Maison Chanzy Clos du Roy Blanc Mercurey Premier Cru 2019

Bavencoff Pernand Vergelesses Premier Cru Blanc is made from Chardonnay.

The wine offers a white gold or pale yellow color turning into darker gold with age. It boasts aromas of white flowers, (may, acacia) developing into notes of amber, honey and spices. On the palate it is mineral, harmonious and easy to like.

Aged in new oak barrels (Allier).

Sushi, fresh-water fish in white sauce, and for pasta or a seafood risotto.

Clos Du Val Yettalil is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec

The 2019 Yettalil opens with aromas of fresh blackberry, ripe plum, and racy cassis layered with hints of violet, bay leaf, and thyme. Beautifully balanced and elegant on the palate, vibrant acidity and polished tannins give way to a concentrated core of black cherry, vanilla, and cedar. The texture is velvety and plush with a backbone of graphite and dark chocolate that lingers through a long finish.

Review:

A Bordeaux-inspired blend, the 2019 Yettalil Red Wine is considerably darker, deeper and richer than the Napa Valley Cabernet. Scents of cassis, pencil shavings, loam and mocha all appear on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is expansive and velvety without getting jammy or overly broad. Perhaps most important, for a wine that will presumably be consumed along savory dishes, it's nicely savory itself, with earthy notes and gentle tannins punctuating the long finish.

-Wine Advocate 94 Points

Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is made from 25% Grenache Blanc, 25% Clairette, 25% Roussanne, 25% Bourboulenc

The color is a beautiful golden yellow with glints of green. The nose expresses the specificity of this wine, with aromas of white fruit (apple, pear), orange blossom, aniseed and lemon and woody undertones. The palate has much presence, is very fruity, with finesse, breadth and sweetness, but retaining a good balance of freshness.

This wine is ideal with fish, crayfish, pike 'quenelles' with with 'Nantua' sauce, or spicy dishes.

Review:

Ripe and enticing, with lots of white peach, green melon and yellow apple flavors laced with notes of shortbread and honeysuckle. A stony echo adds spine and length. Should unwind nicely. Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Roussanne. Best from 2021 through 2023. 1,666 cases made, 1,250 cases imported.

-Wine Spectator 92 Points

Alain Jaume Domaine du Clos de Sixte Lirac  is made from 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre

An intense red garnet color. On the nose, aromas of red and black ripe fruit (kirsch and wild blackberry). The mouth is full, with aromas of blackcurrant liqueur and spice. Tannins are both harmonious and elegant thanks to the fleshiness of the wine. Hints of licorice and vanilla on the finish, which gives the wine length and complexity.

Soil type LIRAC vineyard is facing Chateauneuf du Pape, opposite side of the Rhône river. As showed by the picture and following geologist George Truc, soils are almost similar in both side. They are marked by the violence wrought by the Rhone river. It consists of a layer of marine molasses of the Miocene period covered by alpine alluvium. The presence of a great number of rounded stones known as "galets" in the earth is evidence of the time when the Rhone, then a torrent, tore fragments of rock from the Alps and deposited them on the plain. LIRAC is one of the up-coming best area from the southern Rhône valley, as it delivers outstanding wines. Winemaking & ageing Traditional wine-making in stainless still vats. Hand sorted bunches, crushed and destemmed grapes. Fermentation temperature : 30°C. 18 days of vatting with pigeages.

Review:

"The 2016 Lirac Domaine du Clos de Sixte is a terrific wine, easily the rival to many Châteauneufs from across the river, starting with its alluring aromas of flowering garrigue and ripe cherries. A blend of 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 15% Mourvèdre, this full-bodied wine is lush and concentrated on the palate, then turns velvety on the long finish. I'd treat it like a Châteauneuf du Pape in terms of cellaring: hold it for a few years, then drink it over the next 15. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue 233, October 2017), 93+ pts

Chavy-Chouet Puligny Montrachet Permier Cru Les Champs Gain is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

The wine is produced from 100% Chardonnay coming from the top of the hills of Puligny-Montrachet. The rocky soil of the steep slopes is rich in limestone. 
Champs-Gain is a fine and subtle wine with fresh and lively citrus notes. Over time, it delicately reveals notes of very ripe yellow fruits.

The vineyard measures 0.3 hectare with a plenting density of 10,000 vines per hectare.
100% Chardonnay of 30 years of age.
Ageing in oak barrels for 12 months (20% new).

Review:

"The 2019 Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs Gain 1er Cru, one of the last vines to be picked, even after the reds, has a well-defined bouquet of slate-like aromas, very cool and almost Zen-like in style. The palate is well balanced with a sappy entry and a fine bead of acidity. Taut and focused, if just needing a tad more grip on the finish. It will deserve 2–4 years in bottle.- Neal Martin"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2020), 91 pts

Vignobles de la Coulee de Serrant 'Clos de la Coulee de Serrant is made from from 100 Percent Chenin Blanc

Considered one of the greatest dry white wines in France, the Clos de la Coulée de Serrant has its own AOC and is entirely owned by the Joly family. A remarkable expression of the land, this Chenin Blanc is produced from 7 hectares of vineyards aging 40 to 50 years-old. With steep slopes and southern exposure, the soil is composed of shale outcroppings (schist) interspersed with quartz. The site on which the vines are planted has remained under vine since 1130. Unparalleled in intensity and complexity, the energy of the property is bottled in this iconic and limited offering that will develop for years to come.

Review:

Produced from seven hectares of vineyards aged from 40 to 50 years old, Joly’s 2019 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant opens with a clear, bright yet enormously dense and complex bouquet of crushed stones, herbs and fine but dense and multilayered fruit that needs air to open up, yet it shows its class immediately. On the palate, this is a rich and intense, full-bodied, tight and concentrated yet elegant and stimulating salty Chenin with firm tannins intertwined with a crystalline acidity that carries this highly complex icon wine to a long and compact yet elegant finish. There is a remarkable purity, freshness and energy in the aftertaste that you sometimes might have missed in former vintages.

Virginie Joly insisted I taste the wine again on day three and day seven to detect all its dimensions (she says this for all her wines), and I agreed on that. However, even on day one, the 2019 reveals itself to be one of the greatest vintages I have tasted from this family monopole, which is on steep, south-facing slopes on shale outcroppings (schist) interspersed with quartz. The finish is enormously dense, intense and structured and certainly very, very long. We are in the category of what Markus Molitor describes as "physical drinking," and his three-starred Riesling Auslesen is so incredibly impressive. The 2019 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant is doubtlessly one of the great wines of this planet and one of the stars next to 1989 and 1995 (unfortunately, I haven't tasted the 2013 and 2015 yet). The 2019 comes in with well-integrated and certainly natural 15% alcohol. Tasted in May 2021.

-Wine Advocate 98 Points