2/18/2024 - Floral wrote:

A good wine. First time with this bottling. It's a fun, slightly puckering event that holds promise for those with patience. This could be 90 in the future.

Agree with Oldwines comment below - this should be left in cellar for now, check back no sooner than 2026. Unless - you have the food to match..

Opens with movie theater popcorn, spice muffin, key lime, and dough. mouth follows with a bit more

Acid is strong. reduction strong. alchool 13%, but I feel a touch more.

Mid palate weak. finish and mid-field + complexity are lacking.

8/15/2023 - Bob H wrote:

I opened this because I had seen a post on IG where there was a concern about volatile acidity. I'm not getting that today, so not sure if this is just a case of bottle variation.

This is already open and enjoyable. My one word of caution here is that this is a big, ripe wine (14.5% alcohol per the label). In that regard, it reminds me of Stella's 2015 Brunello, which I tried back in March. So maybe this settles down with some additional time in the bottle, but right now it is featuring some in your face fruit. This is a single vineyard wine from the La Curva vineyard.

12/31/2023 - Bob H wrote:

Disgorged 6/22.

Dry and crisp - pleasant enough, and it would serve well as a welcoming Champagne/palate cleanser before dinner.

12/9/2023 - Bob H wrote:

I like this - tart white fruit, good acidity. As I recall, pretty reasonably priced as well.

11/16/2023 - Bob H wrote:

I really like this - taut and energetic on the palate, with a little bruised apple fruit on the nose. Disgorged 1/21.

9/23/2023 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

Lot 10.155 with 50% Riserva blended in. Popped and poured with a pizza last night. While this did become more nuanced over a couple of hours, it was singing right from the start. A mix of red and black fruits with some licorice accents. There is plenty of fruit, but it is balanced with acidity and still plenty of tannin. Really drinking nicely. I am bummed that I only have one bottle left. I wish it was a case. I paid $27 for these and what a deal that was!

10/7/2023 - Outplaying Does not like this wine:

This was awful. Given the price I see, this was probably not meant to be consumed 15 years after the vintage, but still. Sweet fruit juice, no structure, modern glass closure. It is a shame they are allowed to put Montalcino on the front label. While it is not, and does not say Brunello, wines like this do harm to the region in my opinion.

8/19/2023 - Bob H wrote:

Lovely focused nose with a slight reductive note. Full-bodied on the palate with a little youthful astringency. Good length on the finish. Barraud is generally my standard when it comes to Sur La Roche but I have to admit that this is very good.

8/17/2023 - Bob H wrote:

I have already gone through half a case of this and just realized I hadn't posted a note yet. I am still relatively new to Audoin's wines, as the 2019 vintage was the first time I tried one of his rose's, but in that short time frame, he has become one of my annual case purchases, on a par with Boulay and Pibarnon when it comes to French rose'.

This has a pretty, citrus-inflected nose, and is lighter-bodied with good acidity on the palate. The kind of wine you don't feel guilty chugging - at least I don't ;^)

8/10/2023 - Bob H wrote:

I had the 2004 and 2010 earlier this week - but this wine is really in the zone right now. Simply delicious - and as crazy as this may sound, this feels like it might have the potential for further improvement. Always difficult to make judgments based on a single bottle, but this is the best Produttori I've had this week by a considerable margin. I am pretty happy to have more in the cellar.

8/6/2023 - Bob H wrote:

So here's something strange that I just noticed in the CT stats - I am the only person so far who has posted a TN on this wine. 64 bottles consumed, and I'm the only person posting notes? C'mon, people!

At any rate, this wine has been pretty consistent since it's release - lighter-bodied for Chardonnay, and no reductive scents on the nose. Tart white fruit on the palate - it's about 87 here today and humid, and this wine pairs well with that kind of heat. This is the type of Chardonnay that drinks fine on it's own, but would also pair nicely with fish, scallops and salad.

In addition, while this is a lighter-bodied Chardonnay, I think this has plenty of time in front of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was still drinking well in 2029, although my personal stash might not last that long.

5/24/2023 - fussyeater wrote:

Ian's Piemonte Celebration Dinner: Curiously the colour looks a bit more evolved than the 1996s. Menthol on the nose and lavender. Medium to full bodied and seems more spicy on the palate with slightly cloying tannins. I found it lacked the balance and charm of the 1996s although perhaps I should have been more patient.

4/16/2023 - Bob H wrote:

Wow, is this delicious today! I first tried this wine at at a tasting hosted by Rob Panzer at the now-closed Bibou restaurant in 2017 - pairing up Burklin-Wolf's 2014 & 2015 vintages with Pierre Calmels cooking was magical.

And it surprises me that I've never posted a TN on this wine, because this is my next to last bottle. Medium weight for a Riesling, with great persistence on the finish. Slate & apple on the nose, lively acidity on the palate - this is firing on all cylinders.

3/5/2023 - bdisk1235 Likes this wine:

Walter Scott 2021 Vintage Zoom Tasting: My WOTN. Green apple and citrus with a crisp, round taste. Extremely nuanced and soft, with sauvignon blanc-like qualities. Like the Freedom Hill, seemed to almost border on bubbles. The Mrs. didn’t appreciate my freshly cut garden-hose analogy. Only got better with time in the glass and had a finish that lasted forever. I could drink this everyday.

3/29/2023 - Bob H wrote:

As we approach this wine's 20th birthday, no signs whatsoever of any fatigue. Gorgeous red fruit & menthol on the nose, tart red fruit and good acidity on the palate and just a pleasure to drink.

3/14/2023 - Bob H wrote:

Just had a glass of the 2016 Carema Riserva, and I thought it would be interesting to try these side-by-side. These wines are cut from the same cloth, although the sweet & sour cherry fruit that was so prominent on the '16 Riserva is not as noticeable here. This wine strikes me as more complex on the pop & pour, but we'll see how they evolve in a couple hours when paired up with some food.

1/20/2023 - sleepyhaus wrote:

Drinking well, steady as she goes. Still a rather big and ripe pinot, at least by Patty Green standards, in keeping with the vintage. For that though, a fairly complex and quite enjoyable wine. I didn't notice the glycerine mouthfeel I'd previously found in this wine, so perhaps time has brought better integration. Drinking really well right now. At peak? Perhaps, but I suspect it will drink well in another 5-10 years. Three bottles left.

1/19/2023 - Pinot_Geek Likes this wine:

Zippy lemon leads the charge, followed by a touch of perfumed peach and a drying, lip-smacking finish. For me this had a notably oily-unctuous mouthfeel, yet paradoxically it was not heavy at all (Burghound’s “density” I guess). 13% Alc.

Great stuff and likely to develop and improve with time.
Tasty white Burg from Marsannay? Who knew?! Audoin continues to impress.

8/31/2022 - Stanrocks Likes this wine:

Let s be honest not a 93 or more pointer there

I had a Chablis from 2020 alongside and it has not the crisp or zing the Chablis shows ! Nice ripe aromas of butter, ripe stone fruits, honey or bee wax

Palate is pretty fat actually and full and buttery, great chardonnay from a sunny or ripe area !

have to try it again in other conditions, but it shows well that 2019 in the trilogy of 2018 and 2020 of warm vintages is the less balanced to me

12/11/2022 - Bob H wrote:

My first time trying the new vintage, and I’m not loving this. A little too citric and it kind of falls off in the mid-palate. Feels a little tied down as well, so maybe I just need to let my other bottles rest for a bit before checking out another one. I know this will sound strange, but at this point I like the ‘21 Normale better.

11/16/2022 - Bob H wrote:

Really drinking well tonight - seamless and expansive on the palate, with red and black fruit. I have more of this in the cellar, but it’s hard to imagine it will get any better.

5/14/2022 - Outplaying wrote:

This needed some time in a decanter to open up. Some earthy and menthol accents. Perhaps a hint of Brett. A little less concentrated than I was expecting, but this was nice and interesting.

8/28/2022 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

Consumed at a Durant tasting along with Morgen Long, Kelley Fox and Patricia Green wines from mostly the 17, 18, and 19 vintages. This stuck out as one of my favorites due to the acidity, minerality, brightness and fruit leaning towards the citrusy side. Very good. Actually, all the Goodfellow wines were.

8/6/2022 - Bob H wrote:

For whatever reason, this tends to be a forgotten vintage when it comes to my Produttori wines - I just seldom feel the urge to pull a bottle. And with the caveat that this is admittedly stiff competition, on opening this is also my least favorite wine of the quartet.

One of the strange things about this wine (and something that might be difficult to discern if I wasn't drinking the wines side-by-side) is that this wine comes off as the least elegant wine of the foursome - it is definitely not "light on it's feet" when it comes to palate presence.

Maybe I'll like it better with food, but at the outset this is clearly the 4th horse in the race.

7/27/2022 - Bob H wrote:

Very nice. To be honest, I had stopped buying the Chidaine wines when I experienced quite a bit of bottle variation in both the 2014 and 2016 vintages, and I won't say that one good bottle gets me back "in the fold", but this is what I remember liking about these wines.

Medium-bodied and expansive on the palate, dry with good persistence through the finish - just a real pleasure to drink.

7/22/2022 - Bob H wrote:

This bottle illustrates what I like most about Chianti - this is clearly a young wine that will get better (and IMO, much better) with additional time in the bottle, and yet even as a youngster in an awkward period of development, this still is quite pleasurable with a slice of pizza.

The nose is reticent - it's here where the wine really betrays it's youth, with hints of black & red fruits. The red fruit becomes more prominent on the palate, with good acidity. This is a top notch example of a Chianti from a strong vintage.

6/1/2022 - Outplaying wrote:

What a deal this was. So delicious. Not much to add to my previous notes except that I didn’t buy enough!

5/3/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Seems like a really solidly constructed wine, but it's completely closed down. Either decant for a long time, or let it sleep for a few years.

3/25/2022 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine:

1982 Bordeaux + some Pirates (Restaurant Brunnenstube, Beinstein): Deep, youthful ruby color. Deep and complex nose, pencil shavings, tobacco, stems. Really beautiful.
On the palate very fresh and young. Fantastic acidity, great texture and structure. Still a lot of cassis, spices and herbs. Wonderful complex and deep. Very long and lingering. My WOTN! 95-96

3/3/2022 - Bob H wrote:

Another wine that I had opened at the DiFara tasting on Tuesday - a number of the tasters, including Jay Miller, Brent Clayton and my wife and I, all preferred this wine to the Ovello from 2001.

And this is still drinking well today, but with tonight’s bottle of Ovello performing “to standard”, the hierarchy one would expect has been reaffirmed.

Still, if you have this in your cellar, this wine is really drinking well, and at 15 years of age has developed secondary nuances and really shows no signs of slowing down 🍷

2/19/2022 - Bob H wrote:

I don't often drink Brovia this young, but I guess if one is going to rob the cradle, doing it with the Normale, as opposed to a single vineyard release, is probably the way to go.

This wine displays ripe cherry fruit and tar on the nose; pretty welcoming on the palate as well, with ripe red and black fruits. Just the slightest bit of tannic astringency on the finish, but this young wine is surprisingly drinkable at this point.

12/20/2021 - wildtrout wrote:

I don’t have time to do a detailed note, but this is one of the best chards I’ve ever had. Medium-bodied and long. Great structure. One odd, but charming, thing about the wine is its aged-Riesling-ness. It’s got a petrol thing going on. I love this wine.

12/10/2021 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

This bottle was very enjoyable, especially with food. Lighter bodied, elegant, and red fruited with mint and licorice accents.

11/14/2021 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

I thought this was pretty good. Tart lemon, with a hint of biscuit. Ann loved it.

10/12/2021 - asparagus Likes this wine:

This was so good. The outstanding wine of the night (took a couple of hours to get going). Such purity of fruit, such a lovely expression of the noble Sangiovese grape. Had to check that I didn't open the Brunello by mistake.

8/1/2021 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

I liked this wine. Quite a bit of fruit, nice balance, and the Vosne spice that I love. Drinking fine now, but this is still young and will likely gain more complexity in time.

8/1/2021 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

Chenin is so distinctive. This one had honeyed notes, and solid acidity to offset the sweetness. This worked well as a lighter styled dessert wine. I liked it.

2/12/2021 - Bob H wrote:

Just picked up a couple more bottles of both this and the '18, and this is as good today as it was when I tried it last year. Chardonnay in a crisp, minerally style, so if you are seeking buttery notes, this is probably not for you. At least IMO, and although I'm not doing it today, these are fun to try side-by-side with the Durant made by Marcus Goodfellow.

7/16/2021 - Outplaying wrote:

Though not very complex, this is very likable, as Bob said. I thought it seemed like a cross between a Pinot Grigio and Verdicchio. Perhaps some unripe peach as it warmed.

6/24/2021 - Bob H wrote:

From a bottle opened last night at dinner.

Another wine that may have gotten lost last night given when I poured it, but this firing on all cylinders right now. Light- to medium-bodied, with great clarity on the palate. You know, for as much as I like the Rancia, I often think that the real "sweet spot" for Felsina in most vintages is the CCR.

6/4/2021 - Outplaying wrote:

Salted popcorn and petrichor accent this lighter bodied wine. This seemed a little lighter and easier going than the last bottle. Very easy to drink and I like the style.

6/3/2021 - Bob H wrote:

My first time trying the new vintage. Taut and energetic on the palate, with good acidity and persistence. Pretty tasty as well 😎. This goes down very easy.

11/7/2020 - Bob H wrote:

Prime drinking right now - really good. Expansive, good persistence, decent acidity, black & red fruits, nice earthiness on the nose - the complete package.

1/20/2021 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

Oh, this is good. Smells nice, with menthol overtones. Lighter bodied, but plenty of fruit, balanced and delicious.

12/31/2020 - Bob H wrote:

This has developed an nice earthy funkiness on the nose - I don't recall that from previous bottles, but I am a fan. Not quite as compelling on the palate, but for the money this is nice.

12/24/2020 - Bob H wrote:

Very nice - and given that this is an entry level wine, quite accessible despite it’s youth. Ripe cherry fruit and menthol on the nose, with a tannic kick on the finish.

12/24/2020 - Bob H wrote:

From magnum.

I hadn’t tried this in over a year and recently read a TN from Outplaying that was different than what I had described in two previous notes (the last being October of 2019).

Based upon what I have in my glass, the wine has put on significant weight over the last year - not to say this is full-bodied by any means, but this has fleshed out and really covers the palate today. I like this much better today than I did last year.

12/8/2020 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

Delicious! Pineapple and grapefruit. Fairly rich, but at the same time not heavy at all. Plenty of acidity to keep it lively. Ann liked it too, and she is not a big SB fan.

12/14/2020 - Bob H wrote:

Might be my last bottle of this from a case I bought on release, and I'll be sorry to see this go, as it has been one of my favorite vintages of this wine. Fully mature, and full-bodied for a white. Sweet & sour white fruit on the palate, dry and expansive with good acidity and persistence. My wife is making boneless Heritage pork chops with white wine, mushrooms and extra sharp cheddar for dinner tonight, and this should make for a great match.

12/13/2020 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

Bright and tart, with some sea water, brine and a little nutty character. Drinking well.