Maurizio Abbà

9.1

William Fèvre started with a small harvest of 7 hectares in 1959. Currently, this domain is among the largest in Chablis, featuring around 15 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards over a total of 78 hectares of crops.

Bougros is a single vineyard of 2.11 hectares on a steep slope on the northern side of the Serein river. Its southern exposure is ideal for the maturation of the grapes at these northern latitudes. The soil, a mixture of gravel and clay, plays a fundamental role in keeping the yield low. 50% of the wine is maturated in French old oak for 6 months.

The color is a wonderful pale yellow, irradiating the tablecloth with light. Leaving an appropriate time to rest, the nose shows complex layers and multiple notes, starting from an initial bouquet of flowers, jasmine and elderflowers, going to citrus, lemon in particular, and ending with the typical notes of wet stone and flint characteristic of the Chablis region. We must also notice some ripened fruit (peach in particular) which looked out of place in this classical, impactful range of flavors.

The taste is full, sappy, medium to full body with low to medium alcohol and medium to high phenolic concentration (thanks to the perfect exposure of the vines). Dry, with high acidity that lingers on the palate for a long time, while herbaceous and flinty notes dominate the aftertaste. No trace of the sweetness that can be found in the nose.

This is an astonishing product, and nothing short from excellence. However, the sweeter notes found in the nose can somehow throw this product slightly out of balance. It's a small spike in the perfect roundness of this product, but nevertheless, a mistake in a wine that is, otherwise, among the finest this region can offer. Ready to drink now. — 6 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

6.7

[Tasted at Event] Underwhelming. There is just not enough in the wine to justify its price (generally higher than other producers nearby). The earthy flavors are lovely, but it just doesn't kick when it should. High acidity should have allowed this wine to age much better, but the ending product is harsh and without any finesse. — 7 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

9.7

An excellent product coming from a difficult year in Chianti region. Thanks to its position, slightly in the inland of Central Italy, allowed Rúfina to have a bit less rain compared to other regions, allowing for better maturation of the grapes. Frescobaldi produced a splendid product, full of fresh fruit, blackcurrent in particular, with slight hints of spices, round acidity and soft tannins. Let it rest for a bit before opening it. Ready to drink in 2018, open it as soon as possible or regret later. — 7 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

8.0

Good quality/price ratio for this sauvignon blanc from Chile. A decent minerality is balanced by notes of fruits (mainly citrus and green apple). It lacks of depth and character, and it won't leave any aftertaste, but it can be considered a better-than-average product for the price class. — 7 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

8.2

Stretching on the southern-most side of the Skaha Lake, in the Okanagan region in BC, Canada, Meyer Family vineyards is specialized in small batch production and single vineyard production from international varieties.

This 2016 Meyer Family Vineyards Chardonnay Tribute Series is 100% Chardonnay. All the juice goes through malolactic fermentation before resting for 11 months in Frenc oak barrels (22% new oak).
Bright, light golden color. The nose is intense and dominated by secondary notes. Vanilla is overwhelmingly dominating the bouquet. On the fruit side, we can get some thin notes of ripe peach and mango, but vanilla and oak are the main characters. On top of that, toast and butter are heavily present, thanks to the 100% malolactic activity. Nuts (walnuts and almond) close the flavor range. The whole concept needs some refinement. It's a rustic profile, and it will require some work to balance fruit and oak characteristics to obtain something more equilibrated.
The wine is full body, with the presence of some residual sugar. Unfortunately, this is not paired with the required dose of acidity, moving the ending result slightly off balance. The aftertaste is dominated by vanilla and walnuts.

This is not a bad wine by itself. It has some potential, but it lacks the aspects of equilibrium and balance that are fundamental to a wine. There is too much cellar work and too few land work. There are no characteristics that are representative of the region or speaking about the grape itself. Everything is covered by a heavy mantle of winemaking techniques hiding anything else. Some time in the vineyard and less time in the cellar may benefit this producer to create higher quality wines without unnecessary heavy work. — 6 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

9.0

an exceptional example of Pouilly fumé. This incredible bottle is sold at a bargain price, making it even more interesting. the nose is clean, powerful and expressive. Asparagus, cucumber, and elderflowers play on the underlining base of flint and gun powder that is characteristic of this AOC. This is just a perfect example of the region, exactly as it should be. The mouth is powerful, dry, with vitalizing acidity. In the end, a wonderful surprise. This wine has a long aftertaste, keeping lingering on the mouth with its floral and revealing some underlining notes of sweetness that were hidden at the beginning. An amazing bottle, at 23 GBP per bottle a clear bargain. Buy it in bulk — 6 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

9.8

An excellent product coming from a difficult year in Chianti region. Thanks to its position, slightly in the inland of Central Italy, allowed Rúfina to have a bit less rain compared to other regions, allowing for better maturation of the grapes. Frescobaldi produced a splendid product, full of fresh fruit, blackcurrent in particular, with slight hints of spices, round acidity and soft tannins. Let it rest for a bit before opening it. Ready to drink in 2018, open it as soon as possible or regret later. — 7 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

9.5

Chateau Carbonnieux is one of the largest estates in Pessac Leognan. It boasts some high profile neighbors, such as Chateau Haut Bailly and Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. The 90 hectares of gravel-based soil is evenly split between red and white.
As it often happened in France, Benedictine monks started planting vines on this land in the 13th century. Perrin family bought the estate in 1956, proceeding to a renovation of the vineyard and the cellar.
This excellent example of white Bordeaux is composed of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon. The vinification is made in barrel, a third of them in new French oak. The wine is left on the lees for ten further months, before being put in bottles.
Beautiful golden color with paler reflexes, young and vivid despite its eight years of slow aging, the first impact on the nose is fresh and green, with prevalent notes of lime and cucumber. Some decanting time reveals floral notes, elderflower, jasmine, ripe peaches, with some bready tones provided by the lees — a very balanced nose with bright flavors.
In the mouth, a beautiful sapid dry wine with high acidity, medium body, medium to high alcohol. The latter is the only spike in an otherwise perfectly rounded taste. Aftertaste reminding citrus and stone fruit.
A great drink, one of the best white wines from Bordeaux in the 20-30£ range. Ready to drink in 8-10 years. — 6 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

9.5

2005 was a challenging year for Tuscany, especially in Montalcino. Several days of raining (especially in March and September) interrupted the ripening of the grapes. Only the best vineyards, with south/south-east exposure, reached maturity. Among them, we can find Greppo, the single vineyard from Biondi-Santi estate. Biondi-Santi is the father of Brunello, the first bottle of one of the Italian flagship wines being bottled by Ferruccio Biondi-Santi in 1888. It is also the first DOCG in Italy. In short, it's history in a glass. We can be safe in assuming that, even in difficult years such as 2005, this producer will extract all the value in the grape.

The color, after 3 years in Slavonian oak casks and 14 years in bottle, is a beautiful garnet red with orange finishing. Beautiful, powerful. The nose starts with the typical notes of Sangiovese, rose, sour cherry, a hint of almonds, while age delivers tertiary flavors such as leather, tobacco, cedar. There are no gamey notes that can be found in older Brunellos slightly over their expiration date, a sign of the ability of the winemaker to make the most out of this difficult year. A subtle hint of vanilla completes the bouquet.
The first sip reveals a powerful acidity (maybe too much), probably a sign of the cold weather, paired with perceptible alcol level and smooth, refined tannins. The balance is almost perfect, alcol and acidity creating a wonderful pair, where mature tannins are able to perform at their best (medium-high acidity, medium alcol, medium-high mature tannins, full body).

The aftertaste is long, pleasant, offering taste of sour cherry and hints of tobacco. Lastly, we find again this subtle note of vanilla.
Biondi-Santi produced less than 40000 bottles in 2005, and we recommend to open them now, as this year is now at its peak. Difficult years require savvy hands to work the grape, and Biondi-Santi is one of the master in the art of winemaking. — 6 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

8.9

Charpentier is a small company part of Vignerons Indépendants founded in 1974 in Villers-sous-Châtillon. The brand was created after the marriage of Jacky Charpentier and Claudine Claisse, both first child of two landowners in the Champagne region.
Most of the vineyards are located on the right side of Marne Valley, on chalk. Pinot Meunier is the main product of the valley. Tradition Brut is the entry level, composed mostly by Meunier, with some traces of pinot noir. Chardonnay, if present, is unnoticeable in the final product.
This tradition brut shows great yellow color with golden notes, with a fine persistent perlage. The nose is based on flowers and fruits, starting from citric and expanding to sweeter notes with time. A delicious touch of apricot and candied oranges complete the bouquet. Very pleasant taste, full-bodied and with a prolonged aftertaste. The acidity we found in the nose is confirmed in the sip. A very good pairing with food, we used it as an all-around appetizer and it managed to pair well even with raw fish. — 7 years ago