CailenRachel

9.0

Unorthodox and weird, but also very very good! — 4 months ago

Jakub Kalinowski

8.9

Big, sweet, fruit forward nose with ripe blueberries, sweet cherries, dried lavender & herbs. Plus a peppery whiff. Unabashedly Southern Rhône yet with nice purity. Maybe a touch technical, but no rusticity here. Cool & fresh.
On the palate beautifully balanced, fresh and juicy, dark fruit with a bramble mineral backdrop. The 15% alc unnoticeable.
85% Grenache from CdP, cuvée of multiple vintages.
Unorthodox yet so nice & highly drinkable. — 2 years ago

Brian Ager

9.2

This is a rosé that truly improves with a short decant and once it warms up slightly.  Once giving it a chance to open up the nose is quite complex with watermelon, crushed slate & hint of a forthcoming salinity. Med-full bodied palate in true Tavel fashion with tart cherry & raspberry upfront with a lively acidity and saline & chalky minerality in the finish. An unorthodox but excellent pairing with homemade chili!  [8/24/21] — 3 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.0

Dirty, dusty red fruit - red currant, raspberry, rose hip, but also a whiff of blood orange with a mineral core underneath, fresh & slightly funky.
Bone dry on the palate, with persistent bubbles, juicy fruit and a slight touch of tannins. The irony, bloody character of Baga shines through.
Unorthodox, delicious stuff. Brilliant with food. — 3 years ago

Sharon B

9.2

Acidic at first, much better on the second night. — 9 months ago

John Tan

9.5

Changwen’s.

Sweetly ripe black fruits in the nose of the Ponsot 2006 Clos de La Roche Cuvee Vieilles Vignes prepare the way for a more succulently, generously sweet fruit, plush texture, and generally sunny disposition than that presented by the corresponding Clos St.-Denis. Ripe cherry and red currant flood the creamy, silken palate with sweetness, while some of the same notes of citrus oil, floral perfume (here iris), and peat as exhibited in the Clos St.-Denis swirl about, too. Saline, chalky suggestions help offer contrast and a sounding board to the fruit, and this finishes with exhilarating lift, riveting interplay, and phenomenal length. Here is a combination of textural allure and backbone for which velvet gloves and iron fists seem inappropriately mundane – not merely archaic – metaphors. Blind – I must confess (and did, to Ponsot) – that I would more likely have guessed this to be Musigny than Clos de la Roche. In an extreme instance of a phenomenon shared by many of the best 2006s, I find this irresistible now; find it hard to imagine its having ornery or sulking phases; yet expect it will be worth following for 20 years. Picking chez Ponsot began predictably late – on September 27 – and lasted until October 5. As might have been expected, Laurent Ponsot acted rigorously in the vineyards in the immediate aftermath of hail and eventually on the sorting table (overseen, he notes, by an especially meticulous team of three young women) to insure that any effects were minimized. (For some notes on the often unorthodox methods Ponsot employs, readers should consult my report in issue 170.) — 3 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.3

Smokey, salty devoid of any fruit with salty pebbles, toasted pistachios, raindrops on a hot pavement. Edgy, austere, spicy. Escaping any set standard.
Defined by brilliant acidity on the palate, with saltiness, a bit of beeswax, sourdough complexity.
Blind I guessed Santorini or Etna.
A remarkable, unorthodox wine. — 3 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.2

Made in an unorthodox style with a secondary ferment - wow so unusual — a year ago

Jakub Kalinowski

8.9

Cloudy pale yellow, v. expressive & aromatic but not on the fruit side.
Summer meadow, dried grass, bruised apples, fresh Mandarine peel. Funky, wild, so fresh & juicy!
On the palate this is equally funky, a bit cidery yet has brilliant balance. Great flow & energy, a touch of tannins, a spicy finish.
Definitely unorthodox yet sooo drinkable. The Seckinger brothers have done it again!
Love it or hate it! — 2 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

Everything about this champagne is distinct and dare I say it, special. Really pretty in the glass with an initial burst of fine bubbles. Green apples show on the nose upfront but soon transforms into a pretty unique combination of oak, smoke, and ginger. Stone fruits and roasted nuts. A faint hint of really nice red fruit with more time in the glass. Really unique and fun.

Biodynamic and truly natural champagne. Single year, single plot, single varietal. 100% Aube Pinot Noir and no dosage so the terroir of the Les Cognaux plot speaks clearly here. Zippy acidity and oh so refreshing. The balance is perfect, absolutely spot on. Disgorged in October of 2019 from the 2017 vintage.

So energetic and lively. There’s an initial burst of orchard fruit on the tongue which the racy acidity balances nicely. Toasted bread and herbs along with spice and minerality. Chalk and raspberries. Impressive length. One of the most unorthodox champagnes I’ve had and I am definitely here for it.
— 3 years ago