Chavy Chouet Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres is 100 percent Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay, aged in 100% new French oak, displaying delightful, crisp, mineral aromas intertwined with toasty and vanilla notes. The result is a well balanced and harmonious Puligny of great finesse.
Aged in 100% New French oak
The Enseigneres is the most renowned of the Puligny-Montrachet villages, thanks to its exceptional geographical and geological location, along with its close neighbors Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet.
Displaying delightful, crisp, mineral aromas intertwined with toasty and vanilla notes. The result is a well-balanced and harmonious Puligny-Montrachet of great finesse and good ageing potential.
Domaine Chavy Chouet Meursault Les Narvaux is made from 100% Chardonnay from extremely steep vineyards.
Les Narvaux in Meursault sits at the top of the slope on a steep, shallow, limestone plot.
TW Tasting notes: A lively and balanced wine with aromas of white-fleshed fruit. It offers hints of toasted almond on the nose and is very long on the palate. Mineral and energetic, it will only open up fully after a few years in the cellar. In the top 5 of my top Meursault picks.
60 Year old vine
Ageing: 12 months in French oak barrels (20% new)Planting density: 10000
Surface area: 0.5Ha
Chavy-Chouet Volnay 1er Cru Sous La Chapelle is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Total acreage for this wine: 0.1 hectare (0.25 acres)Planting density: 10 000 vines per hectares
Age of the vines: 10 years
At the bottom of the slope in the heart of Volnay, this plot lies on clay-sand soil.
Volnay is located on the steep sloping hill of Chaignot in the Côte de Beaune, where the southeast facing vines have been valued for centuries. These vineyards have been valued and exploited for centuries. Long before the French Revolution, the harvests of Volnay went to the Knights of Malta, the Abbeys of Saint-Andoche d’Autun and Maizières, or to the Dukes of Bourgogne and their successors, the Kings of France.
Volnay has a reputation for being among the most delicate, feminine of the Bourgogne wines. Limestone soil dominates the area, with deeper, gravelly soils at the foot of the slope, where Chavy Chouet’s vines are located.
This Volnay is full of character; broad and fruity. Smooth and elegant tannins make it a feminine wine, marked by aromas of black berries and leather.
Louis Jadot Montrachet Grand Cru is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Le Montrachet is situated to the south of the Côte de Beaune, on both villages of Puligny Montrachet and Chassagne Montrachet (like the Batard Montrachet Grand Cru).
The terroir is extremely chalky with a lot of stones, perfectly drained and easy to overheat with south-south-eastern exposition.
The Montrachet is produced with Chardonnay
Grapes are harvested by hand and put in small cases in order not to damage the fruits. Grapes are pressed softly, they ferment in oak barrels produced by our cooperage. 1/3 are new barrels. Aging usually lasts 15 months on fine lies before bottling.
Review:
Aromas of buttered toast, honeyed peaches, white flowers and mint introduce the 2019 Montrachet Grand Cru (Maison Louis Jadot), a full-bodied, layered and enveloping wine that's satiny and sumptuous, with lively acids and fine depth at the core. While I'd give the nod to the stunning Demoiselles as Jadot's best white wine this year, this Montrachet—purchased from the Chassagne-Montrachet side, from the house's usual source—is undeniably promising.
-Wine Advocate 94-96 Points
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Femelottes is made form 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is a charming, rich, focused and delightful white. Medium-bodied with a smooth texture, the wine has a fresh backbone of acidity, clean apple and citrus flavors, and an excellent balance. A most refreshing quaff and one that is great value. A delicate, expressive wine of exceptional quality.
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Aged 10 months in oak barrels (10% new, the rest in 2-3 year old barrels).
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Femelottes is made form 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is a charming, rich, focused and delightful white. Medium-bodied with a smooth texture, the wine has a fresh backbone of acidity, clean apple and citrus flavors, and an excellent balance. A most refreshing quaff and one that is great value. A delicate, expressive wine of exceptional quality.
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Aged 10 months in oak barrels (10% new, the rest in 2-3 year old barrels).
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Les Saussots is made from 100 percent Chardonnay. A medium yellow straw color in the glass. On the nose, you will find layers aromas of cured lemon and hints of coconut and mango. On the palate, the juice has clean flavor, fresh acidity, and excellent balance. Vanilla notes follow through to the slightly creamy finish.
The grapes from this wines are grown from the Meursault area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Seafood, fish, salad or by itself as an aperitif.
Drink this one now or over the next 3 to 4 years.
This fine and sensual wine, with hints of blossom and roasted hazelnut, has a concentration that makes it discreet in its youth but powerful over time. Located right next to Puligny-Montrachet, the plot of Les Charmes was planted in 1943 on a sandy clay-limestone soil that produces small, concentrated berries for an intense wine that is perfect for ageing.
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Rouge La Taupe is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Chavy-Chouet's Pinot Noir is classified as humble Bourgogne Rouge, but the fruit for it comes from an excellent single-vineyard site near Pommard. La Taupe's parcel was once part of the Pommard AOC.
The wine is juicy with a great mouthfeel. It has classic Bourgogne Rouge aromas, with a candied cherry character as well as strawberry, raspberry and spice, yet the structure and length of finish reminds one of a Pommard - ripe & rich with a bigger body.
Average age of the vines: 70 years old.
Density of planting: 10,000 vines per hectare.
Soil: clay
100% distemmed.
Very little intervention. Less pigeage (punch down of the cap) but some remontage (pump-over)
Chavy-Chouet Meursault Clos des Corvees de Citeaux is 100 percent Chardonnay
Aged in new oak barrels (Allier).
The Clos des Corvees de Citeau is a .96 hectare vineyard located in Meursault. It was part of the appellation of l'Ormeau; an old property of the Cistercian monks who made a two meter wall around the vines. The tall walls create a micro-climate that encourages early growth and ripening.
Thanks to its clay rich soil, the vineyard produces a rich, opulent and luscious wine that can be enjoyed young. This is a powerful and elegant white Burgundy; expressive, fresh and fruity with intense and strong flavors.
The 2021 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Champans Premier Cru is from the domain’s largest premier cru holding, 4.2 acres whose vines date from 1934, 1971, and 1985. Champans is down-slope in the premier cru band, and its wine typically has more fruit and power than other Voillot Volnays.
Review:
‘The 2021 Volnay Les Champans Ter Cru has much more brightness and delineation than the Fremiets this year, with red cherries, wild strawberries and ust a touch of iodine and sous-bois. This is nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine structure, pliant tannins and a harmonious finish. Not the most complex Champans encountered from this address, yet it has class.
-Vinous 91-93 Points
The 2021 les Champans is also a simply stunning example of this fine premier cru vineyard. The beautifully elegant nose wafts from the glass in a blend of red and black plums, cherries, spit-roasted quail, a complex base of soil, woodsmoke, coffee bean and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off superb depth at the core, great soil signature, ripe, fine-grained tannins and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. This is a touch more reserved on the palate than the Fremiets and will take a bit longer to blossom, but it is going to be stellar. 2034-2085.
93+ pts- John Gilman, View from the Cellar #102
Every now and then, in life and in wine, we are presented with unique opportunities to express ourselves and create something truly remarkable.
When rare opportunities arise, we need to capture, nurture and develop them so that their potential is fulfilled. So when Torbreck was given the opportunity to work with one of the most famous vineyards in the Barossa Valley, it became almost inevitable that the resulting wine would be truly remarkable.
In 2003, Torbreck growers and fourth generation descendants of the Seppelt family, Malcolm and Joylene Seppelt, asked our winemakers to create for them a small batch of Shiraz from their old Gnadenfrei vineyard in the sub-region of Marananga.
Planted in 1958, the five acre vineyard is traditionally dry grown and comes from an original Barossa clonal source. South facing, on the eastern side of a ridge separating the Seppeltsfield and Marananga appellations, these aged vines have been meticulously hand tended, traditionally farmed and pruned by a grower with a lifetime’s experience on Western Barossa soils of very dark, heavy clay loam over red friable clay. The resulting low yields of small, concentrated Shiraz berries make the vineyard the envy of all winemakers in the Barossa.
We looked longingly at the wine when it was returned to the Seppelts, knowing that it was the best we had ever made. In 2005 we convinced the Seppelts to sell Torbreck the fruit and The Laird was born. In 2013 Torbreck purchased the Gnadenfrei vineyard, securing The Laird’s reputation as one of the world’s great single vineyard Shiraz wines.
Torbreck is the name of a forest near Inverness, Scotland and you’ll find more than a passing nod to the Celts in our wine naming conventions. The Laird of the Estate in Scotland is the Lord of the Manor and master of all he surveys.
Review:
I poured the 2017 The Laird, set it aside and got about doing other jobs for 45 minutes or so, to give it some room to breathe. And it does breathe. It has its own pulse and beat and life, and it flexes and moves in the mouth. This is incredibly enveloping, with aromas reminiscent of campfire coals, charred eucalyptus, lamb fat, roasted beetroot, black tea and a prowling sort of countenance. In the mouth, the wine is bonded and cohesive and seamless, there are no gaps between anything, no space between fruit, oak and tannin; it all comes as one. While this is a singular wine, it is so big and concentrated that it needs no accompaniment other than some fresh air and a good mate. It's denser than osmium and is impenetrable at this stage.
Delas Hermitage Les Grandes Vignes Ligne de Crete is made from Syrah.
The nose discloses aromas of spice and leather intertwined with deep berry aromas (blackberry, redcurrant) and heady floral notes, liquorice and incense. Its richness, complexity and elegance are by no means a contradiction. The finest granite soils of the Hermitage hillside are to thank for this wine's incredible minerality and finesse. The wine is rich and dense on entry to the palate, where it shows an elegant, broad and flavorsome character. The ripe, smooth and well-integrated tannins contribute to the wine's powerful yet harmonious structure. The palate reveals the same aromas as those found on the nose with nuances of blueberry, raspberry, violet and bitter chocolate. Ligne de Crête is characterized by its exceptional structure, harmony and balance.
This remarkably smooth and elegant wine makes the perfect partner for a pigeon pie, beef tartare ravioli or a roast fillet of deviled duckling with cranberries. It also makes an excellent choice for woodcock, hare "à la Royale" or even a roast rack of lamb in a herb crust.
Review:
Whiffs of espresso, ore and charred meat mingle into thunderous flavors of crème de cassis and roasted plums in this wine. A single-site expression of Les Grandes Vignes from a ripe yet fresh vintage, it's a showstopping Syrah marked with a creamy texture and ripe tannins. Hermitage is not known for youthful pleasures but this rare bottling embraces the hedonism of adolescence along with its potential to gain power and complexity far beyond 2050. Anna Lee C. Iijima
-Wine Enthusiast 97 Points
Inky ruby color. Expansive, smoke- and mineral-accented black and blue fruits, licorice, smoky bacon, mocha, violet and licorice on the highly perfumed nose. Appealingly sweet, mineral-accented cassis, boysenberry, fruitcake, floral pastille and vanilla flavors show superb depth and become spicier with aeration. Shows superb detail and mineral lift on the youthfully tannic, extremely persistent and incisive finish, which features resonating floral and exotic spice notes.
-Vinous 97 Points
Elvio Cogno Baroloa Ravera is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
2017 is to be considered a very good vintage. Despite being characterized by hot and dry summer months, water reserves in the soil and September rain saved the vines from being stressed by water shortage. These factors, together with the excellent exposure of our plots and the scrupulous practices adopted in the vineyard during the growing season, allowed the grapes to fully ripen, avoiding to anticipate the harvest date too much. The 2017 wines are incredibly pleasant to drink: they are rich in crunchy red fruit, with an energetic mouthfeel, dominated by freshness and elegant tannins.
Goes well with braised meats, stewed game, roasts, and mature cheeses such as pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Brilliant garnet-red in color with orange highlights. Firm, elegant and potent on the nose, it has scents of dog-rose, mint and tobacco, scents that meld over the course of time into spice, coffee, licorice, truffle, leather and minerals. A full-bodied, rounded bouquet of great structure and balance, redolent of plum jam and withered brambles. The persistent chocolatey aftertaste is harmonious and enticing. Over the years, it gradually refines its characteristics to achieve classic elegance and composure.
Review:
Made by the estate that put this celebrated cru on the map, and showing an enviable combination of elegance and power, this stunning wine opens with aromas of wild berries, underbrush, dark spice and balsamic notes of cedar and new leather. The tense, savory palate is loaded with youthful energy, showing succulent Marasca cherry, raspberry, cinnamon and star anise framed in tightly knit, refined tannins and surprisingly bright acidity for the vintage. A mineral note suggesting iron adds depth to the close.
-Wine Enthusiast 98 Point
The nose opens with aromas of blackberry, blueberry, black current and boysenberry. The fruit elements are complimented with notes of forest floor, cigar box, dark chocolate and espresso. The wine is rich and balanced and French oak barrels add the ideal amount of complexity with notes of baking spice and warm vanilla. This is a full-bodied wine with integrated tannins that give it a long, lingering finish. Stunning.
Primary Vineyard: Sycamore Vineyard—Rutherford (100%): Small 24-acre vineyard located about 1.2 miles south of Bosche, right up against the Mayacamas Range, this vineyard has a rich clay loam. Sycamore Vineyard produces small berries reminiscent of mountain fruit berries, with intense extract of color and flavor. The color is very dark early in the fermentation, with flavors of black currant and black berry with a forest floor complexity.
Review:
Mint, spearmint, dark-berry and blueberry aromas. Leaves and sage, too. Full-bodied and firm with fantastic depth. Cool fruit with menthol and mint. Spice. Refreshing. Firm tannins. Fantastic 2017. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 97 Points
Jean Chartron Clos de la Pucelle Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The scent of flowering linden and acacia trees provides a heady nose to this wine. Initial flavours are charming, suggesting vanilla-based patisseries. The mineral backbone of the wine only suggests itself in the slightest hint of salinity. A wine to be patient with and preserve.
Review:
The 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Pucelle Ter Cru, which is half the normal yield, spors a very subtle reduction on the nose, but there is fine delineation and focus here. The palate is well balanced with gaod weight, lime mixed with tangerine and nectarine, crisp acidity with a lightly spiced finish. There i real nobility evident here.
-Vinous 92-94 Points
Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is made from 100 percent Sangiovese.
Sitting at 450 metres, Le Macioche is located just southeast of the town of Montalcino. Half of the estate’s six hectares of vineyards are registered for Brunello production. The 2017 vintage represents the first under ownership of the Cotarella family. An appealing mix of cocoa and balsamic herbs greets the nose. Mid-weight and juicy, the palate takes on accents of underbrush and there is great fruit purity and firmness of structure. The finish is savoury with just a hint of those drying tannins that mark the vintage.
-Decanter 93 Points
Charles Krug Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
Rising 1,650 feet above the Napa Valley floor on the southwestside of Howell Mountain, the Family Reserve Howell MountainCabernet Sauvignon sits above the fog line. The distinctiveclimate, along with volcanic and iron-rich red soils, producefruit with great balance and intensity.
Review:
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release Cold Springs is the most distinctive of the wines in this range of limited-release Cabernets from Charles Krug. Gravel, licorice, menthol and spice all develop in a Howell Mountain Cabernet endowed with tremendous class and nuance.
-Vinous 92 Points
Charles Smith K Vintners Powerline Estate Syrah is made from 100 percent Syrah.
Friendly, approachable and vivacious, yet also dark and mysterious. Black cherry, allspice, black ash, and orange blossom. Thyme and flint with ark fruit, cedar, kelp, black pepper, juniper, crushed rock, and tons of complex floral notes. Fear not, embrace it.
While just bottled a week before this tasting, the 2019 Syrah Powerline Vineyard certainly wasn't showing any worse for it, offering a stunning bouquet of ripe red and black fruits as well as white pepper, sandalwood, tobacco, and new leather. Pure, medium to full-bodied, and vibrant, with supple, polished tannins, this brilliant Syrah is going to keep for 10-12 years, if not longer.
-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points
Continuum Red Blend 2017 MAGNUM is made from 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot, 9% Merlot
2017 was a vintage of extremes, with abundant rain in the winter months and record-breaking heat waves during the growing season. A testament in resiliency, the wine bears the hallmarks of the elevation and terroir at Sage Mountain Vineyard, showcasing exquisite vibrancy, many layers of flavor, ferrous minerality and fragrant wild herb notes. 2017 Continuum shows freshness, hinting at rose petal on the nose with cacao, black cherry and plum giving way to a plush, silky mid palate. Fine tannins of crushed stone and subtle undertones of tapenade are present through a beautifully persistent finish.
Review:
Wonderful blackberry and blackcurrant aromas here with hints of mint and fresh sage. Some cassis. Wrought iron, too. Full-bodied, tight and elegant with lovely tension. Beautiful. Ends fine and focused. Drinkable now, but better after 2022. -James Suckling 98 Points
A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 9% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple 2017 Proprietary Red soars out of the glass with notions of baked blueberries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial, backed up by nuances of chocolate mint, wild sage, violets and pencil shavings, plus an earthy hint of Chinese five spice. The rich, seductive, full-bodied palate is jam-packed with spicy black fruit preserves, framed by wonderfully plush tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and opulent. -Wine Advocate 97+ Points
Copain Edmeades Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
This wine embodies everything you love about Anderson Valley Pinot; flavors of strawberry, Rainier cherries with hints of spice.
VINTAGE NOTES:
The 2017 vintage began with significant rainfall prior to bloom, refilling the state’s reservoirs and ending California’s five-year drought. We saw a sudden spike in temperatures just prior to harvest, leading fruit to ripen quicker than anticipated. This sped up our harvest schedule, but due to our team’s vigilance, the fruit was still able to be picked at optimal ripeness. Temperatures then cooled back down by mid-September, allowing the remaining vineyards to complete ripening at an ideal pace. The rest of harvest was finished as planned, with yields coming in at their typical levels.
The historical Edmeades Vineyard sits along the western side of the small town of Philo in what’s known as the “deep-end” of Anderson Valley. Flanked by the Navarro River, there is a diversity of sandstone soils throughout the vineyard. The Edmeades vineyard is planted with vines facing southwest, allowing this vineyard to receive warmer afternoon weather. This helps to balance the prolonged cool fog influence this vineyard sees throughout the growing season.
Aromas: Raspberry, dried cherries, pennyroyal, orange zest.
Palate: Medium weight palate with soft tannins. Notes of cherry, pomegranate, and clove with light delicate cola notes on the finish.
Review:
The first vintage for this cuvée from Ryan, the 2017 Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard comes from mid-valley and was brought up in 27% new French oak. It's a beautiful wine with blueberry and wild strawberry fruits as well as complex spice, dried flowers, and some loamy soil notes. Medium-bodied, seamless, and silky on the palate, it's a lovely, layered wine that shines for its texture and balanced.
This signature wine contains only fruit farmed on Howell Mountain. The wine comes in a distinctive bottle that is hand dipped in red wax. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. aged 32 months in 100% new French oak.
The grapes for this wine come vineyards in the villages of La Horra, Gumiel de Izan and Moradillo from 12 to 80 year-old vines.
Displaying a good vibrant deep cherry red color with fragrant, clear notes of cherry drop and violet there is a beautifully unadorned yet brooding quality to this; it feels deep, vinous and vibrant, flecked with bright red fruit notes, sweet earth and a darker, more spiced character on the finish.