Licorice, apples with some lemon. Crisp acidity, fine bubbles, good mouthfeel and long finish. Everyone loved this. Great qpr would buy again. In prime drinking window. 92--93
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Nice value here. The extended bottle aging shows in the lean body and notes of honey and ginger. Nice energy on the palate. Some grip followed by tart apple skin. Solid.
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I bought this expecting to like it & later found myself avoiding it based on some CT notes from folks I trust. Finally, decided to open one! Maybe a year in the cellar since purchase didn't hurt either. Its bold, very minerally. Almost rocky with excellent citrus & stone fruit notes along with some yeasty accents. I was pleased it didn't exhibit any oxidation I could smell nor taste. I'm pretty sensitive to oxidized champagnes ( most opened too late for my liking) This was fresh with excellent drive. Maybe lacks a bit of finesse? So what, its tasty & fun! Now I'm glad I have one more for 3-6 months down the line. Excellent value at $40 I paid.
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WTDS at Tilia (Tilia, Mpls): Light gold color. Drank a small glass over 45 minutes. Chalky minerality, white citrus, steely with a lot of dry extract. Very mineral driven and a bit coarse. Definitely a food Champagne.
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The Great Grapes of the World Tasting (New Jersey, USA): The lead-off wine for the evening, first of six dry white wines. Lovely toasty, yeasty champagne. Slightly apple accented with an undertone of citrus. Crisp and bright but a little short on the finish. A consistently great vintage from various producers I have had but this lacks the weight, depth and complexity of the best examples, though clearly is a better value in terms of QPR.
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Pleasant champ with some brioche and apple notes, and a nice finish. Seemed to show more complexity on the second day after vacuum sealing overnight (half the bottle was left, carbonation held up fine). Rating reflects second day.
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I liked this better this time. There is some light yeasty qualities on the nose. Focused apple palate with light citrus. The core fruit is lean and concentrated. Feels more mature on the outside. I still keep more in the value column rather than something that's notable. A vintage like '08 can turn these out from lots of producers. Good wine. Should be good for a decade more of aging I would think.
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Light pale yellow color. The apple in the nose jumped out of the bottle when first “popped”. Mild yeastiness also clear in the nose. Palate is both tart green and sweet red apple along with bread dough, some stone fruit and an underlay of minerals. Moderately long aftertaste. Plenty of small bubbles, even after several hours open. Nice wine but it pales in comparison to some of the other 2008’s I’ve had, while admittedly at a much more attractive price.
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Big apple expression. Granny Smith and cut red apple. Some spiced notes of cinnamon and ginger. Plenty of color and expressive. The finish is a bit cleft though. This has a hard time coming together to allow it to dance. The mousse kinda keeps is rougher there as well. Good overall. Solid value but not much more.
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Method: pop and pour; 51 degrees; Sauvignon Blanc glass
Look: many very vigorous streams of small/fine bubbles; medium- gold; moderate amount of medium speed legs
Nose: a lot of cream, vanilla, brioche french toast, ripe yellow apple; very nice, expressive nose
Palate: yellow apple, toast / bread crust, minerals, almond, nougat, caramel; long finish of light caramel then chalk and minerals; dry, almost barely off dry; medium+ body with round mouthfeel that coats mouth fairly nicely; high- amount of very fine bubbles, with a strong- attack, but they are so fine that the stronger attack is very nice, and it creates a nice pinpoint tingling sensation on the palate; medium acidity
Overall Thoughts: Great wine regardless of price and a really great value when you consider price. It's fuller, round, and fairly rich (though, not as rich as some of the richer prestige cuvees), while still having quite a bit of energy, especially from the high quality bubbles. I'm going to try to stock up on this while I can.
I'm on the fence between 92 and 93 pts, but I think the great bubbles/mouthfeel are just enough to tip it to 93 pts.
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The wine looks light gold colored. The legs are medium with few.
It smells like biscotti, french toast, crushed dry gravel, yellow apple, lemon curd & toasted almond. Very expressive and complex.
It tastes like lemon pith, toasted almond, parmesan cheese, chamomile and biscotti. The body is light/medium with bright texture, medium acidity and a medium finish.
This is a wine that you drink and each sip is a new flavor! The bubbles are really frothy for me. If you take a small sip the bubbles explode and it almost feels like the liquid itself disappears.
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Great stuff. Nose: honey, apricot, some spice and floral Taste: very dense (could age some more) but so fun to drink now. honey, hazelnut, almond, some brioche and tons of minerality.
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4/22/2024 - americanstorm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Licorice, apples with some lemon. Crisp acidity, fine bubbles, good mouthfeel and long finish. Everyone loved this. Great qpr would buy again. In prime drinking window. 92--93
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2/7/2024 - Winedog1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Birth year wine imbibed for good luck. I really enjoyed this, and I rate it just behind the Vranken.
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6/4/2023 - JRockEsq Likes this wine:
Similar to my original note. Not sure this is going to improve significantly with age, but it's drinking well now and is a crowd pleaser.
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5/17/2023 - Jd6725 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Quite oxidative style. Lots of a complexity and a bit of spices. In a good place although slightly disjointed. A year or two more might help this.
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1/12/2023 - wiscgrad wrote: 91 Points
similar to others. bubbles dissipated quite quickly. Also, surprised how youthful this was. not showing any age. would have liked a bit more fruit.
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5/18/2022 - mreinitz wrote:
Very dry and citrusy with a hint of oxidation. The acid and chalky minerality provide a strong central frame.
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5/10/2022 - WetRock wrote:
Nice value here. The extended bottle aging shows in the lean body and notes of honey and ginger. Nice energy on the palate. Some grip followed by tart apple skin. Solid.
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3/27/2022 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
Effervescent, crisp, quite dry, not much toast, energetic
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3/27/2022 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
I bought this expecting to like it & later found myself avoiding it based on some CT notes from folks I trust. Finally, decided to open one! Maybe a year in the cellar since purchase didn't hurt either. Its bold, very minerally. Almost rocky with excellent citrus & stone fruit notes along with some yeasty accents. I was pleased it didn't exhibit any oxidation I could smell nor taste. I'm pretty sensitive to oxidized champagnes ( most opened too late for my liking) This was fresh with excellent drive. Maybe lacks a bit of finesse? So what, its tasty & fun! Now I'm glad I have one more for 3-6 months down the line. Excellent value at $40 I paid.
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2/9/2022 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
WTDS at Tilia (Tilia, Mpls): Light gold color. Drank a small glass over 45 minutes. Chalky minerality, white citrus, steely with a lot of dry extract. Very mineral driven and a bit coarse. Definitely a food Champagne.
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12/14/2021 - Bakerbd wrote: 90 Points
Brioche, Granny Smith apple, oxidative
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7/31/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote: 90 Points
Some citrus notes, but a bit simple - not a lot of depth or complexity. A solid mid-week champagne.
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7/23/2021 - khybner wrote:
Kunals birthday dinner Marbella
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6/20/2021 - cadamson Likes this wine:
Lots of apple, lemon, with bits of yeast. Pretty decent champagne for the price. Good acidity. Reasonably full on the palate.
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6/8/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Shared with friends at a wine dinner. I thought this showed well, a solid champ at the price point.
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3/13/2021 - oldwines Likes this wine: 92 Points
The Great Grapes of the World Tasting (New Jersey, USA): The lead-off wine for the evening, first of six dry white wines. Lovely toasty, yeasty champagne. Slightly apple accented with an undertone of citrus. Crisp and bright but a little short on the finish. A consistently great vintage from various producers I have had but this lacks the weight, depth and complexity of the best examples, though clearly is a better value in terms of QPR.
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1/11/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote: 91 Points
Pleasant champ with some brioche and apple notes, and a nice finish. Seemed to show more complexity on the second day after vacuum sealing overnight (half the bottle was left, carbonation held up fine). Rating reflects second day.
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10/27/2020 - WetRock wrote:
I liked this better this time. There is some light yeasty qualities on the nose. Focused apple palate with light citrus. The core fruit is lean and concentrated. Feels more mature on the outside. I still keep more in the value column rather than something that's notable. A vintage like '08 can turn these out from lots of producers. Good wine. Should be good for a decade more of aging I would think.
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10/9/2020 - oldwines Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light pale yellow color. The apple in the nose jumped out of the bottle when first “popped”. Mild yeastiness also clear in the nose. Palate is both tart green and sweet red apple along with bread dough, some stone fruit and an underlay of minerals. Moderately long aftertaste. Plenty of small bubbles, even after several hours open. Nice wine but it pales in comparison to some of the other 2008’s I’ve had, while admittedly at a much more attractive price.
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9/5/2020 - WetRock wrote:
Big apple expression. Granny Smith and cut red apple. Some spiced notes of cinnamon and ginger. Plenty of color and expressive. The finish is a bit cleft though. This has a hard time coming together to allow it to dance. The mousse kinda keeps is rougher there as well. Good overall. Solid value but not much more.
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8/20/2020 - JRockEsq Likes this wine: 93 Points
Method: pop and pour; 51 degrees; Sauvignon Blanc glass
Look: many very vigorous streams of small/fine bubbles; medium- gold; moderate amount of medium speed legs
Nose: a lot of cream, vanilla, brioche french toast, ripe yellow apple; very nice, expressive nose
Palate: yellow apple, toast / bread crust, minerals, almond, nougat, caramel; long finish of light caramel then chalk and minerals; dry, almost barely off dry; medium+ body with round mouthfeel that coats mouth fairly nicely; high- amount of very fine bubbles, with a strong- attack, but they are so fine that the stronger attack is very nice, and it creates a nice pinpoint tingling sensation on the palate; medium acidity
Overall Thoughts: Great wine regardless of price and a really great value when you consider price. It's fuller, round, and fairly rich (though, not as rich as some of the richer prestige cuvees), while still having quite a bit of energy, especially from the high quality bubbles. I'm going to try to stock up on this while I can.
I'm on the fence between 92 and 93 pts, but I think the great bubbles/mouthfeel are just enough to tip it to 93 pts.
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8/20/2020 - AlyssaRock12 wrote: 91 Points
The wine looks light gold colored. The legs are medium with few.
It smells like biscotti, french toast, crushed dry gravel, yellow apple, lemon curd & toasted almond. Very expressive and complex.
It tastes like lemon pith, toasted almond, parmesan cheese, chamomile and biscotti. The body is light/medium with bright texture, medium acidity and a medium finish.
This is a wine that you drink and each sip is a new flavor! The bubbles are really frothy for me. If you take a small sip the bubbles explode and it almost feels like the liquid itself disappears.
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5/30/2020 - rhit wrote:
Dense, vinous, and straightforward. Fantastic with a seafood platter.
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2/13/2020 - Ramon1947 wrote: 92 Points
Great stuff.
Nose: honey, apricot, some spice and floral
Taste: very dense (could age some more) but so fun to drink now. honey, hazelnut, almond, some brioche and tons of minerality.
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