/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

Needed about 45 mins of air to come into its own. Cheerful red fruit. Good acidic backbone. Still all primary, but quite enjoyable.

1/18/2022 - kaush wrote:

Consumed on Dec.; no notes kept. Dense with fruit, acidity; a waxy taste that i really liked. Remained lively over a couple of nights.

1/18/2022 - kaush Likes this wine:

This is from Dec. I didn’t keep any notes. But this was a great wine. Everything I look for from a Loire Chenin Blanc. Perfectly poised with great acidity, a hint of honey, good both with and without food. It still has ages to go. Wish I had another one.

12/10/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

This was brilliant a few weeks back. Dense with fruit, acid; so well balanced. Simply recorked, it was quite awesome over a week.

8/15/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Delicious, hedonistic Gevrey juice. I had both by bottles within 3 months of each other this summer. In the first one, the touch of oak still seemed a bit pronounced, but in the second it it seemed very well integrated. There is good acidity now to keep this in balance. I enjoyed both wines. But I am not sure there is enough stuffing here for the long haul.

6/19/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

One of the better aligotes I have had. High acidity, bright fruit, well balanced; not cursed by the vintage like a number of other whites from 2015

8/14/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Had this a few weeks back. Good Marsannay. Insane value for the price of $22 at 10 years of age. Tannins were completely resolved, soft red fruit, robust acidity after a few hours. Pretty good weeknight wine.

8/14/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

This was really nice. great acidity, fruit, in perfect balanace. Went very well with a range of dishes ranging from Pasta with pesto sauce, to salad, to goat cheese over three days (has this over a month back).

8/14/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

I had two 375 ml this year - one almost 6 months back, and the other last month. Even though Benoit Droin appears to advise people to drink his wines for first 2-3 years (for freshness), and after that to wait until 7-10 years, I enjoyed both in their 4th year. The first one was gorgeous, richer initally, until the citric fruit, and Chablis typicity came out. The second one seemed a bit subdued, but still very elegant and full of life. These were the first Droin wines I have had; I'll look for more.

8/1/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Pretty wine. It’s very accessible already. Black fruit, very fine grained tannic, a certain amount of minerality in its backbone. We polished off two bottles in the last three months. I’ll try to hold on to the last one for a few years to see if it gets someplace interesting.

8/13/2021 - kaush wrote:

As some others also felt, this had more residual sugar than I expected. The sweetness kind of overwhelmed other aspects of the wine for me.

If I remember correctly, Julia Harding loved this wine when it came out originally. I am not sure if I caught this at an odd phase, but this was disappointing.

7/10/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Terrific muscadet. Didnt take any notes, but enjoyed it very much (But didnt undertand what the hoopla was about. Other Muscadets from Domaine del Pepiere or even other good producers like Luneau-Papin etc. are also very good. Why is this one allocated?)

8/14/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Refreshing, dry Chenin, with a mineral backbone. Tastes of lamon curd and green apple, strong acidity. Stayed in charecter over 4 days. At $18, it can't get better than this.

7/20/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Very gulpable. Simple, but rich with fruit, and enjoyable.

5/30/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

I had this a few months back. This was amazingly good. Vibrant fruit, refreshing acidity, tea-leaf like tannins (but not in a bad way). Head and shoulders over other Etna Rossos that I have had in the past.

7/31/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

As other noted, this was a dry, cool champagne with a clean nose, and a touch of lamoniness. Needed a bit of time to come into its own. This was the perfect aperitif for us on a hot July afternoon.

8/7/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

I polished off my second and last bottle over the last weekend. Both were charming, playful wines with sappy red fruit, good acidity (although lower than I expected from a Barbera), and a hint of spiciness. Incredibly food friendly. Awesome value for money.

6/13/2021 - kaush Likes this wine:

Didnt take any notes at the time of drinking. But it tasted similar to drier rieslings from Austria with a bit more richness, and "figure to it" as someone else said!). Fresh, floral, and delicious on its own.