Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Château de Camarsac – Bordeaux Blanc 2023
Entre-Deux-Mers – Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷
Blend: Sauvignon Blanc–led with Sémillon

Overview
From the Thierry Lurton family, this entry-level Bordeaux Blanc is crafted in a crisp, casual style. Sauvignon Blanc drives freshness, while Sémillon adds a touch of roundness, making it a perfect daily sipper.

Aromas & Flavors
Zesty lemon and grapefruit, green apple, and hints of pear with light herbal notes. A clean, citrusy freshness throughout.

Mouthfeel
Light-bodied, bright, and easy-drinking. Crisp acidity carries through to a refreshing, clean finish.

Food Pairings
A natural with goat cheese salad, grilled fish, sushi, or simple vegetable dishes. Perfect aperitif on a warm day.

Verdict
A no-fuss, casual Bordeaux Blanc — light, fresh, and versatile. The 2023 vintage is all about clean enjoyment and approachability. 🍷

Did You Know?
Entre-Deux-Mers, literally “between two seas,” refers to the land between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, known for producing some of Bordeaux’s most refreshing and best-value whites. — 9 months ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of dilute tea. Nose of two nice tropical ripe fruits, like mango, lychees, pineapple. Nose is powerful and packed with notes. Taste is on the light side with right trio of sweetness, acidity, and grapefruit ripe. Very clean and flavorful. Aftertaste is medium long. Gem. — 3 years ago

Brad Swick

9.4

Nice full flavor. Balance of grapefruit and oak. Crisp, dry fruit. Tasted 3 March 2022. Tasted even better day two! — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.5

WNH Montelena Estate virtual tasting. Others represented were the ‘94 (evidently corked), ‘01, ‘03, ‘07, ‘15.

I may be an outlier here, but Montelena is one of the few wineries where I not only don’t care for them young, I just honestly don’t enjoy them at all (and that’s coming from someone who enjoys the likes of Myriad, Bevan, Rivers Marie, etc on the young side). For my preference, they are just so vastly better with 15+yrs of age to them. YMMV.

After standing this upright for about two weeks, I gave this about a 45min decant. Starting off fairly thin and having some funk to blow off, it really bulked up after an hour and a half. Dark ruby/tawny in the glass. Reminiscent of left bank Bordeaux (leather, herbs de Provence, only a hint of tobacco), but a sweet cherry liqueur and dried cranberry on the nose bring this back to possibly New World. On the palate it sports underripe and dried black cherries, red clay, cedar, bay leaf, and earthy tertiary notes. Gripping, tannic finish with balanced acidity. In harmony here. I’d say this likely has another 3-5yrs in this beautiful drinking window before evolving more. — 5 years ago

Paul Maranzan

8.9

Bought for cooking but greatly surprised me. High acidity, crisp, and great flavours of pear and apple. Will pick up a few more bottles to have on hand. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

Really enjoyed my visiting with Will at Mending Wall where he poured Rivers-Marie as well as his personal label William & Mary.

My favorite of the tasting. Co-fermented cab franc and merlot. I’m partial to cab franc, so no surprise this was up my alley. Gorgeous display of violets, herbs de Provence, red and black currant and sandalwood. Great weight on the palate channeling herbal/savory notes next to underripe rhubarb and blackberries. Delicious. — 6 years ago

Byron C Mayes

8.9

Star bright pale straw. Abundant classic Kiwi nose of guava and lemongrass. Bright acidity leads the medium light palate of guava, lemongrass, and soft citrus rind. Finish is typically brief, but strong and a wee bit dark. The standard Marlborough has been aWkne Spectator “Best Buy” for two vintages running. The Estate ”Signature Series” kicks things up a few notches with elegance. Best as a sipper, it will still satisfy with rich “white wine” fare that can use a good cut-through. I’m having KFC, though fried/sautéed fish or seafood would be killer! Drink now. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

One of the wines I supplied for an annual lunch hosting (co-host this time). The best score for this is “not ready”, but 94 represents where I felt this was in its evolution…long way to go.

On a table with a burgundy, Bordeaux and Napa cab, THIS won most expressive aromatics. Could smell this before I even sat down! Deep translucent ruby/purple in the glass. The whole cluster/stems dominate initially before giving way to dark potpourri, violets, red and black berries, and herbs. It’s got spiced-fruit and grip on the palate (kudos to the stems), with some blood orange and a little licorice showing up at the finish. Great acidity to help this cruise a while. I don’t have a lot of experience with Platt (I know AG gave this 100pts) so I’m not sure if this is Platt style vs RM style, but it’s the most expressive RM Pinot I’ve had in a while (if not ever).

Decanted two hours. I’d recommend at least that if opening now or holding 5-7yrs for the real fireworks. My only 2018, but have a few newer ones that I’ll forget about for a while. — a year ago

Delectable Wine

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9.3

Back after two years of absence (the quality was not judged good enough to create Te Koko in 2017 and 2018), the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc Te Koko reflects the more precise viticulture and pared-back winemaking now going on at Cloudy Bay. From full malo and heaps of new oak, there's now just 8% new, 52% malo and 11 months on lees in the 2019, finishing in more reductive environment of tanks and cuves rather than bottles, which creates a more defined wine. The result is a savory, plush expression that expands in the mouth. It has a delightful creamy texture yet finishes with fine tension. Gone are the days of blowsy Te Koko. This has delightful acidity, smoky notes, hazelnut, pear and nougat on the long finish. (Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, March 2022)
— 4 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Even though I’m a big fan of Ferren’s Frei Rd Chardonnay, this was my first Frei Rd Pinot.

Not sure of normal experiences here, but the richness here seems to fall in between Rivers Marie (love) and Aubert (just so so for me). Darker color in the glass…bit of a purple tinge to it. Aromatically it sports potpourri, violets, underripe black cherries, underripe blue fruit and some cedar. Initially, the front palate seems like it will be heavy based on all of the flavors but it turns really elegant. Dark chocolate, a slight roasted character, and spicy fruits. With RM, I get that orange zest note, and with Aubert, I get more alcohol and kirsch. My in between note here is more ripe pomegranate than either of the others. These probably need 5-7yrs from vintage to be in a good spot. Followed over two days and stayed consistent. — 5 years ago

Scott C

Founder / Co-director SR Wine imports

9.0

Stunning greek wine . A lost greek variety Kontoura . Aromas of melon , hint of pineapple . Good acidity , quite full , mineral and very long finish . Old vines / high altitude . Beautiful — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.1

Attended a virtual tasting with Anne Parent, winemaker for Domaine Parent. The Domaine started making wine back in the 17th century. Many thanks to my good friend @Mike R for setting it all up.

What makes this wine special (aside from the fact that it’s only produced in special years) is the fact that it’s not a typical Bourgogne...70% of this wine comes from the Village of Pommard (70+yr old vines) and 30% of this wine comes from premiers crus vineyards. Clearly a step up from most producers typical Bourgogne, which is a massive amalgamation of fruit. A true testament to Domaine Parent and the threshold for quality.

30min decant and then followed it over the next two hours. Beautiful out of the gate, with so much floral and spice aromatics. Potpourri, spiced rhubarb, dried cranberries, fleshy black cherries, black tea herbal nuances and a brief sweet note of brown sugar. Fairly mellow and plush on the palate with classic underbrush, typical Pommard dried red and black fruits, and a tart, energetic and delicious finish. Nothing thin or overly herbal here. Like a Rivers-Marie Sonoma Coast with more restraint. Wonderful QPR. — 6 years ago

Chris Whyte

9.0

Very nice — 2 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.3

This pale wine shows mineral and herbal qualities on the nose. The wine smells much grassier than the previous two New Zealand SBs I sampled (Babich and Greywacke). The palate shows a boatload of citrus minerality, too, with a racy acidity. Crustaceans and mollosks are welcome here. — 3 years ago

Bogdan Todoran

9.0

My first contact with new zealand. I’m impressed by the fruitiness of this wine. Passion fruit, ananas, mango and a white pepper finish. Fruit explosion — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.5

WNH “TRB” tasting.

I let this bottle decant for three hours and then fully decant for 3hrs (pulling from the decanter the last two hours). The bulk of that time I was hit with really pure and ripe fruits but ending with a wall of tannin. Gorgeously aromatic with layers of the entire fruit spectrum…red, blue and black berries, sandalwood, and espresso. The mid palate here is quite fantastic in how deep it is while still having good acidity to keep it vibrant. Violets, dark chocolate, mixed Berry compote and baking spices all surrounded by a savory graphite type note. I saved two glasses for the following day and it turned very silky and seemed to be a very beautiful expression of Oakville.

If opening now, decant 4-6hrs, or hold another 3+yrs. — 5 years ago

Lee Lightfoot

9.3

Delicious, better on day two quite ripe but acid of 10’ still quite evident. Dark kirsch and monumental finish. — 6 years ago

Anne Richardson

8.9

A fun little Rosé! The blending of the Merlot and the Riesling lend to a sweet but not too sweet refreshment. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

Really enjoyed my visiting with Will at Mending Wall where he poured Rivers-Marie as well as his personal label William & Mary.

A side by side with this and the proprietary red. Very red fruit dominant accompanied by underripe black fruits...black cherries, dark cocoa and floral aromatics like potpourri. Very smooth and tightly coiled on the palate. No hard edges. This can be enjoyed with a lengthy decant, but the best is yet to come. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

Really enjoyed my visiting with Will at Mending Wall where he poured Rivers-Marie as well as his personal label William & Mary.

A baby, but lots of great things ahead. The fruit is very pure and concentrated without being overly rich. Hardly any trace of oak. Bright lemon zest, crushed limestone, honeysuckle with fresh and zippy acidity. Lots to like here. Thanks for a wonderful hosting @William J. Segui . — 6 years ago