Very nice. The aroma immediately reminded me of a good condrieu - a little floral and a little honey, with a freshness to it. The palate is not quite as good as the nose, but still good. Nice body and plenty of acidity.
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Retail $25. 100% Chenin Blanc. Based on my visit to the winery in 2016 (?), I bought a case of this wine, which I thought was one of the better Chenins I had had in recent memory. In my mind, and only second to an aged white Burgundy, aged Chenin from the Loire is other worldly as it is loaded with secondary, tertiary, and beyond flavors and aromas. When I popped and poured this wine, I was worried as the most recent iterations would once again rear as the color was, at best, questionable. Golden. And there is no other description for the color. That implied oxidation, which was the date nell for the other bottles of this wine. But. Wholly cow. It seems as though this piece of doo-doo cork did its job and delivered a beautiful wine. Sure, there was a bit of oxidation and, yes, one could question holding on to this wine for more than a heartbeat, but holy cow. This is what I had hoped from this wine when I bought it a case: rich, unctuous, fruity (kinda) and a lengthy finish. Please. Pretty please. Couly-Dutheil hear me: Change The effing Closure On This Wine. In the name of everything holy. Please use a stopper worthy of this wine.
Retail $25. 100% Chenin Blanc. Again, as if it were a broken record, the crappy synthetic closure has doomed this wine to the vagaries of statistical probability. In other words, this "cork" is so unworthy of this wine that the result in the glass is a literal "crap-shoot." With this bottle, we crapped out. The issue is clear in the glass with this golden (and no other way to describe it) wine with oxidative notes, plenty of sherry, and, well, rather unpleasant, Ugh. This wine deserves better than this closure.
Retail $25. 100% Chenin Blanc. Where to start? With little doubt, this is one of my favorite Chenin Blancs as it comes from an iconic vineyard from a legendary producer in one of my favorite regions in all of France. But. For whatever reason, the current head(s) of this winery decided to close this wine with one of the absolute worst stoppers ever invented. In fact, it might have been better to have crammed one of my teenage son's sweat socks that he had worn for 72 hours straight than this abomination of a plastic "cork" that starts to spin after a mere two turns of my waiter's corkscrew. Really, what were these knuckleheads thinking by systematically ruining one of the best Chenin Blancs on the market?? Decidedly golden, almost brown in the glass, clear signs of oxidation, but this wine nonetheless resists, determined to show its mettle. Fruity (albeit caramelized) on the nose and tart, fruity (and just a hint of sweetness) on the palate, this wine really sings. Yes, it would have been better three (four?) years ago. Yes, the "cork" is to blame for its demise, but this wine perseveres despite its mishandling. But I am forced to ask: "What could have been?" thedrunkencyclist.com
Layered, balanced and drinking wonderfully right now. We enjoyed this with scallops (on day 1) and with pot stickers (on day 2) and both were a great partner.
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Medium yellow colour. Not a lot of scent, but faint lemongrass and honeysuckle. Tangy and creamy on the tongue. Good acid with flavours of lemon and green apple, then buttery caramel. Layered, medium body and very enjoyable.
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One of my favorite wines from perhaps my favorite Chinon producer. I have had many iterations of this wine and I have almost always been impressed. Except. The wine has one of the worst stoppers I have ever seen--a plastic "thing" that starts to spin after two turns of the corkscrew. This wine is still alive but it is certainly on life-support due to the stopper. A tad dark and the nose is muted, but the palate is joyous with subtle lemon, good balance, and a lengthy finish. Sadly, though, this wine like my previous case is showing the effects of this stupid effing "cork." Ugh. thedrunkencyclist.com
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An excellent value Loire Chinon. Great expression of lemony fruit, quince, honeydew and with a mineral backbone. All well integrated and balanced, and love the golden appearance in the glass.
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Excellent Herbs and flowery notes but drink up as it is becoming residual drink now wine. Tonight a great wine that went along linguini with basil, garlic, white wine and calamari dish.
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Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of quince, persimmon and wet stones. Flavors of kumquat, fresh orange slices and stony minerals. Medium to bright acidity, light to medium body. Drink over the short term. Tasty.
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In my book, this is one of the best Chenin Blancs on the market, particularly given the price. It retails for around $20-25 and it is simply stellar. As with most well-made Chenins, this wine is built to age. Sure, it is fantastic upon release, but the variety, coupled with the terroir, make this close to an ageless beauty. Except. For some reason, the makers of this wine insist on using a synthetic stopper. Why is that significant? A few years ago, I bought a case of this wine and held on to half of it since I love aged Chenin, but after only a few years, the wine was a deep golden color and oxidized--undrinkable. Why? The synthetic stopper is a cheap, imperfect closure that allows oxygen to enter the bottle, spoiling the wine. While this wine is still delightful (citrus and lanolin with elements of petroleum on the nose, bright, vibrant acidity with a touch of spice on the palate), the color is decidedly golden, again. Ugh. This beautiful wine will suffer the same fate due to the crappy cork, and that is simply a crime. thedrunkencyclist.com
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I had recently sampled a domestic Chenin that was, well, not ideal. The producer of said wine asked me to expound. As I do not normally take notes on wines that are less than ideal, I was running on memory, which is essentially a subtitle to Jackson Browne’s 1977 classic. To help me lend valuable information to said winemaker, I popped this wine from what I consider to be the epicenter of Chenin Blanc: Chinon and the Loire Valley. This wine is rife with tropical notes of pineapple, lemon, and even papaya. Sure, the bottle is stopped with a complete joke of closure, but for now, this wine is delicious: great fruit, acidity, depth, body. While this is not the apogee of Chenin, it is certainly on the slopes on the way up to the top. thedrunkencyclist.com
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This was a very curious wine. On opening and pouring it seemed to be somewhat oxidized due to its golden color. The taste confirmed this. I have pretty low tolerance for oxidized wine, but this was drinkable. It had an interesting, even complex structure, on the meaty side, but not at all identifiable as a chenin blanc. Anyway, after a few days in the refrigerator the oxidation substantially disappeared, and the wine became much more interesting-- complex, but still not at all like a traditional cb. I'm gong to give it another try-- making sure to air it if I find the same problems.
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Honeysuckle, cantaloupe, wet stone and a bit of dusky parchment or paper on the nose (hard to describe, but it's there); light gold in color; fairly short finish.
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100% chenin élevée en cuve Chinon Blanc sec révèle un vin pur, élégant, fruité avec une belle robe brillante. Nez sur le genet, une pointe de buis. Je n'aurais pas reconnu le cépage en dégustation à l'aveugle, je serais parti sur un sauvignon. A boire dans les 2 ans.
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3/25/2022 - NateR Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice. The aroma immediately reminded me of a good condrieu - a little floral and a little honey, with a freshness to it. The palate is not quite as good as the nose, but still good. Nice body and plenty of acidity.
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3/23/2021 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 92 Points
Retail $25. 100% Chenin Blanc. Based on my visit to the winery in 2016 (?), I bought a case of this wine, which I thought was one of the better Chenins I had had in recent memory. In my mind, and only second to an aged white Burgundy, aged Chenin from the Loire is other worldly as it is loaded with secondary, tertiary, and beyond flavors and aromas. When I popped and poured this wine, I was worried as the most recent iterations would once again rear as the color was, at best, questionable. Golden. And there is no other description for the color. That implied oxidation, which was the date nell for the other bottles of this wine. But. Wholly cow. It seems as though this piece of doo-doo cork did its job and delivered a beautiful wine. Sure, there was a bit of oxidation and, yes, one could question holding on to this wine for more than a heartbeat, but holy cow. This is what I had hoped from this wine when I bought it a case: rich, unctuous, fruity (kinda) and a lengthy finish. Please. Pretty please. Couly-Dutheil hear me: Change The effing Closure On This Wine. In the name of everything holy. Please use a stopper worthy of this wine.
http://www.thedrunkencyclist.com
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3/23/2021 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 86 Points
Retail $25. 100% Chenin Blanc. Again, as if it were a broken record, the crappy synthetic closure has doomed this wine to the vagaries of statistical probability. In other words, this "cork" is so unworthy of this wine that the result in the glass is a literal "crap-shoot." With this bottle, we crapped out. The issue is clear in the glass with this golden (and no other way to describe it) wine with oxidative notes, plenty of sherry, and, well, rather unpleasant, Ugh. This wine deserves better than this closure.
http://www.thedrunkencyclist.com
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11/1/2020 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 90 Points
Retail $25. 100% Chenin Blanc. Where to start? With little doubt, this is one of my favorite Chenin Blancs as it comes from an iconic vineyard from a legendary producer in one of my favorite regions in all of France. But. For whatever reason, the current head(s) of this winery decided to close this wine with one of the absolute worst stoppers ever invented. In fact, it might have been better to have crammed one of my teenage son's sweat socks that he had worn for 72 hours straight than this abomination of a plastic "cork" that starts to spin after a mere two turns of my waiter's corkscrew. Really, what were these knuckleheads thinking by systematically ruining one of the best Chenin Blancs on the market?? Decidedly golden, almost brown in the glass, clear signs of oxidation, but this wine nonetheless resists, determined to show its mettle. Fruity (albeit caramelized) on the nose and tart, fruity (and just a hint of sweetness) on the palate, this wine really sings. Yes, it would have been better three (four?) years ago. Yes, the "cork" is to blame for its demise, but this wine perseveres despite its mishandling. But I am forced to ask: "What could have been?" thedrunkencyclist.com
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5/6/2020 - YuriyG Likes this wine: 92 Points
Layered, balanced and drinking wonderfully right now. We enjoyed this with scallops (on day 1) and with pot stickers (on day 2) and both were a great partner.
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1/3/2020 - JCherniak Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium yellow colour. Not a lot of scent, but faint lemongrass and honeysuckle. Tangy and creamy on the tongue. Good acid with flavours of lemon and green apple, then buttery caramel. Layered, medium body and very enjoyable.
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7/21/2019 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 88 Points
One of my favorite wines from perhaps my favorite Chinon producer. I have had many iterations of this wine and I have almost always been impressed. Except. The wine has one of the worst stoppers I have ever seen--a plastic "thing" that starts to spin after two turns of the corkscrew. This wine is still alive but it is certainly on life-support due to the stopper. A tad dark and the nose is muted, but the palate is joyous with subtle lemon, good balance, and a lengthy finish. Sadly, though, this wine like my previous case is showing the effects of this stupid effing "cork." Ugh. thedrunkencyclist.com
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6/3/2019 - bigredPA wrote: 91 Points
An excellent value Loire Chinon. Great expression of lemony fruit, quince, honeydew and with a mineral backbone. All well integrated and balanced, and love the golden appearance in the glass.
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1/1/2019 - ansalex wrote:
Very good with salm gravlax .
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11/25/2018 - Tpairing wrote: 92 Points
Excellent Herbs and flowery notes but drink up as it is becoming residual drink now wine. Tonight a great wine that went along linguini with basil, garlic, white wine and calamari dish.
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11/23/2018 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
WIML91
Tasted non blind.
Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of quince, persimmon and wet stones. Flavors of kumquat, fresh orange slices and stony minerals. Medium to bright acidity, light to medium body. Drink over the short term. Tasty.
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10/20/2018 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 91 Points
In my book, this is one of the best Chenin Blancs on the market, particularly given the price. It retails for around $20-25 and it is simply stellar. As with most well-made Chenins, this wine is built to age. Sure, it is fantastic upon release, but the variety, coupled with the terroir, make this close to an ageless beauty. Except. For some reason, the makers of this wine insist on using a synthetic stopper. Why is that significant? A few years ago, I bought a case of this wine and held on to half of it since I love aged Chenin, but after only a few years, the wine was a deep golden color and oxidized--undrinkable. Why? The synthetic stopper is a cheap, imperfect closure that allows oxygen to enter the bottle, spoiling the wine. While this wine is still delightful (citrus and lanolin with elements of petroleum on the nose, bright, vibrant acidity with a touch of spice on the palate), the color is decidedly golden, again. Ugh. This beautiful wine will suffer the same fate due to the crappy cork, and that is simply a crime. thedrunkencyclist.com
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5/11/2018 - Tpairing wrote: 92 Points
Sweet herbaceous tones with off-honey drips tastes make this a beautiful wine.
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4/1/2018 - Soteralzowine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent PQR!
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2/14/2018 - JCherniak Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose of honey and melon. Flavour is honey, lemon and a melon finish. Full bodied and well balanced acid, with some bite.
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2/9/2018 - nzinkgraf wrote:
full and round. Melon fruit palate.
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1/30/2018 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 91 Points
I had recently sampled a domestic Chenin that was, well, not ideal. The producer of said wine asked me to expound. As I do not normally take notes on wines that are less than ideal, I was running on memory, which is essentially a subtitle to Jackson Browne’s 1977 classic. To help me lend valuable information to said winemaker, I popped this wine from what I consider to be the epicenter of Chenin Blanc: Chinon and the Loire Valley. This wine is rife with tropical notes of pineapple, lemon, and even papaya. Sure, the bottle is stopped with a complete joke of closure, but for now, this wine is delicious: great fruit, acidity, depth, body. While this is not the apogee of Chenin, it is certainly on the slopes on the way up to the top. thedrunkencyclist.com
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10/20/2017 - Orlandus wrote: 89 Points
This was a very curious wine. On opening and pouring it seemed to be somewhat oxidized due to its golden color. The taste confirmed this. I have pretty low tolerance for oxidized wine, but this was drinkable. It had an interesting, even complex structure, on the meaty side, but not at all identifiable as a chenin blanc. Anyway, after a few days in the refrigerator the oxidation substantially disappeared, and the wine became much more interesting-- complex, but still not at all like a traditional cb. I'm gong to give it another try-- making sure to air it if I find the same problems.
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9/5/2017 - larryw Likes this wine: 88 Points
Honeysuckle, cantaloupe, wet stone and a bit of dusky parchment or paper on the nose (hard to describe, but it's there); light gold in color; fairly short finish.
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5/4/2017 - GAET Likes this wine: 89 Points
100% chenin élevée en cuve
Chinon Blanc sec révèle un vin pur, élégant, fruité avec une belle robe brillante. Nez sur le genet, une pointe de buis.
Je n'aurais pas reconnu le cépage en dégustation à l'aveugle, je serais parti sur un sauvignon.
A boire dans les 2 ans.
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