NV Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Brut Reserve, Austria, Wine Review

Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-

Disgorged March 2022.  A blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Grüner Veltliner.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  A nice mousse of small bubbles.  On the nose, light toast, hay, chalk and some apricot.  Frothy.  On the palate, crisp with nice peach notes.  What seems like just a hint of sweetness.  Minerality.  Some depth.  Long finish.  This is refreshing and very food friendly.  Drink over the next few years.  This would be a great wine to sit with a bowl of (buttered) popcorn and watch a really good movie.  

2006 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare, France, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2006
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$165.00USD

This is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir.  Straw gold in color.  A steady bead of tiny bubbles.  The nose is nice with apples, slight peach, spice and a bit of baked bread.  Full bodied.  Firm structure at age 16.  On the palate, red fuji apple, some green apples, some salinity and minerality.  Lots of depth, it unwinds in the glass to show a delicious complexity.  Long, tart finish.  This wine drinks beautifully on its own and will work well with just about any food.  Fried foods would be perfect.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

NV Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvée Prestige Brut, Italy, Lombardy, Wine Review

Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$32.00USD

Beautiful sparkling wine from the north center of Italy.  It is a blend of 75% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco, and 15% Pinot Nero.  Light golden in color with a steady stream of tiny bubbles.  The nose has red apples, minerals and slight toast.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has a slight oxidative note along with apples and slight toast.  A nice backbone of acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own but will work well with a wide variety of food.  Everything from popcorn to fried, spicy chicken.  Long finish.  It will compete with everything in its price category from Champagne.

NV Pierre Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé, France, Wine Review

Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$48.00USD

This is made from 75% Le Mesnil Chardonnay blended with 25% Pinot Noir from Grand Cru vineyards in Ambonnay. 8 g/L dosage.  Copper with slight pink notes in color, clear, bright and with a moderate amount of small bubbles.  The nose is delicate but persistent with strawberries and slight cherries.  Plenty of minerality.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, strawberries and black cherries with lots of minerality.  Tart, especially on the finish.  Very food friendly, this would work well with fried chicken or popcorn, too.  Drink within five years of purchase.  

NV Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve, France, Wine Review

Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$44.00USD

Light golden in color, clear and bright with a steady stream of small bubbles.  Very nice nose with some citrus (tangerine?), a hint of ginger, plenty of toast and slight CO2.  Full bodied.  On the palate, plenty of minerals with slight tangerine.  Lots of depth.  Long finish.  This drinks very well and is very food friendly.  It is should probably be consumed within three to five years of purchase.

2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne Plentitude 2, France, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2002
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$430.00USD

Spectacular Champagne.  The P2 series is held back for almost 15 years before being released.  This one is from the excellent 2002 vintage.  The extra time has served to make this a bit fuller and rounder but with all the verve of the original release.  Golden in color with some green hues.  A lovely stream of tiny bubbles in the fluted glass.  On the nose, this is smoky with lemons, salinity and spice (ground coriander?).  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is incredibly smooth and seamless.  Deep.  Notes of lemons, limes, smoke and salinity.  Great balance.  Incredibly long finish.  And, d

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé, France, Champagne, Wine Review

Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$75.00USD

Tasted from Magnum.  Great showing.  In the world of semi-affordable Champagne, this is one of the top Rose's.  Ruby/copper in color, clear and bright.  A steady steam of tiny bubbles form a pretty mousse.  The nose has strawberries, slight orange peel and just a hint of currants.  Medium bodied.  Nice acidity.  Fresh and clean.  On the palate, the red currants really come out along with a bit of red raspberries.  Nice finish.  This drinks easily and served as a wonderful prelude to a long dinner, both stimulating the palate and working well with Potato Pave.  Drink over the next few years

2002 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, France, Champagne, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2002
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$421.00USD

Always a pleasure to try this wine although it underperformed expectations for the  wine in this vintage.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  Nice mousse with lots of tiny bubbles.  The nose is toasty with slight lemon and a hint of smoke.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has tart acidity.  Green apples with slight lemon.  Very long on the finish.  This is very tasty.  It seems to be about at peak or at least turning from a young vibrant Champagne to a mature one.  Drink  over the next ten years unless you like them old.  This is very food friendly and would work with just about any fo

NV Domaine Bousquet (Charmat) Brut Rosé, Argentina, Mendoza, Uco Valley, Wine Review

Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$13.00USD

An amazing value in sparkling wine!  This is a blend of 75% Pinot Noir and25% Chardonnay certified organic grapes from Argentina.  The Charmat method allows for the fermentation in stainless steel tanks to capture the carbonation.  Salmon pin/orange in color, clear and bright.  Lots of smaller bubbles.  The nose is very nice with strawberries, yeast (at the proofing stage), and minerals.  On the palate, this is crisp with light tannins.  Notes of fuji apples, strawberries and minerality.  Nice acidity.

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