Wine
Roll over: "Floral nose, with fruity aromas enhanced by intense mineral notes and developing lightly smoky touches. Very round on the palate, both full-bodied and refined." - William Fevre
The 2021 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is pure and ethereal, mingling notes of citrus soil, wet stones and white flowers in a youthfully discreet bouquet. Full-bodied, satiny and suave, it's refined and glossy, with racy acids and a saline finish. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Soulful white. Argentina's answer to Montrachet. James Suckling
The nose of the 2020 White Bones Chardonnay is an explosion of thyme and rockrose, aromatic, open, expressive, outspoken, showy and exuberant. It also has notes of white flowers and citrus, pine needles and incense, continuously developing new layers, curry, something smoky, more and more aromatic herbs, nuanced, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back to the glass over and over again. This was harvested all at the same time, whereas it was sometimes harvested over four different moments in the past; so this is a bit different and an extraordinary year for this wine, transcending the conditions of the year, with lower alcohol and pH (12.5% and 3.1) than the 2021, despite coming from a warmer year. This is very tasty and long, stony (more than White Stones!) and very persistent. Amazing juice! 5,760 bottles produced. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Soulful white. Argentina's answer to Montrachet. James Suckling
I had the opportunity to taste two vintages (2020 and 2021) of the top whites side by side and could see the differences of the two years quite clearly, as the wines express the natural conditions of the year quite faithfully. The 2020 White Stones Chardonnay is riper than the other three wines; it's a very good wine, but it shows the warmer year with a rounder mouthfeel, faintly creamy, still a little closed in the nose, which slowly reveals yellow fruit and some spice. The palate is quite gentle, with 13% alcohol and very good balance. 7,500 bottles produced. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Chanson Pere & Fils en Bourgogne (Domaine Chanson) is a wine producer and négociant based in the central Burgundian town of Beaune
Rich and sweet palate entry and then quite firm but in good balance, though there is some toughness on the end at present. Jancis Robinson.com
Roll over: "Charming bouquet with astonishing fruitiness and a good mineral character. The powerful, strongly constituted palate lacks neither elegance nor roundness." - William Fevre
Aromas of orange zest, peach, oyster shells, white flowers and freshly baked bread preface the 2021 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, a full-bodied, layered and textural wine of impressive breadth and depth in this vintage, exhibiting considerable concentration and concluding with a long, electric finish. This will delight Chablis purists. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Hailed as "New Zealand's Lafite" by French Count Jean De St Charles
Fine "old world" wine of first growth quality from a single vineyard planted in the 1970s at Matakana, Northland, New Zealand. The Antipodean -- "New Zealand's Lafite" -- is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec, with harmony, fragrance, length and seamless integration of character.
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Roll over: Weingut Egon Müller is a renowned wine estate based just outside the village of Wiltingen.
The 2021er Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese is a sweet wine made from botrytized fruit. It offers a superb even if still slightly reduced nose
made of bergamot-infused herbs, pineapple, ginger, starfruit, white peach, pear, and a hint of apricot blossom. The wine proves beautifully filigreed
yet packed with fruity-driven flavors on the palate. It leaves a pure and ethereal feel in the absolutely stunning finish. This great Auslese has even
some upside potential as it integrates its acidity backbone in the long finish. 2031-2061 95+/100 - Jean Fisch & David Rayer, Mosel Fine Wines
Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.
Chave's 2019 Hermitage Blanc delivers just the merest hint of toasted grain on the nose, accenting green peaches and waves of honeyed richness. It's full-bodied and concentrated but not overdone, with tremendous length and a hint of bitterness on the finish that left me wondering if this wine will need 20 years to show its best, or if it was still suffering a bit from being bottled in July 2021. RP95 Robert Parker.com
In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.
Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.
I tasted five different lots that will be blended into the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, from Péléat, l'Ermite and three parts of Les Rocoules. Full-bodied, honeyed and rich, this should be another outstanding vintage for Chave's white, with the incredible lushness of the bigger wines balanced by the zestiness found at the top of Les Rocoules and the delicacy and freshness of L'Ermite. RP96-98 Robert Parker.com
In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.
