Tam Chambers

9.5

Work flow in Boston — 4 months ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.4

The 2021 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) is such a beautiful wine. The appellation Pinot is often one of my favorite wines in this range, as it is again this year. The purity and exuberance of this fruit is compelling. Floral and savory nuances develop in the glass, but earlier bottling and a bit less whole cluster influence work well to accentuate the textural presence and intensity of the fruit. This is such a gorgeous wine. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, September 2023)
— 9 months ago

S Wood

9.3

Brush my teeth with syrah garnacha — 2 years ago

Jerry Mimus

9.0

Beautiful blend. Can't go wrong for the money — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Brought to Au Courant from our cellar to celebrate our daughter’s 15th birthday. As far as I can tell, 2009 was the first commercially available vintage of Thibault’s foray into Moulin-a-Vent so this was fun to try since I’ve been a big fan of his work there.

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service. The 2009 VV pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium viscosity and some light staining of the tears. There were some signs of sediment but most had been decanted off. On the nose, the wine is…well…pretty wild with notes of horse blanket and there’s just a touch of varnish in there too. For me, it’s teetering on the edge of, “is this charming or is this overbearing”? However, since there was more there than just a cow pasture and I don’t get any gerbil cage, I’ll leave this in the “charming” camp but I digress…back to the notes from the nose. The wine is developing, with dark crunchy berries, dark cherries, sandalwood...some pepper, some leather and light notes of potting soil. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. The first glass showed a touch of effervescence like there could have been a slight refermentation in the bottle. Confirming the notes from the nose though it seems cleaner on the palate with some granite minerals on the finish. Interesting, it’s almost like this was semi-carbonic but as far as I know, Thibault has been making these wines using the same methods as he does his GC wines in Nuits-Saint-Georges so I don’t know. And this is why I like this wine. It’s making me think...and it’s been enjoyable throughout the meal, working particularly well with our strip steak. Yum! A really fun wine for those that enjoy something a little more rustic. That being said, I know it wouldn’t have pleased everyone. There is plenty of gas left in the tank and while this drinks very well now, I would expect that this will continue to drink well through 2029 with ease. — 6 months ago

Byron C Mayes

9.1

Pale straw gold with silver highlights. Somewhat shy nose of underripe Fuji apple and Asian pear. Firm acidity leads the smoky/flinty light-bodied palate of underripe pome fruit and citrus rind. Remarkably long (8-9 secs) palate cleansing finish. Merciful saints! This is the entry level wine from the Dagueneau portfolio and it makes you want to go higher! Food is, of course, its friend, but if you’re into “sipping culture” this will work for you as well. Seafood (cooked or sushi) is a particularly fine pair, naturally. Drink now through 2027. — 3 years ago

Ryan Kravitz

10

yeah this fantastic!! cherry dirt dark foliage bark root — 9 months ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.6

Fabulous. Ripe chardonnay coursed by saline/mineral & buttressing acid. Aromatics on point. At once rich and refreshing. Beautiful work. — a year ago

with Alsu

Jim McCusker

9.3

From Kevin Carriker (used to work with Mark Herold for the early vintages - not sure about these later ones). Excellent Napa cab that went great with grilled filet mignon. Could easily improve in the bottle for a few more years. Not the best incarnation of Kobalt that I’ve had, but it’s still very good. — 3 years ago

with Vanessa

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Masi was in the forefront of the work to identify the historic "cru" vineyard sites for Amarone. The ‘15 is a big rich powerful wine. Deep Ruby, aromas of ripe dark fruits, floral and tobacco spice notes. On the palate ripe blackberry flavors, dried plum and licorice with cacao and espresso spice. Rich soft tannins, long finish, well balanced ending with nutty toasty spice. Very Nice. Good now but has plenty of aging room! A joy! — 3 years ago