Domaine Vacheron Sancerre 2014
Stunning and vivid, Domaine Vacheron’s 2014 Sancerre is golden-robed and inlaid with lemongrass, lemon blossom, kaffir lime, banana creme pie, lychee, smoke and a nuanced herbal edge. Texturally round and lush on the palate, gloriously disrupted by a piercing vein of white grapefruit and chalky minerality that carries from the attack to a meandering, mouthwatering […]
Thierry Germain Domaine des Roches Neuves Clos De l’Echelier Saumur Blanc 2014
Sourced from a small horse-plowed, biodynamically farmed two-hectare site, Clos de L’Echelier is blended from just two oval casks. The vines are seated in Turonian limestone, which gives Saumur Chenin’s their characteristic minerality, which this bottle certainly has, though less pronounced than some I’ve tasted. The nose is endowed with expressive aromas of ripe pear, […]
Château de Camensac Haut-Médoc Grand Cru Classé 2011
The acidity in this wine is searing, a pity given that Carmensac is a Grand Cru Classé. I can only guess that it’s one of the 2011 vintage that didn’t fare well. Aromas of blackberries, black currants and black cherries are bolstered by vanilla and cedar. It’s quite thin and tight on the palate, lacking […]
Domaine Sainte-Marie Extraordinaire Vie Vité Rosé 2015
Outstanding. Gossamer pale peach with honeyed highlights, expressing pure alpine air, catmint, dried honeycomb, white peach, cherubs tears, and meadow flowers. On the palate, it’s elegant and beautifully balanced, each note perfection, not unlike Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, here is lilting, refined, pitch-perfect acidity set against a backdrop of dewy raspberries that extends to sweet […]
Denis Dubourdieu Clos Floridène Graves Blanc 2010
Pronounced aromas of bruised pear skin, smoke, crushed walnuts and musk melon. Silky and full on entry with moderate, well-integrated oak that gives way to a surprisingly racy, mineral finish. It’s brighter than the nose belies, and nicely balanced. Fleshier notes subside to limestone and gravel intertwining lemon pith, the finish is actually quite mouthwatering. […]
Le Grand Cros Côtes de Provence l’Esprit de Provence Rosé 2015
Another favorite to emerge from the crop, or is it gaggle? of 2015 Provençal pinks I’ve been working my way through. The Le Grand Cros Côtes de Provence l’Esprit de Provence is elegant and conch shell pink with layers of ripe peach, melon and honeysuckle submerged under edgier mineral notes that are readily communicated in […]
Jean-Luc et Paul Aegerter Les Jolies Filles Côtes de Provence Rosé 2015
Les Joiles Filles or The Pretty Girls is an apt name for this lighthearted Provençal pink. It’s a carefree romp through fields of meadow flowers, dusty raspberries, apricots and anise. The palate is soft, red-fruited and imminently drinkable. It has a nice finality to it, a sort of wet cement expression that I very much […]
omaine la Manarine Côtes Du Rhône Rosé 2014
Pale salmon in the glass, the nose of 2014 La Manarine Côtes Du Rhône Rosé is abundantly cherry, tart pie cherries swathed in a bouquet of spring flowers. While not overly complex, this blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, and 20% Syrah is fermented in concrete. It’s quite fresh, though concrete aging certainly adds a […]
Domaine de la Sanglière Spéciale Côtes De Provence Rosé 2015
Domaine de la Sanglière’s 104 acres under vine are perched at the edge of the sea, and that saline-ness, an ethereal wafting, beachy salt air readily translates in this delicate blend of blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Rolle, and Clairette. The fruit, something like apricot or peach skin hover at deeper layers till the […]
Domaine de la Sanglière la Riviera Côtes De Provence Rosé 2015
Fragrant, very ripe cantaloupe flesh and some of the skin as well, co-mingling with a bit of papaya followed by wafting mineral notes of sea foam and salt. It’s quite lean on the palate, with minimal fruit—I’d like to see a bit more fullness, more fleshiness, to balance the high-toned acidity in this salmon-hued Côtes […]