Bruce Dunbar

9.4

My note on a previous bottle was only “excellent” and, now, a few years later in March 2026, I’d say the same, perhaps with an exclamation point. A huge boysenberry nose leaps from the glass, followed by a silky and jammy wine loaded with strawberry compote, minerality and a beautiful funkiness. Tons of depth. One of the best of Turley’s flagship offering and so far my top wine of the year. — 2 months ago

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9.3

The 2001 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is consistent with the bottle tasted in 2018. It leaps from the glass with red fruit, orange blossom and Earl Grey, sprightly though not intense. It is imbued with Christophe Roumier's unerring sense of transparency. The palate is precise and focused, sculpted with the finest chisel in the box, long and tender with exuberant Pinoté on the finish. Just delicious. Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2023) — 3 years ago

Adam Shobert

9.2

Beautiful copper-hued color and a huge, vibrant aroma that leaps out of the glass. Toasty, green apple, fresh pear, even a little stone fruit; full-bodied but good acid to back it all up. Really a beautiful bottle of Champagne! — 4 years ago

Scott Petrus

9.3

This wine leaps out of the glass. Amazing stuff. So consistent. — 5 years ago

Jim Chen

9.0

Bursting bouquet leaps to my odorant binding proteins! — 5 years ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Bit of a bolder expression than I prefer for barbaresco in general, but still a very nice wine - especially with beautifully charred steaks at dear old Keens steakhouse. Lots of cherry leaps from the glass. Tannins with some air balance out, but could certainly bear waiting a few more years at least. Mouth filling with great acid and a nice finish. — 6 years ago

Enrico Marconcini

9.2

Top Rosè that would show at best in years, but it leaps out of the glass now! Intense aromatics, stone fruit with a hint of pepper and some leafiness, but on the palate is med+ body and finishes zippy. I’d love a Tondonia next to it — 6 years ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Very nice nebbiolo. Would be a good candidate for a “house wine” at $30/bottle. Dark cherry leaps from the glass. Classic brick nebbiolo color. Smooth and earthy with balanced acid on the finish. Just a very nice wine. — 6 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.3

How do I say it with grace, poise, and within the bounds of decorum… The Dundee Hills of Oregon are calling to me. In speaking with my work-make Tommy, who has lived in Oregon and has proven to be a more than reliable source of insight concerning every & anything from Oregon: the Dundee Hills have me. Hell I think he’s warned me more than once about their playful nature yet their powerful foundations… add the 2023 Artberry Maresh ‘Dundee Hills” Pinot Noir out of the Willametter Valley to it all. From the start, the ruby color is mesmerising. The nose seems to wake up with every instance of dropping my own within it. The palate is mildly chewy and lush. As it warms in the glass and starts to tell of its true nature, deep notes of hibiscus and bramble-berry that only expand ring true. — 5 months ago

with Beth

David Kline

9.3

Underripe pineapple nose shows lemon zest, steely lime, ethereal jasmine, cool grapefruit, green pear, pea purée. Zesty lemon leaps from the glass and races along the palate, finishes lime and key lime, with a mineral oscillation. Chalky and refreshing simultaneously. Very satisfying dance of exotic starfruit and yellow pear tomato. Ginger and grapefruit build to a crescendo on an refreshingly buoyed, boisterous conclusion.


#phillipegonet #champagnephillipegonet #champagne #bubbles #alesmesnilsuroger #mesnil #mesnilsuroger #brut #blancdeblancs #champagnephillipegonetsignature — 4 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Every once in a while I get a craving for a Ruche, so I’m lucky I had this one in the cellar, because they’re hard to find. This is really nice in a relatively lighter style. Nose leaps out of the glass with crunchy, pungent dark berry, a purple floral note, and bit of pink grapefruit rind. There a unique rock dust note too. Fluid in texture and lighter in style, the cleansing grapefruit rind notes predominate on the palate. A nice lightly bitter note on the clingy finish. — 5 years ago

Joseph LaPanna

9.5

A deep golden straw color leaps from the glass with heady aromas of apricots, white peaches, dried pineapple, lilacs, vanilla, clove and a touch of flint. Densely packed, round and seamless on the palate the wine is stuffed with an array of stone and tropical fruits crossed with a racy acidity and an über long finish! — 5 years ago

Byron C Mayes

8.9

Pale yellow gold in the glass. Grapefruit leaps from the glass to the nose, followed by shades of lemongrass. Palate is light in body and echoes the nose with firm acidity and a medium dark anise and mineral finish that moves forward as it opens up. Sauvignon Gris leads this Sauvignon blend with the Blanc playing backup giving it a more Sud-Ouest than Bordeaux Blanc feel. Fans of the brighter yet darker style will really enjoy. And all will enjoy with seafood or rich casseroles or cream sauces. Drink now through 2022. — 6 years ago

Aravind A

9.1

The nose is intoxicating: sweet tobacco, cured game, olive brine, sweet blackberry...just leaps out of the glass at you. On the palate, more reserved: fantastic acidity, but density lags a little; in fact, this comes off a little thin to my palate, failing to deliver what the nose promises. The finish remains thin, but is high-toned enough that it seems to work, with finely grained tannin close behind. — 6 years ago

Scott Cowan

9.0

Pinot Noir? From Sancerre?!? Mais, c’est vrai. In the glass: very pretty reds, light at tops, pink-red near sides of the bowl, darkening to a velvety rich dark rouge-noir center bottom of the glass… “La Vie en Rose” nearly leaps out pf the glass. On the nose: fresh paper and new spring acacia leaves. A pack of Marlborough’s still wrapped in plastic wants to announce itself at the end of a deep sniff. Ahhh, there it is—the spring cherries of a light pinot dance forth over the lips… en point…and plier mid-palate to let roll in lush cherry juice—just a little tart-sweet and delightfully bright… Edith Piaf coloratura leads to French Oak-inflected vanilla on a pillow-soft finish…oh!
A lingering finish at that—extra points, thank you! — 2 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

Talk about a singular expression of Pinot Noir. A pale gold coloring with effusive creaminess and a nice stream of very small bubbles. The aromas are a bit muted upon opening with just a bit of apple goodness to start the show. But let it sit for a while in a larger bowl and you’ll be rewarded. Warm cinnamon and crusty bread. Roasted nuts and blackberries all day long. There’s some fresh cherry and plenty salinity to boot.

Single vintage, single varietal, single vineyard. The hallmark of Jerome Coessens. 100% Pinot Noir from the lieu-dit of Largillier. The fruit hails from the plots that he has dubbed Fruit and Flower and that’s amazingly accurate. The amount of yellow fruit and floral notes are just ethereal in nature. The acidity borders on “racy” but instead settles on “zippy” which is just fine.

The attack is one that is quite pointed and full of finesse. It’s a very generous champagne that grows by leaps and bounds over time in the glass. An abundance of red and yellow fruits along with black pepper and dried herbs. Very fruity on the long finish with an added kick of spice. Singular and gorgeous. — 4 years ago

Will Stanley

9.6

A wine that more than lives up to its reputation, this estate Cabernet from Kanonkop in South Africa is a tremendous flag-bearer for the quality of Bordeaux blends (or, as in this case, single varietals) in the Cape - and particularly in that iconic region Stellenbosch.

An exuberant nose that leaps from the glass and features cassis, fig, cinnamon, some garam masala and cigar box, with more than a gentle tug of graphite. A touch of tomato vine completes what is a very harmonious aroma - and quite an austere one at that. It was ten minutes before I took a sip.

The palate is even more giving, after a two hour decant, with incredibly concentrated flavours of red cherry, blackcurrant and plum, and a lovely undercurrent of dark chocolate and vanilla. This is seriously accomplished stuff, with more than enough backbone to age, and a very long finish. I would love to try this in ten years - even five - but only bought the one bottle so that’s a pipe dream. If this was the Médoc, you’d be thrilled. Truly, an astonishingly good wine.

96+ — 5 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

First things first, that color. Supremely unique, exotically eye catching. A scarlet robe with medium intense fine bubbles. The nose is absolutely bursting with red fruit and yeasty aromas. Blood orange, raspberries, and pomegranate leaps from the glass. Mandarin orange and freshly baked bread also show up.

60% Pinot Noir, with 20% of that being still wine explains the color and profile. Creamy and sexy, this is a highly intense champagne with a ton of character. Quite vinous, it’s rich and alluring. Very well balanced with enough complexity and nice acidity.

Juicy on the palate with more ripe red fruit showing off. Just a hint of brioche but strawberries, black cherries, and lingonberry dominate. More blood orange and tangerines mingle with black tea and a drizzle of honey. This is what you’re looking for. Excellent stuff. — 6 years ago

Jim Chen

9.0

Red fruit leaps out on the nose. Decant as usual. Good drinking window in 2020. — 6 years ago

Ed Lehrman

9.4

11 years later and it leaps from the glass. Blackberries, leather and shaved cedar. Great length with just the slightest bitterness on the finish. It’ll do! — 6 years ago