February 24, 2017 - What a wonderful blanc, floral, wild honey, minerals, fresh, haven't drank this beauty in few years, rich and pure, very good cdp blanc
93
January 17, 2015 - Having drunk half a case of this in the last 1 year I can say its comes highly recommended, it's a delicious fresh crisp blanc with enough depth & complexity to make it interesting. It even outperformed the 09 rayas blanc at a tasting we had few months back, the Rayas being shut and perhaps in a dumb phase
October 4, 2014 - Super Tasting 4 of 5; Chris does 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape (Chris' House): Popped and poured, followed approximately 30 minutes. Light straw gold in the glass. On the nose, melon, florals, vanilla, honey, mineral, lemon/lime zest, with an herbal tinge and a kiss of oak. As it warms in the glass, the oak become a bit more prevalent. On the palate, rich and somewhat voluptuous, showing an oily texture. Based on the nose, I would have pegged this for being slightly deficient in acid, however, on tasting, there are sufficient acid to keep this fresh and counterbalance the richness. The finish is moderate, with tastes of melon, citrus, mineral, honey, vanilla, and a touch of wood. A tiny bit of heat stands out on the back end, but overall, a strong effort. I am not particularly fond of this producer, but this was better than expected.
October 4, 2014 - Year 2 - Super Tasting 4 of 5 - Chris does 2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Very nice and really appealing wine here. Surprisingly showing some restraint given the modern reputation of the producer. It pours fairly light with a crisp nose of white flowers, lemon zest, honeydew melon, under ripe pineapple, florals and honey. Palate has the southern Rhone fat, rich and oily character but there is plenty of acid to balance things out. Finish is medium plus in length carried on mineral, florals and honey. Very well done and balanced effort with a small nod to white burgundy.
October 4, 2014 - Year 2 - Super Tasting 4 of 5 - Chris does 2001 Southern Rhone (Dundas, Ontario): Really expressive nose....butter, fat, tropical fruit, wax, lanolin and white flowers. I expected the palate to be fat and out of balance but this was really well put together with only the faintest bit of heat on the backend and full of lemon custard, wax, mandarin, minerals and acacia flowers. Finish was medium...highly pleasurable wine. Almost 92
June 11, 2014 - Alain Jaume & Fils (Ultimo wines basement room): Bees wax, almonds, ripe apricots, and stone fruit, spice, slight oxidation, butter toast, almost wood glue notes - not unpleasant though. Quite strong oak aromas. In the mouth the wine is rich, round mouthful - quite mouth filling. Spicy, ripe stone fruit and marzipan, front of mouth phenolic grip. Long. very good and difficult to spit.
July 22, 2013 - 011 Domaine Grand Veneur, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, La Fontaine
Once in a while, we get lucky. When one and only one case of this incredibly highly rated wine (95 points from Robert Parker) arrived at the local distributor, one of the bottles had a flawed label, apparently since another bottle of wine in the shipment had broken and leaked on it. Our intrepid rep immediately grabbed the damaged bottle as a sample and brought it to us. Some may criticize the limitations of Parker’s palate, but in this case we whole-heartedly agreed with him and immediately ordered the rest of the case for this club. The Grand Veneur estate was founded in 1826 but, until recently, had been more well known for the variety of their negociant based wines under the Alain Jaume label than the quality of their top cuvees. However, in the past ten years, the skills of Alain’s sons Sebastian and Christophe have elevated Grand Veneur to one of the true rising stars of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As you might expect for one of Parker’s favorite wineries, the reds are quite hefty and powerful. However, this single vineyard white, made entirely from Roussanne is, at 300 cases produced, the most limited wine they make, and the best of their wines we’ve tasted so far. It’s a full-bodied, rich wine with soft floral aromas, good acidity, superb purity, and an elegant, honeyed mouth feel. Enjoy it now, with fish dishes, foie gras, white meats, or soft cheeses, or follow Parker’s recommendation to cellar it for another three to four years. It certainly is comparable to the great white Rhone wines of 2007-2008, which are drinking so beautifully now. (And we still have available the 2007 Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the 2007 Mordorée Lirac, and the 2008 Vieux Télégraphe.) The Grand Veneur was $60 and of course we got just enough for the club.
February 5, 2013 - Savoury, rich mineral honeyed nose; rich and weighty. Very complex, this is excellent. 93-95