Search results for: 'gros long'

The Chemin des Moines de Vergy is a surprisingly powerful, concentrated Pinot Noir due to its low yields and its Vosne clones. The wine has all the requisite spice of its more illustrious neighbors down the hill but also carries a wonderful piquancy noting its higher elevation roots. It’s not unlike the hillside Vosne wines which are becoming all the rage now, a finer version of perhaps Petits Monts or Damaudes. The wine becomes more, ahem, Burgundian with air as the spice notes broaden and a touch of underbrush enters the fray, the perfume building and the wine getting silkier.

With 90% of C’Juste composed of Gros Manseng grown on the large veins of white clay in warm-to-hot summer conditions and without added sulfites, we may expect its takeoff to be like the first throttle on the tarmac in a fast but chubby commercial liner; however, it’s more like (what I imagine) being pressed against the seat of screaming fighter jet during takeoff. We, for one, find C’Juste yet another impressive no-sulfites-added white wine that demonstrates what’s possible if done correctly in the cellar. It’s as inviting as it is electric, and once open the bottle tends to empty rather quickly.

Laurent describes C’Juste as, “a rich wine due to the typicity of Gros Manseng. From one year to the next, the Victoria pineapple side (a note not often found in colder and wetter climate Gros Manseng wines) remains the common thread, while the 10% of Ugni Blanc brings freshness and acidity—the lemon side on the finish. It’s for the meal rather than apero hour and can compete with a fine Chardonnay in terms of power and the freshness of a great Chenin Blanc.”

Once in the cellar, the grapes are first left for 24 hours in concrete to cool down, then they’re whole-cluster pressed before being returned to the same medium. At the end of the 10-15-day natural fermentation, the wine is racked off the gross lees into four 8hl Italian terracotta amphoras for 11 months before bottling. There is no sulfite added to this wine at any time, though the exception is the 2020 version. C’Juste is lightly filtered but not fined.

50% Petit Manseng, 50% Gros Manseng, south-facing exposure. 15-year-old vines at a density of 4000 vines/hectare. No chemical products and natural grass cover for every other row. Guyot simple pruning.

97 Points! Decadent aromas of mango, pineapple, orange peel and quince rustle over the sublime smoky wood character. Ripe and rounded with a mesmerising salve of acidity and a lengthy mouth-watering finish. Brimming with style and finesse. - Decanter World Wine Awards

The Jurançon Sec “Part Davant” comes from a 4 ha southeast-facing plot at 250-300m planted to 50% Gros Manseng, 30% Petit Manseng, 20% Petit Courbu in 1950/2010 on a steep hill of “Poudingue de Jurançon” bedrock with a shallow clay topsoil. It’s natural fermentation lasts for about 60 days in oak foudre at 20°C max. Aged on lees for 8 months in 25-hl foudre (66%), amphora (34%). Full malolactic fermentation. Light filtration and with 50mg/L total sulfur. Residual sugar: 2g/L (dry).

94 Points! The 2023 Chardonnay Willamette Valley opens with a gentle whiff of sweet spice that gives way to mineral-infused nectarine and a hint of sage as it blossoms in the glass. Rounded textures and ripe orchard fruit sweep across the palate. Saline concentration and nuances of tart citrus add form toward the close. A caking of chalky, salty concentration lingers as this tapers off remarkably fresh and full of lively tension. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

94 Points! A bright yellow-green hue, the 2023 Chardonnay Willamette Valley takes things to the next level. It offers a silky, rounded feel with notes of fresh pear, wet stones, lime oil, floral perfume, and hints of almond. Medium to full-bodied, it has a refreshing spine of acidity and a salty, mineral texture. There’s concentration and extract, although it remains leaner than the Black Label. Drink over the next 8-10 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! This unique blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, 2% St. Macaire, 1% Merlot, 1% Gros Verdot, 1% Carmenere, and 1% Cabernet Franc is culled together from three Estate vineyards in the Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder and Oakville AVAs. A riveting, full-bodied red teeming with ripe and satiny textures, opulent red, black, and blue-toned fruits, with graceful, velvety tannins and a host of complex aromas and flavours that begin with black cherry, spiced plum, toasted fennel, maple and toffee, and end with cassis, graphite, mulberry, and espresso beans. A real pleasure palace. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Powerful but polished, this full-bodied wine boasts generous dark fruit flavors, attractive oak spices and a good, moderately tannic texture. Nicely concentrated black cherry, dried plum, cedar and star anise nuances. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! All Cabernet Sauvignon and a blend put together by Randy Dunn, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Feather is inky purple-hued and offers a brilliant nose of cassis, new leather, graphite, and truffly earth. This rich, spicy, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon has terrific purity, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a broad, layered, expansive mouthfeel that keeps you coming back to the glass. Drink this remarkable Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon over the coming two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2020 Chardonnay Seven Springs Vineyard was picked on September 22, after the smoke from the wildfires in Willamette Valley cleared. It was fermented and matured for around 11 months in 50% new oak. It has intense aromas of peach, honey, allspice and toast, flavors that are echoed on the expansive palate. It has a creamy, gently grippy texture and a matchstick-laced finish. It's a great effort in a very challenging vintage. Drink it over the next few years. Just 73 cases were made. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

93 Points! I tasted the grey label version of the 2020 Chardonnay Seven Springs, which opens with flinty reduction, along with savory herbs of chive, green apple, and lemon verbena. The palate is fresh with chalky texture, lemon curd, white flowers, baking spice, and a hint vanilla bean on the back end. Drink 2022-2032.- Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

97 Points! All Cabernet Sauvignon and a blend put together by Randy Dunn, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Feather is inky purple-hued and offers a brilliant nose of cassis, new leather, graphite, and truffly earth. This rich, spicy, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon has terrific purity, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a broad, layered, expansive mouthfeel that keeps you coming back to the glass. Drink this remarkable Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon over the coming two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! From just outside the town of Windsor, the 2020 Chardonnay UV - El Diablo Vineyard is energetic with aromas of green apple, lemon verbena, and delicate savory herbs. The palate is juicy and long, with lemon curd and snappy acidity, balancing out with a clean finish. Drink over the next 15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! A linear and very compacted Bellevue with blackberries, blueberries and chocolate. Full and tight with racy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Racy and focused. 100% merlot. Give this until 2028. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

98 Points! The 2020 Bellevue Mondotte is another powerhouse from the team at Pavie. All Merlot from the upper plateau above Château Pavie (the soils here contain a touch more clay), this full-bodied, deep, concentrated 2020 has a tight, unevolved bouquet of darker raspberries, cassis, truffly earth, and chocolate. Balanced, structured, and incredibly pure, it's mostly potential at this point and needs to be forgotten for 5-6 years. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

99 Points! Incredibly spicy and aromatic with pumice and cloves. Pops out of the glass. Cedar, too. Full-bodied with soft, polished tannins adding tension and creaminess. Long and beautiful. All about class and breeding. Try after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! The 2018 Cheval des Andes is a blend of 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon fermented in small lots in 3,000- to 8,000-liter tanks and matured 40% in 225-liter oak barrels, 40% in 400-liter oak barrels and the remaining 20% in 2,500-liter oak vats for 13 months. Ninety percent of the oak used was French and the rest a blend of Austrian, Slovenian and German oak, 50% of it new. 2018 has been one of the best vintages in recent times in Mendoza, and the wine shows it. It's a cooler vintage, and the wine has improved in freshness and elegance without losing any clout. It's 14.5% alcohol and has a pH of 3.73. This is young, juicy, elegant and balanced and still has some herbal and toasted notes; it's medium to full-bodied, with the creamy and luxurious texture of the modern Bordeaux, ultra fine tannins and a long, dry and precise finish. It's still undeveloped and seems to have all the components and the balance between them for a long and positive development in bottle. With wines like this, I sometimes wish I had a time machine so I could see them in 20 years from now... I think this is the finest Cheval des Andes I've ever tasted. - Wine Advocate

Integrates, balances and harmonizes without distorting the true character traits such as terroir and fruit. For wines that derive their balance and structure from phenolics, tannins, long lees ageing or deliberate use of wood.

Recommended for: Wood-accentuated Chardonnay, mash-fermented white wines, whole-grape-fermented red wines, wines with a maceration component, as well as complex sparkling wines with long lees ageing and oxidative elements.

97 Points! Anthem's tightly coiled, concentrated 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard recalls the site's rocky soils in its hints of crushed stones on the nose, backed by black cherries, sage, cedar and dried spices. It's full-bodied and dense, possesses plenty in reserve for the long haul and boasts a long, tannic finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

95 Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Berliquet, a blend of 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc, needs a fair bit of coaxing to bring out notes of blueberry preserves, black cherry compote, and blackberry pie, followed by hints of chocolate mint and lavender. The generous, full-bodied palate is jam-packed with ripe, seductive black and blue fruit preserves flavors, framed by velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long with a spicy kick. This estate, recently acquired by Chanel, is already starting to show its true potential, and what a beauty! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent