Country: | United States |
Regions: | Burgundy Maconnais |
Winery: | Condemine |
Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
Vintage: | 2012 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Morlet Family Vineyards Billet Doux Late Harvest Semillon 2012 (half-bottle) is made from Sémillon (65%) Sauvignon Blanc (31%) Muscat à Petits Grains (4%)
rowing in the gravelly soil of an ancient riverbed in the beautiful Alexander Valley, the old vines benefit from hot afternoons and cool, foggy mornings, favorable for the development of Botrytis (Noble Rot). Extremely small yields in the Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat vineyards lead to the immensely concentrated fruit. Just as one receives a note from one’s sweetheart, we present this wine as a precious ‘Love Note’ or ‘Billet Doux.’
Deep crystal clear gold. Intense and complex bouquet of dry apricot, pêche de vigne and Reine Claude yellow plum intermixed with notes of quince, honey, Muscat and a hint of sweet vanilla. Full bodied, the palate is reminiscent of the nose, with a creamy sweet texture and a great intensity. The large amount of sugar and glycerin creates a highlighted viscosity. Along with the wine’s great concentration, richness and opulence, the classical aromatic complexity reveals a flamboyant yet harmonious ensemble, leading to a very long, complex and smooth finish.
Proprietary name ‘Billet Doux’
Name meaning Love Note
Type of wine Late harvest white wine
Appellation Alexander Valley
Vineyard singularity 25-60 year old vines Loamy and gravelly soils from an ancient river bed One cluster per shoot ‘de rigueur’
Typical harvest date November Picking Manual, small lugs, refrigerated truck
Sorting Cluster by cluster
Fermentation In barrel through native yeast
Upbringing 16 months French Oak from selected artisan Coopers
Bottling Unfined, filtered to prevent Malolactic
Cellaring time Decades
Serving Chilled and decanted
Review:
Produced from 65% Sémillon, 31% Sauvignon Blanc and 4% Muscat, the 2012 Billet Doux has a medium golden color and profoundly scented nose of beeswax, honeyed nuts, orange marmalade, Manuka honey and preserved lemons. Full-bodied, full-on sweet, rich, concentrated and oh-so-unctuous, it delivers powerful flavor layers and epic length. 175 cases were made.
-Wine Advocate 97 Points
Bouchard Pere & Fils Meursault Les Clous is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Intense bouquet of fruit and flowers combined with a delicate mineral hint. Rich and subtle wine with good crisp, which makes it very balanced. Good ageing potential.
Pair with fish dishes in sauce.
Review:
This elegant Meursault reminds me very much of the best wines from this appellation from the 1970s and 80s. Only medium-bodied, with delicate pear, apple and lemon aromas. Long, silky and filigree finish. What’s the secret to its 1er Cru quality? Apart from very good winemaking, it’s a high altitude site that has benefited from climate change. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 94 Points
Laurent-Perrier Brut Millesime is made from 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir.
The Vintage is the choice of an exceptional year from which only a selection of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Grands Crus will enter into a future iteration of Grand Siècle. It is a rare and outstanding wine that expresses the character of the year in the Laurent-Perrier style. The wine is white gold in color with a fine sparkle. A flowery nose of great complexity, with notes of citrus and white peaches. A wine that is very present with a lively attack and great finesse with good minerality and notes of grapefruit on the finish. The Vintage 2012 pairs well with seafood and noble fish as well as with poultry or veal. This wine sublimates hard pressed cheeses such as a young Comté or a Beaufort.
Review:
The 2012 Champagne Brut is equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has 8 grams per liter dosage. Since the 1950s, only 30 vintages have been produced by the house. The aromatics are reminiscent of a Burgundian feel, with pleasant flinty reduction, smoke, and vibrant green fruits of pear and citrus blossoms. Offering an energetic mousse with green apple, yellow plum, lemon curd, and wet stone, this wine is well-balanced and should continue to improve over the coming 15-20 years. Best after 2022.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Elegant array of lemons, slate, biscuits, oyster shells, croissants and brioche. Precise and focused on the palate, with sharp acidity and tight, fine bubbles. Pure and youthful for now. 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir. Dosage 8g/L.
- -James Suckling 94 Points
Trouillet Lebeau St. Veran Les Condemines is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The wine comes from 70-year-old vines that are ideally located on a south-facing slope in the village of Leynes, on a clay-limestone terroir. Aged 100% in Burgundy barrels, offering a fruity, powerful and charming wine. Beautiful expressive aromas of ripe yellow fruits. Rich, generous, full, crisp and well-balanced on the palate.
Condemine Janny Macon-Peronne Le Clou 2012 is made from 100% Chardonnay.
Sustainable agriculture: very low use of chemicals.
Very low amount of SO2 before bottling.
Wine is aged on the fine lees for a minimum of 4 months, which adds complexity and lenght to the finish.
A light golden hue, floral aromas. Intense, clean and fresh on the palate. Citrus notes, bold acidity. Excellent match to seafood with butter or cream sauces or rich blue cheeses
The Domaine de la Condemine Estate
Pierre and Veronique Janny bought the estate in 1982 and work now with their daughter Celine. They are located in the village of Peronne, 20 kilometres North of Macon.
The Domaine de la Condemine Vineyard
This is a 6-hectare (14.8 acres) vineyard planted with Chardonnay (5.5 ha), Gamay and Pinot Noir (0.5 ha). The oldest vines are 100 year old.
Benjamin Romeo La Cueva del Contador is made from 91% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha.
Named after the centuries-old caves or “cuevas” carved out of the hillside below the castle of San Vicente in Sonsierra north of the Ebro, this wine is composed of 91 percent Tempranillo and 9 percent Garnacha. The fruit is sourced from eight different plots that yield about 1.2 kg per vine. Fermentation begins after a three-day cold maceration and the wine is aged for nineteen months in 100 percent new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration.
The palate offers flavors of blackberry coulis, Damson plums, Rosemary and well-integrated tannins; this wine is well balanced and youthful with a long powerful finish. Both red and black fruit are pronounced in the nose, but there are also mineral and herbal notes of gravel and lavender.
Review:
Appearance Intense garnet red dress of great luminosity and elegance. Aroma Slightly candied fruit tones, toasted from a good barrel, intense. Palate Powerful and marked on the palate, velvety, round, tasty and balanced.
Guia Repsol 95 Points
Youthful purple. A complex, oak-spiced bouquet displays ripe boysenberry and cherry, candied violet, cola and mocha scents lifted by a vibrant mineral flourish. Deeply concentrated yet lively as well, offering intense dark fruit preserve, cola and spicecake flavors that show excellent delineation and floral lift. Manages to be rich as well as lively and finishes very long and alluringly sweet, leaving allspice and vanilla notes behind.
-Vinous 93 Points
Sainte-Marie Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The wine has a perfect light yellow color with green hues. Nose of white flower, sweet spice and bitter orange. Fresh and delicious attack. It shows roundness and a slight buttery note with a very saline finish that makes you slightly salivate.
Excellent with Seafood, grilled fish, clams and oysters of course. Also great with goat cheese or Comté cheese.
Aged on lees for 6 months in stainless steel vats. Adjustment of sulphites at the end of MLF and before bottling. Filtration on earth then on 1.2µ cartridge after bonding with bentonite.Machine harvest, and direct pressing with a pneumatic horizontal press. Static settling. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats with native yeast and bacteria.