Fantastic wine! This made me really believe not only in the aging potential of Vouvray sparkling but how good it can be. For me, this was indistinguishable from Champagne once it had some time to settle down. No bubbles left slightly oxidative but tremendous balance and focus on the palate. This was the shock of the evening and my WOTN.
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Dinner at Dibbs's: Wow I called this blind as a Loire sparkling because I thought it tasted similar to a Huet sparkling I had before. Oxidative style and some honey notes, the finish was rather abrupt at the beginning but settled down well after a couple of hours to the point where it bore little difference to an aged champagne. Incredible balance to the wine and drinking at its apogee now.
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I've been sitting on this one for quite a while, so was hoping that I didn't wait too long. Dark gold, almost amber color. On the nose, it smells like very mature Champagne done in a somewhat oxidative style. Bruised apple fruit--just a little--mixing with lots of aged characteristics: dusty cellar, toasted nuts, smoke, maybe a hint of brine. It actually has a pretty strong sherry character.
But wow, great on the palate. Not all that much left in the way of bubbles, but the mousse that remains creates a gentle, smooth, pillowy texture that gives it a richness that matches and elevates the flavor profile. It's much less oxidative seeming on the palate, and it still delivers a nice punch of fresh sour apple--quite a lot of acidity. The dusty cellar characteristic is there, too, as is the nutty/toasty aspect. It doesn't overwhelm you with a riot of flavors--it's an elegant, refined, mature wine that wins you over with class and depth rather than flash or complexity. With air, it does start to show some more overtly oak-related notes--vanilla and cinnamon. The intensity seems to build as it breathes in the glass, and as that happens, and the tongue-awakening acidity and rich, smooth texture keep drawing you back for more, and the first bloom of alcohol starts to warm you from the inside out as the first glass runs dry, you find yourself completely under the spell of this beguiling wine.
Just the kind of thing I love. To me, it feels like something from another time, or at least something that can temporarily spirit me away from the troubles of our own time. Heavenly.
From the way it looked and the fast-fading carbonation, I feared that this was already past it, but obviously that's not the case. Still, I'd encourage you to drink this now, both because it's so damn good in its current state, and because I wouldn't want it to lose any more of its mousse.
Apple juice concentrate. Oak. But has a lot of energy. Over time it became much more elegant anad even some toasted hazelnuts showed up. Guessed champagne with some age.
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Really intense and heady. Lots of toasted and roasted notes of brioche and bread crust and burned bread as well as some peach, canned fruits and apricots. Great intensity and presence on the palate. Reminiscent of a BdN that had spent lots of time on its lees.
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Vouvray vs Champagne: Metallic and tenacious in the beginning. Quite a full bodied quince taste, rather sweet, cannot believe that the dosage it at only 5g/l. Lots of honeycomb and bee aromas. Good in its own right.
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this became too warm and was not as well-suited to the setting and food as our last bottle. Very dry and austere with fine mousse and toast. A little bitter quinine, but still refreshing. I would like contrast salty fish / olives with a more creamy cheese to see how this does next time out.
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We tasted this at the domaine with Phillipe and he instructed us to only have it with a few close friends. We did that remembering a dear old friend and it was lovely. Yeasty with fresh chenin smells. Hard to be objective given the provenance and the occasion, but really enjoyed this wine.
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Lovely bottle of this, particularly after a badly corked bottle of Huet's 2002 pet. Has that typical chenin singed hair thing on the nose, plus some attractive oxidized butter notes from the age, not unlike a Cramant BdB. While barely sparkling this has a nice prickle in the mouth and great inner richness, plus mineral energy to burn. Great bottle.
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Appearance: Bright yellow, slightly golden colour. Nose: Ripe yellow fruit, marzipan, hints of honey, slightly meaty note with some meat stock, smoke. Palate: A lot of mineral, quite concentrated, high acidity, ripe yellow apples and winter apples, very foody. Summary: Comes across as quite developed, 89 p. A very good sparkling for being a non-Champagne.
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Very similar to a traditional Champagne, but more rich and tropical in flavor. Pear, yeast, butter, and strong minerality. Slightly bitter in the finish. Mousse is fine but dissipates quickly. Can't say I was blown away, but it was an elegant sparkler with great balance. Great value ($40).
Technical notes: Late disgorged, 5 years on lees, low dosage.
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Loire based dinner at Fuleen Seafood, Chinatown, NYC w/ Brad Kane and several others. Pale gold in color with a very light mouse. Tart apples and somewhat tight. Nice to have tried and certainly well made but no competition for the best from Champagne. 50+12+12+7+7 = 88
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A night of stellar wines from Vouvray, Germany and Alsace. (Fuleen Seafood House): Pretty tight on the nose, but it was rounder and a little richer on the palate than the last bottle I had. More mousse than the Jacky Blot Triple Zero that followed, though it was not overdone. Ripe yellow fruits, lanolin, brioche, ginger and typical Vouvray minerality on the palate. Good depth of flavor and length with a nice racy quality to the structure. A very nice showing. Low A-.
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Even a bit better than last time -- Great champagnoise version of the Vouvray grape. Effervescent and bright and real bite. Palate is lusciouly fruity while still austere, and with real substance.
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slightly better than the last bottle or at least the flavours were showing better, nice citrus biscuit and apple skin on nose, medium body with crisp pear brioche and apple and a nice hint of almond on the finish
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Foreau-a-thon (Don's): Fresh, crisp and a touch austere with biscuit, pear, quince and mineral flavors and aromas. There's nice depth and complexity here and the wine shows a fine bead. Picks up some bitter almond and citrus pith on the finish. B+/A-.
9/26/2021 - Dibbs Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic wine! This made me really believe not only in the aging potential of Vouvray sparkling but how good it can be. For me, this was indistinguishable from Champagne once it had some time to settle down. No bubbles left slightly oxidative but tremendous balance and focus on the palate. This was the shock of the evening and my WOTN.
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9/25/2021 - melvinyeowq Likes this wine:
Dinner at Dibbs's: Wow I called this blind as a Loire sparkling because I thought it tasted similar to a Huet sparkling I had before. Oxidative style and some honey notes, the finish was rather abrupt at the beginning but settled down well after a couple of hours to the point where it bore little difference to an aged champagne. Incredible balance to the wine and drinking at its apogee now.
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2/9/2020 - JVG wrote:
I've been sitting on this one for quite a while, so was hoping that I didn't wait too long. Dark gold, almost amber color. On the nose, it smells like very mature Champagne done in a somewhat oxidative style. Bruised apple fruit--just a little--mixing with lots of aged characteristics: dusty cellar, toasted nuts, smoke, maybe a hint of brine. It actually has a pretty strong sherry character.
But wow, great on the palate. Not all that much left in the way of bubbles, but the mousse that remains creates a gentle, smooth, pillowy texture that gives it a richness that matches and elevates the flavor profile. It's much less oxidative seeming on the palate, and it still delivers a nice punch of fresh sour apple--quite a lot of acidity. The dusty cellar characteristic is there, too, as is the nutty/toasty aspect. It doesn't overwhelm you with a riot of flavors--it's an elegant, refined, mature wine that wins you over with class and depth rather than flash or complexity. With air, it does start to show some more overtly oak-related notes--vanilla and cinnamon. The intensity seems to build as it breathes in the glass, and as that happens, and the tongue-awakening acidity and rich, smooth texture keep drawing you back for more, and the first bloom of alcohol starts to warm you from the inside out as the first glass runs dry, you find yourself completely under the spell of this beguiling wine.
Just the kind of thing I love. To me, it feels like something from another time, or at least something that can temporarily spirit me away from the troubles of our own time. Heavenly.
From the way it looked and the fast-fading carbonation, I feared that this was already past it, but obviously that's not the case. Still, I'd encourage you to drink this now, both because it's so damn good in its current state, and because I wouldn't want it to lose any more of its mousse.
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8/24/2019 - AV2012 wrote: 92 Points
Like a mature BdN Champagne. Big, bold, juicy.
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3/10/2019 - Omar Khayyam wrote:
BYOB "Typical classic wines from classic regions" (Sollentuna): Served double blind.
Apple juice concentrate. Oak. But has a lot of energy. Over time it became much more elegant anad even some toasted hazelnuts showed up. Guessed champagne with some age.
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3/8/2019 - thunberg wrote: 90 Points
BYOB - Typical wines from classic regions (Sollentuna, Sweden): Plenty of yellow apples, varnish, apple juice i the aftertaste, medium+ acidity, easy drinker with character.
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9/17/2017 - AV2012 wrote: 91 Points
Heady, intense and great. Animal notes coupled with intense citrus and grapafruit as well as some wool. Lovely indeed.
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2/19/2017 - Kefrens Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent after 15 years.
Creamy - intense - thin bublle - Nice acidity. Good to drink now.
Very enjoyable.
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11/16/2016 - AV2012 wrote: 91 Points
Superb in its dirty-smoky-full bodied poutpurri way. Intense and quite mighty.
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9/19/2016 - AtoZ wrote:
In a good spot. Honeyed but not real sweet. Some wool. I don't think this will improve.
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9/5/2016 - AV2012 wrote: 91 Points
Really intense and heady. Lots of toasted and roasted notes of brioche and bread crust and burned bread as well as some peach, canned fruits and apricots. Great intensity and presence on the palate. Reminiscent of a BdN that had spent lots of time on its lees.
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6/14/2016 - AV2012 wrote: 89 Points
Vouvray vs Champagne: Metallic and tenacious in the beginning. Quite a full bodied quince taste, rather sweet, cannot believe that the dosage it at only 5g/l. Lots of honeycomb and bee aromas. Good in its own right.
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4/16/2016 - IJC Likes this wine:
Delicious.
Rated 1 on as vale -1 to 3
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1/9/2016 - vindictive wrote:
this became too warm and was not as well-suited to the setting and food as our last bottle. Very dry and austere with fine mousse and toast. A little bitter quinine, but still refreshing. I would like contrast salty fish / olives with a more creamy cheese to see how this does next time out.
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12/1/2015 - Grenik Likes this wine: 88 Points
Pleasant sparkling wine. Mineral, yeasty, peach, pear, grapefruit. Simple and straightforward. Medium to short finish that was a bit boring.
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1/31/2015 - vindictive wrote:
We tasted this at the domaine with Phillipe and he instructed us to only have it with a few close friends. We did that remembering a dear old friend and it was lovely. Yeasty with fresh chenin smells. Hard to be objective given the provenance and the occasion, but really enjoyed this wine.
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5/9/2014 - 5laton wrote:
Lovely bottle of this, particularly after a badly corked bottle of Huet's 2002 pet. Has that typical chenin singed hair thing on the nose, plus some attractive oxidized butter notes from the age, not unlike a Cramant BdB. While barely sparkling this has a nice prickle in the mouth and great inner richness, plus mineral energy to burn. Great bottle.
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7/15/2013 - Vintomas wrote: 89 Points
Appearance: Bright yellow, slightly golden colour.
Nose: Ripe yellow fruit, marzipan, hints of honey, slightly meaty note with some meat stock, smoke.
Palate: A lot of mineral, quite concentrated, high acidity, ripe yellow apples and winter apples, very foody.
Summary: Comes across as quite developed, 89 p.
A very good sparkling for being a non-Champagne.
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7/14/2013 - jibby wrote: 90 Points
Very similar to a traditional Champagne, but more rich and tropical in flavor. Pear, yeast, butter, and strong minerality. Slightly bitter in the finish. Mousse is fine but dissipates quickly. Can't say I was blown away, but it was an elegant sparkler with great balance. Great value ($40).
Technical notes: Late disgorged, 5 years on lees, low dosage.
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5/10/2013 - JeffGMorris wrote:
Loire based dinner at Fuleen Seafood, Chinatown, NYC w/ Brad Kane and several others. Pale gold in color with a very light mouse. Tart apples and somewhat tight. Nice to have tried and certainly well made but no competition for the best from Champagne. 50+12+12+7+7 = 88
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5/10/2013 - BradKNYC wrote:
A night of stellar wines from Vouvray, Germany and Alsace. (Fuleen Seafood House): Pretty tight on the nose, but it was rounder and a little richer on the palate than the last bottle I had. More mousse than the Jacky Blot Triple Zero that followed, though it was not overdone. Ripe yellow fruits, lanolin, brioche, ginger and typical Vouvray minerality on the palate. Good depth of flavor and length with a nice racy quality to the structure. A very nice showing. Low A-.
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11/12/2012 - eoinhharkins wrote: 90 Points
consistent with previous bottle
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10/20/2012 - JWG wrote: 92 Points
Even a bit better than last time -- Great champagnoise version of the Vouvray grape. Effervescent and bright and real bite. Palate is lusciouly fruity while still austere, and with real substance.
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10/16/2012 - eoinhharkins wrote: 90 Points
slightly better than the last bottle or at least the flavours were showing better, nice citrus biscuit and apple skin on nose, medium body with crisp pear brioche and apple and a nice hint of almond on the finish
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10/6/2012 - eoinhharkins wrote: 89 Points
light effervescence with nutty lemon biscut nice acidity with the lemon rind notes popping a touch medium finish
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3/19/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Light color. Minimally bubbly. Some Chenin fruit but this is dry and all about minerality. Excellent Loire sparkling wine.
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5/14/2011 - BradKNYC wrote:
Foreau-a-thon (Don's): Fresh, crisp and a touch austere with biscuit, pear, quince and mineral flavors and aromas. There's nice depth and complexity here and the wine shows a fine bead. Picks up some bitter almond and citrus pith on the finish. B+/A-.
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12/19/2010 - JWG wrote: 91 Points
Great expression of the Vouvray grape. Effervescent and bright, but with some substance. Was great as a foil to a rich chocolate souffle.
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