Latest update : 13 March 2020.
Here’s a vintage like one we don’t find often in Champagne. Characterized by cool weather conditions and slow bottle maturation, it took no less than five winters in the tranquility of our cellars, to fully develop its bouquet and balance. A light gold color, fast and regular bubbles that burst like sparks at the surface of the wine. The first discrete nose offers citrus, floral and minty aromas, and furtheron, to patiently evolve towards a beautiful complexity of grapefruit, candy, white (...)
continueOnly just poured, and already he gets cocky on the glasses edge. It seduces with a lush perfume, as impressive as its dark colour: blackberries and raspberries, some smoke and bay leaves, roasted hazelnuts and cinnamon ...
I’m really impressed by the character of this Portuguese grape variety that has taken root in the rocky soil of the Minervois. Fresh on the palate, with just as much flavour as odour and a hint of mint that makes the whole thing a little weightless… Its generous and (...)
This Champagne offers a very charming view : golden coloured and bright, with fine bubbles climbing up to the surface in a regular and disciplined way. It’s the characteristic look of a Champagne that has ripened well. Its very intense and charming bouquet shows dry apricots and raisins, as well as some hazelnuts and caramel, underlining the creamy character of the wine. The bubbles perfectly play their role, giving zest, continuity and length. A generous Champagne for gourmets, to be (...)
continueThis 100% Malbec, perfectly aware of its power of seduction, plays its best cards with a certain kind of nonchalance: An explosive bouquet, a dense and creamy mouth feel, a (very) long final, fresh minerality.
Exuberant fragrances of raspberry and violets, but also marzipan and toasted hazelnuts rapidly capture the entire attention of our olfactory cells, while our taste buds turn somersaults between the velvety mouth feel and the impressive tannin structure. A wine that unleashes passion, (...)
I love Rhône wines from this vintage! Those who regularly read my blog will know.
I thus opened this bottle coming from Yves Gras vineyards in Vacqueyras with a certain thrill and expectations. The majority of Grenache, assisted by some Syrah, create an intense bouquet of prunes, ginger bread and chocolate, in a style as wild and intractable as the Dentelles de Montmirail, a stunning rock formation that overlooks the village. Very expressive on the palate, the wine shows a certain (...)
Despite the school reform grimly looking down on France, Pierre Cros doesn’t not seem to have changed a single thing in his Minvervois Tradition 2013. Luckily for us!
Still made from the five traditional Mediterranean Grape varieties – Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre, the wine is as interesting and friendly as before. Lightly coloured but with a powerful bouquet, it exhales charming and promising aromas: Blackcurrant, raspberries and herbs intermingle with the sweet smell of (...)
Oubviously there is a touch of „déjà vu“ when you taste the Cuvée Prestige of Champagne Paul Lebrun.
This Champagne has indeed some commonalities with its little brothers and sisters of the estate. Which is quite normal and even desirable, as I am convinced, that each winzer should leave (a slight) fingerprint on the style of his wines. It’s part of the habits of the Vignier-Lebrun family to ripen their Champagne for a long time on fine lees, before they take them out of the cellar. A single (...)
I admit being a real fan of wines from south-western France since many years. It all started with the discovery of some ENORMEOUS Malbec from Cahors, some COSMIC wines from Jurançon and some fine wines from Madiran, full of character. All of them were complex, juicy and atypical, showing astonishing ageing capacity, as well as wonderful “drinkability” in their youth. Just great wines. Since then, I often thought that wines and tastes might be divided into “France” and “South-West”.
A couple of (...)
I can’t say that I prefer single varietal wines to cuvees, or vice-versa, but from time to time I appreciate listening to a grape varieties revealing their very own version of a particular terroir. Here we are talking about the 2008 vintage and a centenary Carignan vineyard, growing on a dry and stony terroir called “Les Aspres”, in the Minervois close to Carcassonne.
“In the Languedoc-Roussillon, the biggest wine growing region of France, the 2008 vintage, with its “Indian summer” is very (...)
Concerning Hubert Soreau, I can confirm that he is as meticulous as a goldsmith for the production of his champagne Clos l’Abbé. His Chardonnay grapes grow in three small lots of the historic Clos l’Abbé near Épernay (once the oldest walled or enclosed vineyards of Champagne, as old documents confirm that it was already planted with grape vines in the ninth century). Personally, I love Chardonnay. It always comes up with surprises, presenting unexpected tastes and fragrances to my palate. It can (...)
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