3/31/2024 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Light as a feather yet concentrated cherry flavor and spiced. 375 went fast.

3/30/2024 - Justin S wrote:

Delicious wine as always. What I love about this cuvee is that it marries some traditional Syrah structure with easy/fun drinking of your favorite Beaujolais, except it doesn't come off as "natural" or as some glou glou wine. Just joyful.

The acidity is quite strong and while not volitile, does make this somewhat tart. I am not sure the fruit will outlast the acidity, but anyway give this plenty of air, and it's drinking pretty good now. This is the longest I've held one of these, so uncharted territory after this.

3/8/2024 - Justin S wrote:

Pretty tasty, but somehow I was getting a little alcohol spice on the finish that did not go away after a few hours. Still, pretty good wine, generous fruit, easy drinking.

3/1/2024 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Stunning for its freshness and verve at 14 years old. Mouth puckering acidity, very tasty. After a few hours of air, the unresolved structure and tannin was more apparent, but I agree with Keith that this is now drinking on the early end, but is likely not in the preferred window for many. Glad to have a few more bottles. What a bargain.

2/9/2024 - Justin S Likes this wine:

My third and last bottle, couldn't seem to keep my hands off these. This is just a perfect weekday bottle, don't need to decant, generous fruit, fresh, tasty. I was able to get some at auction for $25, so also guilt free. My second bottle tasted a little flat, but this one was vibrant. I don't really see reason to age these for 10 years, so for me these are in the sweet spot now, but no particular rush.

1/19/2024 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Needed about 90 minutes in the bottle and then become pretty explosive (within the context of the Bouchard style) in flavor. Delicious.

12/22/2023 - Justin S wrote:

Rich Meursault like with a twangy mineral finish that keeps it from feeling heavy.

12/31/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Quite good after a hour decant. A lot of tannin but it’s all fine grained and polished. Little oak. Just pure fruit that has excellent concentration. This needs some time to develop more complexity but very well made.

12/24/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

After a disappointing experience with this producer's more entry level cuvee, I wasn't expecting much from this bottle. But boy did it deliver. The best I can describe this is if they made mencia wines in beaujolais, except this has a lot more complexity. It's infused with iron notes, meat, and minerality. It almost has an unfiltered texture to it, not thick, but sort of like juice that has a touch of pulp in it. Unique wine, not sure it's worth ~$80 given the light style, but enjoyed nonetheless.

12/18/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

So many young bottles falling these days...really need to go to offsite. Anyway, this was a wonderful Monday night pizza wine. Sweet dark cherry fruit coated the polished but numerous tannins that provided a nice textural chewiness to the wine without making it too bitter or disrupting the finish. Yes, this will get better, but for me you can drink this now with a lot of pleasure. Or in 10, 15 years.

12/9/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

A little heavier and sweeter than the Maresh bottlings from this vintage. Still drinking on mostly primary but delicious fruit. Give this a few more years to settle down.

12/9/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Note immediately below hits the nail on the head. H

12/1/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Wonderful potential and QPR ($40 paid). But don't touch this right now. Though I knew it wouldn't be quite ready, I wanted to get a feel for the vintage and now I have. This was pretty tough on day 1, with the fruit bound up in the surprising amount of tannin. Day 2 the inner sweetness of the fruit came out and by day 3 it was showing more like I expect Durant to show. HOLD.

11/23/2023 - Justin S wrote:

The spice and tannin is covering up what fruit there is. Like a black coffee that needs a splash of milk. For me this needs lots of time.

11/4/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Can't say it better than chablis 28. Delicious bottle, couldn't put it down, perfect with charcuterie and cheese. Better complexity than when I last had it two years ago, this might be one of my favorite vintages of this cuvee.

10/26/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Good but lacking the complexity of 2019 at this same stage. I’d hold a few more years.

10/21/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Always love this cuvee. Just perfect with casual Italian meals. Tangy, fruity, enough structure, but ready to drink.

10/13/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Wonderful QPR at the $30 paid. It's not a world beater, but wonderful balance, including relatively low ABV. The fruit needs air to come out, so it can feel a little savory to California palates at first. I think this isn't showing everything it will become, but at that price, you can pop this over the next ten years and enjoy

10/7/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Perhaps more prepared about the large scale of this wine today, I found it much better than last time. Yes, there is some alcohol poking out as it warms, but drink it on the cooler side, and it's pretty delicious. Showing more complexity than the 2021 Lapierre Morgon drank the night before. I think this will improve with time, but it is a larger scaled wine for Foillard.

10/5/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Easy drinking, not too ripe yet lots of fruit, elegant. A nice vintage of this wine, no blockbuster, just a wine for the table to open at a whim.

9/23/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Elegant wine and ready to drink now. The acidity is in a good spot relative to the fruit, making this quite accessible and easy drinking.

9/16/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

This was really powerful and fresh. Was expecting something more advanced / heavy / oxidized and it was just super refined and food friendly. No rush on this.

9/8/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Really enjoyed this, very elegant and restrained wine, yet well integrated.

9/7/2023 - Justin S wrote:

Nice QPR for a village wine with this kind of age. Fruit is subdued and burnished, but still plenty of it. Lots of earth. No reason to keep this longer.

9/4/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Opened a little earlier than I would have liked based on how great the 2015 was drinking recently. Still, this was drinking well, had perhaps a bit of dissolved CO2. Tangy dark fruits and not as tannic as the 2015 was at this same stage, this still has a little bit of upside, but no harm in drinking how. Disappeared fast.

9/1/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

This continues to be wonderful, just perfect ripeness for me. Good structure, will continue to develop for years but accessible. One of those great open any time with any meat type of wines.

8/31/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

This is on the bigger side for Foillard. It got a lot better with air (less nondescript). The fruit isn't overly sweet, just a thicker more alcoholic version. Decent but pales in comparison to vintages like 2016. Let's see how it does with time, as the improvement with air was encouraging.

8/13/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

This is starting to come around. On opening, it was a a bit too much of balsamic acidity and frog in your throat tannins on the finish, but 60-90 minutes later, it found its elegance. Aromatics are a little shy a first. On the palate, dark cherry fruit that is loosening up and good density, but not over ripe in the slightest. In fact, the fruit is savory enough to give this overall sort of stately, elegant type of feel. Lovely wine and I think peak is still a few years out, but can drink now.

8/11/2023 - Justin S wrote:

Needs a bit of a decant to tame the acidity. Flavors are earthy and verge of some oxidation. Decent but lacking some depth, though has a ton of secondary flavors. I enjoyed for $40.

8/9/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Brought to Dunsmoor. This is just right in my sweet spot for what I look for in a champagne. The texture was just perfect, almost C. Bouchard like, so well integrated, the right amount of leesy flavor, no toasty flavors sticking out, good concentration, fresh, no bitterness. Loved this and went back for 2 more bottles.

8/5/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

On PnP a bit closed and thin on the palate, but aromatically open. The notes below are spot on in terms of flavor profile and balance. To me this is a good bistro night type wine. Drinking well enough to enjoy now but still came off as quite young to me, needs time to develop complexity. Red and blue fruits, good freshness, quite harmonious. Tannins are so fine grained that it comes off as a slight drying on the finish than any sense they occupy physical space. Do these have the stuffing to age?

7/28/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

These need so much air. At least a few hours and preferably over night. Once you get enough, there is lots to like. Lemon and Meyer lemon wrapped in rocky extract. Good acidity too.

7/22/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Continuing to love this as a house sparkler almost. It is in the Goldilocks zone for me. Not too much dosage, fresh, chalkiness, some Lees, not much toast.

7/14/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Hardly budged from a few years ago. The acidity is softening and the fruit is holding so maybe in 3-4 years this will be at peak. Lacking depth but for the $55 paid thought it was pretty good given the vintage.

7/7/2023 - Justin S wrote:

I like the concept of this wine more in theory than execution. The lower pressure does indeed make this a more gentle wine, particularly for delicate foods. I just didn't think it had much flavor. The flavors seem a bit diluted. I laughed a bit at the "pool water" reference below and while that is probably a bit overly harsh, I understand the description. Sometimes when you swirl all the bubbles out of a champagne, you are still left with something pretty delicious and this could be better in that regard.

6/30/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

I can’t remember having a wine that was so joyous in its youth yet begging for time to grow up. There is a strong spine of prickly acidity, minerality, and spice upon which the freshly alpine fruit clings. It’s enough fruit to give the wine joy and accessibility, yet the structure is there to know this wine is only getting started. Paid under $40, which these days is a steal.

6/29/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Less of a wild ride in natural wine than my first bottle over 4 years ago. This seemed pretty stable and clean, albeit with some dissolved CO2. Still a streak of green running through the wine as before, but extremely fresh berries and finishing on some spice. Super light and cool fruit for the vintage, this went fast. Tasty stuff. I like Metras when it hits, but not all the bottles make it to the U.S. properly.

6/24/2023 - Justin S wrote:

Lean and slightly green, as in there is a mild vegetal influence on the bony palate. Refreshing and crisp though. I thought this worked with food but this isn’t your joyful Beaujolais to enjoy on its fruit when young.

6/22/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Pure lemony goodness, loaded with lemon pith and stones. Admittedly not a ton of depth but some seemed to develop with a few hours of air. Score is more based on joy than anything else. This is a wine I reach for with grilled prawns.

6/20/2023 - Justin S wrote:

This was a gift. This was enjoyed at the table during a casual Tuesday rotisserie chicken dinner. The wine is relatively balanced, but is on the heavier and fuller bodied side for pinot noir, including because of the alcohol level. Not 100% sure that blind, I would even recognize it as pinot noir, though admittedly I do not drink this style often, and so that may be the reason why. Pleasurable, just not good QPR ($80+?) for me given the list price and the style.

6/16/2023 - Justin S wrote:

Boy did this benefit from some age. Supple and open, good complexity, but refreshing. Still a touch of garnacha spice on the finish, maybe even from alcohol, but overall felt integrated. Delicious

6/11/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

No decant, followed over the course of a few hours. This is a tremendously flavorful wine. On the initial attack, you don't sense the acidity, but instead are hit with a wall of fruit, followed very quickly by a wallop of dry extract and minerality. The length / persistence is notable. For me, because of the huge mid palate and tamed acidity, I kept putting this back in the fridge to cool it down. Flavor gets excellent scores, but wish it had a little more acidity. Perhaps a few more years will tame the mid palate a bit? Let's see, but for now a tasty wine.

6/3/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Quite similar to my bottle three years ago but the toasty flavors have calmed down making this drink in a more elegant and refined manner.

5/28/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Excellent QPR. This has just an all around excellent balance between depth of flavor, freshness, leesy and toasty flavors, acidity, and no bitterness

5/26/2023 - Justin S wrote:

This particular bottle had plenty of fruit left but acidity was a bit balsamic and so didn’t feel all that integrated. Also so what oxidized note sitting on top of everything. Cork was half soaked. Good but not great. Drank over three hours. I thought it was at its best in the first hour.

5/6/2023 - Justin S wrote:

This has really added a lot of complexity since my last bottle. Lots more secondary flavors but still fresh and lively on the palette with a salty finish. Terrific.

4/28/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

On day 1, I respected this wine more than finding it tasty. After a few hours decant, the balance is there. Good acidity, tannins not intrusive, Maybe a bit of spice on the back end. Full bodied. The fruit was very dark and subdued. I like savory wines at times but this still needs years to develop more flavor. Nothing distinctive about it at present. On day 2, the fruit uncoiled a bit and turned more red. I think this needs a few more years and/or a longer decant.

4/22/2023 - Justin S wrote:

Was hoping at least one bottle would make it to next summer but at this rate I’ll be lucky to have enough to last this year’s.

4/19/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Still really youthful. Lemony with a chalky back end. Nothing too complex, but refreshing and showed a lot better depth at cellar temperature and with a few hours of air. Became more impressed with the $30 paid the longer it was open, as the chalk seemed to penetrate the entire wine instead of just on the finish and some grapefruit and citrus pith emerged.

4/7/2023 - Justin S Likes this wine:

Tasty wine, maybe not as concentrated or mineral as in previous years, but need to give it a year to put on some weight and see then. This has never been at peak on release.