Almond Creek Vineyards
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin
La Grande Dame Brut Champagne Blend 1975
Domaine de Chevalier
Pessac-Léognan Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2023
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2023 – Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé de Graves. BDX, France 🇫🇷
Overview
A masterclass in precision and balance, delivering crystalline clarity and architectural tension from a Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon blend. Layered citrus, stone fruit, and mineral tones unfold with seamless flow, showing absolute control from entry through the finish. Everything feels calibrated, pure, and intentional, a wine that operates at peak efficiency without excess weight or distraction.
Aromas & Flavors
Lime zest, white grapefruit, green pear, white peach, crushed chalk, wet stone, subtle white flowers, faint almond cream and whispering oak spice.
Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied yet remarkably concentrated, laser-focused acidity, perfectly knit texture, seamless mid-palate density, and a long, ultra-clean, high-definition finish that snaps into perfect alignment.
Food Pairings
Oysters with mignonette, scallop crudo, sushi and sashimi, turbot with beurre blanc, citrus-poached lobster, delicate herb-driven dishes.
Verdict
An elite reference-point white Bordeaux showcasing extraordinary precision, balance, and purity. The finish alone separates this from the pack, energetic, exact, and endlessly refined. A benchmark wine for understanding modern Pessac Blanc at its highest level.
🍷 Personal Pick
This is the kind of wine that makes you stop mid-sip and recalibrate your internal benchmark. Effortless power, surgical accuracy, and zero wasted movement l, pure elegance at full throttle. The Max Verstappen of whites: dominant, composed, and ruthlessly precise. — 2 months ago
Benanti
Pietra Marina Etna Bianco Superiore Carricante 2019
🤩 Benanti is an iconic, family run estate with a front-seat majestic view of Etna’s terrain, founded by Giuseppe Benanti in 1988, now carried forward by Giuseppe’s two sons Antonio and Salvino. Preserving the heritage of Etna’s unique terroir, the Benantis devote themselves to making wine with local varieties. 🍇
After delicate pressing, the free-run juice underwent fermentation with an indigenous yeast and aged on the fine lees in stainless steel for 30 months with regular bâtonnage (stirring). 😆
📝 The result is divine with a bouquet of harmonious aromas and flavors featuring ripe papaya, mango, cantaloup, white nectarine, kumquat, bergamot, lemon oil, cherry blossom, cream, toast, gunflint, fresh tarragon, sage, crushed stones, oystershell, sea spray & blanched almond notes.
💫This wine has verve & elegance!
😋 On the palate, it’s dry, with electrifying acidity, a medium body, textured mouthfeel, medium alcohol (12.5% ABV) & persistent finish. — 7 months ago
Dom Pérignon
Altum Villare Brut Champagne Blend 2013
The Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 Brut is simply exceptional. With an elegant nose that unfolds notes of white fruits, citrus, and delicate toasted nuances, it invites you to delve into its complexity. On the palate, its silky texture and fine bubbles give way to flavors of pear, apple, and toasted almond, with a subtle hint of vanilla. Its persistent finish leaves a lasting and memorable impression. In summary, a champagne experience that captivates the senses and delights the palate. — 2 years ago
Dom Pérignon
Brut Champagne Blend 2006
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2006 pours a deep straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing with lovely notes of slightly bruised apple, white flowers, lemon curd, brioche, slivered almond and a mix of chalk and limestone minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and creamy. I wish I could drink this all night long. Alas, only a single 750mL and not a Methuselah. Drinking well now and will only be taking on more secondary and tertiary character. But if that’s your thing (and I can get down), this will deliver well past 2036. — 2 months ago
Nicolas Joly
Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Savennières Chenin Blanc 2019
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2019 pours a pale yellow color with medium+ viscosity. On the nose, the wine is developing with intense, ripe notes of Comice pears, baked green apple, mixed fruit cup, lemons, white tree flowers, lanolin, raw almond, tarragon, a touch of raw honey and minerals. On the palate, the wine is off-dry(?) with high acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and the texture is waxy. I questioned the off-dry call because I actually think it’s dry but the power and ripeness of the fruit, not to mention the 15% ABV(!!), give the impression of sweetness. An utterly balanced wine despite the big personality. A wine that gives main character energy. I wish I had a week or more to track the development because this is such a wee babe. Drink now to experience its youth and enjoy through 2049. — 7 months ago
Vietti
Roero Arneis 2022
Big and broad. Some tartness, meyer lemon, almond, hint mandarine. A little hot 14%. — 2 years ago
Somm David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
Not the champagne I had in mind for tonight, but sometimes circumstances play their part.
This is pleasant enough. It will go well with my almond tart later.
The mouthfeel shows nice mousse, somewhat lively acidity, bruised golden/red/green apple to apple sauce, bruised pear, white citrus blend-grapefruit w/ pith leading, quince, touch of brown sugar, some yeastiness, baguette crust, graham cracker, volcanic minerals w/ clay, white spice, caramel notes, vanillin, sea spray, grippy, grainy chalk, sea fossils-oysters, limestone marl, withering lilies, spring flowers, nice acidity and a well balanced, good length, elegant finish that lasts nearly 90 second and lands on mid intensity minerals and spice.
Photos of; the champagne house of Veuve Clicqoit and the widow herself. You see her under the metal gage and plated over the cork.
#DSLounge — 2 months ago