April 30, 2024 - Opened in HK. Served blind; unsure of breathing time.
The others guessed a very extracted natural pinot... I wasn't so convinced, and thought it was something to do with the Rhone. Ended up stabbing at some natural Syrah given the colour and some peppery notes - turns out it was Grenache, and a VDF!
First Pedres Blanques and really impressed. Great winemaking and very enjoyable. It's a strong wine but balanced, and would definitely seek out again. Great accompaniment to the food. Thanks to E for sharing!
January 12, 2024 - Blind, again some obvious VA, dark fruit, clean and ripe. 92
December 21, 2023 - Wow, the nose on this wine! This is why I love Grenache! Loads of strawberries, flowers, and sweet candy. Good acid and the tannins are still quite young. It can use more time for everything to come together but no harm in trying one now.
October 5, 2023 - Interesting nose with strawberries, some VA, and red plums. The palate is quite structured with good acidity, more strawberry flavors, darker fruit notes, violets, and blood orange. Nice finish. A lovely wine but I feel that since release it has lost some of the immediate fruit yet hasn't gained much in complexity. It may be in a dumb phase right now, I'd wait quite a bit longer before starting to drink these.
March 24, 2023 - There's such complex black and purple fruit aromatics along with a playful quality.
December 18, 2022 - Pedres Blanques Wine Dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Shoji (DUPREE, Kyoto): Produced in a generous volume compared to other vintages so far. PNP into narrow bowl glass (“Root” day): Medium purplish ruby to the eyes.
Aromatic nose of mints, complex florals and a balance of red and black cherry fruits. Signature “sweet” florals that distinguished the Grenache variety for me too.
Really a complete wine on the palate with fruit and secondary flavors largely consistent with the nose here. Lots of stuffing and complexity achieved without adding much if any weight here. Satisfying persistent finish.
94-95 points to me.
July 4, 2022 - Opened 5 hours prior to dinner. Piercing purple fruit aromatics with slight natural wine tilt, very enticing. Palate is balanced with length, special.
February 1, 2022 - Delayed note. Showing so much differently versus last time. I just remember thinking wow this time around. Aromas/flavors of berry/grape bubble gum. Moderate+ complexity. Fresh. Young, but very drinkable. Still seems like this wine will continue to improve with age. Wish I would have bought everything I could get my hands on before this blew up.
September 22, 2021 - Rié et Hirofumi Shoji Pedres Blanques Rouge 2018. Grenache 100% natural wine made by a Japanese couple in Roussillon. It's already a fun combination, right? Alc 14%. M+ volume & intensity on the nose with ripped raspberry, blueberry & bell pepper, black pepper, yogurt. I don't know why, but it's a wine that feels like Cabernet Franc. body M+, acidity M+, tannin M.
일본인 부부가 후씨옹에서 그르나슈 100%로 만든 내추럴 와인. 조합이 특이허다? 까프에서 강하게 날법한 빻은 고추, 피망향이 특징.
July 25, 2021 - Less weird/funky than I was expecting. Medium-bodied Grenache with strawberry, orange and mineral notes. There’s a decent amount of structure here and a few years of age will be beneficial. Quite interesting.