Reviews

Pertois-Lebrun Champagne Grand Cru L'Egoiste

Yeasty, doughy, and frothy, the 2014 L'Egoiste is mostly bread and white fruit that ride high and apéritif-y for most of consumption. Some lemon juice, sea spray, and fondant show up with air, as…

Pertois-Lebrun Champagne Grand Cru Le Fond Du Bateau N°15

Balled up and a little reductive at first, the N°15 presents its white melon rind, lemon meringue, white travertine, and yellow/white pear notes with an initial sternness and higher riding authority.…

Michel Fallon Champagne Brigitte Fallon Avysia Avize

2014 Millesime. Disgorged "02/11/2023" (which is likely November 2nd, but could be February 11th, depending on [among other things] if the sticker on the bottle was from France or in/for direct…

Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

Deep lemon and honey flavors, with touches of toffee and lamp oil. Fairly sherried in profile, with the oxidized notes becoming more pronounced on the finish, this still retains a decent amount of…

Michel Fallon Champagne Brigitte Fallon Avysia Avize

The below note is also posted in the NV section for this wine, but since this was a 2020 base and there is some confusion about determining these bottlings' base vintages, I thought I'd re-post the…

Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet

Linear and focused, and in typical Sauzet fashion, initially quasi-sanitized in its chiseled and clean delivery overall. The purity of fruit and acidity are off the charts awesome, which is where it…

Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

Honeyed lemon and ginger, poached pear, marzipan, almond skin, and light toffee notes sound like a recipe for a buttery and battery delivery, but the flavors stay remarkably fresh and on-point…

Michel Fallon Champagne Brigitte Fallon Avysia Avize

Though this is really just a baby, it is utterly seamless from stem to stern. Soft and round, and at once beautifully energetic and alive, this Fallon presents a perfect exhibition of breadth, poise,…

Adrien Dhondt Champagne Grand Cru Les Potées Le Mesnil-sur-Oger

Bunches of water-sprayed herbs lead the attack, with fresh tarragon, oregano, and mint, encasing the lemon, flint, chalk, yuzu, white melon rind, white/yellow pear, and limestone notes. The striking…

Leclerc Briant Champagne Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Monts Ferrés

Iodine, saline, perfectly ripe lemon and yellow pear, grilled citrus, limestone, and hints of honey, yuzu, and iron provide the foundation for an exquisitely balanced and complex array of flavors.…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

Solid as before (a few years ago). A bit more advanced and ripe with this bottle, but equally as fresh and powerful. As is the case with Valmur, it carries brawn and flex, but no hard edges; drinks…

Claude Cazals Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Clos Cazals

At home, this bottle performs much better than the silly service from the domaine back in July. This is currently best served cold, as it quickly flattens out as temperature rises in the glass. The…

Leclerc Briant Champagne Grand Cru Grand Blanc Brut Zéro Blanc de Blancs

Similar sentiments on this as back in July. Definitely a "grand" entrance type of showing, with broad flavors and a gushing mouthfeel, the warm vintage shows here, but is deftly controlled. Ripe…

Leclerc Briant Champagne Grand Cru Château d'Avize, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Zéro

A ripe red apple flesh flavor dominates the front end of the attack for the first half of consumption. The speed, weight, cadence, and texture are all in point, but that singular apple juice note…

Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Cuvée Prestige Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

Similar to my previous experience at the Domaine in July. This is a fuller and rounder experience, with the 4 g/L dosage often presenting at the front of the yellow pear, lemon, and nougat flavors. A…

Sphaerics Chardonnay on days and nights

While the "if and only if" is busy in beast training mode for the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A., the "on days and nights" is bouncing around and scouting Juilliard and Groundlings, hoping Will Ferrell…

Sphaerics Chardonnay if and only if

So, "if" you told me that I was going to get fervently missile-locked on a Chardonnay from a new producer out of Alexander Valley, who's the next-best hip and fresh thing to come to the wine scene…

Pertois-Lebrun Champagne Grand Cru Derrière le Mont Aigu N°13

Brought to Madcap restaurant in San Anselmo.

Sphaerics Chardonnay overline

Imma make this real easy for you all and, perhaps for the first-ish time in my life, I'll cut to the chase and save you a bunch of verbal acrobatics you have to sift through for me to get to the…

Domaine Nowack Champagne La Tuilerie Extra Brut

Though it initially presents as a little brassy, the Tuilerie starts out with a nice push of red apple flesh, grilled lemon, pineapple rind, wet granite, and bruised yellow pear notes on the front…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Cramant

This initially sachets in with a veil of funk that dances over the fruit expression for the first 10-15 minutes, but then it comes into form rather quickly, offering succulent lemon and mandarin…

Vouette et Sorbée Champagne Blanc d'Argile Brut Nature

So, I started off calling this an off bottle. Stern and clipped. Offered very little/no fruit. No mid-palate expansion or density. Finish was sharp and angular, with a sterile, almost anesthetic…

Doyard Champagne Premier Cru Extra Brut Clos de l'Abbaye

Linear, sterile, barely giving way to any fruit expansion, and slightly vegetal. Air did very little to offer relief from the strait-laced profile. Clipped finish. Drinkable, but not enjoyable. This…

Domaine Darviot-Perrin Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières

A strong petrol note kicks off a reductive and slightly brassy entry, with medium-minus freshness and limited perception of acidic drive. Currently, this seems to be in hibernation in terms of fruit…

Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Le Parc

Once this gets air and has a chance to stretch it legs for a bit (30-45 minutes), it shows beautiful yellow and green pear, lime pith, lemon bars (not sweet), wet travertine, honeydew rind, and hints…