Pinot Noir

Pierre Paillard Bouzy Grand Cru Les Parcelles XXI Review

After returning home from our trip to Champagne, we, naturally, started buying more Champagne.

This wasn't so much because we didn't buy a lot while there (we did), but rather that many top producers were readily available to us at home- often not for much more than we could buy them in France. So we waited until we returned, grabbed a few bottles from producers we wanted to try but missed when on the road, and quickly popped them enjoy.

Pierre Paillard's Bouzy Grand Cu Les Parcelles 2021 (labeled XXI) was one such bottle. Although we enjoyed this one, we do have to admit, it was a bit on the pricier side for our liking.

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Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old No 4 Review – A Favorite

Veuve Clicquot has a reputation of being an iconic Champagne producer. From the easily recognizable yellow label, to legions of diehard followers (and critics), their non-vintage Champagne can be found and enjoyed the world over.

While we personally enjoy the yellow label bottle ourselves, we do recognize that it does come at a fair premium for what you get- especially in the United States with import markups added.

After visiting Veuve Clicquot during our Champagne wine tour, we tried another bottle, Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old No. 4 that became our new favorite from the producer. Why is that? Well, it is a blend of old, reserve wines only (the 4th edition had wines from 1996 to 2014 only), and, given that it is extra brut, has a fair bit less residual sugar than the standard bottle- all for not that much more in price (in the US, at least).

So if you are a critic of the yellow label for any reason (or are just a fan), be on the lookout for this one!

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Hamilton Russel Walker Bay Pinot Noir 2019 Review – Outlier Year

We love Hamitlon Russel in South Africa for their fine Chardonnays, and have always wanted to give one of their Pinot Noirs a try as we had always heard great things.

We stumbled upon a bottle of theirs from Walker Bay, produced in 2019, which had a rather interesting backstory. As it turns out, it was a bad year for smoke taint in Hemel-in-Aarde so Hamilton Russell seemingly made Pinot Noir from grapes procured from Walker Bay instead, making for an interesting outlier in the portfolio.

Naturally, we picked it up, and it was quite enjoyable even with this caveat!

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Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut Review – A Delicious Champagne

The Champagne region is full of many famous producers whose names we easily recognize, but never have tried before.

After staring at Moet & Chandon's Imperial Brut at the store for many years, we decided that it was time to finally try this famous wine. After trying this, we do have to admit, we can see why it is popular- although we wish the flavors were as intense as the aromas!

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Pol Roger Reserve Brut NV Review – A Lot Going On

We've read about Pol Roger Reserve Champagne for many years, and it is always one of those bottles we put off buying due to a slightly higher price point than we'd normally prefer.

When we finally decided to grab one of these, we wondered why it took us so long. Yes, the price can be fairly high, but it is also a rather delicious bottle of sparkling wine!

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Arista Perli Vineyard 2017 Review – Even Better With Age

Arista is one of our favorite wineries in Sonoma, and makes some of the best Pinot Noir we've had in the USA.

Naturally, we became club members and regularly add bottles to our cellar to age.

Arista's Perli Vineyard Pinot Noir is one that we have the most of in our collection. Now that our first bottles, from the 2017 vintage, are now entering their drinking window, we thought we'd pull one out and see how they're stacking up!

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Champagne Dumenil Amour de Cuvee Review – Classic Champagne

We've been fortunate enough to try most of Champagne Dumenil's bottles due to them being available by a local distributor, and have tried many gems (including their Prestige Vieilles Vignes which has been one of our favorites we have tried to date).

Their Amour de Cuvee is a Blanc de Noir style made with Meunier and Pinot Noir which hit us with classic Champagne notes as well as modest lees and a bit of age to go along with it!

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Revi Cavaliere Nero Rose Reserva 2015 Review – Aged Rose

When we normally think about rose wine, we often think of young, fresh bottles meant to be enjoyed shortly after bottling.

But Cavaliere Nero Rose Reserva is not your typical rose, and this sparkling bottle from Trentodoc is meant to have a bit of age. We were fortunate enough to try a sample bottle of the 2015 for this review, and at nine years old this rose still has a lot of life left in it!

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Monfort Le General Dallemagne Extra Brut 2015 Review

I have to admit, my experience with Trentodoc sparkling wines has been fairly limited. My first time I think I ever had one was on my WSET Diploma D4 exam, and since then, well, that was it. Truly, it was a region of sparkling wines that I knew very little about!

So when I had the opportunity to try some sample bottles provided courtesy of Trentodoc, I was quite excited to learn more about their traditional method wines from the region.

Up first? Monfort's Le General Dallemagne Extra Brut from 2015. With 60 months of lees and a few more years of time in bottle on top, this was one stellar bottle!

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