Thrilling stuff, excellent chenin in my book. Beautiful aromatics in the honey wool flowers and citrus realm. Palate has great depth of orchard fruit and waxy texture, soaring acid on the long finish.
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Light straw golden. Nose some floral, light vanilla, light lanolin. Palate perfect balance of light lemon, some vanilla richness, a mineral spine. Some mandarin orange fruit. A creaminess to its texture that’s addictive. In a great spot now.
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Lemon citrus, beeswax, pears and peaches, and fresh herbs run from the nose through the finish. Dry, the acidity is still punchy but the wine feels much more integrated since our last bottle a year ago. It’s got legs for another couple of years but it’s in a good spot now and I have a hard time thinking this develops further.
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Good and enjoyable but not on the same level as the 2017. Lemons, honey, white flowers and minerals; rounded mouthfeel but would like a little more acid.
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Lemon balm, honeycomb and wet stone on the nose. Some herbal note too. Smells fresh and bright. Dry on the palate with well balanced acidity - notes of fresh lemon, lemon peel, underripe peach and green apple throughout. Very easy to enjoy. It paired nicely with fresh corn risotto.
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Initially bright with a nice combination of stone fruit and citrus. Left in the fridge overnight and it mellowed substantially and became much richer. Both days were good but I preferred day one.
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beautiful, with intensity and energy without being heavy at all! veery pleasant notes of ripe apples, bread dough, with minerals and beeswax. Acidity is perfectly balanced and the low alcohol makes it a perfect drink. Bravo Tegan!
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Delicious chenin in a relaxed style. Doesn't have the acidity or drive of the best Loire examples, but it is complex and well proportioned. I'll keep this in the rotation if I'm able.
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In a beautiful place with golden apple and gorgeous acid to cut through it. Really a spectacular made wine. Trick now, or cellar for at least a couple more years for continued pleasure.
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Medium greenish yellow. Rich and well rounded nose with some white peaches, apricots, light pineapple, lime and a touch of oak. Balanced acidity (6/10) and medium bodied. Layered and slightly waxy palate with citrus, peaches and spices. Long finish. Drink till 2022.
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Medium greenish yellow. Rich and well rounded nose with some stone and tropical fruits, lemon curd and a touch honeyed. Balanced acidity (6/10) and medium bodied. Layered and waxy palate with apples and a touch of spices. Long finish. Drink till 2022.
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This has come around in the past year+ and has rounded out and drinks with a lot more richness. This is pretty squarely in the "Modern California" camp, with Old World leanings and ripe fruit, picked at lower alcohol.
Fruit forward, relative to Loire Chenin, but it is a blend of orchard and citrus, so it doesn't drink "fruity". The wool / lanolin funkiness reads more waxy, but it still clearly reads Chenin. There's a mineral note throughout the finish, but you won't hit the Tuffeau chalky heights. Really nice acidity and excellent concentration of flavor make this something that should evolve over several years and is a whole lot of wine for $24.
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Straw color. A: cream, ripe melon, developed into something tropical (papaya?), hint of honey. F: texturally rich, soft and creamy but full of acid and balance. Ripe yellow stone fruit, some clove/spice at the end. This is drinking quite well, but became way more interesting after 5 hours, so no rush here. Really enjoyed this wine.
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Popped and poured. Medium lemon color. Nose of golden apple and pear, hint of lemon and a bit of flinty metal. Similar flavors on the palate with mostly orchard fruits and citrus. Good acidity, crisp mouthfeel and finish. Solid wine but missing a little complexity at this stage. Maybe a little extra time in bottle wouldn't hurt?
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From memory. Decanted for 1 h. Mild lemon and tart apples accompanied by some herbs and wet wool. Not much minerality. Medium weight but still crisp. Nicely balanced. Enjoyable and delicious. Textbook chenin blanc but lacks distinctiveness and personality to put it to the next level.
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Best vintage of Sandlands Chenin to date. Don't be afraid of saving half the bottle for day two. Just beautiful, pure, and classic chenin. One of the better if not the best domestic chenin on the block.
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Bright lemon Pledge on the nose, high-toned and sharp on the palate. Initial taste and mid-palate are complete, but falls a bit short and dry on the finish. Revisited notes from 2011 and 2012 - looks like this might benefit from a few years of cellaring. Good with food, but not a cocktail wine.
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Somewhat shockingly, this was really tight and could use an hour plus of air if you want to drink it now. Initially this was really tight and acidic but rounded out and became creamier and more pear inflected with time, but it shows more potential than readiness to drink. I would plan on holding these for a couple years as previous bottles have been pretty spectacular at around four years of age.
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Pale golden. Nice viscosity. Tropical yet not over ripe aromas of guava, peach pit, mango and some wet stone. Dense texture, with very pure litchi balanced by lemon acids. Zippy finish. This is really nicely done.
12.2% abv. Pale straw, moderately expressive aromas. Pear, apple and a hint of citrus on the palate. Light on its feet, but with good depth and length. Very pleasing!
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Another good wine and QPR from Sandlands. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but I slightly prefer this to the "California" bottling we had last week (though both are lovely). Drinking well now.
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3/1/2023 - CPSchoeff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Thrilling stuff, excellent chenin in my book. Beautiful aromatics in the honey wool flowers and citrus realm. Palate has great depth of orchard fruit and waxy texture, soaring acid on the long finish.
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1/4/2022 - fred o. Likes this wine: 93 Points
Light straw golden.
Nose some floral, light vanilla, light lanolin.
Palate perfect balance of light lemon, some vanilla richness, a mineral spine. Some mandarin orange fruit. A creaminess to its texture that’s addictive.
In a great spot now.
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8/25/2021 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine:
Lemon citrus, beeswax, pears and peaches, and fresh herbs run from the nose through the finish. Dry, the acidity is still punchy but the wine feels much more integrated since our last bottle a year ago. It’s got legs for another couple of years but it’s in a good spot now and I have a hard time thinking this develops further.
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11/4/2020 - Bbaldinger wrote: 93 Points
- Yellow gold color.
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10/27/2020 - tcufletch Likes this wine:
Good and enjoyable but not on the same level as the 2017. Lemons, honey, white flowers and minerals; rounded mouthfeel but would like a little more acid.
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7/11/2020 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine:
Lemon balm, honeycomb and wet stone on the nose. Some herbal note too. Smells fresh and bright. Dry on the palate with well balanced acidity - notes of fresh lemon, lemon peel, underripe peach and green apple throughout. Very easy to enjoy. It paired nicely with fresh corn risotto.
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7/5/2020 - rtewh Likes this wine: 91 Points
Initially bright with a nice combination of stone fruit and citrus. Left in the fridge overnight and it mellowed substantially and became much richer. Both days were good but I preferred day one.
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4/5/2020 - Tuscan Heart wrote: 93 Points
beautiful, with intensity and energy without being heavy at all! veery pleasant notes of ripe apples, bread dough, with minerals and beeswax. Acidity is perfectly balanced and the low alcohol makes it a perfect drink.
Bravo Tegan!
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3/22/2020 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 91 Points
Delicious chenin in a relaxed style. Doesn't have the acidity or drive of the best Loire examples, but it is complex and well proportioned. I'll keep this in the rotation if I'm able.
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3/21/2020 - jdcarucci Likes this wine:
In a beautiful place with golden apple and gorgeous acid to cut through it. Really a spectacular made wine. Trick now, or cellar for at least a couple more years for continued pleasure.
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10/25/2019 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 91 Points
Medium greenish yellow. Rich and well rounded nose with some white peaches, apricots, light pineapple, lime and a touch of oak. Balanced acidity (6/10) and medium bodied. Layered and slightly waxy palate with citrus, peaches and spices. Long finish. Drink till 2022.
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9/15/2019 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 91 Points
Medium greenish yellow. Rich and well rounded nose with some stone and tropical fruits, lemon curd and a touch honeyed. Balanced acidity (6/10) and medium bodied. Layered and waxy palate with apples and a touch of spices. Long finish. Drink till 2022.
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8/3/2019 - Seafoam Manor wrote: 91 Points
This has come around in the past year+ and has rounded out and drinks with a lot more richness. This is pretty squarely in the "Modern California" camp, with Old World leanings and ripe fruit, picked at lower alcohol.
Fruit forward, relative to Loire Chenin, but it is a blend of orchard and citrus, so it doesn't drink "fruity". The wool / lanolin funkiness reads more waxy, but it still clearly reads Chenin. There's a mineral note throughout the finish, but you won't hit the Tuffeau chalky heights. Really nice acidity and excellent concentration of flavor make this something that should evolve over several years and is a whole lot of wine for $24.
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6/5/2019 - robertek wrote: 91 Points
Easy to drink. Easy to like.
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5/26/2019 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pnp, drank poolside. Nice lemon pledge nose with lanolin, lemon peel, with a waxy mouthfeel. Very nice, wish we had more.
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4/9/2019 - CPSchoeff wrote: 92 Points
Straw color. A: cream, ripe melon, developed into something tropical (papaya?), hint of honey. F: texturally rich, soft and creamy but full of acid and balance. Ripe yellow stone fruit, some clove/spice at the end. This is drinking quite well, but became way more interesting after 5 hours, so no rush here. Really enjoyed this wine.
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3/30/2019 - qcwino wrote:
Linear but varietally correct in every way. Outstanding value via the mailing list.
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3/29/2019 - Rich S wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured. Medium lemon color. Nose of golden apple and pear, hint of lemon and a bit of flinty metal. Similar flavors on the palate with mostly orchard fruits and citrus. Good acidity, crisp mouthfeel and finish. Solid wine but missing a little complexity at this stage. Maybe a little extra time in bottle wouldn't hurt?
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1/16/2019 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine:
Just 2 of these aint gunna cut it!!
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11/25/2018 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice chenin blanc, well balanced.
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11/2/2018 - James Kim Likes this wine: 89 Points
From memory. Decanted for 1 h. Mild lemon and tart apples accompanied by some herbs and wet wool. Not much minerality. Medium weight but still crisp. Nicely balanced. Enjoyable and delicious. Textbook chenin blanc but lacks distinctiveness and personality to put it to the next level.
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9/14/2018 - Andyofoto wrote:
Best vintage of Sandlands Chenin to date. Don't be afraid of saving half the bottle for day two. Just beautiful, pure, and classic chenin. One of the better if not the best domestic chenin on the block.
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9/13/2018 - BigTex22 wrote:
Bright lemon Pledge on the nose, high-toned and sharp on the palate. Initial taste and mid-palate are complete, but falls a bit short and dry on the finish. Revisited notes from 2011 and 2012 - looks like this might benefit from a few years of cellaring. Good with food, but not a cocktail wine.
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8/14/2018 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 90 Points
Light yellow. Light bodied, lemon and tart tangerine flavor. A hint of woolliness on the finish identifies the varietal. Excellent QPR.
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5/25/2018 - WineGold wrote: 90 Points
Bright, crisp, nicely balanced, solid. Enjoyable. Not exceptional. But quite nice.
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5/19/2018 - Seafoam Manor wrote:
Somewhat shockingly, this was really tight and could use an hour plus of air if you want to drink it now. Initially this was really tight and acidic but rounded out and became creamier and more pear inflected with time, but it shows more potential than readiness to drink. I would plan on holding these for a couple years as previous bottles have been pretty spectacular at around four years of age.
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4/25/2018 - mzimberg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pale golden. Nice viscosity. Tropical yet not over ripe aromas of guava, peach pit, mango and some wet stone. Dense texture, with very pure litchi balanced by lemon acids. Zippy finish. This is really nicely done.
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4/24/2018 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 91 Points
12.2% abv. Pale straw, moderately expressive aromas. Pear, apple and a hint of citrus on the palate. Light on its feet, but with good depth and length. Very pleasing!
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3/7/2018 - B Paul wrote:
Another good wine and QPR from Sandlands. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but I slightly prefer this to the "California" bottling we had last week (though both are lovely). Drinking well now.
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