Out of the bottle, i thought "oh no, this one is gone." Darker honey color and an almost brandy-like mouth. But knowing the quality of the Booker Wines and the care Eric Jensen puts into crafting his wines, I trusted the decision to hold this bottle as long as we had. Definitely not your usual light bodied summer wine. After 30 minutes open, it is rich with flavors of honey, dried white peach, Granny Smith apple (and, according to my wife--"sunshine and butterflies") maintaining the viscosity of the Roussanne component. But the minerality of the viogner helps clean up the finish. Liking it. This is one of the more sophisticated whites I have had in a while. Definitely a wine to be savored...A thinking man's white.
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Tough to score this as I have never had a wine like it. I was prepared for the color. And cloudiness, but didn't know what to expect on the palate. Drank like a red. Shared it with friends after a round of golf and it was well received.
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I do not like Roussane. I do not like Viogier. Yet, for the privilege of being on the Booker list, I was forced to spend $40 on this. I am no longer a member of the Booker list. Stupid wax-dipped necks to boot.
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This is the first Booker White that I have opened. Gold and cloudy. Excellent nose of ripe, almost candied, fruit. Full, creamy texture and a kaleidoscope of rich stone fruit flavors. Richer than most Southern Rhone whites that I have tasted but none the worse for it. My wife and I had it with shrimp scampi loaded with garlic and butter. It was a superb match. Outstanding.
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Cloudy gold tinged yellow. Amazing nose, pick your lighter fruits as this opens and evolves: apricots, pears, peaches, grapefruit, also vanilla and a hint of wet stones. In the mouth, powerful fruit again, with creamy glycerin. This is still young and probably should have waited a few years. And it definitely needs open time to come together. For me, this is heavy for a summer wine, but an interesting change as the cooler weather arrives.
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Dense, viscous, golden, yellowish opulence in the glass. Delightful on the nose, with whiffs of fruits and flowers. A heavy white wine, not a light and lively one. Not sure that Viognier is my grape.
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Annual Wine Group Summer Event - Loads of Wine (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): Pale greenish/yellow color. Drank this after it had been open for at least an hour. Nose is very aromatic, pungent florals, tropical fruits, vanilla, grassy, vick's vaporub. The palate has good body, consistent flavors with nose, minerals, but there is something here that just doesn't work for me. Well made, interesting wine, but not something i gravitate to.
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I suggest you decant this wine if at all possible and taste it as it opens up. You can tell that we are not talking about Chardonnay here. The nose and palate go through a metamorphosis until it finally settles down to a nose of white flowers, nectarine and pear. The palate follows along and adds a little citrus, minerality and acidity with excellent balance.
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This was a real nice wine. Served blind, it was a very difficult wine to nail. Had some characteristics that made some think of Chardonnay from the Old World. Some also found the cloudiness confusing and threw them off their game. Wish I had more!
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We very much enjoy this wine. Others have captured the sensory elements of the wine other than this time we noted a hint of vanilla on the front palate. We drink a lot of this wine...it is a superb white wine. Very much like a white CDP with a splash more citrus. You red wine drinkers "out there" will enjoy this white.
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Superbowl Tour of Grapes: Nice unfiltered blend here. I recently had a straight Roussane bottling, which I felt showed why it's used for structure, not necessarily taste, but this blend of 60% Roussane and 40% Viognier really works as it should. Good mineral backbone flavors with floral highlights, bright acidity but not out of balance I didn't think.
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Yellow, white and murky (unfiltered) with med-heavy viscosity in the glass. Initial nose of oak, tangerine, honeydew and sage. Nose became yeasty after an hour opening. After two hours it took on Cracker Jack, tropical fruit, melon, sage, almonds and wet grass. Full body with oak, tropical fruit, melon, stone fruit and lychee on the palate. As with the nose, the palate was all over the place as it opened. Med-long finish. High quality, intriguing and challenging (trying to figure-out if this is well made or just superb fruit munched together?)
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Beautiful golden color, opens with a beautiful nose of stone fruits, vanilla, pears and gentle hint of white flowers. Lanolin, peaches, pears and honeysuckle on the palate with a full bodied viscosity that just lasts. Nice acidity and wonderful stoniness that offsets the sweet impression. Knock out effort.
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Cloudy golden color. Nose sort of shy but got stone fruit, peach, honeysuckle and a hint of wet grass. Palate -- agree with the concentration of the wine suggested by others but found that it never really opened up for me coming out a bit flat on the end. Suggest airing this out a bit before drinking.
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This wine is cloudy with a golden yellow color. The nose was a mix of lanolin, anise, pear, and vanilla. On the palate, this was a mix of pear, vanilla, and minerals with a slight, bitter edge. It is full-bodied with a slight, alcoholic burn. The finish is long and intense. Overall, I don't really "get" marsanne. This was interesting but not really my type.
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Cloudy golden wheat colored- unfiltered. Powerful aromas of pears, jasmine, and honeysuckle. Very soft but intense flavors of pears and white peaches, meyer lemons, cream, and honey with some light pina colada type flavors on the lengthy finish. Oily, glycerol mouthfeel with moderate minerality and very good acidity. This comes accross as very warm in the mouth due to its high alcohol.
Even though the fruit is soft and delicious, this is a very intense and concentrated wine - too intense to be a quaffer and too concentrated to have more than a glass or so with foods as it will eventually overpower. Very delicious and unique - the Mrs. said this might have been the best white she has ever had - though not very versatile. If you haven't had this wine before, I highly recommend trying a bottle of this though I think the '10 is even better.
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Cloudy, golden yellow. Floral nose was very nice. Nice pear flavors. Caramel too. Very thick and creamy. Agree with the "white wine for red wine drinkers" comment. Not as much minerality as some Roussane's I like, maybe that was the 40% Viogner. Very nice effort.
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Next to the Altamura Sauv Blanc, this is one of the most concentrated whites I've ever had. This is a California red wine drinker's white wine. Pours cloudy yellow (unfiltered), intense pear and vanilla nose, rich midpalate with a white pepper nuance and then repeating flavors through the long finish.
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Very interesting bottle. Could taste Viogner and Rousanne if you concentrated. Quite crisp, with less roundness than any Rousanne wine I've ever had (though more than many Viogner). bone dry and nice body. There was a lack of anything wonderful. Still enjoyed it.
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Wednesday Night Blind - July 2011 (Somers 202): A big and fat wine, not want of oak treatment, but well integrated, very nutty flavors mixed with apricots and pie crust, creamy texture. Delicious.
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First. I am not a big white drinker; but I am a huge Booker fan. This is the first time I have tried their White Blend; based on the Rhone white varietals. Cloudly, but wheat colored gold in the glass. Nose of lemon-curd, asian pear, maybe some island floral. It's frontal profile and attack is very soft, and the fruit gradually warms in the mouth. This may be caused by the higher alcohol content for a white. Either way, I found the finish to be excellent. Not bitter in the least, and actaully adding some notes of caramel and coconut. Probably one of the more enjoyable whites I have had in some time. Well done Booker.
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Hazy honey yellow, this had ultra ripe summer fruit, apple cider, pepper with a somewhat creamy, thick mouthfeel and full body with a hint of acid. 60% Roussane 40% viognier.
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Very strange looking wine - murky in way that some Belgian or wheat beers. Floral and stone fruit aroma. Taste has honey, peach and butter. The butter taste is a bit too much for me in this.
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7/17/2015 - TGOT wrote:
Perplexed. Viscous, caramel color. Tastes like it might have oxidized, but giving it a chance given comments by others...
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12/7/2014 - JDRFoster wrote: 92 Points
Nicely balanced, still fresh and very enjoyable
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6/4/2014 - JDRFoster wrote:
Time to drink up. Nice balance of primary and secondary flavors now but the bright fruit is fading a bit.
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5/26/2014 - spidersva Likes this wine: 94 Points
Massive and delicious. Big, full flavors. So freaking good.
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2/12/2014 - Stumpy wrote:
Seemed oxidized or something-light caramel color and dull. I have found this with Alban in the past too. A Paso trait?
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12/8/2013 - PinotPaul Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very interesting. Wonderful nose of ripe apricots. Mouthfull of mature fruit.
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11/29/2013 - perlasteve wrote:
Thanksgiving. Wife and I did not like. Maybe not cold enough but taste was astringent. Wine not bad, will try later today and rate better.
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6/23/2013 - johnny1206 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Looked clear in bottle, once poured turned cloudy. The wine had fruity aroma and tasted great.
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5/2/2013 - CurtisVan wrote: 92 Points
Out of the bottle, i thought "oh no, this one is gone." Darker honey color and an almost brandy-like mouth. But knowing the quality of the Booker Wines and the care Eric Jensen puts into crafting his wines, I trusted the decision to hold this bottle as long as we had. Definitely not your usual light bodied summer wine. After 30 minutes open, it is rich with flavors of honey, dried white peach, Granny Smith apple (and, according to my wife--"sunshine and butterflies") maintaining the viscosity of the Roussanne component. But the minerality of the viogner helps clean up the finish. Liking it. This is one of the more sophisticated whites I have had in a while. Definitely a wine to be savored...A thinking man's white.
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4/12/2013 - UofM wrote: 90 Points
Tough to score this as I have never had a wine like it. I was prepared for the color. And cloudiness, but didn't know what to expect on the palate. Drank like a red. Shared it with friends after a round of golf and it was well received.
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3/28/2013 - Bob & Sue Atlanta wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding
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3/18/2013 - Sauvyfan Does not like this wine:
I do not like Roussane. I do not like Viogier. Yet, for the privilege of being on the Booker list, I was forced to spend $40 on this. I am no longer a member of the Booker list. Stupid wax-dipped necks to boot.
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3/12/2013 - tantotinto wrote: 92 Points
This is the first Booker White that I have opened. Gold and cloudy. Excellent nose of ripe, almost candied, fruit. Full, creamy texture and a kaleidoscope of rich stone fruit flavors. Richer than most Southern Rhone whites that I have tasted but none the worse for it. My wife and I had it with shrimp scampi loaded with garlic and butter. It was a superb match. Outstanding.
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2/23/2013 - signotim wrote: flawed
bottle cracked / broken at top. glass fell away when wax enclosure was removed. returned to Booker for 2011 white
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1/28/2013 - sterin wrote: 90 Points
Needs more balance. Too much acidity for my liking for Rousanne / Viognier.
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10/13/2012 - RR47 wrote: 91 Points
Cloudy gold tinged yellow. Amazing nose, pick your lighter fruits as this opens and evolves: apricots, pears, peaches, grapefruit, also vanilla and a hint of wet stones. In the mouth, powerful fruit again, with creamy glycerin. This is still young and probably should have waited a few years. And it definitely needs open time to come together. For me, this is heavy for a summer wine, but an interesting change as the cooler weather arrives.
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9/24/2012 - ELH wrote: 89 Points
Dense, viscous, golden, yellowish opulence in the glass. Delightful on the nose, with whiffs of fruits and flowers. A heavy white wine, not a light and lively one. Not sure that Viognier is my grape.
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8/25/2012 - rocknroller wrote: 89 Points
Annual Wine Group Summer Event - Loads of Wine (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): Pale greenish/yellow color. Drank this after it had been open for at least an hour. Nose is very aromatic, pungent florals, tropical fruits, vanilla, grassy, vick's vaporub. The palate has good body, consistent flavors with nose, minerals, but there is something here that just doesn't work for me. Well made, interesting wine, but not something i gravitate to.
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8/1/2012 - D.Callahan Likes this wine: 90 Points
I suggest you decant this wine if at all possible and taste it as it opens up. You can tell that we are not talking about Chardonnay here. The nose and palate go through a metamorphosis until it finally settles down to a nose of white flowers, nectarine and pear. The palate follows along and adds a little citrus, minerality and acidity with excellent balance.
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7/15/2012 - The Wine Write wrote: 90 Points
Tropical fruit nose. Apricots, melon and just a hint of grapefruit on the palate. Paired well with food.
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6/21/2012 - S2 wrote: 92 Points
This was a real nice wine. Served blind, it was a very difficult wine to nail. Had some characteristics that made some think of Chardonnay from the Old World. Some also found the cloudiness confusing and threw them off their game. Wish I had more!
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5/25/2012 - Tetherton wrote: 91 Points
We very much enjoy this wine. Others have captured the sensory elements of the wine other than this time we noted a hint of vanilla on the front palate. We drink a lot of this wine...it is a superb white wine. Very much like a white CDP with a splash more citrus. You red wine drinkers "out there" will enjoy this white.
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5/17/2012 - sbreffle wrote: 90 Points
Hazy, cloudy dark yellow. Dense in the mouth. Floral nose
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2/5/2012 - wineberg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Superbowl Tour of Grapes: Nice unfiltered blend here. I recently had a straight Roussane bottling, which I felt showed why it's used for structure, not necessarily taste, but this blend of 60% Roussane and 40% Viognier really works as it should. Good mineral backbone flavors with floral highlights, bright acidity but not out of balance I didn't think.
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12/3/2011 - christophee Likes this wine: 90 Points
Yellow, white and murky (unfiltered) with med-heavy viscosity in the glass. Initial nose of oak, tangerine, honeydew and sage. Nose became yeasty after an hour opening. After two hours it took on Cracker Jack, tropical fruit, melon, sage, almonds and wet grass. Full body with oak, tropical fruit, melon, stone fruit and lychee on the palate. As with the nose, the palate was all over the place as it opened. Med-long finish. High quality, intriguing and challenging (trying to figure-out if this is well made or just superb fruit munched together?)
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11/27/2011 - Stormswave wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful golden color, opens with a beautiful nose of stone fruits, vanilla, pears and gentle hint of white flowers. Lanolin, peaches, pears and honeysuckle on the palate with a full bodied viscosity that just lasts. Nice acidity and wonderful stoniness that offsets the sweet impression. Knock out effort.
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11/22/2011 - J-Sho wrote: 88 Points
Cloudy golden color. Nose sort of shy but got stone fruit, peach, honeysuckle and a hint of wet grass. Palate -- agree with the concentration of the wine suggested by others but found that it never really opened up for me coming out a bit flat on the end. Suggest airing this out a bit before drinking.
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10/25/2011 - Meerlust wrote: 88 Points
This wine is cloudy with a golden yellow color. The nose was a mix of lanolin, anise, pear, and vanilla. On the palate, this was a mix of pear, vanilla, and minerals with a slight, bitter edge. It is full-bodied with a slight, alcoholic burn. The finish is long and intense. Overall, I don't really "get" marsanne. This was interesting but not really my type.
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9/27/2011 - Redguy wrote: 91 Points
Cloudy golden wheat colored- unfiltered. Powerful aromas of pears, jasmine, and honeysuckle. Very soft but intense flavors of pears and white peaches, meyer lemons, cream, and honey with some light pina colada type flavors on the lengthy finish. Oily, glycerol mouthfeel with moderate minerality and very good acidity. This comes accross as very warm in the mouth due to its high alcohol.
Even though the fruit is soft and delicious, this is a very intense and concentrated wine - too intense to be a quaffer and too concentrated to have more than a glass or so with foods as it will eventually overpower. Very delicious and unique - the Mrs. said this might have been the best white she has ever had - though not very versatile. If you haven't had this wine before, I highly recommend trying a bottle of this though I think the '10 is even better.
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8/23/2011 - cpsmith33 wrote: 92 Points
Cloudy, golden yellow. Floral nose was very nice. Nice pear flavors. Caramel too. Very thick and creamy. Agree with the "white wine for red wine drinkers" comment. Not as much minerality as some Roussane's I like, maybe that was the 40% Viogner. Very nice effort.
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8/22/2011 - Gestalted wrote: 92 Points
Next to the Altamura Sauv Blanc, this is one of the most concentrated whites I've ever had. This is a California red wine drinker's white wine. Pours cloudy yellow (unfiltered), intense pear and vanilla nose, rich midpalate with a white pepper nuance and then repeating flavors through the long finish.
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8/9/2011 - pdemaio wrote: 90 Points
Very interesting bottle. Could taste Viogner and Rousanne if you concentrated. Quite crisp, with less roundness than any Rousanne wine I've ever had (though more than many Viogner). bone dry and nice body. There was a lack of anything wonderful. Still enjoyed it.
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7/13/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: 91 Points
Wednesday Night Blind - July 2011 (Somers 202): A big and fat wine, not want of oak treatment, but well integrated, very nutty flavors mixed with apricots and pie crust, creamy texture. Delicious.
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6/26/2011 - stantheman wrote: 90 Points
The Marsanne and Viogner make an interesting pair. Rare to find an unfiltered white, but the crisp taste belies the cloudy appearance.
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6/25/2011 - mpricher wrote: 90 Points
First. I am not a big white drinker; but I am a huge Booker fan. This is the first time I have tried their White Blend; based on the Rhone white varietals. Cloudly, but wheat colored gold in the glass. Nose of lemon-curd, asian pear, maybe some island floral. It's frontal profile and attack is very soft, and the fruit gradually warms in the mouth. This may be caused by the higher alcohol content for a white. Either way, I found the finish to be excellent. Not bitter in the least, and actaully adding some notes of caramel and coconut. Probably one of the more enjoyable whites I have had in some time. Well done Booker.
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6/20/2011 - Buffalo27 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Hazy honey yellow, this had ultra ripe summer fruit, apple cider, pepper with a somewhat creamy, thick mouthfeel and full body with a hint of acid. 60% Roussane 40% viognier.
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6/12/2011 - Wine Sparty wrote: 84 Points
Very strange looking wine - murky in way that some Belgian or wheat beers. Floral and stone fruit aroma. Taste has honey, peach and butter. The butter taste is a bit too much for me in this.
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3/28/2011 - kstoddard wrote:
60% Roussanne and 40% Viognier. Cloudy dark yellow color. Citrus nose. Orange and lemon fruit. Overly alcoholic finish. 15% alcohol.
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