Sami-Odi
Little Wine #12 Syrah
Dragonette Cellars
Black Label Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2022
Copy & paste will not format so excuse the incompetence 👌🏼First time having this one, smells better on day 1 by a smidge tastes better on day 2 . Winery notes 35% Fiddlestix, 35% Radian, 12% Bentrock, 12% Sanford & Benedict, & 6% Rancho La Vina. The blend comes from lots that were 89% destemmed and 11% whole cluster. The wine was aged on its lees for 19 months in French oak barrels (50% new) and bottled unfined & unfiltered. We think it is remarkably expressive for such a dramatically scaled, well structured wine, and its silky texture and impeccable balance will yield a tremendous aging curve. Drink 2026-2038+. — 6 days ago
Domaine de la Bongran
Cuvée Levroutée Viré-Clessé Chardonnay 2017
This exceeded expectations-Notes from retailer We’ve long been fans of Domaine de la Bongran, a curious little estate in Viré-Clessé producing delicious and distinct white Burgundies. Their Cuvée Levroutée is only made in exceptional years, using some botrytised fruit and made in an off-dry style; as with their other wines, it is aged exclusively in stainless steel to allow the terroir to shine. The 2017 is the first release of the cuvée in over a decade, with the previous vintage produced 2006. The fruit comes from specific parcels with marl-rich soils that retain humidity and therefore encourage the development of noble rot, while also producing Chardonnay with a beautiful backbone of acidity.
The 2017, made with around 25% botrytised fruit, is still incredibly young, with the bite of Seville orange pith, honey and richer peach on the nose, leading on to a lush palate that offers a rush of stone fruit, reined in by a line of mineral citrus. The 17g/l residual sugar is beautifully integrated, and zesty notes linger on the long finish, keeping the wine impressively fresh and balanced. Winemaker Gautier Thévenet tells us that within three to five years the wine tends to seem dry, the sugar integrating with the body of the wine and becoming even more complex. Just 4,200 bottles were produced.
Wine Advocate 95 review
The 2017 Viré-Clessé Cuvée Levroutée is now on the market, and it is the first time the Thevent family has been able to produce this cuvée since 2006. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, caramelized pineapple, mandarin, white flowers, pine resin and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and textural, with a layered core, racy acids and appreciable residual sweetness and structural tension, but it's already more integrated and expressive than it was last year, so it appears to be coming into its stride. — 15 days ago
Scarecrow
Monsieur Ètain Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Opened this last night as well since I knew it was day 2 wine.
The Mascot & this M-Etain even on day 2 need Steak 🥩 so I’m doing a quick thaw and Sous Vide & sear. So I probably shouldn’t have scored until I had the beef ready. Oh well, I’ll up the score if my thinking is correct. — 11 days ago
Paul T HB
First vintage of M-Etain.
Aging fantastically, if you opened a decade ago it was too soon. — 21 hours ago