2/5/2023 - Burgnick Likes this wine:

Citrus, flint and vanilla oak on the nose and palate. Palate shows alluring salty minerals with abundant acidity. Good precision. It just lacks a bit of tension at this stage of the evolution, and perhaps time will add weight to it. 92++

10/14/2020 - nigelb Does not like this wine:

Disappointed. Lacked fruit. Coarse tannins, bitter aftertaste. There is some sweet fruit at start of palate and nose but then things go rustic. What will it do now?

7/10/2022 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Kutch Verticals--Trout Gulch, McDougall and Falstaff: Vertical (non-blind) of McDougall, 2010 -2021. We did not taste the 2011 (no one owned it) nor 2014 and 2018 (stupid COVID forced the owners to have to miss the tasting) and the 2021 was a tank sample that Jamie pulled for us and shipped down for the tasting (being bottled next week so it's the final composition). Floral. The ripeness and the intensity of the fruit is evident. The fruit shifts from the red/blue of the 2016, instead to an addition of black. A spicy note comes into this vintage too. It seems to me to show sweeter, and the only vintage where I found a cola note. Juicy like 2012 and 2015. My sense is now that the 2017 is going to be a shorter ager, and a riper version of McDougall. I have one left and I will put this onto the drink sooner list.

2/25/2021 - aagrawal wrote:

Zoom tasting with the wine group: Tasted blind. Light yellow-golden; intensely aromatic, minerals, slate, lemon-lime; palate is full bodied, lovely richness but chased immediately by a strong acidic spine, deep and with a lingering fresh flavor, fairly persistent through the midpalate; finish is medium to medium-plus length. Seems like a good quality but not grand cru white burgundy, a bit richer than most Chablis but with a strong acidic spine that hints at a high acid year (2014 or 2017?). Excellent wine. 92-93
On retaste, similar impressions. Really lovely Chardonnay, and comparable to very good white burgundies. Drink now.

2/12/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Elegance. If I had to use only one word, it would be elegance. There’s more to say, starting with the dried cherry and pie crust aromas, and moving to the citrus tinged, red fruit palate, which reminded me of homemade cranberry relish with orange peel. I was suddenly watching the Detroit Lions play on Thanksgiving, and waiting for the turkey to come out of the oven. Bright acidity, and a dash of tannin framed a red cherry, cranberry fruit finish. Still needs time to add some tertiary complexity, but I don’t regret opening it this evening.

8/27/2021 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in a bit of flashy deliciousness, and almost miss the depth, the details. That happened with this bottle. Opened at 5 PM for a Zoom Happy Hour, I latched onto the pure red fruit, and just enjoyed the forward yumminess. I went back after dinner for a glass, and there was so much more there. Fresh earthy aromas, supporting structure, and a long, spice (cinnamon?) infused finish took this to an entirely different level. Hold or decant!

4/16/2020 - Rieslingfan wrote:

My 2018 note is still completely accurate.

2/10/2018 - Frank Murray III wrote:

253 users of this wine and I am the first TN? Well, I'll go into the pool first and start the TNs for those who want to follow me. I own 2 of these, this is the first time I have tried it. For perspective, I opened this at about 3PM, and I tasted it over the course of about 4 hours, writing impressions along the way, across both a cooler temp, as well as a room temp (about 70f). The first impressions for me were some graphite and perfumed aromatics, with a glossy, smooth, hard cherry candy quality, finishing lightly herbal. After another hour, as the wine warmed and aired more, the graphite went away and the aromatic become more spicy, floral. As it warms, the fruit shows more black cherry, yet when cooler, a pure bright cherry quality. Through all of it is a soily quality, a really nice balance and purity, with a medium-weight.....and for Day 2, I have finished the remaining glass from the bottle that sat in the fridge overnight. This is very good Rhys, mixing in some herbal, against a backdrop of moderately plush dark cherry fruit that is juicy, spicy with a soily component all woven together, finishing with the same spicy, cherry finish. Not sure how much stem inclusion this saw but it's just enough for me to energize and spice up the wine and drive the wine home with the acid and red fruit. Gorgeous now but enough spine for a while to come.

7/17/2020 - BillyRayValentine wrote:

Agree with Notes from Soyhead, PGB67 and Stainedglass. Rich but very little acidity to balance. Found it cloying and sweet, more like a big central coast Pinot than a burgundy. Not bad, just not what I expected or wanted.

5/23/2020 - chablis28 wrote:

Wow, this has an extra gear with Tete' Cuvee level concentration and corresponding depth. Classic aromas for fresh citrus, mineral and yeast. Noticeably intense palate energy with a driving minerality and citrus / tropical core along with some mushroom, and a hint of cherry. Compelling champagne and happy to own a few more. Paid $60, easily drinks more like $100 plus.

10/24/2020 - pclin wrote:

PnP. ABV 14%.
Some people consider this as the greatest Rose. Orangey pink color. Nose is rather interesting and very expressive, fairly similar to German Riesling Kabinett, flowers and fruits such as melon and peach. Citrus like bitterness and warmth at finish. Refreshing and interesting, certainly well made. Also known to last longer than most Rose, I see no hurry in consuming this. What dishes should I pair this with?

10/1/2017 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Rhys @ My Place--Part 3 (My House In The South OC): Listed ABV of 12.4%. I put a star next to my TN, this was excellent. There is an elegance to this wine. Juicy, with a watermelon quality, strawberry, incense and the same kind of cracked spices note I found in the 2010 Bearwallow. Good intensity, structure and this is going to age well IMO. Terrific.

4/13/2019 - DCornutt wrote:

This is a stunning bottle of wine. Hopefully, I can keep my hands off of a few. Amazing nose and balance of fruit/acid. The finish is very special. A +

7/17/2020 - KeithAkers wrote:

2017 (mostly) Cote de Beaune Premier Crus vol 3 (Adam's, Logan Square, Chicago IL): Nose: This saw a lot of air and it really helped as the nose was wide open, complex, and deep with apples, fresh picked citrus tones, saline, peaches, white fruits, pears, vanilla, orange blossoms, mint, ginger, and crushed rocks. There is excellent depth with a pristine quality to the nose.

Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with lip-smacking, medium+ acidity. The feel has wonderful texture and depth with pears, apples, fresh picked citrus tones, peaches, vanilla, orange blossoms, mint, and crushed rocks.

Overall: This was given a lot of air in the decanter and it helped a lot. This was glorious for a such a young Puligny Premier Cru with tremendous depth and style across the nose and palate that favors more white fruits. I would like to see where this can go with about 3-5 years as it comes more into itself.

1/10/2018 - chablis28 wrote:

Palish gold color. In excellent shape with clean fresh sea breeze aromas and light floral notes. No longer bright or bracing but plenty vibrant and yet a subtle sense of lush richness. Now in perfect balance and harmony. Nothing remotely out of place. Spot on classic Chablis with a profound minnerally, citrus, salinity and a touch of honey. A prefect pairing tonight with fresh, cast iron pan seared, unadorned, whole trout. A modest 12.5% alc. This is no longer a bracing, new release, Chablis but rather, a wine that has added finesse and come into perfect balance. No need to rush but drinking great right now. My last btl, wish I had at least 2 more.

5/29/2019 - Frank Murray III wrote:

About a year since my previous bottle. Disgorged 02/2014, 3.5 g/l dosage, 100% PN. Has the same ruby/pink color as the last bottle, one of the darker Rose champagnes I can recall. Watermelon, cherry but more soft in tone and lacking for me some complexity, the spine I was looking for. I have 2 more of these on futures and I wonder whether I will like the remaining two that are enroute? Not a bad wine, but lacking energy that I wanted.

1/12/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Rhys @ My Place--Part 5 (My House In The South OC): I last tried this at the winery in 2017, so it's been a good piece of time since I assessed it. The bottle I am using for my note here was opened yesterday for our Rhys tasting, and this was paired with the 2015 Alpine, both poured single blind. Taking my note here in two stages, let me first outline yesterday's perceptions. There was a distinct graphite/metal shaving aroma (and of note, I found this aromatic in the 2012 and 2010, that we also had in our event. So perhaps this is a consistent part of the Horseshoe terroir, at least on my own nose). The wine yesterday also showed a savory thread running through it, with an earthy berry. With some air, some blueberry comes through, tangy red fruits, sour cherry, and a medium weight. In retesting the wine today from the bottle leftovers, it's had 24 hours of additional air, and based on the coiled nature of the 2015 Alpine even with the same extra air, what I find is that the Horseshoe has finally loosened up. Whereas the Alpine is still coiled and structured, the 2015 Horseshoe is much more accessible. The fruit tones are juicy, with a touch of hard candy, cherry and raspberry, even a bit creamy dare I say. Finishes with a blueberry skin, citrus and medium weight. So, everything said, the 2015 Horseshoe is beating the 2015 Alpine right now, and while the Horseshoe will age, I do think the Alpine will outlive it. Just be sure if you open the 2015 Horseshoe now that you breathe it out well, as it made a big difference here in how the wine showed.

6/15/2018 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Blind Wines with Indian Food (Basanti in San Juan Capistrano, CA (South OC)): Poured blind. For my first pour, this smelled to me like a solid fit for Chardonnay. Todd has given us a few clues closer to the reveal, to include being elevaged in stainless steel so my thought went to Louis Michel. Lemon citrus, tangerine and finishing with lime skin and stone fruit pit notes. Was correct as to varietal and this showed solid to me, a good glass of Chard.

11/10/2019 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Rhys @ My Place--Part 4 (My House): Bottle was opened yesterday for our Rhys event. Retasting 24 hrs later, the structure and acidity here is noticeable. The tannin and the acids are present, coming through as a mix of mineral and citrus. There is some stone fruit buried here, like a tangy nectarine, along with some saline. A wine that makes me think, and one I'd be curious to try again in a year to see how it is knitting together.

7/27/2019 - pbaek wrote:

There’s a lot of new oak on display here and the wine is surprisingly lean and lacks the grainy Puligny-fatness. The oak makes the wine somewhat dry, masking the notes of citrus and butter. Improved a bit with air. Probably too young, but I worry about the oak treatment.

3/3/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote:

La Paulée de San Francisco - Grand Tasting (The Fairmont - San Francisco CA): Tasting, brief note. Very impressive. Ripe fruit with a long burst of acidity and well framed my mineral textures. Very good, long finish. Better in a few years.

12/19/2017 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Pop and pour, though should have given it some air. It started out quite light, with cranberry and strawberry fruit, but deepened over time. It always remained fairly light, but gained a lot of herbal and earthy complexity. The structure is 90% acidity, with subtle tannins. I would give this 2-3 years before opening another bottle.

8/7/2018 - Rieslingfan wrote:

First thing is that I really need to wear my glasses when picking out wine. I saw Skyline, and thought I was grabbing a Pinot Noir. Nope, Syrah.

OK, let's have at it. Deep reddish purple color leads into a brooding, rich aromatic of meat, black fruit, herbs, tar, leather and tapenade and probably ten more things that are lurking around the edges. On the palate it needed thirty minutes or so to pull itself together, but after that the fireworks went off. The initial palate impression was soft and rich, but the tannins dug in from the middle and did not let go. The weight was only medium or a bit more, which was a pleasing surprise based on the aromatics. I was expecting something heavier, but the wine stayed nimble and fresh. The meat and olive tones fleshed out over the three hours I followed the wine, supplementing the black/blueberry fruit.

Given the mid-weight level of the wine it made a more adaptable food partner than I was expecting (when I thought I was grabbing a Pinot Noir). Overall it further cemented my impression that Rhys is at their best with Syrah.

12/21/2017 - brigcampbell wrote:

This has the most unique bread note I've tasted in a champagne. Marble rye bread. I've never wrote that before but as a rye lover I couldn't get over it. Whiff, whiff, whiff, ahh so enchanting. Finally made my way to tasting it and to my surprise there's that fresh delicatessen rye bread again showing on the palate. Awesome. Medium acid and excellent balance. I should have write a better note but I see from my paper I wrote "rye" three times. A little obsessed I guess. Top 3 best champagnes of the year.

9/30/2017 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Three years ago I thought this wine had the stuffing to go a long time. After opening another bottle, I might revise that to "several more years", but I won't be able to keep my hands off the last two bottles. So often when I open a vineyard-designated Rhys wine I am confronted with a wall that won't let me through. The wines need a ton of time. With this bottling there is already great drinkability, as well as complexity. Deep red fruit, spice, mineral, earth and even a bit of surprising but pleasing tobacco leaf all show on the aromatics. The palate is moving on towards silky, held together by its acidity. This is a lot of fun to drink.

6/26/2017 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Way, you too early for this wine, but since I have no idea of the prefix record of this producer, I have to check in. It's tight, lemony, chalky and has plenty of depth. It's just not all that expressive right now. That's probably a function of youth, so I can let my other bottles sit for a few years before I check in again. We'll see what it's like in 2020 or so.

7/7/2014 - jeagle wrote:

Popped and poured then consumed over 4 hours. Great mouth feel, interesting fruit with allspice evident, but I could never get passed the sweetness. Over time, the wine continued to develop body and palate impression, but the residual sugar kept raising its hand crying "look at me".

1/23/2015 - Chris D wrote:

Either I had a bad bottle or the wine is seriously closed for business. Gave three hours of slow-o, during which time the nose was amazing. By the time we consumed, the nose was muted, wine and palate had gone flat. Even re-corked and tried the next night, but couldn't stomach the last glass. Hope the next bottles show better.

8/24/2014 - sooper65 wrote:

Hmmmm, not all it should be. Dreary, excessively yeasty/biscuity, with no zip, no lift, and just not all that pleasurable. Wasn't quite corked... Though it would have been better if it was... Then no doubts... As it is, I have a dozen more.
Fingers crossed for the next bottle.