9/11/2021 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

So nice to see Tondonia rosado back, I've missed this! This wine can do anything. Drink it chilled and it's a refreshing poolside rose with vibrant fruit, wisps of strawberry skin, and just a light touch of oxidation. Drink it warmer and its a chameleon wine that somehow manages to sip like a red wine while having the light weight and watercolor density of a rose, feels like it should be paired with a pipe and a club chair.

10/25/2020 - jtprigg wrote:

Held up well for low alcohol wine. Good fruit notes 20+ year wine.

10/29/2018 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

It's been years since I've had Wiemer's wines with any regularity, and apparently they have come a long way - this is an altogether more serious wine than I've ever had from them, and not just because it's essentially 'trocken.' The fruit profile is succulent and immediately just-plain-delicious pineapple laced with something deeper and more golden, but it's also racy and thirst-quenching and sizzles with a tactile, gothic stoniness that the finest rieslings from Germany and Austria tend to feature, but which is not so easily attained in these parts.

3/1/2018 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

I'd forgotten having this two years ago, but this is right back to how I remember it from release. It's the wine that I wish they could make in the Southern Rhone - all the rich, country-wine heartiness but without the yucky taste of grenache. It's still deeply blue-fruited, with botanical elements including most prominently star anise on the back end. Held up in perfect shape on the second day, too, despite the low (or no?) sulfur.

7/11/2017 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

This cru bourgeois has had a few minor hits in the past. The '14 starts out a bit leafy and stemmy, not feeling entirely ripe. With air the fruit sweetens up and the texture gets fuller and fleshier. Not sure it ever kicks the green streak entirely, but it does pick up some more attractive cigar-box scents and the texture when it hits its stride is nice and plush.

5/13/2016 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

This is a different kind of white wine from Dirty & Rowdy. Seems this one went Full Skin Contact. True orange wine. Not merely yellow like the semillon and the Familiar. Deep stuff. Almost mead-like. All this makes it a bit more challenging to get at, and it didn't really seem to get its composure until it had opened awhile and warmed up to cellar temperature.

3/7/2016 - Enfant sauvage Likes this wine:

I really like a bunch of Eric's wines. I liked this one too, but I have to admit that I find myself siding a bit with the "this was bit overpriced" camp here. It's a nice, transparent feeling N. Rhone, with lots of what I consider the classic hallmarks of a natural wine. In addition, the fruit is good, and there are some nice herbal and floral notes (described below as "lavender," which I think is fair though I wouldn't put my finger on it with that sort of precision). There's maybe just not a lot more going on and this doesn't leave the impression of being a wine that will put on lots of depth or nuance with more age. I could be wrong about that, and many people that know far more than me and whom I respect seem to think this is a very good wine, but I'm not fully getting it here.

On the overpriced question, to be fair, it's really not that expensive ($26 at MacArthur), and I think that proposing this is a $12 wine is not anywhere close to the mark, unless I'm grossly overpaying for my wine, and I don't think that's the case. For me, perhaps it is not unfairly priced, but it comes down to the opportunity cost of this versus a slew of other good wines in the $18-$28 price point. And in that sense, it probably is not a rebuy for me.

I love me some chat fou though, as well as a number of Texier's higher end site specific stuff. Maybe the middle of the road is just not really where it's at.

2/5/2016 - cab Likes this wine:

Good southern Rhone. Pretty good qpr. Balanced. A wine can be this sweet if it's balanced. Not complex, but it's all there.

1/13/2016 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Very pronounced smell, this is about 25% petite. More claret style we all agree, really brightens up. Really darn good. Mouthfeel and minerality is all there. Long lingering. Again, big wine but really works it out.

10/26/2015 - Billigan Likes this wine:

Really great CdR, showing tremendous freshness and typicity, with the Syrah really shining through with lovely meaty aromas and flavors, with a touch of violets and olive. An incredible value at $12/bottle.

11/22/2015 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

Fizzier than beer. Could not drink. :(

10/29/2015 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

Corked.

11/2/2015 - mrfroopy wrote:

Well I bought a case of this as a mystery wine I got a good deal, so its shooting craps, however I hope that this wine evolves in a good way because, it was not described at all the way it actually tastes. (((here is the description for the wine, which is why I bought it: "It is not an ooze-monster trying to obtain points - quite the opposite. It pushes to the head of the domestic Pinot Noir class because of its organic/hands-off principles and the origin of its fruit. In its attempt to showcase terroir and varietal symmetry over massive new oak and carnival extraction, it races past the field like Jeff Gordon. ")))) This is my note for this wine:It is NOT an ooze monster, however, Instead of understanding the 2011 vintage in Oregon, the winemakers here used some new oak, 30% according to the website, which in a riper year might have been fine, which totally overwhelems the fruit(maybe only for now). The Oak, along with pretty drastic over extraction shrouds in spoof what could have been a pure and gorgeous lighter style wine that fits the vintage. I really don't like the over extraction.. this is the problem to me they extracted stuff that in a lighter vintage should not be in the wine. Instead..they tried to make a prestige wine in a style that didn't match the vintage. Heavy handed winemaking here...I don't understand why American winemakers try to work AGAINST THE VINTAGE instead of with it...still trying to please WA, WS in this instance is my guess.I hope this smooths out. Maybe in 5 years the oak will integrate..if not a waste of great fruit.I am keeping this wine open and tasting over 5 days to see what happens.. Will report so far on day 2 stuck in same mode. TO BE FAIR, let me say my Girlfriend who likes oak and extraction more than I, liked this wine A LOT!!

3/31/2014 - Neecies Does not like this wine:

Day one: black in color, stridently acidic. Starchy, cool-vintage flavors of black plum and radish. Tight and unrewarding for current drinking, so we corked it for the next day.
Day two: not surprisingly, sophomore shutdown's in full force. Scant flavor on front and back ends, nothing in the middle, so we corked again for the third day, on which we expected emergence.
Day three: now there's a tiny bit of fruit in the front and middle, but not even up to the minimalism of day one and back end whatsoever. Maybe another day?
Day four: fruit's gone, just acid.

6/28/2015 - wilypod Likes this wine:

Aglianico, Piedirosso and Sciascionna varieties. Harvested, destemmed, followed by several days of skin contact and a shortened fermentation produce this lightly fizzy red. No use of carbonic maceration, as in Beaujolais Nouveau. The alcohol is generally 10-12 percent. Fresh, frothy and appealing, the neapolitan "go to" vino for pasta and pizza. Unlike lambrusco minimal residual sugar. Quite delicious and round and with just enough fizz to make a very primary grapey wine interesting and go well with the bold flavors of Campania. Done to perfection by Cantina Grotta del Sole.

9/16/2015 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:

good wine - there is fruit but it is not overblown or extracted, the wine is balanced, and there is even some complexity. well done and should be a lesson for the rest of Strong Island to follow in terms of working with what is given, as opposed to trying to craft something bigger and better out of what is given.

10/6/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Perfect weather year in '12 I am being told - you could just make whatever you wanted to make.

Spicy, more brambly red fruit, good structure held with sweet fruit. Sure it will age out a bit more, not sure about the $65 price tag. Lots of competition up there.

9/28/2015 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

Seriously delicious, maximum yum factor here. But it also has a very serious razor-wire texture and craggy minerality that makes it come across drier than it must be (only 8% alc). I could easily have confused this for a riesling.

5/15/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Just ok this vintage. Delivers, just lasts years were so darn good with brighter acidity.

8/18/2015 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

The morbid curiosity was killing me. I finally got a chance to taste the famous, the much-adored, the much-despised, the Yellow Tail of the millennial generation, Meiomi pinot noir! It is actually not as bad as I thought it would be. It's way better than Yellow Tail, anyway. It's a commercial, mass-produced taste, obviously, but it is still tastes more or less like pinot noir, moreso than many pinot noirs that get 97 points from James Laube, that's for sure. It has a sweetness to it but not in a jammy fashion, more like it just had a syrup of itself stirred in to gloss it up. It's got an unharmonized track of cedary woodiness to add something non-fruit to the mix and juuuust enough tannin to give it that cuddly fabric-softener bear texture.

6/1/2014 - lyle@vinchicago.com Likes this wine:

Drinking window listed for this is too narrow, this is not a wine of insignificant structure. 'til 2015 at least.

6/1/2014 - lyle@vinchicago.com Likes this wine:

You MUST give this some air. Once you've done that, I think now is the time for drinking. There's funk and unwanted tartness on PNP, but it resolved well after 20 minutes decanted and back into the bottle, sealed and consumed over the next two days. Cool-climate Pinot that is great at $20 and under.

8/4/2015 - THECORKDORK wrote:

If I wasn't so impressed by ther other wines I probably wouldn't be so let down by this. Juicy and fresh but simple and lacks that LCF excitement. Kind of meh-- Lemoney and slightly tropical. Drink young.

6/11/2015 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

Starts off with a profile very much like a Muscadet. Pale, crisp, lean, and steely. Enjoyable for its freshness. With enough air it develops a more interesting gravelly mineral element, with some relief to the texture. For $12, this is really good.

6/15/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Is it calming down? It is calming down is the thought. Well the nose is. The palate is pretty darn linear. Erin notes that "the fruit is starting..." and then "that will live forever...", with neither thought being finished. A wine for contemplation?

6/15/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Smells a bit like Dill pickle. Maybe not. Its got structure. Put it in the domestic Pinot Noir section?

6/3/2015 - camben Likes this wine:

It's like drinking amazing juice. Cranberry ruby grapefruit without the bitter skin tannin of grapefruit. Simply fantastically unique and in my opinion perfect.

5/17/2015 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

2004 Red Burgundies: Ringer. I thought this might be funny to toss in and see if the bottom of the hierarchy from '05 ends up besting the top of the hierarchy from '04. Didn't really work out that way; whatever you want to say about the '04 vintage, those were wines already and this is still kind of tutti frutti (reminded Cristi of Beaujolais, which makes sense). It got a bit more grippy and, well, gravelly in the glass but the '04s were clearly more serious and engaging.

5/11/2015 - Keith Levenberg wrote:

Good, but it didn't knock my socks off. Very pure, a cleansing style laced with something vaguely chalky, and so easy to drink it should probably be in full-liter bottles. But my favorite Muscadets tend to be more angular and crunchy with that sensation like they just painted the roof of your mouth with stalactites, and this one instead was pretty slick and smooth and creamy.

3/18/2015 - Charlie Carnes wrote:

Darn, this is a disappointment. Onewinehaven has it the closest, 'cept my yadayadayada comes earlier... (For a Rhys) I got tart apple juice, buttery modern chardonnay, and some fairly sweet oak. Not what I was expecting at all. I did/do get some expected chalky white mineral perceptions, but for the most part it is closer to a Rombauer (sp) or a Peter Michael. The color is good and it does not seem to have any "advanced" qualities, it's just not what I expect from the Rhys Team.

*A slight return* 3/19 I thought about my note all day and really want to try another bottle. The apple juice perceptions might tell of slight advancement/oxygen intrusion. Also, I have a nice note in my inbox from Rhys. Jeff has offered me a .750 replacement bottle. I will open it with another .375 next week and compare. If the bottle was advanced and I didn't catch it, I want to correct my mistake.

1/21/2015 - mrfroopy Does not like this wine:

this wine actually has some nice fruit..if a bit over ripe, however..
CHOKE ON THE OAK

1/29/2015 - sleepyhaus wrote:

Loved it. Absolutely killer Chablis. Couldn't disagree more with the poster saying this is too acidic. Plenty of stuffing with plenty of cut. Droin is good. 2012 in Chablis is good. This is excellent. Really great stuff. Wish I had a case.

1/27/2015 - mrfroopy wrote:

Still getting better..
Can I save a few for a few more years?

10/5/2014 - SiR wrote:

12.0% - Clear, med to light green lemon / clean, med- intensity - ripe lemon, herbaceous, saline, mineral and bit yeasty / dry, med+ racy acidity, med- body, med intensity and length. Another solid Domaine La Pepière that was just wonderful with mussels. I think I could drink this everyday and not get tired of it...

5/17/2014 - Chris Newport wrote:

(Off the list at Pearl & Ash)
Poured into a decanter before service. A blend of cab sauv and cab franc. Really quite nice. Expressive nose, fresh and bright fruits, went down far too easily. I love this style of wine.

12/4/2014 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Very odd wine. I think its corked yet it has a composite cork.

10/15/2014 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Love the copper smell on the nose. And then its got nice floaty chunks in the bottle. Very salt on the back end. And very tightly wound up as well.

11/5/2014 - gbanks wrote:

Consistent w/previous. Aromas a bit more muted at first, but comes around with time. Excited to see what this is like in 5 yrs or so...

9/11/2014 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

Starts out spritzy and needs a few good, vigorous shakes to smooth out to drinkability. Even then it is a little edgy, with some raspy tannin. It does a lot to civilize itself with air - at least an hour in the decanter is best. After that it's very nice and I can honestly say I have never had anything quite like it. It is full of fresh red fruit on the absolute cutting edge of ripeness in a Loire-like fashion, but I've had a lot of Sancerre rouge from pinot noir and they are nothing like this - this is almost something I would mistake for cabernet franc. All that said, there is nothing even hinting at greenness here. It has a sharpness and spine to it but the fruit is all vibrant red berries with a just-crushed freshness.

8/12/2014 - thelostverse wrote:

Pop and pour. Initially tight, but opened eventually to a nice citrus profile with lemon prominent. Acid seemed a tad low at first, but seemed to come out with time. No noticeable oak. I think I'll give this some more time in cellar.

7/24/2014 - brooklynguy wrote:

Decanted at 11 AM and tasted here and there over the course of the afternoon; drunk with dinner. Better than I expected, to be honest. The wine has restrained and lovely honey and thyme aromas, no heat whatsoever (and the alcohol is listed at 14.5%). There is also a strong mineral element, like the salty and chalky aspect of a wine from the cote de blancs. That said, it comes across as a bit brutish. This is good wine, but it's not something I want to drink often.

1/30/2014 - yofog wrote:

More ripeness and dark fruit and less of a stony texture in this 2012 than their was in the '11, but it remains very fresh and delineated with no signs of excess ripeness. Very well done. Brambly, candied kirsch and herbs. Delicious.

2/28/2013 - The Vinsider Likes this wine:

This wine is a wake-up call. Lithe, bright, with no new oak and low in alcohol it is unlike any other Zin out there. It won't wine the swimsuit competition, but have it with food and it sings.

6/5/2014 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Why does he make 22 different skus of muscadet? Well it tastes like Chablis - i am being told a touch more malt-y than Piepiere. Delicious.

6/17/2014 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

I wonder why the spelling change on the label?

In any case, this is the first vintage with no new oak, all older foudre. So the emphasis is apparently on the limestone soils.

And hey, what a change. Violets and perfume on the nose. Palate is full and with rich fruit but also earthy notes. I guess I believe in the project, that something is going on here beyond just wine making.

6/20/2014 - brooklynguy wrote:

Unctuous and full in texture, and with the classic waxy and honeyed aspects one would expect. But even after an hour open, the wine feels constricted. More time maybe. But it's hard to say. I fundamentally do not trust 14.5% and ripe like this one is, and this full and rich. It would be good to wait a number of years on the last bottle to see what unfolds.

11/5/2013 - La Peste wrote:

Recently had another 76 Chinon that was outstanding. This didn't live up to that one, a good wine but not a lot of complexity here. I don't know the story with this one, but obviously this does't have the original bottle labels as there is a web address on the label. Does anyone know the story of how this wine was stored?

5/30/2014 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

I don't know if VA blows off or not but frankly this is much better on day two, where it at least has calmed down.

I know I am supposed to like hippster VA powered low alc. California but may I please have a dose of hedonism with my intellectualism?

12/3/2013 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

Skin-fermented and concrete-egg fermented, says the label.
It took a long time for me to acquire the taste for skin-fermented whites. But this is one of the most exciting wines I've had in ages and now it feels kind of boring to go back to skinless...
But this is not an "orange" wine. It picks up that cloudy cast and those extra layers of flavor and texture from the skin but here the color is actually a very pale yellow, and it has the ripping freshness that the orange types sometimes lack. Practically kinetic in its energy. The complexity is dizzying with vivid briny oyster-shell and crustaceous flavors, a rush of umami, and fresh lemony acidity and snap that gives it a rapier-like spine and makes it guzzlingly drinkable.
Drank two of these already and just bought more. I can't wait to have this with shellfish but I've pretty much been craving it with everything.

12/18/2013 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

Still great. One of my all-time favorites from Clos Saron. This is still gassy and needs a shake and a decant before you can drink it. This one also started out with a slight gamey funk, not sure if it's just signs of reduction or an interesting hint of some more mature character to the fruit, perhaps a combination of the two. But it does seem to be showing even more personality than it did a few months ago. I love its peppery bite. The fruit is rich and hearty without crossing the line into saucy, and it has the acidic spine to come across nicely linear and defined. Need more of this.