Similar notes to last time, although it was a little harder to get the exact right temperature to make this bottle shine quite as spectacularly as the earlier one. Memo to self: don’t overchill this. As it came closer to room temp it really came out of its shell. Wish I had a thermometer to give the precise temperature point. Still delicious and awesome.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Good mouthfeel - love that chenin texture. On the palate, this is still just a giant beam of acid, and other flavors are muted right now. I'm not sure if there's upside to be had with time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A fantastic Chenin blanc with an amazing amount of complexity right out of the chute. Simultaneous oxidative and reductive notes: a touch of matchstick and at the same time bruised green apple. This didn’t just have honey - this had a really aggressive buckwheat honey we get from a local market. There was an out of this world herbal note that I can only describe as burning thyme - and it smelled good! There was hot paprika and a wash of seawater too. You get the point: this had incredibly specific smells and tastes. I am not reaching for my thesaurus here - these are the plainest ways I can describe this. Easily the finest EWCY! White we have had to date, and that’s saying something. Spectacularly evocative, symphonic, Beethoven’s 3rd (Eroïca). Score : 95. Relative to expectations: +++
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Didn’t get much time with this as I was cooking when I opened it. Gave it a splash decant to kick some bottle funk. Poured into Grassl Liberte. What stuck with me from this wine was how bright it was – a beam of acid made this a great aperitif.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP into a Grassl Liberte and consumed over 4 hours. This definitely improved with air and some time to warm up. Hint of honey on the nose and palate, with orange and toast on the nose, and lemon and coconut on the palate. This wine was medium bodied with good acid, and had a little bit of California sunshine to it.
Enjoyable and perfectly quaffable at this stage; I'm not convinced on the value proposition here quite yet, but I'll be interested to see how these evolve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened about two hours prior to dinner, this desperately needed air. It had a significant matchstick reduction at first, to the point of almost seeming like Chardonnay! Time and some warming cleared up the reduction, and brought out a bright lemon cream and rainwater core, and lightning bolts of acidity scattered around the edges. As a Chenin skeptic I appreciated the focus and clarity of the wine, and the minimal textural thickness that I often associate with Chenin. Where I find Chenin to be a weight in the palate, this was levitating, energizing. After a full week of heavy (mentally and physically) tasks I was happy to experience some bottled sunshine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4/1/2024 - JJYoyo Likes this wine:
Similar notes to last time, although it was a little harder to get the exact right temperature to make this bottle shine quite as spectacularly as the earlier one. Memo to self: don’t overchill this. As it came closer to room temp it really came out of its shell. Wish I had a thermometer to give the precise temperature point.
Still delicious and awesome.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/8/2024 - bendb wrote:
Good mouthfeel - love that chenin texture. On the palate, this is still just a giant beam of acid, and other flavors are muted right now. I'm not sure if there's upside to be had with time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2024 - Minnesota wrote: 94 Points
Shame our last bottle. Hardy's the man!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/2024 - DaButtah Likes this wine: 94 Points
Chendawg II's grace,
Wine's miracle in each drop,
Time's elixir flows
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/16/2023 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 95 Points
A fantastic Chenin blanc with an amazing amount of complexity right out of the chute. Simultaneous oxidative and reductive notes: a touch of matchstick and at the same time bruised green apple. This didn’t just have honey - this had a really aggressive buckwheat honey we get from a local market. There was an out of this world herbal note that I can only describe as burning thyme - and it smelled good! There was hot paprika and a wash of seawater too.
You get the point: this had incredibly specific smells and tastes. I am not reaching for my thesaurus here - these are the plainest ways I can describe this.
Easily the finest EWCY! White we have had to date, and that’s saying something. Spectacularly evocative, symphonic, Beethoven’s 3rd (Eroïca).
Score : 95. Relative to expectations: +++
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/11/2023 - ekorn Likes this wine:
Didn’t get much time with this as I was cooking when I opened it. Gave it a splash decant to kick some bottle funk. Poured into Grassl Liberte. What stuck with me from this wine was how bright it was – a beam of acid made this a great aperitif.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2023 - ekorn wrote:
PnP into a Grassl Liberte and consumed over 4 hours. This definitely improved with air and some time to warm up. Hint of honey on the nose and palate, with orange and toast on the nose, and lemon and coconut on the palate. This wine was medium bodied with good acid, and had a little bit of California sunshine to it.
Enjoyable and perfectly quaffable at this stage; I'm not convinced on the value proposition here quite yet, but I'll be interested to see how these evolve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/5/2023 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Opened about two hours prior to dinner, this desperately needed air. It had a significant matchstick reduction at first, to the point of almost seeming like Chardonnay! Time and some warming cleared up the reduction, and brought out a bright lemon cream and rainwater core, and lightning bolts of acidity scattered around the edges. As a Chenin skeptic I appreciated the focus and clarity of the wine, and the minimal textural thickness that I often associate with Chenin. Where I find Chenin to be a weight in the palate, this was levitating, energizing. After a full week of heavy (mentally and physically) tasks I was happy to experience some bottled sunshine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/18/2023 - lucagiupponi Likes this wine:
This bottle went way too fast!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment