6/10/2020 - afields wrote:

Green apple, buttered toast, bit of pineapple and underripe banana or other tropical fruit. Fresh, and light on the yeasty flavor. Solid acid and pretty dry. Decent pairing with popcorn tofu and parmesan asparagus. Good, but nothing about this makes me want to pay $50+ (or whatever it was) again. My first Blanc de blancs champagne I think so not sure if I don’t prefer the style or just don’t prefer this particular wine, but I like other entry level champagne better. 6.1/10

4/4/2019 - acyso wrote:

#17495. Yay, just like last year, I'm the first one to post a note on this. I have no idea what value that fact is, apart from a reference to those old forum commenting systems. Anyway. This is different than the 2015. The nose is initially smoky, with a fair bit of oak and a big whiff of spice, but then it opens into these beautiful red fruits. This is an Hermitage of a decidedly more delicate and lithesome style. The immense fruity flesh of the 2015 isn't here at all: the structure here is more exposed, there is more sinew and definition in this wine. Plenty of acidity here, with the fresh and youthful red fruit playing a big part on the palate as a counterweight to the spicy, oaky qualities. It's obviously young and unresolved with plenty of tannin, but there should be ample material for aging. Against the lower oak Rhones worth a damn (TM), this will probably not show that same elegance, and the higher oak treatment will stick out (or am I just hedging based on the performance of the 2015 last year?). I digress -- there is a lot to love about this wine, and at age 3, any assessment is justifiably ludicrous and needs to be taken with a huge slab of Himalayan pink salt. But the die is cast with my relatively large stash, and I am certain my faith will be rewarded.

12/20/2019 - afields Likes this wine:

Fresh, lively tension, bright cherry and red berry fruit but even more it’s savory with tomato and herb (oregano, tarragon?), hints of orange and pepper. There’s buttery oak too but not as wood and vanilla forward as young Rioja can be. M to M+ acid, M tannin, M body, a very long finish for a wine of this price. Not especially complex at least at this stage but just so well made and enjoyable. It’s hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this wine. Drinking great now and I assume even better down the road, although this feels more like a now through medium term wine than one to hold for decades. There ain’t much better for ~$30. 7.5-8/10

5/13/2019 - afields Likes this wine:

Brambly blackberry and blueberry fruit, sweet cinnamon oatmeal, spring flowers. M+ body with a lovely silky mouthfeel, soft but balanced tannin, M to M- acid. Very Languedoc in character. Hardly profound but impossible not to like—delicious, sweet but balanced and extremely drinkable. You couldn’t ask for much more for the price. 7/10