Wine Store

Jeremy’s Notes: A refreshing, tasty white with good balance and intensity. Interesting flavours of pear, grapefruit and peach. Quite a unique item. Great aperitif and accompaniment to fish, shrimp and chicken dishes.

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Jeremy's Notes - As ubiquitous as Chardonnay has become, Burgundy is still its homeland and with good reason.  Terroir matters and Burgundy is all about terroir. This is about as good a value in Burgundian Chardonnay as it is possible to find.  Smooth, elegant, complex and long.

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WA 92 - The oak-aged 2016 I Sistri (100% Chardonnay) opens to a soft golden color with bright luminosity. There is a lot of character and aromatic intensity here, thanks to the optimally ripened quality of fruit. You get warmer tones of peach, pear and apricot, but you also get cooler tones of mint and white almond. Twelve months in oak give this wine a mid-weight feel with toasted flavors and creamy density.

Vinous 88 - The 2016 I Sistri is a pretty wine, with good varietal character in its lightly tropical, citrus and floral notes. This mid-weight, nuanced Chardonnay will drink well for the next few years.

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Wine Spectator 91 - Inviting aromas and flavors of baking spice and pastry give the more submerged notes of apple, peach and honey time to emerge as this white unfolds from start to finish. Opulent and heady, with a succulent finish.

Burghound 88 - Fresh and pretty aromas of green apple, citrus and a wisp of pear introduce round and delicious yet attractively vibrant flavors that flash a subtle minerality on the agreeably saline and dry finish. I like the texture and while this is not especially complex, and there is a hint of warmth, I do like the clean delivery. Note that this could be enjoyed young or held for a few years first.

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CRU/JRM - Old vine Chardonnay with good concentration, intensity and texture. Aromas of green apple, lime zest, lemon and white blossom. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth texture and well balanced acidity.  Very nice stuff.

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Decanter 92 - A blend of 60% Chenin Blanc with equal parts Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc. This has finesse on the palate, freshness and a delicate, persistent mousse. Crisp acidity, with vibrant lemon sherbet characters, but also plush and rounded on the mid-palate. Its complex and long with a pronounced green apple character on the finish, and it will keep.

Wine Enthusiast 90 - A blend of Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay, this is a round, mouthfilling sparkling wine with ripe apple flavors layered with grapefruit acidity and a tight, final texture that is crisp and mineral.

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Wine Spectator - 92: Powerful, wielding its whole-grain bread, nut and graphite aromas and flavours with aplomb. Open rather than dense, despite its weight, richness and well-integrated structure. Fine length leaves you wanting more.

Wine Advocate - 91: The NV Brut Grand Cru is absolutely striking. A big, rich wine, the Brut Grand Cru fills its broad shoulders beautifully, with gorgeous layers of deep, expressive fruit. Sweet floral notes, mint and honey add volume and complexity. The Brut Grand Cru is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, based on the 2009 vintage with the addition of 20% reserve wines. All the elements are in the right place in this superbly crafted wine. Champagne is never inexpensive, but this is easily one of the best wines readers will find in its price range.

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Wine Advocate - 92: Lallement’s NV Brut Grand Cru Cuvee Reserve is cool, implosive and structured, all qualities typical of the 2008 vintage. Sweet floral notes meld into mint, red berries, graphite and crushed rocks. The Reserve is at once rich yet weightless. This edition is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay based on the 2008 vintage with 20% 2009 juice. The low dosage of 4 grams per liter contributes the wine’s tension and energy.

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Wine Advocate 90 - This disgorgement of the NV Cuvée des Moines Brut Rosé is from September 2017 and is (probably) based on the 2014 vintage. The salmon colored wine leads to a delicate, fresh and vinous nose with intense red fruit and floral aromas and a refined chalkiness. It's a bit reductive perhaps but nicely round and fruity on the elegant and refined palate. An excellent cuvée of Pinot Meunier (40%) and equal parts of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

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Wine Spectator 89 - Though rich, a line of juicy acidity runs through this spicy white. Peach, apple, marzipan and orange zest flavors hold court, playing out on the chalky finish. Drink now through 2021.

Vinous 87 - Bright pale yellow. Very ripe aromas of peach, spices, flowers and menthol, with a touch of reduction. Supple, spicy wine with an almost exotic quality to its very ripe stone fruit flavors. A touch aggressive with alcohol in the middle palate but with some balancing sweetness. Finishes with a slightly bitter phenolic edge and decent length.

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Vinous 94 - An intensely mineral-driven wine, the NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Longitude pulses with energy and tension. Partial aging in cask gives the wine much of its texture and slightly burnished quality to the fruit. Dried pear, spice, menthol and licorice are laced into a vinous, textured finish that speaks to crystalline purity and nuance. As the name suggests, the Longitude emerges from a collection of parcels along the same longitude of chalk and limestone soils, in this case Vertus, Cramant and Oger, fermented in a combination of cask and stainless steel. This release is based on 2012, with the addition of 40% reserve wines. Dosage is 4 grams/liter. Disgorged: November 2014.

Wine Spectator 92 - Lithe and graceful, this bright Champagne is refined and chalky in texture, displaying a lovely mesh of ripe apple, apricot, lemon parfait, biscotti and fresh ginger flavors.

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Vinous 92 - The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Latitude 1er Cru is a big, vinous wine. Bold, ample and large on the palate, the Latitude exudes power. Dried apricot, roasted nuts and spices are pushed forward in a rich, creamy wine that reflects the personality of these clay-rich soils on the southern edge of Vertus. With time in the glass, the Latitude gains freshness, volume and intensity.

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Wine Advocate 90 - The NV Triple B (but referred to only as Brut Bio at the time of tasting) is entirely sourced from organically and bio-dynamically farmed vineyards; it blends 50% Pinot Noir with 30% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier. There was no malolactic fermentation here. Very clear and discrete on the nose, with aromas of red apples, lemons and rhubarb, this is a fresh and elegant, lovely, clear and refined Champagne with a very nice purity. Very stimulating and bright.

Maker's Notes - Slightly yellow copper-coloured robe, delicate and dense bubbles

Intense and varied nose of fresh fruit and perfectly ripe. Initial notes of vine peach an

red fruits. Notes of stewed fruit (apple-pear-cinnamon) and crystallised fruit (quince,

mandarin orange). Overall it is complex and smooth. The attack phase is pleasantly

intense with the characteristic elegance of 2013 vintage. Its minerality is in harmony with the terroir and the estate’s viticulture practices. The finish offers a remarkable salinity

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Wine Enthusiast 93 - This limited-edition wine is a blend of grand cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Aged for 10 years in bottle, it is a steely, structured wine that brings sophistication to the white fruits and lively acidity.

Maker's Notes -

Aspect: Deep yellow I Matte gold

Bouquet: Reserved / Opulent / Macadamia nut

Corinth raisins / Zante currants / Smoke and toast

Palate: Rich pastry / Yet racy / Superb length

Assemblage : Chardonnay / Pinot Noir

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Wine Advocate 90 - Disgorged in December 2018, the latest rendition of Besserat de Bellefon's NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée des Moines exhibits a toasty, reductive bouquet of bread dough, smoky citrus rind and green orchard fruit. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and nicely balanced, with a frothy mousse, lively acids and a clean, harmonious finish. This is a well-made Blanc de Blancs that reflects this marque's recent progress.

Maker's Notes - "Sculpted from the rocky soil of its terroir, BB Blanc de Blancs offers

a magnificent chain of creamy bubbles of incredible precision. The nose is intense, mineral and saline, with fresh citrus aromas

intermingling harmoniously with floral notes of honeysuckle and acacia. A finely-honed palate with superb structure and magnificent amplitude. Translucent and pure, citrus and lemon compose a symphony of absolute elegance."

Cédric Thiébault

Cellarmaster, Champagne Besserat de Bellefon.

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Wine Advocate 97 - I’m increasingly convinced that Pierre Larmandier produced Champagne’s wines of the vintage this year, and the 2011 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant only compounds that suspicion. Unfurling in the glass with a deep and complex nose of citrus zest, crisp yellow apples, smoke, warm bread, mandarin oil and oyster shell, it’s full-bodied and fleshy but incisive, with huge concentration, bright acids and a long, intensely saline finish. Totally transcending the reputation of 2011, it has many of the textural properties of a great white Burgundy, married with the cut and chalky grip of Champagne’s Côte de Blancs.

Maker's Notes - This is a Champagne which should be tasted for its own qualities as an aperitif, to accompany poultry with morels, and this cuvée will happily stand its ground with dishes cooked in cream. It must be allowed time to open up, so that you can appreciate its power, complexity and exceptional length. It should be kept for two years (it will gain in depth) and much longer, even, if that’s how you like it.

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