Vanessa

9.4

Cheers to a sparkling weekend!

We’re launching into it with this beautiful bottle of grower bubbly produced by H. Goutorbe with 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay hailing from estate vineyards of Aÿ, a coveted terroir in the Grande Vallée de la Marne.

This “Special Club” cuvée comes exclusively from the warm 2015 vintage, which faced hydric stress and drought conditions.

For producers like H. Goutorbe, the vintage yielded fabulously ripe grapes lending supple, plush qualities to their expression in the glass.

The concentration of fleshy fruit character matches well with Goutorbe’s extensive lees aging over the course of many months, finally disgorged in October, 2024 with a Brut level of dosage.

The mousse and mouthfeel are creamy and fine with layers of honeycrisp apple, ripe white peach, mango peel, kumquat, lemon curd, oyster shell, piece crust, brioche, toasted almond, nougat, and chalk. — 4 days ago

with Deked1

Sharona

9.5

At Wolf by Vanderpump with the Palomino Supper Club, July 10, 2026 — 3 months ago

Shay A

9.5

94-95

A grower champagne I always enjoy, but I’ve not had their special club offering with this much age before. I’ve been missing out! A stunner!

54% Cramant, 31% Chouilly (both Grand Crus), with 15% Cuis (Premier Cru); all old vines. Disgorged July 2012; 6g/l dosage

This may be an example of hitting lightening in a bottle, but this caught me (and others I was with) totally off-guard at how youthful it was…and more importantly, how unbelievably good it was. Channeling an oxidative flair at this point in its evolution, this scratched the itch for creamy, powerful, golden champagne. Autolysis on full display (in the best way) with lemon scone, honey roasted cashews, spiced pears aromatically. Honeyed graham crackers, lemon cream, Biscotti cookie, kiss of ginger and plenty of chalky limestone grit toward the finish (but the sweet autolysis lengthens it out beautifully). For me, this tasted like this was the exact right day to catch this wine at peak.

I wish I had a case of these. — 3 months ago

romo

9.2

Gained sweetness w air. - at Archer — 5 months ago

Tobin Spratte

9.4

Bananas foster, Christmas fruitcake, with balanced gun smoke aromas. Much fruitier and more concentrated than the Warres. Fantastic. — 9 months ago

Ed Chin

9.2

Bruised apples and bread that was just fabulously balanced by the acidity. I would have scored higher if the bubbles were more present. — 2 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.3

Broke out one of my cellared Raffaults for my homeboy who graced me with a home cooked Tuscan styled flank steak w rosemary & arugula, as well as Israeli cous cous w chickpeas, charred tomatoes, feta, & herbs. Light Cadmium red hued & strong color though ( good cork- not a guarantee w Raffault!); dense Hibiscus, fresh raspberry & some bramble on nose; on palate very clean & smooth mouthfeel, with the initial flavors repeated but a deeper blend of red fruits & a stronger presence of under brush. Super fresh & integrated. Elegant, & the Burgundy echo was hard to ignore. Not Uber complex but not monolithic either, which this line of Raffault can be in its youth ( or as it ages). Very impressive, & accessible now. Curious how my ‘02 & 07s will fare… — 2 years ago

with Owen

"Odedi"

9.1

Pale lemon in color.

Strong nose and medium in body with medium plus acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity, and medium plus size bubbles.

Showing limes, lemons, green apples, light earth, yeast, herbs, light brioche and minerals.

Nice finish with limes and light marzipan notes.

This is a very tasty 10 year old Champagne. Rich and fresh tasting. Complex and interesting.

Still very young, and needs 5 years in the bottle to mature properly. Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

Easy drinking, nicely balanced and better after 45 minutes of airtime.

Good by itself or with food.

A blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Aged for 6 years on the lees. Disgorged in 2023.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$130. — 17 days ago

Garen Staglin

9.4

Chewy and wonderful. — 18 days ago

romo

9.1

An improvement over the CH cuvee, darker and more focused with less of everything which in the end makes more. - at LBC — 3 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

[8 hour decant] This is from a very fine lot of 1977 Graham’s I purchased in the mid-to-late 1990s from a small Napa importer, and is at the level of the 1977 Fonseca we drank last week, sweet, nice weight and balance, long, lingering finish, very nice!! — 4 months ago

with Jim

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.9

Perhaps, the best 2007 Napa Cabernet I’ve had or can remember. From the first sip, it was a shut the front door moment.

The nose showed; dark cassis, blackberries, black, raspberries, dark cherries, and both plums. Dark chocolate to pudding, flowers that were dark, red, blue, wrapped in violets, caramel, softly, layered baking, spices, soft, cedar, leather, tobacco with ash, dark, cola and a circling sense of baking powder.

The palate showed me just how beautiful Cabernet fruits can be. A true example of perfectly ripe fruit, picked at exactly the right time. Beautiful, gorgeous blackberries, black, raspberries, dark cherries and black plums. An excellent barrel toast that created perfectly soft and layered baking spices, clays, wood shavings, leather cigar box with ash, perfect tannins that are M+ and sticky, soft, dry herbs, hints of mint, steep tea, withering, red blue florals w/violets, perfect acidity, excellently, knitted, softly structured, tension, balance for days and an amazing finish that goes on endlessly.

If there is one thing I learned tasting 6 Harlan’s is Bob Levy is one of the very best, if not thee best at managing Cabernet/Bordeaux blend tannins.

Tasting with Winemaker- Bob Levy & Managing Director-Don Weaver. — 6 months ago

Christian Fischer

9.1

Very young. Still somewhat unstructured and tannins that need to mellow. But good potential. — 2 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.1

Dark fruit, some spice, some chocolate. Only medium-sweet on the palate and even dryer towards the elegant and lingering finish. I like that!
— 15 days ago

Vanessa

9.3

😍 Marc Hébrart’s Special Club 2019 is one of those bottles that reminds us why we fell in love with “grower champagne” in the first place.
 
💯 It’s generous without being heavy. Structured without being stern. A masterclass in elegance, energy, and purity, not to mention it’s utterly delicious even in relative youth.

🍇 Pinot Noir plays a lead role in this particular cuvée joined by Chardonnay for extra lift and brightness. The grapes hail from the Premier and Grand Cru villages of Louvois, Chouilly, & Mareuil-sur-Ay.

⚖️ After 36 months aging sur lie, this wine was disgorged and bottled with a “brut” dosage, which melds a soft energy into its steely profile, creating balance and tension.
  — a month ago

with Deked1

Suneal Vishnupad

9.7

Really excellent. Side by side w/ second flight. Both 2007s — 4 months ago

with Kimberly and Kayla

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.3

One of the best 1er champs for the $. Best to get off the wagon too. — 5 months ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.5

40 y old | Tawny port heaven — 6 months ago

Doug Powers

9.5

Fabulous vintage Champagne, tight bubbles, moderately rich but super long finish, excellent!! — a year ago

with Jim

Yoly Sardinas

9.5

Dinner at the Villa w The peeps from Mass. and chef Enzo — 2 years ago